My mission is to waste your best, to cut you off from your stronghold on civilization, advancement and attachment to westernization, you are too beautiful, too polished and automatically all attention goes to you, I cannot control my jealousy and heated envy against you, neither could I afford to blame my fathers for waking-up too late to match your father’s pace with modernity and civilization, on the account of all these I must seek the last reason to kill you, waste your best, dishonor your virgins, rape your wife before your sight at gun point, then kill you, your sisters will I take to wife with zero bride price paid, your under ten sons and brothers will watch me do all these for a hopeless memorial, all these I will do to achieve my mission.
The above was the mission statement that was ringing in the sub-contious minds of all those both Nigerians and their foreign collaborators who planned over many years and eventually over zero crisis swapped on my people like bees, what a shame to them, before the crisis, they helplessly could not match the radiating intelligence and glamour an average Asaba man glows with, it will not surprise you to recall that the great noble laureate, prof. wole Soyinka, in his work, the man died, recorded thus “the western Ibos (of which Asaba is chief) became the most Vulnerable Nigerians……… it required ten positive acts of loyality to one of the rest of the nation to prove themselves human beings. Ever since the Midwest invasion, they had been hounded, killed and considered greatest security risks than the real Igbo themselves human beings. Ever since the Midwest invasion, they had been hounded, killed and considered greatest Security risks than the real Igbo themselves”.
What other way can a Nigerian elite judge the situation at that critical days of horrow, that a mans advancement and inclination to civilization should attract for him such an un-negotiated wickedness, we and our future generation can neither stop talking, writing and publishing this ugly part of our history nor forget the trauma, poverty, crime and other alien vices the genocide established on our soil, on the question of whether we will forgive those who wasted our best and plunged us into poverty, lack and vulnerability, I ask you what will you do if you were in our shoes?.
Local and international press review attest to these horrible war crimes, of genocide magnitude, only a spineless mortal will not quake at the revelation of what befell the Asaba people during these dark days of massacre.
How else can we reflect on the media reports of the New York review of 21st December 1967, which reports in part “In some areas outside the east…… western Ibos were killed by local people with at least the acquiescence of the federal forces…. Over 1,000 western Ibo civilians perished in Benin in this way”
In the same light the Washington morning post of 27th September 1967, published that “after the federal troops took over Benin……. Federal troops killed armless western Ibo Civilians after a house – to house search”
You cannot beat the revelations of New York times of 10th January 1968, with the reports that “federal troops…. Killed, or stood by while mobs killed more than 5,000 western Ibos in warri, Sapele, Benin, Agbor etc”.
The London observer of 21st January 1968 captured a vivid picture of what Asaba suffered thus “the greatest single massacre occurred in the western Ibo town of Asaba where Over 700 Asaba male were lined up and shot”
Mr. Stephen lewis, a United Nations observer and Canadian M.P. give the real economical loss we suffered as a people, which loss we are yet to recover completely from, his reports as published by London guardian of October 11, 1968 flows thus: “The federal troops went on further and murdered innocent western Ibo men, women and children in their thousands from Benin to Asaba. Nigeria Lost in few months over sixty percent of her university graduates and eighty percent of PhD holders, among them were permanent secretaries, Judges, professors, statemen, clergymen and missionaries….. if my foreign observer says there is no genocide in western Ibo lands, he is either on the patrol of Britain or a bloody fool……….the conduct of the federal troops after the recapture of the Midwest was another massacre (genocide) of the western Ibos”
Jack shepherd, the editor of look magazine on the pages of the November 26th 1968 edition reported that ‘perhaps 8,000 western Ibo civilians died when the Midwest was liberated by troops under Col muritala mohammed………. Between 400 and 1000 men died in Ishiagu, federal troops shot at women and children as they moved with automatic weapons through every hut.
The personal account of General Cyrill Iweze boosts the veracity of the above position, which reads “ignoring his colleagues, I was given maximum cooperation by my Brigade major, Muhammadu Buhari, I succeeded in linking up Ogidi and Onitsha. The significance of this crucial victory by the federal army inomically executed by an Igbo officer can be imagined when the battle for Onitsha throughout the war remained the most deadly. Suspected by his comrades, marked down by his tribesmen, Iwezes greatest nightmare was to unfold immediately the Biaframs surrendered.
His celebrations were short lived, because his home town of Isheagu had been razed to the ground, he had lost 21 family members and the royal father, Obi Onyema was brutally killed”.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
INE FESTIVAL: IYASE CALLS FOR PEACE, PROGRESS, UNITY AND CITY DEVELOPMENT.
Chief P.I.G. Onyeobi, J.P., the Iyase of Asaba, has described the Ine festival as the climax of the annual new yam festival and the last of the annual traditional festivals of Asaba people; it is also a period of happiness.
The Ine festival is a one day colourful dancing carnival, where five quarters (Ebos) took turn in a procession to pay respect to the Odogwu and Iyuse of Asaba at their ancestral homes, respectively, at Umuagu and Idumojei.
Chief Onyeobi in his goodwill message struck a balance between cultural preservation and respect for the seat of government, when he affirmed that “we are conscious of our position as the host community to the seat of government and are determine to create enabling environment for the government to function without undue distractions and for the people to live in peace”.
On Asaba infrastructural development, the Iyase of Asaba appreciated the development strides so far the state government had embarked upon and prayed for the completion of major projects in the capital city before the end of the current tenure, such projects like the international Airport, the township stadium, rehabilitation of the intra-city roads and the city drainage scheme.
“Before the next Ine festival takes place, we hope that Nigeria would have held peaceful and fair election, we enjoin the people of Asaba to participate actively during voters registration exercise and vote for credible people who will serve us well. They should eschew violence and not allow themselves to be used to cause mayhem. Some families in Asaba are yet to recover from the consequences of the Nigerian civil war, a very sad event in our history, and we cannot afford more loss of lives, were the exaltation from the Iyase of Asaba, Chief P.I.G. Onyeobi to the people of Asaba.
The Ine festival is a one day colourful dancing carnival, where five quarters (Ebos) took turn in a procession to pay respect to the Odogwu and Iyuse of Asaba at their ancestral homes, respectively, at Umuagu and Idumojei.
Chief Onyeobi in his goodwill message struck a balance between cultural preservation and respect for the seat of government, when he affirmed that “we are conscious of our position as the host community to the seat of government and are determine to create enabling environment for the government to function without undue distractions and for the people to live in peace”.
On Asaba infrastructural development, the Iyase of Asaba appreciated the development strides so far the state government had embarked upon and prayed for the completion of major projects in the capital city before the end of the current tenure, such projects like the international Airport, the township stadium, rehabilitation of the intra-city roads and the city drainage scheme.
“Before the next Ine festival takes place, we hope that Nigeria would have held peaceful and fair election, we enjoin the people of Asaba to participate actively during voters registration exercise and vote for credible people who will serve us well. They should eschew violence and not allow themselves to be used to cause mayhem. Some families in Asaba are yet to recover from the consequences of the Nigerian civil war, a very sad event in our history, and we cannot afford more loss of lives, were the exaltation from the Iyase of Asaba, Chief P.I.G. Onyeobi to the people of Asaba.
DELTA STATE WILL MEET 2012 DIGITAL BROADCASTING TARGET…… DJEBAH
The Delta State
Presenting his welcome address at the opening ceremony of a training program on broadcasting management for management staff of Delta broadcasting service stations at Asaba and Warri, the Honourable Commissioner revealed that the event market the official Flag-off of a series of training programs for management staff in preparation for digital broadcasting commencing nationwide in 2012.
The State ministry of information, in collaboration with Tonie Inedia Associate will arrange series of staff training programs, to ensure a well prepared and focused manpower towards meeting the 2012 digital broadcasting target.
Addressing the participants, Mr. Djebah, urged them to give the training the best concentration it deserves to justify the huge state government’s investment in the information sub-sector and gain requisite stills and knowledge to enhance output and service delivery, as they are expected to provide step down in-plant training for their subordinate staff in the course of their routine duties.
On the State of equipment at the two state owned stations, the Honourable Commissioner, assured the participants that in a couple of weeks, the two stations will be fully equipped with new facilities to reposition them for modern digital broadcasting.
WORLD SIGHT DAY: THE BLIND COUNT CHALLENGES
Globally, the second Thursday of October, has been set aside as world sight day, a day the visually impaired use to draw the attention of both private and public bodies to their world.
The Delta State
At the press briefing, Dr. Victor .I.O. Okeibunor (ESQ), the associations secretary, on behalf of the state chairman, called on the Delta State Government to help the association prevent blindness and rehabilitate those who are incurably blind.
Commenting on development of eye care centres and effective improvement of eye care services, Mr. Okeibounor, reminded the Delta State government that the state-owned health care centers do not treat persons with eye problems and stressed the fact that eye care centres in the state are few, they are not fully equipped for services to the blind, and do not have enough eye care medical and social workers.
The zero presence of a functional school of the blind, poor state of rehabilitations centers, non-functional inclusive educational system and near zero special education teachers in the state educational system created reasons for concern to the association.
The association’s most threatening challenge is the non-implementation of a public circular (REF.SGD.104/T/137) about government policy on recruitment of disabled persons in Delta State, drafted on 18th July 2005, by the office of the secretary to the state government, for the attention of the Governor James Ibori Led-administration.
Some members who spoke with newsmen registered their dismay over the non-implementation of the policy, the circular stated that the government has approved that 5% vacancies be reserved for qualified disabled persons, a quota they argue has not be adhered to and challenged any private investigator to examine.
Their disappointment runs deep, because, they recalled that the present governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan was by 2005, the secretary to the state government, who drafted the circular, the non-implementation of the policy in Governor Uduaghan –led administration, an administration that cites human capital development as one of it’s development agenda, and a government that sings the “promise made, promise kept” Song, for the blind, there is a huge gap, most Deltans at the press briefing, felt same.
The association seized the opportunity to advocate for the employment of more special education teachers; design and establishment of rehabilitation centers with orientation, mobility and vocational training facilities; training and retraining of already employed special education teachers; provision of special self reliant grants and access to local and oversea scholarship.
WHO approves procurement of pneumonia vaccine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has granted pre-qualification status to children’s pneumonia vaccine, PCV-13, paving the way for procurement of the vaccine by UNICEF, govts and other
organisations for use in national immunisation programmes in Pakistan.
The pneumonia vaccine, which protects against 13 different disease-causing
strains is an advanced version of the original PCV-7 vaccine.
The vaccine protects against pneumococcal diseases like bacteremia (sepsis), pneumonia
(lung infection), meningitis (inflammation of meninges) and otitis media (middle-ear infections).
The popular 7-valent vaccine is now being replaced by its 13-valent version, providing broadest and most prevalent coverage against the pneumococcal diseases.
organisations for use in national immunisation programmes in Pakistan.
The pneumonia vaccine, which protects against 13 different disease-causing
strains is an advanced version of the original PCV-7 vaccine.
The vaccine protects against pneumococcal diseases like bacteremia (sepsis), pneumonia
(lung infection), meningitis (inflammation of meninges) and otitis media (middle-ear infections).
The popular 7-valent vaccine is now being replaced by its 13-valent version, providing broadest and most prevalent coverage against the pneumococcal diseases.
NAC debates food security; differences persist on procurement
The National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Sonia Gandhi,
has continued to grapple with differing views on the quantum of food
grains that need to be procured to support the food security plan for
poor.
The fifth meeting of the NAC saw presentations made by
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and top
government officials dealing with food security and child welfare.
Ahluwalia offered to step up gradually the procurement of foodgrains to
about 70 million tonnes to meet the requirements desired by the Council.
A section of the NAC wanted the procurement target to be raised
substantially at the earliest. "There is still no consensus on the issue
of procurement of foodgrains," a NAC member said.
The total foodgrain production (rice and wheat) in the country ranges between 170-180 million
tonnes of which the government procures 53-58 million tonnes annually to
meet the requirements of its various schemes.
Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, who made a
presentation before the NAC, is understood to have favoured a wait and
watch approach till the S R Hashim Committee submits its report on
methodology to identify urban poor.
Another opinion was charging of differential rates for foodgrains for BPL and Above Poverty Line (APL)
families. A suggestion was made that the APL category could be charged 50
per cent of the minimum support price for foodgrains as against Rs three
per kg for BPL families.
has continued to grapple with differing views on the quantum of food
grains that need to be procured to support the food security plan for
poor.
The fifth meeting of the NAC saw presentations made by
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and top
government officials dealing with food security and child welfare.
Ahluwalia offered to step up gradually the procurement of foodgrains to
about 70 million tonnes to meet the requirements desired by the Council.
A section of the NAC wanted the procurement target to be raised
substantially at the earliest. "There is still no consensus on the issue
of procurement of foodgrains," a NAC member said.
The total foodgrain production (rice and wheat) in the country ranges between 170-180 million
tonnes of which the government procures 53-58 million tonnes annually to
meet the requirements of its various schemes.
Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, who made a
presentation before the NAC, is understood to have favoured a wait and
watch approach till the S R Hashim Committee submits its report on
methodology to identify urban poor.
Another opinion was charging of differential rates for foodgrains for BPL and Above Poverty Line (APL)
families. A suggestion was made that the APL category could be charged 50
per cent of the minimum support price for foodgrains as against Rs three
per kg for BPL families.
Sierra Leone threatens crackdown on tax evaders
The government of Sierra Leone said on Thursday it would crack down on tax evaders in a move aimed at reducing the country's reliance on foreign aid.
"It is time as a nation that we begin to shoulder our own responsibility rather than depending on international donors' tax payers' financial support for our development," said John Bamba, a spokesman for Sierra Leone's National Revenue Authority.
Speaking on national television, Bamba said over 105 government ministries, departments and agencies have failed to bring in their tax obligations over the past year, leading to a shortfall in state revenue.
"For too long we have been holding dialogues with these evaders, so this time around punitive measures must be enforced," he said, without identifying the alleged tax evaders.
Peace was restored to Sierra Leone in 2002 following a bloody, decade-long civil war. However, despite abundant natural resources, including iron ore, bauxite and diamonds, the country remains one of the world's poorest.
Bamba said the revenue authority had a target of 930 billion leones, but between January and September 2010 had generated about 620 billion leones.
According to African Economic Outlook, revenue collection in 2009 stood at only 11 percent of GDP. In the same year Sierra Leone ranked 146th out of 180 states in Transparency International's corruption table.
"It is time as a nation that we begin to shoulder our own responsibility rather than depending on international donors' tax payers' financial support for our development," said John Bamba, a spokesman for Sierra Leone's National Revenue Authority.
Speaking on national television, Bamba said over 105 government ministries, departments and agencies have failed to bring in their tax obligations over the past year, leading to a shortfall in state revenue.
"For too long we have been holding dialogues with these evaders, so this time around punitive measures must be enforced," he said, without identifying the alleged tax evaders.
Peace was restored to Sierra Leone in 2002 following a bloody, decade-long civil war. However, despite abundant natural resources, including iron ore, bauxite and diamonds, the country remains one of the world's poorest.
Bamba said the revenue authority had a target of 930 billion leones, but between January and September 2010 had generated about 620 billion leones.
According to African Economic Outlook, revenue collection in 2009 stood at only 11 percent of GDP. In the same year Sierra Leone ranked 146th out of 180 states in Transparency International's corruption table.
south africa set to revive local clothing and textile industry
In a bid to revive the ailing local clothing and textile
industry, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu)
has persuaded the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to insist on
locally manufactured T-shirts for next year's local government elections.
Industry insiders say the IEC's agreement with Sactwu is an important step
towards paving the way to state procurement in the local clothing and
textile industry.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi congratulated Sactwu at its 11th
national congress last week and said the campaign to "buy local" had
become essential in the context of the country's high unemployment rate.
"Firms wishing to tender for T-shirts to be used by (the IEC's) electoral
agents in next year's local government elections must manufacture them
locally.
It may help to save and possibly even create jobs in the local
industry," Vavi said Kate Bapela, a spokeswoman for the IEC, said the
electoral commission believed its support of the local industry would
enhance the creation or sustainability of jobs.
It had advertised bids for the production of 210 000 T-shirts for electoral staff. "The bids will
only be awarded once the evaluation and adjudication processes have been
satisfactorily dealt with," Bapela said.
industry, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu)
has persuaded the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to insist on
locally manufactured T-shirts for next year's local government elections.
Industry insiders say the IEC's agreement with Sactwu is an important step
towards paving the way to state procurement in the local clothing and
textile industry.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi congratulated Sactwu at its 11th
national congress last week and said the campaign to "buy local" had
become essential in the context of the country's high unemployment rate.
"Firms wishing to tender for T-shirts to be used by (the IEC's) electoral
agents in next year's local government elections must manufacture them
locally.
It may help to save and possibly even create jobs in the local
industry," Vavi said Kate Bapela, a spokeswoman for the IEC, said the
electoral commission believed its support of the local industry would
enhance the creation or sustainability of jobs.
It had advertised bids for the production of 210 000 T-shirts for electoral staff. "The bids will
only be awarded once the evaluation and adjudication processes have been
satisfactorily dealt with," Bapela said.
KALU: A PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER OR SPOILER?
Isa H. Mohammed
The former BOT Chairman and PPA presidential aspirant in 2007 Dr Orji Uzor Kalu recently declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2011. According to him, this time he is running to win and he believes the only way the Nigerian nation can demonstrate to the Ibos that the war has ended is to give the presidency to the Ibos in 2011.
The same scenario happened in the United States when the Americans elected Barack Obama as their president ending four hundred years of oppression and discrimination against blacks. That is why the Igbos are yearning for a president of Igbo extraction and are happy that only Kalu, an entrepreneur and CEO of the likes of Dangote and Adenuga, who understands the plight of the igbos have come out to make their dreams come true.
Meanwhile sources close to Kalu can confirm that his yet to be announced campaign organization have secretly secured hundreds of vans and trucks and other necessary logistics that the so called front runners have every reason in the world to be worried.
Kalu's ability to mobilize and galvanize grassroot support in the South East is well known and unrivaled by any other candidates in the race today. There's not even a single igbo politician East of the Niger that has the capacity to mobilize the igbo votes en bloc, no wonder the National Chairman of PDP on the occasion of Kalu's return back to the PDP declared that major opposition in the entire South East has ended now that the big fish is in the net.
However unknown to them the so called big fish is back to the ocean willing and able to battle the political sharks to a standstill. With the promise of free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and Kalu coming from the only major ethnic group that has not smelt the presidency in Nigeria, Kalu may stand a very good chance while other presidential aspirants are busy bickering and posturing on zoning or no zoning.
For those political pundits pontificating that Abia gubernatorial elections for 2011 have already been won and lost because of the overbearing interest and high handedness of the presidency in the state, please think again. Kalu's popularity is at its all time high in Abia, it's not waning by any stretch of the imagination, rather it has skyrocketed to the high heavens and might possibly fetch him victory in all the neighboring states.
But the question no one is addressing just yet is if Kalu runs a gallant presidential campaign and if he does not make it to the presidency, what happens to the millions of his teeming supporters in the South East. This question is further complicated and exacipated in an election where the igbo votes will determine who becomes the next president of Nigeria amidst serious agitation for president of igbo extraction in 2015.
Therefore whether we like it or not, Kalu's support for any of the other presidential candidates is the determinant factor that will tip the pendulum in either direction.
Consequently, we are placing the IBB and Jonathan's campaign organizations on notice that they should not wait for the sun to go down to woo and constructively engage this young political behemoth and the most popular politican in the South East and beyond.
Any attempt by any of these presidential candidates to underestimate Kalu's influence in the region or is under erroneous illusion that another ibo has Kalu's capabilities to mobilize, galvanize and deliver the ibo votes en bloc is on route to political suicide.
Therefore Kalu's declaration to run for presidency will make or break the political fortunes of either IBB or Jonathan especially if no one particular candidate wins on the first ballot.
To be candid, Kalu's entry into the race is more of a threat to Jonathan than IBB for so many reasons, the least of which is South East proximity to Jonathan's South South.
So Jonathan's campaign more so than IBB's should seriously negotiate power with Kalu as a matter of political expediency or face the consequences. Like him or hate him, one thing is clear, any presidential candidate that fails to factor Kalu into the 2011 political equation for whatever the reasons is committing a blunder of all times.
The former BOT Chairman and PPA presidential aspirant in 2007 Dr Orji Uzor Kalu recently declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2011. According to him, this time he is running to win and he believes the only way the Nigerian nation can demonstrate to the Ibos that the war has ended is to give the presidency to the Ibos in 2011.
The same scenario happened in the United States when the Americans elected Barack Obama as their president ending four hundred years of oppression and discrimination against blacks. That is why the Igbos are yearning for a president of Igbo extraction and are happy that only Kalu, an entrepreneur and CEO of the likes of Dangote and Adenuga, who understands the plight of the igbos have come out to make their dreams come true.
Meanwhile sources close to Kalu can confirm that his yet to be announced campaign organization have secretly secured hundreds of vans and trucks and other necessary logistics that the so called front runners have every reason in the world to be worried.
Kalu's ability to mobilize and galvanize grassroot support in the South East is well known and unrivaled by any other candidates in the race today. There's not even a single igbo politician East of the Niger that has the capacity to mobilize the igbo votes en bloc, no wonder the National Chairman of PDP on the occasion of Kalu's return back to the PDP declared that major opposition in the entire South East has ended now that the big fish is in the net.
However unknown to them the so called big fish is back to the ocean willing and able to battle the political sharks to a standstill. With the promise of free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and Kalu coming from the only major ethnic group that has not smelt the presidency in Nigeria, Kalu may stand a very good chance while other presidential aspirants are busy bickering and posturing on zoning or no zoning.
For those political pundits pontificating that Abia gubernatorial elections for 2011 have already been won and lost because of the overbearing interest and high handedness of the presidency in the state, please think again. Kalu's popularity is at its all time high in Abia, it's not waning by any stretch of the imagination, rather it has skyrocketed to the high heavens and might possibly fetch him victory in all the neighboring states.
But the question no one is addressing just yet is if Kalu runs a gallant presidential campaign and if he does not make it to the presidency, what happens to the millions of his teeming supporters in the South East. This question is further complicated and exacipated in an election where the igbo votes will determine who becomes the next president of Nigeria amidst serious agitation for president of igbo extraction in 2015.
Therefore whether we like it or not, Kalu's support for any of the other presidential candidates is the determinant factor that will tip the pendulum in either direction.
Consequently, we are placing the IBB and Jonathan's campaign organizations on notice that they should not wait for the sun to go down to woo and constructively engage this young political behemoth and the most popular politican in the South East and beyond.
Any attempt by any of these presidential candidates to underestimate Kalu's influence in the region or is under erroneous illusion that another ibo has Kalu's capabilities to mobilize, galvanize and deliver the ibo votes en bloc is on route to political suicide.
Therefore Kalu's declaration to run for presidency will make or break the political fortunes of either IBB or Jonathan especially if no one particular candidate wins on the first ballot.
To be candid, Kalu's entry into the race is more of a threat to Jonathan than IBB for so many reasons, the least of which is South East proximity to Jonathan's South South.
So Jonathan's campaign more so than IBB's should seriously negotiate power with Kalu as a matter of political expediency or face the consequences. Like him or hate him, one thing is clear, any presidential candidate that fails to factor Kalu into the 2011 political equation for whatever the reasons is committing a blunder of all times.
British banks complicit in Nigerian corruption, court documents reveal
British high street banks have accepted millions of pounds in deposits from corrupt Nigerian politicians, raising serious questions about their commitment to tackling financial crime, warned Global Witness in a report published today. By taking money from corrupt Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2005, Barclays, NatWest, RBS, HSBC and UBS helped to fuel corruption and entrench poverty in Nigeria.
What is so extraordinary about this story is that nearly all of these of these banks had previously fallen foul of the UK banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in 2001 by reportedly helping the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha funnel nearly a billion pounds through the UK. These banks were supposed to have tightened up their systems but as this report now shows, a few years later, they were accepting corrupt Nigerian money again. There is no sign that the FSA has taken any action this time.
Global Witness's new report, International Thief Thief, is based on analysis of court documents from litigation in London by the Nigerian government to get funds returned from the UK that were stolen by two former state governors. British banks made it possible for Dieypreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State to bring their corrupt loot into the UK.
"Banks are quick to penalise ordinary customers for minor infractions but seem to be less concerned about dirty money passing through their accounts," said Robert Palmer, campaigner at Global Witness. "Large scale corruption is simply not possible without a bank willing to process payments from dodgy sources, or hold accounts for corrupt politicians," he added.
One of the banks profiled in the report is RBS, now majority owned by the taxpayer. RBS allowed former governor Alamieyeseigha to receive bribes and bring £2.7 million into the UK. An English High Court judge found that at least £1.56 million of these funds were bribes paid by a state contractor called Ehigie Edobor Uzamere, currently a Nigerian senator, in order to win a contract to build a fence around the governor's official lodge. Global Witness has asked RBS whether it carried out adequate checks on its customer and his funds, but has not had a reply.
"It adds insult to injury that not only are ordinary taxpayers propping up failing banks, but that one of these banks has facilitated corruption in Nigeria, a country where more than half the population are still without access to clean water. This undermines British development aid, which fills the gaps created by poor governance and failing state services," said Palmer.
Global Witness is concerned that banks and the FSA have yet to take this problem seriously enough. Anti-money laundering regulations require banks to identify their customers and the source of funds, but they are not being adequately enforced. Banks need to get much better at checking where the money is coming from and whether it was obtained through corrupt practices. The banks in this report may not have broken the law, but corrupt money still entered the UK and so our financial system is still complicit in corruption.
This is an ongoing problem, as shown by the action taken against HSBC by the US regulators last week. They required HSBC's American arm to overhaul its due diligence systems following violations of US anti-money laundering laws and inadequate monitoring of transactions and customers, including politically exposed persons' - ie the foreign senior officials who could be involved in corruption.
The British coalition government plans to abolish the FSA. Whatever body replaces it must take corruption seriously. The government and the new regulator must send a clear signal to the financial sector that corrupt money is not welcome. And the banks themselves must demonstrate much more clearly the steps they are taking to stop dirty money entering the financial system.
What is so extraordinary about this story is that nearly all of these of these banks had previously fallen foul of the UK banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in 2001 by reportedly helping the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha funnel nearly a billion pounds through the UK. These banks were supposed to have tightened up their systems but as this report now shows, a few years later, they were accepting corrupt Nigerian money again. There is no sign that the FSA has taken any action this time.
Global Witness's new report, International Thief Thief, is based on analysis of court documents from litigation in London by the Nigerian government to get funds returned from the UK that were stolen by two former state governors. British banks made it possible for Dieypreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State to bring their corrupt loot into the UK.
"Banks are quick to penalise ordinary customers for minor infractions but seem to be less concerned about dirty money passing through their accounts," said Robert Palmer, campaigner at Global Witness. "Large scale corruption is simply not possible without a bank willing to process payments from dodgy sources, or hold accounts for corrupt politicians," he added.
One of the banks profiled in the report is RBS, now majority owned by the taxpayer. RBS allowed former governor Alamieyeseigha to receive bribes and bring £2.7 million into the UK. An English High Court judge found that at least £1.56 million of these funds were bribes paid by a state contractor called Ehigie Edobor Uzamere, currently a Nigerian senator, in order to win a contract to build a fence around the governor's official lodge. Global Witness has asked RBS whether it carried out adequate checks on its customer and his funds, but has not had a reply.
"It adds insult to injury that not only are ordinary taxpayers propping up failing banks, but that one of these banks has facilitated corruption in Nigeria, a country where more than half the population are still without access to clean water. This undermines British development aid, which fills the gaps created by poor governance and failing state services," said Palmer.
Global Witness is concerned that banks and the FSA have yet to take this problem seriously enough. Anti-money laundering regulations require banks to identify their customers and the source of funds, but they are not being adequately enforced. Banks need to get much better at checking where the money is coming from and whether it was obtained through corrupt practices. The banks in this report may not have broken the law, but corrupt money still entered the UK and so our financial system is still complicit in corruption.
This is an ongoing problem, as shown by the action taken against HSBC by the US regulators last week. They required HSBC's American arm to overhaul its due diligence systems following violations of US anti-money laundering laws and inadequate monitoring of transactions and customers, including politically exposed persons' - ie the foreign senior officials who could be involved in corruption.
The British coalition government plans to abolish the FSA. Whatever body replaces it must take corruption seriously. The government and the new regulator must send a clear signal to the financial sector that corrupt money is not welcome. And the banks themselves must demonstrate much more clearly the steps they are taking to stop dirty money entering the financial system.
10 Things that Nigerians need to know about BUHARI
Okonta Emeka Okelum
1. Buhari stood by the constitutional provisions in asking that Goodluck take over from Yar Adua.
2.Buhari agrees Goodluck has a right to seek the Presidency.
3.Buhari has never been an advocate of the North.
4.Buhari called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the death of Dr Chuba Okadigbo.
5.Buhari did not take Nigeria to the OIC even though both himself and Idiagbon were moslems.
6.Buhari stood with Odumegwu Ojukwu in challenging the rigged Presidential elections of 2007.The court challenge was endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.
7. The Northern Political leaders loathe Buhari because they are very corrupt and after their personal selfish interests.The Northern masses love Buhari because he truly stands for the less privileged.
8.The political heavyweights are not around Buhari because they are corrupt and Buhari has no money to share.
9.Adamu Ciroma the so called spokesman of the North is scared of Buhari because of his past as Governor of the Central Bank.
10.Buhari has a strong WILL ,is DISCIPLINED,will fight CORRUPTION to the end.Buhari believes that a Vice President is a Co-Pilot and not boy-boy like Atiku and Goodluck.That's exactly why we had Buhari/Idiagbon.
The Consequences of a Buhari Presidency!!
Think about it!
Most corrupt politicians and other corrupt Nigerians will go on exile.
Most cold cases/unsolved crimes will be re-opened.
You will see the recovered LOOT being invested for the Nigerians.
A Buhari Presidency will not be an era of EAR MARKING billions of Naira for development projects.His era will be about EYE MARKING billions of Naira.
100 of the likes of Cecilia Ibru can generate resources that can cause a visible change.
Say NO to those who appeal on sectional or religious sentiments for your votes.
What Adamu Ciroma is saying to Jonathan Goodluck is STEP DOWN it is our turn to STEAL and Jonathan says NO WE AIN'T DONE YET!
Muhammadu Buhari believes IN RE-CLAIMING OUR MOTHERLAND and TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A PROGRESSIVE CHANGE.
1. Buhari stood by the constitutional provisions in asking that Goodluck take over from Yar Adua.
2.Buhari agrees Goodluck has a right to seek the Presidency.
3.Buhari has never been an advocate of the North.
4.Buhari called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the death of Dr Chuba Okadigbo.
5.Buhari did not take Nigeria to the OIC even though both himself and Idiagbon were moslems.
6.Buhari stood with Odumegwu Ojukwu in challenging the rigged Presidential elections of 2007.The court challenge was endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.
7. The Northern Political leaders loathe Buhari because they are very corrupt and after their personal selfish interests.The Northern masses love Buhari because he truly stands for the less privileged.
8.The political heavyweights are not around Buhari because they are corrupt and Buhari has no money to share.
9.Adamu Ciroma the so called spokesman of the North is scared of Buhari because of his past as Governor of the Central Bank.
10.Buhari has a strong WILL ,is DISCIPLINED,will fight CORRUPTION to the end.Buhari believes that a Vice President is a Co-Pilot and not boy-boy like Atiku and Goodluck.That's exactly why we had Buhari/Idiagbon.
The Consequences of a Buhari Presidency!!
Think about it!
Most corrupt politicians and other corrupt Nigerians will go on exile.
Most cold cases/unsolved crimes will be re-opened.
You will see the recovered LOOT being invested for the Nigerians.
A Buhari Presidency will not be an era of EAR MARKING billions of Naira for development projects.His era will be about EYE MARKING billions of Naira.
100 of the likes of Cecilia Ibru can generate resources that can cause a visible change.
Say NO to those who appeal on sectional or religious sentiments for your votes.
What Adamu Ciroma is saying to Jonathan Goodluck is STEP DOWN it is our turn to STEAL and Jonathan says NO WE AIN'T DONE YET!
Muhammadu Buhari believes IN RE-CLAIMING OUR MOTHERLAND and TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A PROGRESSIVE CHANGE.
President calls for restraint on sensitive issues
Elizabeth Archibong
President Goodluck Jonathan recently, urged Nigerian leaders and the mass media to learn to be patriotic and avoid utterances that will instigate or fuel crisis in the country.
Speaking during a Town Hall meeting with people and residents of Plateau State in Jos, the president particularly pleaded with journalists to put national interest first because "whatever you write influences people and can endanger peaceful co-existence and national security."
Mr. Jonathan's charge was in response to an appeal made by a representative at the Town Hall meeting, who said though peace had returned to the state, inciting press statements may open old wounds.
"Peace must be present for development to thrive," the president said, urging "youth and journalists to resist being used to serve negative interests. Peace has returned to Jos, that is why we are sitting here talking.
"The conflict was a conflict that had national implications, and I will like to ask that the peace be managed very well. We would like to suggest that people stop giving press statement to incite the crisis again," Mr. Jonathan appealed.
He also said Nigerians should stop linking religion to the crisis.
Love for the people
The state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) complained that council chairmen in the state were being witch-hunted by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) without a good cause.
In response to the complaint, the president advised them to be "courageous and do what is right," even as he enjoined anti-graft bodies not to allow themselves to be manipulated.
Mr. Jonathan, who at the beginning of the interactive session, explained that he had requested for the meeting with traders, farmers, artisans, youth, students, teachers, women groups, in order to listen to them on how to collectively move Nigeria forward, also answered questions on electricity supply, female representation in appointive and electives offices, and accessing micro-credit for small and medium enterprises, among others.
The governor of Plateau State, David Jonah Jang, commended the president for the meeting, which he described as a rare opportunity and attributed it to the president's love for the people of the state.
President Goodluck Jonathan recently, urged Nigerian leaders and the mass media to learn to be patriotic and avoid utterances that will instigate or fuel crisis in the country.
Speaking during a Town Hall meeting with people and residents of Plateau State in Jos, the president particularly pleaded with journalists to put national interest first because "whatever you write influences people and can endanger peaceful co-existence and national security."
Mr. Jonathan's charge was in response to an appeal made by a representative at the Town Hall meeting, who said though peace had returned to the state, inciting press statements may open old wounds.
"Peace must be present for development to thrive," the president said, urging "youth and journalists to resist being used to serve negative interests. Peace has returned to Jos, that is why we are sitting here talking.
"The conflict was a conflict that had national implications, and I will like to ask that the peace be managed very well. We would like to suggest that people stop giving press statement to incite the crisis again," Mr. Jonathan appealed.
He also said Nigerians should stop linking religion to the crisis.
Love for the people
The state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) complained that council chairmen in the state were being witch-hunted by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) without a good cause.
In response to the complaint, the president advised them to be "courageous and do what is right," even as he enjoined anti-graft bodies not to allow themselves to be manipulated.
Mr. Jonathan, who at the beginning of the interactive session, explained that he had requested for the meeting with traders, farmers, artisans, youth, students, teachers, women groups, in order to listen to them on how to collectively move Nigeria forward, also answered questions on electricity supply, female representation in appointive and electives offices, and accessing micro-credit for small and medium enterprises, among others.
The governor of Plateau State, David Jonah Jang, commended the president for the meeting, which he described as a rare opportunity and attributed it to the president's love for the people of the state.
MASS MURDERERS BETWEEN GOODLUCK, OBASANJO AND BABANGIDA
NDIAMEEH BABRIK
These are trying and interesting times in Nigeria especially for the ruling Northern Nigeria elite who have lost power for good and forever. This is why some of us despite being concerned Nigerians have been calling for the sovereign national conference.
When we read some statements for example credited to Adamu Ciroma asking Dr Goodluck Jonathan to resign because of the Abuja bombing by terrorists, it instantly calls to one's mind that it is true that the average Nigerian elite assume that the Nigerian commoners have amnesia.
Adamu Ciroma's principal, Mr. Ibrahim Babangida has murdered more Nigerians than any other person in history comparable only to the innocent killed in the civil war.
Please check General Babangida's legacy under "Nigeria' years of the locust on the Internet." It was estimated that between 500,000 to One million people were killed all over Nigeria as a result of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
Some outright killing by the security agencies. Some in rioting while others in road traffic accident.
All the blood of the innocent killed in the June 12 election annulment riot plus that of Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaja Kudirat Abiola are all on Babangida's head. Ibrahim Babangida has the singular dishonor of presiding over the killing of the finest military officer Nigeria has ever produced. At one go he wasted General Mamman Vatsa and 16 senior military officers most exceptional fighter pilots.
They were all from the middle belt and the south. In 1990, Babangida again murdered 41 officers and soldiers, some retired. The youngest was 21 years an Igbo Army Officer by the name of 2nd Lieutenant Nicholas Ude. All of them were still from the middle belt and Southern Nigeria.
In September 1992, Ibrahim Babangida still had the singular dishonor of murdering in one swoop 212 middle level military officers when he killed then in the Ejigbo Air force plane crash in Lagos. We are not mentioning the assassination of people like Dele Giwa or Vice Admiral Muftau Elegbede yet.
Therefore for Mallam Adamu Ciroma a geriatric politician to have forgotten that his principal Ibrahim Babangida is the number one mass murderer in Nigeria speaks of how clever by half he is. If people who are old like him who are supposed to be elders can lie without decorum. What will they teach children?
It is obvious to us now why Nigeria has been ran aground in the past 50 years. Adamu Ciroma for example was CBN governor, minister of finance and many other government appointments. Of course his principal was a military tyrant for eight wasted years and hence they ran Nigeria aground.
Sovereign national conference will move Nigeria forward. There we shall discuss true federalism, fiscal federalism and state police. In our north, we will bring back our ground nuts pyramids.
The Northern Nigeria youths must challenge these expired politicians who ate their yesterday, ate our today and they still want to eat our children's tomorrow. "We no gree who."
These are trying and interesting times in Nigeria especially for the ruling Northern Nigeria elite who have lost power for good and forever. This is why some of us despite being concerned Nigerians have been calling for the sovereign national conference.
When we read some statements for example credited to Adamu Ciroma asking Dr Goodluck Jonathan to resign because of the Abuja bombing by terrorists, it instantly calls to one's mind that it is true that the average Nigerian elite assume that the Nigerian commoners have amnesia.
Adamu Ciroma's principal, Mr. Ibrahim Babangida has murdered more Nigerians than any other person in history comparable only to the innocent killed in the civil war.
Please check General Babangida's legacy under "Nigeria' years of the locust on the Internet." It was estimated that between 500,000 to One million people were killed all over Nigeria as a result of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
Some outright killing by the security agencies. Some in rioting while others in road traffic accident.
All the blood of the innocent killed in the June 12 election annulment riot plus that of Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaja Kudirat Abiola are all on Babangida's head. Ibrahim Babangida has the singular dishonor of presiding over the killing of the finest military officer Nigeria has ever produced. At one go he wasted General Mamman Vatsa and 16 senior military officers most exceptional fighter pilots.
They were all from the middle belt and the south. In 1990, Babangida again murdered 41 officers and soldiers, some retired. The youngest was 21 years an Igbo Army Officer by the name of 2nd Lieutenant Nicholas Ude. All of them were still from the middle belt and Southern Nigeria.
In September 1992, Ibrahim Babangida still had the singular dishonor of murdering in one swoop 212 middle level military officers when he killed then in the Ejigbo Air force plane crash in Lagos. We are not mentioning the assassination of people like Dele Giwa or Vice Admiral Muftau Elegbede yet.
Therefore for Mallam Adamu Ciroma a geriatric politician to have forgotten that his principal Ibrahim Babangida is the number one mass murderer in Nigeria speaks of how clever by half he is. If people who are old like him who are supposed to be elders can lie without decorum. What will they teach children?
It is obvious to us now why Nigeria has been ran aground in the past 50 years. Adamu Ciroma for example was CBN governor, minister of finance and many other government appointments. Of course his principal was a military tyrant for eight wasted years and hence they ran Nigeria aground.
Sovereign national conference will move Nigeria forward. There we shall discuss true federalism, fiscal federalism and state police. In our north, we will bring back our ground nuts pyramids.
The Northern Nigeria youths must challenge these expired politicians who ate their yesterday, ate our today and they still want to eat our children's tomorrow. "We no gree who."
Northern leaders disown Ciroma over call on Jonathan to resign
OLUSOLA FABIYI FRIDAY OLOKOR
Northern leaders recently warned members of the Northern Political Forum led by a former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, to desist from making inflammatory statement over the October 1 bombings in Abuja.
The leaders, under the aegis of Northern Political Summit otherwise known as G20, unambiguously condemned the call by Ciroma and his group on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or be impeached over the Abuja bomb blast.
It will be recalled that Ciroma had stated in a press release that if the President failed to resign, the National Assembly should commence impeachment proceeding against him.
But the northern leaders said the statement credited to Ciroma was not a collective decision of the region, adding that the likes of the former minister should desist from undermining the unity of the country with his provocative and disruptive comments on national issues.
The group also called on the security agencies not to spare provocateurs and those that would want to undermine the nation's security with their unpatriotic actions.
The secretary of the group, Alhaji Buahri Bala, stated these in a press statement made available to journalists.
Members of the group are Chief Soloman Lar, Amb. Hassan Adamu, Amb. Shehu Malami, Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Sen. Ibrahim Ida, Sen. Bala Mohammed, Prince Abubakar Audu, Dr. Rabiu Kwankaso, Malam Maina Waziri, Engr. Mohammed Abba Gana, Boni Haruna.
Others include Prof. Saad Abubakar, Col. Bala Mande (retd.), Mrs. Magaret Icheen, Chief Mrs. Salome Jakanda, Dr. Christie Silas, Maj. Gen Zamani Lekwot (retd.), Paul Unongo, Alh, Ali Umar and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) among several others.
The group said, Given the serious nature of these tragic events, we denounce, in strong terms, attempts being made by some political leaders to politicize this matter.
Surely it is far better to work together to move Nigeria away from the quicksand of ethnic and regional politics to the solid rock of national integration based on justice, social harmony and national security.
People should not attempt to get anything or seek redress illegally or from outside of due process because in a democracy, it is through the ballot that people got elected and not through undemocratic process of incitements, dubious means and unfounded impeachment threats.
In a country that is striving to fully democratize and insisting on one man one vote, such dubious means should not be allowed.
On the 2011 general election, the group urged the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission to promptly resolve any outstanding issues about the programme for the elections.
Meanwhile, a group loyal to the presidency, Congress for Equality and Change, on Friday night, advised the security agencies to arrest Ciroma.
The organisation described Ciroma's outburst as clear evidence of plans to destabilise the polity and preempt the results of the 2011 election.
The Chairman of the group, Senator Ameh Ebute, who said this at a press briefing in Abuja, regretted that Mallam Ciroma, who was unable to curtail activities of Boko Haram in his domain, was spearheading the call for the resignation of the President to cause chaos.
Ameh, a Senator in the aborted Third Republic said, Threatening Mr. President to resign within seven days or be impeached is to say the least clearly a treasonable felony.
The Congress advised Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political inclinations, to support the president's efforts in fighting terrorism, kidnapping and other social vices.
Northern leaders recently warned members of the Northern Political Forum led by a former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, to desist from making inflammatory statement over the October 1 bombings in Abuja.
The leaders, under the aegis of Northern Political Summit otherwise known as G20, unambiguously condemned the call by Ciroma and his group on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or be impeached over the Abuja bomb blast.
It will be recalled that Ciroma had stated in a press release that if the President failed to resign, the National Assembly should commence impeachment proceeding against him.
But the northern leaders said the statement credited to Ciroma was not a collective decision of the region, adding that the likes of the former minister should desist from undermining the unity of the country with his provocative and disruptive comments on national issues.
The group also called on the security agencies not to spare provocateurs and those that would want to undermine the nation's security with their unpatriotic actions.
The secretary of the group, Alhaji Buahri Bala, stated these in a press statement made available to journalists.
Members of the group are Chief Soloman Lar, Amb. Hassan Adamu, Amb. Shehu Malami, Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Sen. Ibrahim Ida, Sen. Bala Mohammed, Prince Abubakar Audu, Dr. Rabiu Kwankaso, Malam Maina Waziri, Engr. Mohammed Abba Gana, Boni Haruna.
Others include Prof. Saad Abubakar, Col. Bala Mande (retd.), Mrs. Magaret Icheen, Chief Mrs. Salome Jakanda, Dr. Christie Silas, Maj. Gen Zamani Lekwot (retd.), Paul Unongo, Alh, Ali Umar and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) among several others.
The group said, Given the serious nature of these tragic events, we denounce, in strong terms, attempts being made by some political leaders to politicize this matter.
Surely it is far better to work together to move Nigeria away from the quicksand of ethnic and regional politics to the solid rock of national integration based on justice, social harmony and national security.
People should not attempt to get anything or seek redress illegally or from outside of due process because in a democracy, it is through the ballot that people got elected and not through undemocratic process of incitements, dubious means and unfounded impeachment threats.
In a country that is striving to fully democratize and insisting on one man one vote, such dubious means should not be allowed.
On the 2011 general election, the group urged the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission to promptly resolve any outstanding issues about the programme for the elections.
Meanwhile, a group loyal to the presidency, Congress for Equality and Change, on Friday night, advised the security agencies to arrest Ciroma.
The organisation described Ciroma's outburst as clear evidence of plans to destabilise the polity and preempt the results of the 2011 election.
The Chairman of the group, Senator Ameh Ebute, who said this at a press briefing in Abuja, regretted that Mallam Ciroma, who was unable to curtail activities of Boko Haram in his domain, was spearheading the call for the resignation of the President to cause chaos.
Ameh, a Senator in the aborted Third Republic said, Threatening Mr. President to resign within seven days or be impeached is to say the least clearly a treasonable felony.
The Congress advised Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political inclinations, to support the president's efforts in fighting terrorism, kidnapping and other social vices.
Northern leaders disown Ciroma over call on Jonathan to resign
OLUSOLA FABIYI FRIDAY OLOKOR
Northern leaders recently warned members of the Northern Political Forum led by a former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, to desist from making inflammatory statement over the October 1 bombings in Abuja.
The leaders, under the aegis of Northern Political Summit otherwise known as G20, unambiguously condemned the call by Ciroma and his group on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or be impeached over the Abuja bomb blast.
It will be recalled that Ciroma had stated in a press release that if the President failed to resign, the National Assembly should commence impeachment proceeding against him.
But the northern leaders said the statement credited to Ciroma was not a collective decision of the region, adding that the likes of the former minister should desist from undermining the unity of the country with his provocative and disruptive comments on national issues.
The group also called on the security agencies not to spare provocateurs and those that would want to undermine the nation's security with their unpatriotic actions.
The secretary of the group, Alhaji Buahri Bala, stated these in a press statement made available to journalists.
Members of the group are Chief Soloman Lar, Amb. Hassan Adamu, Amb. Shehu Malami, Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Sen. Ibrahim Ida, Sen. Bala Mohammed, Prince Abubakar Audu, Dr. Rabiu Kwankaso, Malam Maina Waziri, Engr. Mohammed Abba Gana, Boni Haruna.
Others include Prof. Saad Abubakar, Col. Bala Mande (retd.), Mrs. Magaret Icheen, Chief Mrs. Salome Jakanda, Dr. Christie Silas, Maj. Gen Zamani Lekwot (retd.), Paul Unongo, Alh, Ali Umar and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) among several others.
The group said, Given the serious nature of these tragic events, we denounce, in strong terms, attempts being made by some political leaders to politicize this matter.
Surely it is far better to work together to move Nigeria away from the quicksand of ethnic and regional politics to the solid rock of national integration based on justice, social harmony and national security.
People should not attempt to get anything or seek redress illegally or from outside of due process because in a democracy, it is through the ballot that people got elected and not through undemocratic process of incitements, dubious means and unfounded impeachment threats.
In a country that is striving to fully democratize and insisting on one man one vote, such dubious means should not be allowed.
On the 2011 general election, the group urged the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission to promptly resolve any outstanding issues about the programme for the elections.
Meanwhile, a group loyal to the presidency, Congress for Equality and Change, on Friday night, advised the security agencies to arrest Ciroma.
The organisation described Ciroma's outburst as clear evidence of plans to destabilise the polity and preempt the results of the 2011 election.
The Chairman of the group, Senator Ameh Ebute, who said this at a press briefing in Abuja, regretted that Mallam Ciroma, who was unable to curtail activities of Boko Haram in his domain, was spearheading the call for the resignation of the President to cause chaos.
Ameh, a Senator in the aborted Third Republic said, Threatening Mr. President to resign within seven days or be impeached is to say the least clearly a treasonable felony.
The Congress advised Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political inclinations, to support the president's efforts in fighting terrorism, kidnapping and other social vices.
Northern leaders recently warned members of the Northern Political Forum led by a former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, to desist from making inflammatory statement over the October 1 bombings in Abuja.
The leaders, under the aegis of Northern Political Summit otherwise known as G20, unambiguously condemned the call by Ciroma and his group on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or be impeached over the Abuja bomb blast.
It will be recalled that Ciroma had stated in a press release that if the President failed to resign, the National Assembly should commence impeachment proceeding against him.
But the northern leaders said the statement credited to Ciroma was not a collective decision of the region, adding that the likes of the former minister should desist from undermining the unity of the country with his provocative and disruptive comments on national issues.
The group also called on the security agencies not to spare provocateurs and those that would want to undermine the nation's security with their unpatriotic actions.
The secretary of the group, Alhaji Buahri Bala, stated these in a press statement made available to journalists.
Members of the group are Chief Soloman Lar, Amb. Hassan Adamu, Amb. Shehu Malami, Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Barnabas Gemade, Sen. Ibrahim Ida, Sen. Bala Mohammed, Prince Abubakar Audu, Dr. Rabiu Kwankaso, Malam Maina Waziri, Engr. Mohammed Abba Gana, Boni Haruna.
Others include Prof. Saad Abubakar, Col. Bala Mande (retd.), Mrs. Magaret Icheen, Chief Mrs. Salome Jakanda, Dr. Christie Silas, Maj. Gen Zamani Lekwot (retd.), Paul Unongo, Alh, Ali Umar and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) among several others.
The group said, Given the serious nature of these tragic events, we denounce, in strong terms, attempts being made by some political leaders to politicize this matter.
Surely it is far better to work together to move Nigeria away from the quicksand of ethnic and regional politics to the solid rock of national integration based on justice, social harmony and national security.
People should not attempt to get anything or seek redress illegally or from outside of due process because in a democracy, it is through the ballot that people got elected and not through undemocratic process of incitements, dubious means and unfounded impeachment threats.
In a country that is striving to fully democratize and insisting on one man one vote, such dubious means should not be allowed.
On the 2011 general election, the group urged the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission to promptly resolve any outstanding issues about the programme for the elections.
Meanwhile, a group loyal to the presidency, Congress for Equality and Change, on Friday night, advised the security agencies to arrest Ciroma.
The organisation described Ciroma's outburst as clear evidence of plans to destabilise the polity and preempt the results of the 2011 election.
The Chairman of the group, Senator Ameh Ebute, who said this at a press briefing in Abuja, regretted that Mallam Ciroma, who was unable to curtail activities of Boko Haram in his domain, was spearheading the call for the resignation of the President to cause chaos.
Ameh, a Senator in the aborted Third Republic said, Threatening Mr. President to resign within seven days or be impeached is to say the least clearly a treasonable felony.
The Congress advised Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political inclinations, to support the president's efforts in fighting terrorism, kidnapping and other social vices.
5 Ways to Make a Bad Economy Better In The US
The National Association for Business Economics released a study Monday downgrading its growth prediction from 3.2 percent to 2.6 percent for this year, with next year dragging along at the same pace. The forecast showed the jobless rate hovering above 9 percent through 2011.
The study comes after the Congressional Budget Office pegged growth next year at 2 percent, a pace the office described as "anemic" compared with other post-recession recoveries.
So what can the government do about it? Washington has been pushing out bold, new economic proposals since the recession started, but one glance at the job-fair crowds these days would prove these proposals have had limited effect.
There is no shortage of comments in the suggestion box. An American Media outfit has compiled recommendations from top economists about what Washington can do to give the country's job market and productivity a kick in the pants:
Cut the Corporate Tax Rate
The United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the developed world next to Japan. The federal rate is 35 percent, and combined with local taxes it climbs toward 40 percent.
A recurring chorus from conservative and libertarian think tanks has been to cut, nay chop, that rate down so it's in line with other wealthy nations.
Sure, that would exacerbate the deficit in the short term, but advocates for the change say it would stimulate private sector growth -- keeping investment inside the United States, in turn allowing the federal government to recover its losses from the increased tax revenue.
A bipartisan team of senators, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., even proposed a bill this year to cut the federal rate to 24 percent.
Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, suggested bringing the federal rate all the way down to 20 percent.
"It's a no-brainer," he said, arguing that the change would prevent U.S. firms from opening new branches in countries like Mexico and China. "It's hugely important for jobs and investment. It is by far the single best thing we can do. ... Jobs follow the investment."
Renew Unemployment Benefits
The jobless benefits debate pops up, like clockwork, every time the federal extension is set to expire. It should be no different with the most recent extension set to expire at the end of November. Expect a lame-duck speech-fest in Congress over the pros and cons of continuing these benefits, which, combined with state benefits, give unemployed workers up to 99 weeks of government aid.
But the argument in favor of extending them is not just humanitarian, it's economic.
"Unemployment insurance is helpful to the families receiving it, but it's also helpful to the economy because those people spend that money," said Chad Stone, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "It's one of the most cost-effective stimulus programs there is."
This argument tends to be ridiculed by conservatives who say the prolonged benefits create a disincentive to find work. The counterargument is that the job openings simply aren't there, and it's better to have the unemployed spending money than not.
Stone said that ideally, Washington would extend the federal benefits through the end of 2011. Otherwise, "a lot of people get cut off immediately." He, too, called the extension a "no-brainer," though he predicted a political battle that ends with another short-term fix.
The Congressional Budget Office, in a September report, lists a short-term increase in unemployment aid at the top of its recommendations.
"Such an increase would slightly raise unemployment among the affected individuals, but it would also raise people's spending and thereby increase output and employment in the economy overall," the CBO said.
Extend the Bush Tax Cuts
Both parties are pledging to extend the Bush tax cuts in some degree, but Congress so far has not acted and a compromise still seems out of reach.
Analysts and lawmakers warn that a failure to legislate the extension will result in a devastating tax hike -- the Tax Foundation estimates the median family would see an annual hike in excess of $1,500 -- and have proposed several options for averting that scenario.
The CBO outlined four proposals: Permanently extend all the cuts; permanently extend all cuts except those that apply to high-income earners; extend all the cuts through 2012; extend all cuts except the high-income provisions through 2012.
According to the CBO, all these options "would raise output, income and employment" over the next two years. The drawbacks for each vary. The CBO said the permanent extensions, while providing a bigger short-term boost, would in the long-term add to the debt and deficit while putting strains on the federal budget and reducing overall income.
Pump In More Stimulus
To support anything resembling stimulus is sacrilege to Republicans and some moderate Democrats, but there's still an appetite for it in some corners. President Obama is pushing anew for infrastructure investment -- $50 billion to start -- and some analysts say the federal government needs to resist the urge to tighten purse strings when the economy is still so weak.
"You want to put the money in the hands of people who will spend it," Stone said. He said more state and local aid and more infrastructure investment -- the kinds of things that composed two-thirds of the 2009 stimulus package -- are in order.
The CBO says the stimulus, despite not living up to the administration's own expectations, has boosted output and employment compared to what would have happened without it.
Looking back on the past year, one of the biggest policy disputes is between those who say the stimulus was too big and those who say the stimulus was too small.
Stone said the administration's biggest mistake was to worry too much about the deficit, forgoing additional stimulus in the process.
But Edwards said the biggest mistake was -- you guessed it -- the stimulus.
"That was over $1 trillion of new debt," he said, counting interest on debt in that equation. "That's just made the whole business situation and financial markets more uncertain and unstable."
Cut Spending
On the other end of the spectrum, the anti-stimulus crowd has its own solution for economic recovery that defies the New Deal mentality. Cut, cut, cut.
The Cato Institute cites Canada as a success story -- a country that cut spending and saw its economy grow. The argument is that the federal government can spur the economy by returning certain responsibilities, and employees, to the private sector, in turn reducing the national debt.
The CBO said in its latest report that the debt could reach anywhere between 70 and 100 percent of GDP over the next decade, a path that is "clearly unsustainable."
Among other options, the Cato Institute proposes cutting federal education money, farm subsidies, defense spending and federal worker compensation and scaling down federal drug enforcement.
Bonus: Make More Banks
Alex Pollock, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said one economic solution that's not often discussed would be to encourage the chartering of new banks for local communities.
"What you need is new banks that are not weighed down by the losses and mistakes of the past," he said. "This is the ideal time to get into the banking business" considering how high credit standards have become.
Pollock said federal regulators are holding up the creation of new banks because they're trying to force new capital into the old banks to minimize their losses. But he said new banks not only represent new businesses, but also spur economic development around them.
The study comes after the Congressional Budget Office pegged growth next year at 2 percent, a pace the office described as "anemic" compared with other post-recession recoveries.
So what can the government do about it? Washington has been pushing out bold, new economic proposals since the recession started, but one glance at the job-fair crowds these days would prove these proposals have had limited effect.
There is no shortage of comments in the suggestion box. An American Media outfit has compiled recommendations from top economists about what Washington can do to give the country's job market and productivity a kick in the pants:
Cut the Corporate Tax Rate
The United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the developed world next to Japan. The federal rate is 35 percent, and combined with local taxes it climbs toward 40 percent.
A recurring chorus from conservative and libertarian think tanks has been to cut, nay chop, that rate down so it's in line with other wealthy nations.
Sure, that would exacerbate the deficit in the short term, but advocates for the change say it would stimulate private sector growth -- keeping investment inside the United States, in turn allowing the federal government to recover its losses from the increased tax revenue.
A bipartisan team of senators, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., even proposed a bill this year to cut the federal rate to 24 percent.
Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, suggested bringing the federal rate all the way down to 20 percent.
"It's a no-brainer," he said, arguing that the change would prevent U.S. firms from opening new branches in countries like Mexico and China. "It's hugely important for jobs and investment. It is by far the single best thing we can do. ... Jobs follow the investment."
Renew Unemployment Benefits
The jobless benefits debate pops up, like clockwork, every time the federal extension is set to expire. It should be no different with the most recent extension set to expire at the end of November. Expect a lame-duck speech-fest in Congress over the pros and cons of continuing these benefits, which, combined with state benefits, give unemployed workers up to 99 weeks of government aid.
But the argument in favor of extending them is not just humanitarian, it's economic.
"Unemployment insurance is helpful to the families receiving it, but it's also helpful to the economy because those people spend that money," said Chad Stone, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "It's one of the most cost-effective stimulus programs there is."
This argument tends to be ridiculed by conservatives who say the prolonged benefits create a disincentive to find work. The counterargument is that the job openings simply aren't there, and it's better to have the unemployed spending money than not.
Stone said that ideally, Washington would extend the federal benefits through the end of 2011. Otherwise, "a lot of people get cut off immediately." He, too, called the extension a "no-brainer," though he predicted a political battle that ends with another short-term fix.
The Congressional Budget Office, in a September report, lists a short-term increase in unemployment aid at the top of its recommendations.
"Such an increase would slightly raise unemployment among the affected individuals, but it would also raise people's spending and thereby increase output and employment in the economy overall," the CBO said.
Extend the Bush Tax Cuts
Both parties are pledging to extend the Bush tax cuts in some degree, but Congress so far has not acted and a compromise still seems out of reach.
Analysts and lawmakers warn that a failure to legislate the extension will result in a devastating tax hike -- the Tax Foundation estimates the median family would see an annual hike in excess of $1,500 -- and have proposed several options for averting that scenario.
The CBO outlined four proposals: Permanently extend all the cuts; permanently extend all cuts except those that apply to high-income earners; extend all the cuts through 2012; extend all cuts except the high-income provisions through 2012.
According to the CBO, all these options "would raise output, income and employment" over the next two years. The drawbacks for each vary. The CBO said the permanent extensions, while providing a bigger short-term boost, would in the long-term add to the debt and deficit while putting strains on the federal budget and reducing overall income.
Pump In More Stimulus
To support anything resembling stimulus is sacrilege to Republicans and some moderate Democrats, but there's still an appetite for it in some corners. President Obama is pushing anew for infrastructure investment -- $50 billion to start -- and some analysts say the federal government needs to resist the urge to tighten purse strings when the economy is still so weak.
"You want to put the money in the hands of people who will spend it," Stone said. He said more state and local aid and more infrastructure investment -- the kinds of things that composed two-thirds of the 2009 stimulus package -- are in order.
The CBO says the stimulus, despite not living up to the administration's own expectations, has boosted output and employment compared to what would have happened without it.
Looking back on the past year, one of the biggest policy disputes is between those who say the stimulus was too big and those who say the stimulus was too small.
Stone said the administration's biggest mistake was to worry too much about the deficit, forgoing additional stimulus in the process.
But Edwards said the biggest mistake was -- you guessed it -- the stimulus.
"That was over $1 trillion of new debt," he said, counting interest on debt in that equation. "That's just made the whole business situation and financial markets more uncertain and unstable."
Cut Spending
On the other end of the spectrum, the anti-stimulus crowd has its own solution for economic recovery that defies the New Deal mentality. Cut, cut, cut.
The Cato Institute cites Canada as a success story -- a country that cut spending and saw its economy grow. The argument is that the federal government can spur the economy by returning certain responsibilities, and employees, to the private sector, in turn reducing the national debt.
The CBO said in its latest report that the debt could reach anywhere between 70 and 100 percent of GDP over the next decade, a path that is "clearly unsustainable."
Among other options, the Cato Institute proposes cutting federal education money, farm subsidies, defense spending and federal worker compensation and scaling down federal drug enforcement.
Bonus: Make More Banks
Alex Pollock, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said one economic solution that's not often discussed would be to encourage the chartering of new banks for local communities.
"What you need is new banks that are not weighed down by the losses and mistakes of the past," he said. "This is the ideal time to get into the banking business" considering how high credit standards have become.
Pollock said federal regulators are holding up the creation of new banks because they're trying to force new capital into the old banks to minimize their losses. But he said new banks not only represent new businesses, but also spur economic development around them.
Memories of Colonial Africa – Part 2 of 5
Philip Emeagwali
Excerpt from Nigeria’s 50th anniversary lecture at the Embassy of Nigeria, Paris.
I was born in 1954 in colonial Africa. One of my most cherished mementos from the colony of Nigeria is one of the pennies I received for my school lunch allowance. The coins bore the likeness of Edward VIII, who became King of England on January 20, 1936, and were minted in anticipation of his reign. However, Edward abdicated the throne on December 11th of that year before he could be crowned. He gave up the British kingdom to marry the love of his life, an American divorcee.
In 1960, a typical day in my life began at our compound on Yoruba Road, in Sapele. Our compound was adjacent to the Eagle Club, a night club where I ran errands for music legends, such as master trumpeters E.T. Mensah, Eddy Okonta, and Zeal Onyia. They would give me a penny to buy two sticks of cigarettes and I would bring back their half-penny change.
Some mornings, my mother would give me a penny with the instructions: "Buy rice with a farthing, beans with a farthing, and bring back a half-penny change." When I told this story to my son, Ijeoma, he interrupted, saying, incredulously "Daddy, you can't get change for a penny!" I then show him my souvenir: a British West African central-holed coin, bearing the head of King George V and minted in 1936 with the inscription "one tenth of a penny." The central hole was for stringing the coins together, to carry them. The world has changed greatly since my youth!
Nigeria has existed for 96 years and has been independent for 50 years. Nigerians must look back to the first 46 years, spent under colonial rule, to understand the 50 post-colonial years of their self-rule. Looking backward, like the Sankofa, is a prerequisite for understanding the way forward.
With self-rule came responsibility. We're now being held accountable for our actions and inaction, our coups and corruption, and our civil wars in Biafra, Congo, and Rwanda.
Looking backward 96 years will enable Nigeria to understand when and where it's train derailed and how to put it back on track. I believe our train derailed because, although the 46 pre-independence years were a brain-gain period, the 50 post-independence years have been marked by the largest brain drain since the Atlantic slave trade.
Looking forward 50 years, I foresee that nations delivering information and communication technologies will indirectly rule Africa. I see the cellular phone, the computer, and the internet enabling Africa to replace selection with election. I see the internet enabling citizens to become reporters, decentralizing the media. I see technology enabling freedom of the press and democracy in Africa.
Kwame Nkrumah said, "Socialism without science is void." I say, "Democracy without technology is void."
A scientist can be famous yet remain unknown. The grand challenge for scientists is to focus on discoveries that reduce poverty rather than on winning prizes. To focus on the prizes we have won, instead of the discoveries we have made, would be akin to dwelling on a hero's medal and ignoring his heroism.
Discoveries and inventions that increase wealth and reduce poverty are the "heroes" of science and technology and one hundred nations have printed their revered scientists' likenesses on their currency. This elevated those scientists as exalted bearers of their people's best vision of themselves.
Please allow me to answer a question I was asked: What did I contribute to science and technology? I reformulated and solved nine partial differential equations listed in the 20 Grand Challenges of computing.
The equations I invented are akin to the iconic Navier-Stokes equations listed in the Seven Millennium Problems of mathematics. Those Seven Millennium Problems are to mathematics what the Seven Wonders of the World are to history. To be accurate, the equations I solved were not exactly solvable, but were computably solvable. That is, I digitally solved the grand challenge version, not the millennium one that must be solved logically.
A novelist is a storyteller, and a scientist is a history maker. A novelist creates a fictional world, but a scientist discovers factual stories about our universe. I am an internet scientist who discovered factual stories. I reprogrammed and reinvented an internet to tell 65,000 factual stories to as many subcomputers.
The internet—meets humanity's fundamental need to compute and communicate—and spreads like bush fire, and resonates decade after decade, and maybe century after century. The internet is a technology that both connects people and connect with people in a way that will forever remain deep and enduring.
I am the artist that told stories about how the Laws of Motion gave rise to the eternal truths of calculus; timeless truths that will outlast the changing opinions of all times. My restated Second Law of Motion became my footprints; my reformulated partial differential equations became my handprints; and my reinvented algorithms became my fingerprints on the sands of time.
I'm the physicist and the mathematician who told a story in which a new technology came alive through three boards: a storyboard, a blackboard, and a motherboard.
My story has been retold from boardrooms to newsrooms, from classrooms to living rooms. It all began as a dialogue between a supercomputer programmer and his 65,000 subcomputers, which he reprogrammed as an internet.
During a conversation conducted in the languages of physics and mathematics between me and my machines, in 1989, I performed a world record of 3.1 billion calculations per second: This occurred when my keyboard replaced the handwriting on my blackboard and bridged the gap between man and motherboard. I became known for my discovery that a supercomputer is an internet and vice versa, and I, the storyteller, became both the story and the witness.
My journey to the frontier of knowledge did not begin in America. It began in 1960 in Colonial Africa.
Philip Emeagwali has been called “a father of the Internet” by CNN and TIME, and extolled as a “Digital Giant” by BBC and as “one of the great minds of the Information Age” by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He was voted history’s greatest scientist of African descent by New African.
Excerpt from Nigeria’s 50th anniversary lecture at the Embassy of Nigeria, Paris.
I was born in 1954 in colonial Africa. One of my most cherished mementos from the colony of Nigeria is one of the pennies I received for my school lunch allowance. The coins bore the likeness of Edward VIII, who became King of England on January 20, 1936, and were minted in anticipation of his reign. However, Edward abdicated the throne on December 11th of that year before he could be crowned. He gave up the British kingdom to marry the love of his life, an American divorcee.
In 1960, a typical day in my life began at our compound on Yoruba Road, in Sapele. Our compound was adjacent to the Eagle Club, a night club where I ran errands for music legends, such as master trumpeters E.T. Mensah, Eddy Okonta, and Zeal Onyia. They would give me a penny to buy two sticks of cigarettes and I would bring back their half-penny change.
Some mornings, my mother would give me a penny with the instructions: "Buy rice with a farthing, beans with a farthing, and bring back a half-penny change." When I told this story to my son, Ijeoma, he interrupted, saying, incredulously "Daddy, you can't get change for a penny!" I then show him my souvenir: a British West African central-holed coin, bearing the head of King George V and minted in 1936 with the inscription "one tenth of a penny." The central hole was for stringing the coins together, to carry them. The world has changed greatly since my youth!
Nigeria has existed for 96 years and has been independent for 50 years. Nigerians must look back to the first 46 years, spent under colonial rule, to understand the 50 post-colonial years of their self-rule. Looking backward, like the Sankofa, is a prerequisite for understanding the way forward.
With self-rule came responsibility. We're now being held accountable for our actions and inaction, our coups and corruption, and our civil wars in Biafra, Congo, and Rwanda.
Looking backward 96 years will enable Nigeria to understand when and where it's train derailed and how to put it back on track. I believe our train derailed because, although the 46 pre-independence years were a brain-gain period, the 50 post-independence years have been marked by the largest brain drain since the Atlantic slave trade.
Looking forward 50 years, I foresee that nations delivering information and communication technologies will indirectly rule Africa. I see the cellular phone, the computer, and the internet enabling Africa to replace selection with election. I see the internet enabling citizens to become reporters, decentralizing the media. I see technology enabling freedom of the press and democracy in Africa.
Kwame Nkrumah said, "Socialism without science is void." I say, "Democracy without technology is void."
A scientist can be famous yet remain unknown. The grand challenge for scientists is to focus on discoveries that reduce poverty rather than on winning prizes. To focus on the prizes we have won, instead of the discoveries we have made, would be akin to dwelling on a hero's medal and ignoring his heroism.
Discoveries and inventions that increase wealth and reduce poverty are the "heroes" of science and technology and one hundred nations have printed their revered scientists' likenesses on their currency. This elevated those scientists as exalted bearers of their people's best vision of themselves.
Please allow me to answer a question I was asked: What did I contribute to science and technology? I reformulated and solved nine partial differential equations listed in the 20 Grand Challenges of computing.
The equations I invented are akin to the iconic Navier-Stokes equations listed in the Seven Millennium Problems of mathematics. Those Seven Millennium Problems are to mathematics what the Seven Wonders of the World are to history. To be accurate, the equations I solved were not exactly solvable, but were computably solvable. That is, I digitally solved the grand challenge version, not the millennium one that must be solved logically.
A novelist is a storyteller, and a scientist is a history maker. A novelist creates a fictional world, but a scientist discovers factual stories about our universe. I am an internet scientist who discovered factual stories. I reprogrammed and reinvented an internet to tell 65,000 factual stories to as many subcomputers.
The internet—meets humanity's fundamental need to compute and communicate—and spreads like bush fire, and resonates decade after decade, and maybe century after century. The internet is a technology that both connects people and connect with people in a way that will forever remain deep and enduring.
I am the artist that told stories about how the Laws of Motion gave rise to the eternal truths of calculus; timeless truths that will outlast the changing opinions of all times. My restated Second Law of Motion became my footprints; my reformulated partial differential equations became my handprints; and my reinvented algorithms became my fingerprints on the sands of time.
I'm the physicist and the mathematician who told a story in which a new technology came alive through three boards: a storyboard, a blackboard, and a motherboard.
My story has been retold from boardrooms to newsrooms, from classrooms to living rooms. It all began as a dialogue between a supercomputer programmer and his 65,000 subcomputers, which he reprogrammed as an internet.
During a conversation conducted in the languages of physics and mathematics between me and my machines, in 1989, I performed a world record of 3.1 billion calculations per second: This occurred when my keyboard replaced the handwriting on my blackboard and bridged the gap between man and motherboard. I became known for my discovery that a supercomputer is an internet and vice versa, and I, the storyteller, became both the story and the witness.
My journey to the frontier of knowledge did not begin in America. It began in 1960 in Colonial Africa.
Philip Emeagwali has been called “a father of the Internet” by CNN and TIME, and extolled as a “Digital Giant” by BBC and as “one of the great minds of the Information Age” by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He was voted history’s greatest scientist of African descent by New African.
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