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A Road Littered With Thorns - By Dele Momodu | ThisDay

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“Have you heard how they catch monkeys in Brazil, Julie?</div>
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Let me tell you. They put a nut in a bottle, and tie the bottle to a tree.</div>
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The monkey grasps the nut, but the neck of the bottle is too narrow for the monkey</div>
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to withdraw its paw and the nut.</div>
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You would think the monkey would let go of the nut and escape, wouldn’t you?</div>
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But it never does. It is so greedy it never releases the nut and is always captured.</div>
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Remember that story, Julie. Greed is a dangerous thing. If you give way to it, sooner or later you will be caught.”</div>
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Fellow Nigerians, the above is one of my favourite quotes and I even know it fully by hand. It is taken straight from the early pages of a James Hadley Chase novel titled THE PAW IN THE BOTTLE. I’ve quoted it in countless conversations and political discourses in particular. The reason should be obvious. It sums up the intractable problem of greed that has virtually ruined our nation. The power-grabbers of Nigeria all have one thing in common, pure and unadulterated greed.</div>
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I’m under no illusion that any nation is governed by saints. But the greatest countries in the world are usually led by aspiring Angels, those who wish to be close to God even if they let him down occasionally like we all do. The avariciousness of our leaders is uncommon as it is unsurpassed. I wish to link this to the crisis of confidence bedevilling our electoral process and democratic progression today. The linkage is simply to establish that unbridled greed is largely responsible for the way simple elections have been turned into total warfare in Nigeria. We have become one of the worst examples of Barbarians who just find it impossible to choose candidates and elect leaders in an atmosphere devoid of bitter and bitchy acrimony.</div>
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This greed didn’t start today. It has been with us since we gained independence and we started putting our own people in positions of authority. Ordinarily, leadership positions should have been an opportunity to serve and do so meritoriously. But this madness called greed must have crept in us discreetly like a thief in the night. It is very difficult to remember exactly when and how it did. All I know is that we were caught unawares until it penetrated us mercilessly. I was old enough in 1979 (19 to be precise) to vote and to understand the rudiments of politics in a country that managed to end a civil war within that decade. The period leading to that election had been preceded by military intervention that terminated the brilliant career of Head of State General Yakubu Gowon as well as a bloody coup that killed General Murtala Ramat Muhammed and his promising regime. This catapulted Olusegun Obasanjo to power.</div>
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The election of 1979 was midwifed by Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and his second in command, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. It was a straight fight between Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s NPN, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s  UPN And Owelle Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NPP. The controversy surrounding the manner General Obasanjo hurriedly handed power to Shagari after the hullaballoo that followed that election was nothing compared to the profligacy that NPN later perpetrated. If the 1979 election was bad that of 1983 was abysmal. The greed of the NPN apparatchik went overboard. They simply went berserk and grabbed not just money but votes from every direction.</div>
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Those critics like Wole Soyinka who challenged the on-going nonsense were easily dismissed as alarmists and prophets of doom. It was obvious even to the blind that NPN was headed in the wrong direction leading only to perdition, but the arrogant politicians of the day said nothing would happen. They were firmly in control of heaven and earth. They declared very erratic results in staccato fashion. What they did was tantamount to stealing the wind and trying to hold the atmosphere in the palm. I was 23 then and was in the middle of the conflagration that consumed the Old Ondo State. My boss then, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, had been declared winner in a contest against the iconic Pa Adekunle Ajasin. My boss was one of Chief Awolowo’s fanatical supporters. But everything scattered after the riotous UPN primaries. I witnessed as ambitious politicians gathered day and night in our Ijapo estate situation office to plot all manner of moves. My boss was a man of frugal existence but the politicians were able to persuade him to move 360 degrees from UPN to NPN.</div>
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I felt the sharp pain that went through Chief Omoboriowo’s heart and realised how easy it was to capitulate to the whims and caprices of politicians who assured us everything was under control. For example, we knew the police would readily connive with the ruling party to do whatever was needed. The NPN had invested heavily in military hardware and over-militarised the police. They rolled out ferocious armoured tanks capable of stultifying the dreams of would-be troublemakers. A most powerful Inspector General of Police, Mr Sunday Adewusi, was in charge. I doubt if any other IG would ever be that influential. The fear of Sunday Adewusi was the beginning of wisdom.</div>
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As young as I was, I knew there was going to be repercussions to this atrocious madness but I didn’t envisage the magnitude. NPN won landslide almost everywhere and at the height of its giddiness described their victory as moon-slide. It was the first time I heard that term and added it to my modest vocabulary. Barely three months after that abracadabra, the military struck and hit the reckless politicians like thunderbolt. That coup gave birth to the draconian and much-dreaded regime of Muhammadu Buhari after an announcement by a young officer who introduced himself as Sani Abacha.</div>
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It was such a miserable New Year gift on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1983. Politicians were promptly picked up and hauled like sacks of potatoes into different cells or house arrests across the nation. They all went in without as much as a whimper. The most rambunctious amongst them, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, bolted into rarefied air and landed in the United Kingdom. One would have expected him to put up a kamikaze stunt at home by fighting Buhari and Babatunde Idiagbon like the quintessential King Kong that he was. That was when I first learnt the truism that bullies are often cowardly.</div>
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There was no doubt that the Buhari regime was tough but what they won’t tell the young generation of today is why Buhari and company struck. The NPN had practically mortgaged the future of Nigeria and Nigerians. Had Buhari not come at that time I wonder what could have happened to our country eventually. May be we would have become a country of scavengers in the hands of scoundrels. NPN was a democratically elected government without any semblance of democracy. Everything was helter-skelter.</div>
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My boss was one of the multitude arrested and he was kept in Owo prison and I laboured hard as his private secretary to visit him every other day from his house in Ijero-Ekiti which was my base. I gained so much insight into how politicians behaved and misbehaved. There was ample evidence that innocent people were punished alongside the patently guilty. But as I would learn many years later from Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings such was the nature of most revolutions. Buhari did not execute past leaders like Rawlings did in Ghana. In a marathon interview Rawlings granted Ovation International in 2004, he revealed how revolutions work. He said it was not a tea party and while the leader takes the credit for whatever success was achieved he must also take the flak for the excesses and abuse of power and privilege. He alone could not have compiled the names of those who were jailed or killed. There were instances when many officers smuggled in names of their supposed enemies.</div>
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Asked why there was so much bloodshed in Ghana, Rawlings thundered “It was an abnormal situation… “ We probed him rigorously by asking “what was the criteria used to select those you killed? Was it that people were just bringing accusations and you were acting on them?” His answer was shocking and direct: “Subsequently that was what happened. We only tried to contain and prevent any further executions, so the option was jail. As for the executions, it was easier to pick from the top… It was not that I wanted to kill but that was what the nation needed at the time… I was trying to calm things down but the situation as I said was such that there was no command structure. Everything had broken down… We were governing human rage, justifiable rage…"</div>
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According to Jerry Rawlings, the government of the day had perfected the art of divide and rule: “I didn’t know that some people were experts in divide and rule tactics. I saw it work and it was brilliant during Liman’s regime… They had poisoned the atmosphere. In those days, it was believed that the government could not lie, so they were telling all kinds of lies against me… And the troops were like, ha, this is our great hero who is being so demonised…”</div>
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Just like the case of Buhari, Jerry Rawlings remains the most feared and the most popular Ghanaian leader alive today. He’s treated like a rock star everywhere he goes. While the elites may harbour ill feelings towards him, the poor see him as their saviour, the reason they called him Junior Jesus while the elites called him Junior Judas. There is a big lesson for Nigeria in all of this. We have suffered for too long as a people and this is attributable to our politicians’ greed and inability to learn from past mistakes. The next time we conducted an election after 1983 was ten years after in 1993. As good as that election was, politicians made sure it was truncated again.</div>
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No military would have been able to annul that election if the politicians had bonded together to defend the mandate which was freely given by Nigerians to Chief Moshood Abiola. The main weapon used on this occasion was not an automatic rifle but ethnicity. Politicians deliberately reduced the June 12 victory to a South West affair and therefore not worthy of being defended by non-Yoruba. They selfishly and studiously forgot all the amazing contributions of Chief Abiola in every part and cranny of Nigeria. The ubiquitous supporters of any government in Nigeria were not bothered that killing June 12 would send Nigeria backwards by several decades. The compulsive gamblers that they were, the nation can afford to move on, without Abiola anyway. And so we did.</div>
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I won’t waste too much time on the Interim government which was awkwardly packaged as alternative to June 12 but examine the last Abacha coup which finally buried June 12. From 1993-98, Abacha’s government concocted its own endless experiments as our biggest politicians fell over themselves to secure some space and place in that fiasco of a government. Abacha soon became the new idol and Nigerians marched on the streets of Abuja begging him to transform from military dictator to civilian President. It was such an interesting spectacle to behold.  The man eventually died in power on June 8, 1998 while Abiola died elsewhere in detention on July 7, 1998.</div>
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General Abdulsalami Abubakar immediately assumed power. Of course, the omnipresent friends of men of power would not hear the heresy being preached by General Abubakar who pledged to stay only one year in power. Sometimes I wonder if General Abubakar is from another planet, he actually handed over power to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, dead on time, on May 29, 1999, as promised.  Obasanjo was in power for the next eight years but not before some smart dudes came up with the idea of an unprecedented third term for him. When that failed, Chief Obasanjo handed power to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and his Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan who would later complete his boss’ term after the President took ill and died.</div>
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Dr Jonathan contested in 2011 for what was expected to be for one term but he later changed his mind and is set to contest again on February 14, 2015, if the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, can withstand the blistering heat from those desperately seeking a postponement for reasons we all know. On the surface, there would have been nothing wrong with it but the main opposition is suspicious of the move like many of us. Once again, we’ve boxed ourselves into another tight corner.</div>
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My honest advice is always to Mr President. Please, don’t listen to those saying you must win this election by force. If you’re so destined, it will surely happen. If you fail in the end kindly thank God, knowing that you have done your best. I admonish the candidates to whittle down the war of advertorials going on in order to make reconciliation much easier whenever the winner is announced. Nigerians are looking for that candidate among you who can proudly speak like Rawlings:</div>
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“You know I was an embodiment of the people’s quest for freedom and justice, so people did not toy with me. By protecting me, they were protecting their own freedom and justice. They couldn’t afford to abandon me, and I cannot afford to abandon my own principle…”</div>

A Road Littered With Thorns - By Dele Momodu | ThisDay

“Have you heard how they catch monkeys in Brazil, Julie? Let me tell you. They put a nut in a bottle, and tie the bottle to a tree. ...

Too Bad If INEC Shifts Elections - Buhari

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<b>The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said it will be too bad if the Independent National Electoral Commission allows itself to be compromised to shift the general election or allow irregularities in the voting process.</b></div>
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Buhari made the statement in an interview published on Reuters on Friday, saying he was optimistic that he would win the election and that he would approach the courts if there are irregularities in the voting process. He said he would not call his followers into the streets.</div>
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Buhari said, “I’m optimistic that I won’t lose. But we signed an undertaking that it will be violence-free. We are attempting to stabilise a multi – party democratic system.</div>
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“There will be no delay. But if INEC is compromised then it will be too bad,” Buhari said.</div>
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The APC had said that the only reason the pro-Jonathan camp was pushing for a delay of the elections was because it knew that the president would lose if voting should hold as planned.</div>
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On the insurgency in the country, the APC candidate said it was a disgrace that neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger and Cameroon had been more successful than Nigeria in the battle against the Boko Haram insurgency.</div>
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Buhari told Reuters that, “It’s a big disgrace for Nigeria. It is now Cameroon and Chad fighting the insurgency more than Nigeria. We will build the capacity and Nigeria should be able to secure its territorial integrity</div>
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“Our main objective is to secure the country. We will not tolerate insurgency, sabotage of the economy by blowing up of installations, by stealing crude and so on. All these things will be things of the past.”</div>
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He assured that his administration would tackle corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and reopen an investigation into the missing crude revenues of around $20bn, adding that he would tackle the theft of crude tapped from pipelines in the Niger Delta.</div>
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<b>Credit: <a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/too-bad-if-inec-shifts-election-buhari/">PUNCH</a></b></div>

Too Bad If INEC Shifts Elections - Buhari

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said it will be too bad if the Independent Nat...

[JUST IN]: 21 INEC Resident Commissioners Reject Polls Shift

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<b>Twenty one Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have rejected a proposal to postpone Nigeria’s general elections billed for February 14 and 28.</b></div>
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In a vote conducted Saturday by the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, after he met with political parties and the civil society, 21 RECs said the elections should continue as planned while 16 others voted in support of a reschedule.</div>
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Nigeria has 37 RECs, each for a state and the Federal Capital, Abuja.</div>
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The outcome of the vote came as Nigerians await INEC’s decision on whether the elections are moved or not.</div>
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Civil Society leaders said Mr. Jega had told them at their meeting that the commission was under pressure to postpone the polls after all security agencies, including the military and the police, warned that they will only support polls held at least six weeks after the current dates.</div>
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Jibrin Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, in Abuja, who was at the meeting, said Mr. Jega told the meeting that security operatives told INEC that they were commencing a six weeks special operations against Boko Haram insurgents in the north eastern corridors of the country and would rather not be distracted by the elections.</div>
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Mr. Jega announced that the security forces also said the operations are due to commence on February 14, the date INEC had planned for the presidential and federal legislative elections.</div>
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Earlier, 17 political parties out of the total 28 voted in support of an extension.</div>
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The opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, has rejected any plan to postpone the election saying such calls are sponsored by President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling party to stave their imminent defeat at the polls.</div>
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It is not clear what the commission’s eventual decision would be with the latest voting pattern by the RECs.</div>
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Mr. Jega is expected to brief the media any moment from now.</div>
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<b>Credit: <a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/176432-breaking-21-inec-resident-commissioners-reject-postponement-elections.html">PREMIUM TIMES</a></b></div>

[JUST IN]: 21 INEC Resident Commissioners Reject Polls Shift

Twenty one Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have rejected a proposal to ...

Obasanjo Is My Very Good Friend - Lere Paimo (Eda Onile Ola)

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<b>Chief Lere Paimo, popularly called <i>Eda Onile Ola</i>, shares some of his life experiences in this interview with Ademola Olomilua.</b></div>
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Below are excerpts of the interview as seen on<b> <a href="http://www.playgroundtv.net/obasanjo-special-interest-veteran-actor-lere-paimo-eda-onile-ola/">Playground TV</a>.</b></div>
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<i><b>You have been into acting for over 55 years, how did the journey begin?</b></i></div>
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I started acting with Duro Ladipo and Oyin Adejobi; they were my bosses when I joined the profession. I started in Osogbo and I never knew that I would become a household name in Nigeria.</div>
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When I was in primary school, I always took part in the end of year activities where I costumed myself as a king. I had a sister-in-law that attended the same primary school with me and till date, she still refers to me as a king.</div>
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I just loved dressing like a king and participating in drama but I never knew that one day it would become a reality. All I wanted was to act and make people laugh because I derived joy from doing that.</div>
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During that time, I was always treated like a king because whenever we had the school play, a crowd normally followed me from my home to school to watch me perform. They made me feel like a real king. </div>
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Subsequently my friend, <i>Merryphoto</i>, told me that we should go to Mbari, Imo State and join a theater group and I agreed. We left Osogbo for Mbari and when we got there and had auditions, we were chosen. That is how it all began. I did not do it for money but for the love I had for the profession. It is God that decided to bless me through my career with fame and fortune.</div>
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<b><i>Didn’t your parents protest when you left Osogbo to join a theatre group?</i></b></div>
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My parents were not in support of my career choice. They always told me that no one in our family had been into acting. I was a very good dancer and I could sing as well. My parents wondered why I loved entertaining people. Entertaining others is a passion for me, so I told them that was the career I wanted to pursue.</div>
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Whenever our theater group went to Ogbomosho, my parents always heard about how good we were especially with the adventures of Eda on the radio. They were so amazed about how well I was doing as an actor and so finally gave their blessings when I travelled abroad.</div>
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When I returned from that trip, I visited my father in the farm and he began announcing to everybody in the village that I had arrived from my trip. He was so proud of me that the people in our village began trooping in to greet me. They started bringing different kinds of food to me like a king and pleaded with me to manage what they were offering. They made me feel as if I was special. They began asking about my experience abroad and were amazed when I told them what life looked like over there. It was a proud moment for my parents.</div>
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<b><i>Did your parents adopt other measures just to ensure that you did not end up as an actor?</i></b></div>
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No, they did not. They just continued with their farming. We were not together because I was in Osogbo living with some relatives and they were in Ogbomosho. So when they heard that I was acting, there was nothing they could do about it. When they noticed that I was fast becoming a household name, all they could do was to give me their blessings.</div>
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<i><b>How about school?</b></i></div>
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For my primary education, I attended a school in Ogbomosho. After my primary school, I travelled to Ghana formerly known as Gold Coast with my mother’s younger sister where I went to a teachers training college. When I finished, I came back to Osogbo and joined Duro Ladipo’s theatre group. Before I became an actor, I worked at Newton Memorial School, also in Osogbo.</div>
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<b><i>In movies, you always chant incantations and also speak in proverbs, did you learn that or is it innate?</i></b></div>
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I learnt praise-singing and incantations from my friends while growing up. Most of them were masqueraders, so whenever they said those things, I usually listened attentively. They said some incantations so often that many stuck to my head.</div>
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People often think that my family members are masqueraders but they are not. When it comes to dancing and singing, it is a talent from God. Some people learn how to dance but I have the gift.</div>
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<i><b>Why didn’t you become a professional dancer?</b></i></div>
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My dancing skill is a talent from God. While growing up, my mind was set on becoming an actor. There was a time I composed some songs for NTA in Osogbo and when people heard the songs, they asked me to be one of King Sunny Ade’s composers but I declined even though he is my friend.</div>
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<i><b>How did you and King Sunny Ade become friends?</b></i></div>
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When you have a similar character with somebody, it is natural that you become friends. Sunny Ade is a very nice person who likes people easily. We met through a marketer, <i>Father’s Money</i>. I don’t know why he likes me so much but we became so close that he often invited me to accompany him to several events. There was a time he invited me to accompany him to Ondo State for an event and coincidentally, we wore the same clothes.</div>
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We have been friends for ages and whenever he is around, he comes to pay me a visit in Ibadan. When I celebrated my 70th and 75th birthdays, he came to perform and did not collect a dime from me. We are still very close friends.</div>
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<i><b>You seem to be very close to former President Olusegun Obasanjo too.</b></i></div>
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He was very close to my late boss, Duro Ladipo and he likes me a lot because he saw that I was a very talented actor. He used to call my boss <i>Sango</i>, and would always ask him to take very good care of me. Because of that, my boss loved me the more but I think he was a captain then.</div>
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When my boss died, I visited him occasionally and he treated me very well. That was how our friendship blossomed till he gave me a national award while he was a president. He was so happy when I bagged the award.</div>
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<b><i>What are some of the most interesting moments you shared with the former president?</i></b></div>
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He is a very jovial man. He loves playing <i>ayo</i>, and whenever he is enjoying the game at his Ota farm, people would gather to watch him play. That was shortly after he was the Head of State.</div>
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Whenever he beat someone in the game, he normally made jest of the person. He was really good at the game. There was a time his younger sisters brought food for him while playing. He did not bother to use a plate. His sisters were surprised and he jokingly said that when they got to their husband’s house, they could use plates but that he preferred eating it directly from the leaves. Obasanjo is a very down-to-earth person and this endears him to people around him.</div>
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<i><b>Was there any time you felt like quitting up acting?</b></i></div>
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There were times I really felt like quitting. There was a time we were going for a show and I could not take my car because it was faulty. I decided to travel in a lorry with my family and theatre group. My wife had an infant and some other group members had their children in the lorry as well. When we got to Abeokuta, we had an accident and the lorry somersaulted. I was able to get out of the vehicle through the smashed windscreen. By the time we got out of the damaged vehicle, we began to look for the children and we later found them in the bush unharmed. Other vehicles passing by had to stop to help us because they saw my posters on the lorry. They helped us get people out of the damaged lorry and my injured drummer was rushed to the hospital at Abeokuta. Even though the hospital was on strike, when they saw that he was my drummer, they rushed to help him. I am glad nobody died and no child was hurt.</div>
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My children that were found in the bush on that day are all married now. After the accident, I felt like quitting. There was also a time that we went to Zaria to perform and we were robbed. They stole all our clothes from the lorry we rented overnight and when we discovered what had happened the following day, we began to cry. It was a man, Idowu, from Ogbomosho who sold clothes in Zaria that helped us. He replaced everything we lost. He told me to stop crying and even bought me a pair of glasses to cover my red shot eyes. During those trying times, I got tired of the job and felt like quitting but I thank God for everything.</div>
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<b><i>How did you get the stage name Eda Onileola?</i></b></div>
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I got it in 1965 when I went for the Commonwealth festival with my boss. I partook in a play called <i>Everyman</i>. It was an English play but we had to act it in Yoruba. I played the lead role as Eda who was a very wealthy man. I played the role so well that the name stuck. Till date, some people think that my real name is Eda.</div>
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<b><i>Many people say that you are fetish because of the way you recite incantations, is that a rumour or something close to the truth?</i></b></div>
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Often times, I get calls from people all over Nigeria asking me to consult the oracle for them. Whenever it happens like that, I explain to them that I am not an herbalist. Even after explaining to them that what they watch on television is just acting, some still don’t believe, offering to pay me huge sum of money.</div>
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I am not an herbalist and I don’t know anything about herbs, I put all my trust in God. I am not saying that there is no such thing as metaphysical powers or voodoo. They exist and people indulge in them but I don’t do such. I always tell people that call me that if they believe in God, they are equally powerful.</div>
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<b><i>It is often believed that if you act the role of witches and wizards, they would attack you spiritually, is it true?</i></b></div>
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It is a lie, such never happens. If it were true, Baba Ogunde would have been the first to be spiritually attacked. All we do is ‘make believe’ because we do not use what people actually use for sacrifices. It is not real. If I act the part of a wizard or a wicked man, it is because I want people to learn from the story. We just try to let people know that those that do evil will eventually meet their downfall. The witches and wizards know that we are not mocking or disrespecting them. Probably that is why they take us as their children and do not attack us.</div>
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<b><i>You once suffered partial stroke, how did it happen?</i></b></div>
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I thank God for my life. I just got back from an outing and wanted to enter my house when I felt a breeze and I fell to the ground. My children noticed and quickly rushed me to the hospital. When the doctor ran some tests, he said that I almost had a partial stroke. After taking care of myself very well, I am now hale and hearty.</div>
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<b><i>When that incident happened, were you not afraid that it could be spiritual attack?</i></b></div>
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Such a thought never came to my mind.</div>
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<i><b>Would you say your profession has brought you fame and fortune?</b></i></div>
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I will say it has brought more fame and whatever brings fame most times comes with fortune. Any legal job one does that puts food on the table, provides shelter, and good education for the children is a good job.</div>
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<b><i>What kind of child were you while growing up?</i></b></div>
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I was a very gentle boy while growing up. I hardly spoke in public and I never fought with anybody. That is why when my mates see me, they are always surprised that I am an actor. I am not a saint but people know that I don’t lie or deceive people. I do not betray my friends and it is what I am known for.</div>
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<i><b>But acting for over 55 years, people would think that you would be richer than you are now...</b></i></div>
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Dubious people are responsible for the state I am in today. Till this moment, the marketer in charge of the distribution of my film, <i>Ogbori Elemosho</i>, has not given me my money. He still produces the movie till date even though I am yet to receive any royalty. People believe that I became very rich with the movie but I believe that God would pay him back in his own coin. The marketers are not letting us reap the rewards of our labour. It does not affect me alone but other artistes as well.</div>
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<i><b>Do you have any regrets?</b></i></div>
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I have no regrets in life. Anyone who says he has regrets in life is offending his creator. As long as there is life and good health, then no one should have regrets.</div>
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In life, there are challenging moments that would weigh you down but they are not enough to make one regret being alive. When those moments come, pray to God and everything will be okay.</div>
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<b><i>You became an actor at a very young age, were you exposed to drinking alcohol or smoking?</i></b></div>
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I have never smoked in my life. When I was younger, I used to drink palm wine and if I must take beer, it could not be more than a bottle. Right now, I don’t do any of those things.</div>
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<i><b>There was a time the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners had some problems and you were arrested. What really happened?</b></i></div>
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During that time, the devil was trying to use some of our younger colleagues in the industry. A man popularly known as <i>Adewale Sokoti</i> brought policemen to arrest me. I learnt that Dele Odule had opened a case in the court in Ilorin and it involved me.</div>
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When <i>Sokoti</i> brought the police to my house, they told me that a woman complained that I owed her money and I had to go to the station with them. I obliged because I knew it must have been a mistake. When I got to the police station, they told me that I had a case in Ilorin and I had to travel that night to appear before the judge. I refused because they lied to me. The next day, I went to Ilorin. When I got to Ilorin, they told me that I did not have any case. Even Dele Odule’s lawyers said that I had no case with them.</div>
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<i><b>How is your relationship with Dele Odule at the moment?</b></i></div>
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He is a fellow that I like a lot. All my children and even my wife like him. But because of association politics, things have changed. If I see him, I will greet him and if he answers me, fine and if he does not, then no problem.</div>
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<i><b>We learnt that you said Jide Kosoko was also involved in the case.</b></i></div>
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Yes he was. When his tenure was over, he wanted to dictate to the members of the association and we resisted it. You can suggest but not dictate.</div>
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He is a fellow I like and he is a good boy but since he started misbehaving, I am praying to God to change him back to the nice person he was.</div>
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<b><i>You once said you will never forgive him for what he did, have you forgiven him now?</i></b></div>
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When someone is angry, there is a tendency that he would say some things that he did not mean. I probably was very angry when I said that. I have forgiven everybody, especially the person that writes lies about me on Facebook. Tunde Ola Yusuf is fond of peddling rumours against me on Facebook. My children see all the lies and curses, they tell me but I rebuke such. I have forgiven Jide Kosoko and Dele Odule.</div>
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<b><i>Your job requires you travelling a lot, how were you able to raise a family?</i></b></div>
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I always travel with my family. Some of my children were conceived and delivered while on the road. We go everywhere together and that is why it is a closely knit family.</div>
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<b><i>When you were wooing your two wives, did they have any problem with your profession?</i></b></div>
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They loved me because I am an actor. Before I began wooing them, they were already in love with me because of my job, so it wasn’t difficult making them my wives.</div>

Obasanjo Is My Very Good Friend - Lere Paimo (Eda Onile Ola)

Chief Lere Paimo, popularly called Eda Onile Ola , shares some of his life experiences in this interview with Ademola Olomilua. Bel...

Exposed! How INEC Plan To Rig The Elections For Buhari

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGVug39ShvswSusrsYA3zqStb3OYYZtcUCjqLBJluPlPkefOIqe6qFettbeE3-Z2vY3zQ7rNmDuNf5j91SWK6PLDHsGb-v955AYmY59xWL8beNC7usktQFUTRO05HgmHbsDZSg6QSX4-q/s1600/Jega1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGVug39ShvswSusrsYA3zqStb3OYYZtcUCjqLBJluPlPkefOIqe6qFettbeE3-Z2vY3zQ7rNmDuNf5j91SWK6PLDHsGb-v955AYmY59xWL8beNC7usktQFUTRO05HgmHbsDZSg6QSX4-q/s1600/Jega1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday February 14, 2015, investigations have uncovered a grand strategy by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to rig the election in favour of  General Mohammadu Buhari,  presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.</b></div>
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According to the findings, the plot to tilt the outcome of the election began almost two years ago when INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega reshuffled top echelon of the Commission. Some key officials of the Commission that he perceived to be a stumbling block to the plot to rig the election were either retired, or transferred.</div>
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Having succeeded in planting his core loyalists in very sensitive strategic positions, the INEC leadership came up with the idea of establishing additional 30,000 polling units, with about 21,000 of the new units in the northern part of Nigeria, reports the <b><a href="http://nigerianpilot.com/exposed-inecs-plot-rig-elections/">NIGERIAN PILOT</a></b>.</div>
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The plot to use the new polling units to skew the outcome of the 2015 election was abandoned by INEC following public outcry over the lopsided distribution of the additional 30,000 polling units.</div>
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In a bid to perfect the plot to rig the election, one of the INEC National Officers was reported to have met with select leaders of the Northern Elders Forum, led by Prof Ango Abdullahi, on August 20, 2014 “where strategies and modalities for enthroning a president of northern extraction through vote rigging were discussed and agreed upon.”</div>
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The plot to rig the polls went into full blast during the voters continuous registration exercise when INEC allegedly registered hundreds of thousands of underage children, some of them as young as 10 years old, in two states in the south west and most of the states in the north.</div>
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Not only were underaged children registered, they were also issued with the Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, while millions of eligible voters are yet to receive their cards.</div>
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When Prof Jega was confronted with reports of registration of underage voters, he merely glossed over it and said; “for now, the remedy to underage voting is to arrest such voters when they come to vote. The fact that they have been registered in error does not mean they have a right to vote.”</div>
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The plot to rig the election is already causing internal crisis in INEC as Prof Jega and eleven national commissioners, including some Directors are at daggers-drawn over unresolved issues that threaten disenfranchisement of select geopolitical regions.</div>
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It was gathered that some of the INEC Commissioners from the South are not happy with Jega when the bulk of the PVCs were sent to the North West and North East zones while only about 50 percent of PVCs were sent to voters in the North central and the three zones in the southern part of the country.</div>
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INEC was also said to have adopted different distribution modalities for the core north and other parts of the country.</div>
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The cold war in INEC led to near physical confrontation between one of Jega’s close ally, Dr. Mohammad Wali (Chairman of Tender’s Board) from Sokoto and one of the commissioners from the south.</div>
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It was revealed that a ‘shouting-match’ ensued as the modalities for the distribution by INEC was marshaled out to the agents on the field – instructing that the PVCs should be delivered to the various INEC offices at the Local Government Area headquarters for the registered voters to pick up/collect - with the presentation of a valid identification card.</div>
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The southern commissioner, Nigerian Pilot weekend learnt, discovered that the rules for the distribution for the PVCs were different for the northern geopolitical regions - the rules were relaxed to enable easy distribution of the PVCs to the populace.</div>
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According to an INEC commissioner, the PVCs dispatched to Gombe, Kebbi, Zamfara, Bauchi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe, Kano, Plateau, Nasarawa, Katsina and Kaduna were accompanied by an agent of Dr. Wali.</div>
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The PVCs were not delivered to the INEC officer at the local government headquarters; rather, it was registered at the INEC office at the local government headquarters and then delivered to the local chiefs and local Imams to complete the distribution to the masses. The PVCs were then recorded as having been collected by registered voters.</div>
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This distribution pattern has made it impossible for supporters of one of the leading presidential candidates to collect their cards in the far North.</div>
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INEC is also reported to be denying non-indigenes in APC-controlled states their PVCs because of the perception that they will vote for a particular candidate during the presidential election.</div>
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According to the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, “This inexcusable misconduct is also being perpetrated in Kano, Edo, Sokoto, Lagos, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kwara among other APC controlled states where fraudulent INEC officials and the APC are orchestrating hitches to disenfranchise non-indigenes.</div>
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He emphasised that “evidence of this crime abounds in Alimosho and Amuwo-Odofin Local Governments of Lagos states; Nasarawa Local Government and Sabon Gari area of Kano state as well as other strategic places where PVCs belonging to non-indigenes are even burnt to ensure that they did not get to their rightful owners.”</div>
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“We know that the aim is to deny the PDP of its well-deserved victory in APC states since over 90 percent of these non-indigenes are supporters of the PDP and will vote en-mass for President Goodluck Jonathan and other candidates of our great party at the elections. We are aware of a script that has already been prepared to rationalise the eventual non-participation of the non-indigenes by attributing it to voter apathy”, the party said.</div>

Exposed! How INEC Plan To Rig The Elections For Buhari

Ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday February 14, 2015, investigations have uncovered a grand strategy...

"I'm Expecting A Landslide Victory", Says Buhari

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSw_IfZnnhH7-YEO8_iHSrG_Uy5jvbTa7yPHw5abunkXSt_sf5TcODqO6k1n6etsop-qFfUMe0hP5TYPQHrSKx6Eg8tMQzMzIZ_yChI4Jq2tnZxxeHyssnpgqiVGLBxUSrG1Pw8cAQWpN/s1600/Buhari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSw_IfZnnhH7-YEO8_iHSrG_Uy5jvbTa7yPHw5abunkXSt_sf5TcODqO6k1n6etsop-qFfUMe0hP5TYPQHrSKx6Eg8tMQzMzIZ_yChI4Jq2tnZxxeHyssnpgqiVGLBxUSrG1Pw8cAQWpN/s1600/Buhari.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Nigeria’s main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari on Friday told AFP he was expecting to win next week’s presidential election by a wide margin, despite talk of a close race.</b></div>
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The February 14 poll, in which he is challenging incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, has been seen as too close to call, leading to a possible run-off if neither man secures a first-round majority.</div>
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But Buhari, 72, dismissed the suggestion of a tight race, saying in an interview: “What’s their reason for ‘too close to call’? What is their speculation on? I’m expecting a landslide victory.”</div>
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The former army general, who led a military government for 20 months after seizing power in December 1983, has stood unsuccessfully for the presidency three times in the last 16 years.</div>
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On each occasion (2003, 2007, 2011), he alleged electoral foul-play.</div>
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But asked if he would accept defeat this time around, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate stated: “I’m not going to lose. So, I won’t answer that question.”</div>
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Nigeria’s main opposition is considered as having its best chance yet of ending the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) unbroken run in power since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.</div>
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Buhari, who was noted for his hardline approach to indiscipline and corruption during his time in power, has been touted as the answer to Nigeria’s lengthy list of problems.</div>
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The PDP has sought to portray Buhari as yesterday’s man with dangerous, outdated ideas but he asserted that Africa’s most populous nation and leading economy was ready for change.</div>
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“I have visited 34 states so far. In each of the states there are three things that are consistent, that are fundamental issues to this country - insecurity, the destruction of the economy and corruption,” he said.</div>
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“Every Nigerian is feeling worried.”</div>
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Meanwhile, Buhari rejected claims from the ruling party that he would rule again with an iron fist, saying the circumstances under a military regime were different from a civilian administration.</div>
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Multi-party democracy and the three tiers of government, enshrined in the constitution, had to be respected, with consequences for anyone acting outside the system, he said.</div>
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The APC has portrayed President Jonathan as weak on security and of being unable - some say unwilling - to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.</div>
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Some soldiers have complained that they lack the weapons and even bullets to fight the better-armed militants, despite defence spending accounting for some 20 percent of the federal budget.</div>
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Buhari said that if elected, his administration would “empower the law enforcement agencies to be much more efficient”.</div>
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“The first thing we will do is to make sure there is efficient utilisation of resources. If money is voted for equipment and training, that money will go to equipment and training,” he added.</div>
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The APC has claimed that Jonathan has failed to tackle endemic graft and Buhari said corruption was practically “a culture” in the country.</div>
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“I believe the most serious thing to do is to draw a line, that you intend to move forward,” he said, but added that, investigating every allegation of corruption would be a hindrance to progress.</div>
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“From the day we are sworn in as a government, anybody who abuses trust will be called to account,” he added.</div>

"I'm Expecting A Landslide Victory", Says Buhari

Nigeria’s main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari on Friday told AFP he was expecting to win next week’s presidential election by a ...

Anxiety As Jega Decides Polls Date 5pm Today

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNS_VlSUKulDoARZLY_KkiHDtOd3cQVkmMmHt0iyJoLz-6elYbLUYPfKZuwthDVVSJ015VBi1dTnA867qar11kpTQJMoOI_qwr29sU4eXXcrohyF7cqZEJ1HllfePA2v55zLdqPK7INiTN/s1600/Jega2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNS_VlSUKulDoARZLY_KkiHDtOd3cQVkmMmHt0iyJoLz-6elYbLUYPfKZuwthDVVSJ015VBi1dTnA867qar11kpTQJMoOI_qwr29sU4eXXcrohyF7cqZEJ1HllfePA2v55zLdqPK7INiTN/s1600/Jega2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>There is anxiety in the country as Nigerians wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission to speak on whether it will go ahead with its earlier timetable or pick new dates for the elections.</b></div>
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The earlier dates indicated that the Presidential and National Assembly elections are to be held on February 14 while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections are to follow two weeks later.</div>
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Chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is to address a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja today by 5pm.</div>
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The press conference will come up after he must have met with chairmen and secretaries of all registered political parties.</div>
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He would also have met with the Resident Electoral Commissioners of all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.</div>
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Some observers believe that the commission is being blackmailed to shift the scheduled dates in order to provide ample time for those who have initiated court cases against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), to conclude their cases seeking to stop the ex-head of state from contesting the poll.</div>
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The cases include those questioning his qualification to the contest the presidential election, and those demanding Buhari’s prosecution on the ground that he allegedly lied under oath as well as forgery.</div>

Anxiety As Jega Decides Polls Date 5pm Today

There is anxiety in the country as Nigerians wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission to speak on whether it will go ahea...

Politics Or Diplomacy? Pastor Adeboye Changes Profile and Cover Photos

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSgFV3DiKqVJbc4vKdpXLv_QZojWuw2sJILUR_0RYgFXO9UGVvWP7tjTTO4ePfcQ5VbHJZNPytNq8zXOvu7fi5Dg4ohe5NTDGwWEBinI6wsDPonCf5fLa0-MOPdm-nRsOLGyz8pQ5DJnr/s1600/Adeboye2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSgFV3DiKqVJbc4vKdpXLv_QZojWuw2sJILUR_0RYgFXO9UGVvWP7tjTTO4ePfcQ5VbHJZNPytNq8zXOvu7fi5Dg4ohe5NTDGwWEBinI6wsDPonCf5fLa0-MOPdm-nRsOLGyz8pQ5DJnr/s1600/Adeboye2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The president, Goodluck Jonathan, was a the RCCG February Holy Ghost Service yesterday. There he met the APC vice presidential candidate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. They embraced and greeted each other respectfully. The host, Pastor E. A. Adeboye prayed for the president. Anyway, that's not the story now.</b></div>
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The story is that the official Facebook page of Pastor Adeboye has been updated with the cover photo now having Prof Yemi Osinbajo and the profile photo, President Goodluck Jonathan.</div>
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Is this politics or diplomacy? Well, I see it as diplomacy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9A1-KYZDS96_yQHYK1tmLJ6aamRXcO9H_iEqjBvMYxYC6SuMKQ4n7a53Uqasv9smbo7nhpB5_Uwa-7aCb5WPza_UFQ5xuXrotjmgLhgqYVc-MeMPzIdSWFuKRX0aRE6F6HeFKRZLI18Mh/s1600/Adeboye3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9A1-KYZDS96_yQHYK1tmLJ6aamRXcO9H_iEqjBvMYxYC6SuMKQ4n7a53Uqasv9smbo7nhpB5_Uwa-7aCb5WPza_UFQ5xuXrotjmgLhgqYVc-MeMPzIdSWFuKRX0aRE6F6HeFKRZLI18Mh/s1600/Adeboye3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDK8_AVP4Sjfpt4-8445CAXgH_n4e2LCtPOWNp5eN1-RuCtcs0J7GYdXo8RseMJpTH2vpXHPYC1Jb8GLxoD1hftUeun6gzmifbKAO-g4fbBFSi6fKDLoNKI3xSwOC_Jta28UM0lWB3d8i/s1600/Adeboye4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDK8_AVP4Sjfpt4-8445CAXgH_n4e2LCtPOWNp5eN1-RuCtcs0J7GYdXo8RseMJpTH2vpXHPYC1Jb8GLxoD1hftUeun6gzmifbKAO-g4fbBFSi6fKDLoNKI3xSwOC_Jta28UM0lWB3d8i/s1600/Adeboye4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>

Politics Or Diplomacy? Pastor Adeboye Changes Profile and Cover Photos

The president, Goodluck Jonathan, was a the RCCG February Holy Ghost Service yesterday. There he met the APC vice presidential candidat...

Elections Shift: Tensions Mount As Military Deploy Troops

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67I13rIYhbrzvU3lPZr6dWV2t7KTGY3T1Db_EkVHZkSV8tU-j7NLsYnqIZ9Rslfm9jlNidQfqwHLGPZcE6oLB7j738e38A9baCQKa-LUK5dDZ_KqSqIX5hzGFilrP044kdffZGtuDvZh8/s1600/Military+Deployed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67I13rIYhbrzvU3lPZr6dWV2t7KTGY3T1Db_EkVHZkSV8tU-j7NLsYnqIZ9Rslfm9jlNidQfqwHLGPZcE6oLB7j738e38A9baCQKa-LUK5dDZ_KqSqIX5hzGFilrP044kdffZGtuDvZh8/s1600/Military+Deployed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Tensions and palpable fears are mounting as Nigerians await official announcement from INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega on the fate of the forthcoming general elections.</b></div>
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A tweep reports that military convoy of armoured personnel carriers, trucks load of soldiers were seen passing through Ikoyi.</div>
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Another tweep has reported seeing large troops of soldiers moving in procession on Ikorodu Road towards Ojota.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
INEC Chairman is presently meeting with Chairmen and Secretaries of political parties and will thereafter meet with the Resident Electoral Commissioners to make a decision on whether or not the polls should be shifted as been canvassed by the Presidency and the PDP.</div>
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Military convoy of APC, trucks & soldiers just went through Ikoyi with sirens blazing. Never seen that before. <a href="http://t.co/IZ3WHHJ9Pj">pic.twitter.com/IZ3WHHJ9Pj</a><br />
— Christian Purefoy (@purefoyAMEBO) <a href="https://twitter.com/purefoyAMEBO/status/564024179453083648">February 7, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Elections Shift: Tensions Mount As Military Deploy Troops

Tensions and palpable fears are mounting as Nigerians await official announcement from INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega on the fate of...