General Buhari: His records still speak for him

I was going through nairaland as usual when I found this post from a user called "OBEHIOYE"


" As a Nigerian under-30 who grew up in Warri I have been quite close to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and luckily so this has helped me understand some of the issues that come up in that industry.
I have also been very fortunate to have visit 3 major power stations as well as the “3” refineries in southern Nigeria while also ending up as an engineer so I can better understand and be part of this very lucrative industry.
It may not be a surprise but you should know that since after the late 70’s and early 80’s up until 2009 there has been no major infrastructural development  in Nigeria. No new power plants have been built and successfully commissioned nor has the foundation been laid for any oil refinery.
My visit to the ones I mentioned above turned up very interesting results as regards their capacities and operational efficiencies but mind you the visits to the power plants was conducted between 2004 and 2006 while those to the refineries were earlier.
While the PH refinery was operating at between 60-70% installed capacity at the time of my visit, the Warri plant was virtually non functional at that time. I was told that the crude line to the Warri plant was damaged (Vandalized) and so they couldn’t receive crude to refine and so they using the opportunity to do a mini in-house Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM). Not long after that visit the FGN also used the same excuse and officially awarded contract for the TAM to Chrome Oil Resources owned by Anambra business-man, Sir Emeka Offor. That TAM was never concluded and the refinery staff had to complete it on their own.
My visit to the three power plants showed that two of them had were operating at less than 40% capacity!! We were given the same excuse that gas pipelines had been vandalized and so they couldn’t get gas to run their turbines but I noticed that the turbines were very old with about half of them packed-up.
The most interesting thing I noticed on these visits was the name and dates on the commissioning plagues of these plants: Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was the name while the dates ranged from 1977 to 1979. I immediately fell in love with Obj and when he became president later I silently wished and prayed he would perform the same magic until he began to scheme for 3rd term and that I couldn’t stomach.
When Obj failed bw 1999 and 2007, I tried to understand and then I realized and got to know that the master-mind of all those developments during his military stint was Brig. Gen. Mohammadu Buhari who was the Minister of Power and Energy during that period. Buhari it was, being in-charge of that ministry, built all those plants Obj had commissioned and I had visited.
We are also all aware of the magic that same Buhari performed as head the PTF, which ran a parallel government in Nigeria by getting JUST 3% of every litre of petroleum product purchased in Nigeria. Projects started and completed by the PTF are too numerous to mention here.
Buhari has never been indicted by any probe or inquiry as haven stolen any money. We have seen how prudent and useful the ministries and agencies he ran were yet we refused to vote him because we have been fed with lies upon lies that he was a religious bigot, he would make Sharia national thing etc.
The cesspool of corruption called Nigeria needs a man in the calibre of Buhari to run her affairs and the funny thing is in our heart of heart we all knew this yet we were afraid to take the bull by the horn and deliver that long-awaited change to Nigeria. Instead you all voted a man, so scared of public debates that he arranged his own private debate. A man who as deputy-governor and governor had no achievement to his name except a corrupt wife!
Unfortunately, Buhari has also hurt his credibility by the statements he made just after the elections. I would definitely vote for him again but for me he just should have appealed to the people instead of saying “the people have only reacted to cheating that was perpertuated”.
It’s rather unfortunate what our country has turned into, really very unfortunate that sometimes I think she’s irredeemable.
I just hope that we would have the courage to see through their lies and smiling faces and do what is right by searching the deep  recesses of our conscience and voting appropriately next time but for now let us live in peace with one another.
Cheers.

"

I was speechless after reading this, for how long will Nigeria be like this???

JONATHAN SETS SELF FOR GOOD RETIREMENT PENSION, PAYS OBJ, IBB OTHERS N3.2 B

The Federal Government plans to spend N3.19bn on the pensions and allowances of former Presidents, Heads of State, their deputies, former leaders of the National Assembly and their families in the year 2012.

The proposed N3.19bn represents an increase of about N2bn from what was provided for the former rulers in the 2011 Budget.
The government also earmarked a total of N141.7bn for the pensions and gratuities, of retired civil servants, that are not captured in the contributory pension scheme.
The amount contained in the 2012 budget currently before the National Assembly is under Service Wide Votes. Our correspondents report that beneficiaries under this heading will receive a total of N414.4bn for the fiscal year.
The Remuneration for former Presidents, Heads of State Act passed by the National Assembly in November 2010 provides for the remunerations of all former Presidents, Heads of State and their deputies, including the families of former leaders who are late.
Currently, those who benefit from the Act are former Heads of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; former head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; former President Shehu Shagari; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; their living deputies; and former heads of the National Assembly.
Other beneficiaries are the widow of a late former President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; the widows of a former Prime Minister, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; and the widows and families of former Heads of State, General Murtala Muhammed; and Gen. Sani Abacha.
When the N1.2bn bill was presented to the Senate in 2011, the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs queried the amount, saying that it was too high a price to pay for the comfort of former leaders who presided over the “economic retardation” of the country.

But explanations from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation showed that there were seven living former Heads of State, five Vice Presidents, six families of deceased leaders and two families of deceased Vice Presidents.

Among other benefits, the former leaders are expected to get a five bedroom housing accommodation each in any location of their choice with telephone services; at least three vehicles; and salaries of personal staff.
Also, the law provides that government should cater for the needs of the former heads of state whenever they visit Abuja, as well as pay for their use of courier services.
Reacting to the provision, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Bassey Otu, said the Senate would take a look at the provision and ensure that the former leaders did not get beyond what they deserved.
He said the N3.19bn might be slashed in line with the new posture of government to reduce the cost of governance.
“Rest assured that anything that should be done to bring these budgets to their proper sizes, will be done,” he said.
But the President of Campaign for Democracy, Joe-Okei Odumakin, criticised the increase from N1.2bn to N3.19bn, saying it smacked of insensitivity.
She told one of our correspondents in a telephone interview on Sunday that voting more money for the care of former leaders suggested that the poor would remain poor while those who had misruled the country would continue to grow richer.
She said, “First and foremost, it is extremely outrageous. How can you explain an increase from N1.2bn to N3.19bn? It smacks of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians. It is sad that this is happening when our citizens are impoverished.
“It means that all the mouthing that the regime will reduce their pay is cosmetic and hypocritical.”
Also, the All Nigeria Peoples Party said the huge budget provision was President Goodluck Jonathan’s way of preparing the ground for when he would leave office.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the ANPP, Chief Emma Eneukwu, the government has no idea of how to move the country forward.
He said, “We keep on saying it that this government has no human face and that it does not care what happens to the people.
“It was telling Nigerians that it was going to cut expenses, yet, it went ahead to increase the budgetary provision for these leaders.
“This same government told us that the economy would collapse without the removal of petroleum subsidy. It did not tell us that the economy of individual would collapse.
“This government is proving it day-by-day that it is a government that lacks vision and cannot be trusted. Nigerians cannot be deceived forever. One day is for the thief, the rest are for the owners.”

via omojuwa.com

Confessions Of A Repented Terrorist

While terrorism and wanton acts of destruction go on unabated in Nigeria, another can of worms has been opened regarding the identities of the real sponsors of the deadly Boko Haram group.

Sheikh Haliru, a founding member of the dreaded jama’aful Ahlul sunna wal Liddawati wal Jihad also referred to as the Boko Haram sect who has since found a new faith made startling revelations recently when he named some well placed Nigerians as the financial backbone of the sect.

Sani Haliru who was born to a Nigerien father and a Nigerian mother grew up in Wulari, in Borno State where his mother hails from. Like most boys, he became an Almajiri at the age of ten and was trained for four years. At 14, he was sent to Kano where he studied at Sheikh Abubakar Gumi School of Arabic Studies. Apart from being studying at the feet of the popular Sheikh Gumi, Haliru prided himself as a mentee of the late Al Quaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

Incidentally, as revealed by Haliru, his new faith is in Jesus Christ who he hated and persecuted for 44 years. Before he became a born-again Christian, Haliru saw fire and blood as a jihadist.  Narrating his past experience, he said “I took part in the Kaduna riot of 1992 and in several northern states of Nigeria, but the state I operated more from was Borno, where I was the State Commander/Chief Strategist.

In the early months of May 1986, I was among the 36 Jihadist hardliners, who went on a rampage to attack Christian students of the University of Sokoto. In that same week, the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of General Babangida mobilized us and provided some military vans and Army uniforms which our men used and started killing innocent and defenceless Christians all over the Northern states. I and the son of the Emir of Kano, who is now a Christian by name Rev. Paul Ado Bayero, were among the Muslim fanatics who pulled down the sculpture of Jesus at the University of Ibadan .

The following year, March 5, 1987 to be very precise, the “Evil Genius” General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida secretly armed us through one of his close aides by the name of Captain Hassan Abubakar (now a Pastor with a fast growing church in Lagos). We went to go and kill some targeted Christians including Rev. Nuhu Kure (Throne room founder) after the destruction we committed at the College of Education in Kafanchan, Kaduna State And of recent, I was the leader of the team of soldiers of Allah that destroyed Church buildings and properties in Bornu State”

The former jihadist claimed to have been to eight different countries namely Sudan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Egypt and Niger Republic. And when he was asked if he received any training in those places, he disclosed that he was trained as an Attack Strategist in Libya and Pakistan alongside Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike. One of the proofs of the training as he disclosed was a mark which he carries with him till date. The mark is in form of a sword held in a hand. That is regarded by those who went through the training as the “license to kill for Allah”.

When Sani Haliru was asked about the identities of the fellow Nigerians who were his course mates in Libya and Pakistan, he said “they are scattered all over the country and we were not too many then”. He however gave a few names, those he mentioned included Ali Baba Nur, Asari Dokubo, Jasper Akinbo, Mohammed Yusuf, Salisu Maigari, Danlami Abubakar, Cletus Okar, Ali Qaqa, Maigari Haliru and Asabe Dantala. He spoke further that Asari Dokubo of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force was a year ahead of him in the Libyan training camp in Benghazi.

But who financed the training in Libya, Haliru was asked. From his response, it was obvious that the person was obviously a highly placed Nigerian as he said “you will not believe me and only God will judge the Chief sponsor of terrorism in Nigeria whose name I will not mention because he is so powerful and even the president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, is so much afraid of the man”.

And to prove that he harbours no fear about unveiling his sponsor, the erstwhile extremist dropped the bombshell. He said “the man is no other person than the man they call IBB. As I am talking to you now, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida has more than 600 men and women Jihadists on his payroll. They are scattered all over the Country and he can use them to destroy Nigeria”. He disclosed that the former military President still has his agents in the Nigeria Army, the Police, the Air Force and in strategic economic positions.

He alleged that Babangida’s loyalists can still be found in top political positions, in the National Assembly, in both the print and electronic arms of the media and even in Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power.”

While describing General Babangida’s influence, the repented Boko Haram pointman revealed that he attempted to divulge some of the information at his disposal to the State Security Service, he however said it was the unimaginable that happened. “I was arrested and detained for two days because IBB’S men are so many in SSS  as well. After I was released by the grace of God, they (the Police) warned me never to blow up the polity or provoke violence and I should keep my so-called-born-again with me or else I will go to jail”, Haliru said.”

He also gave indications that IBB might not be alone in financing terror in the country as he alleged that he has the names of six traditional rulers and seven present and former Governors as well as several top military and security officers who are co-sponsoring the Boko Haram sect. Speaking further, he said “I have documented evidences to prove that General Mohammadu Buhari, Alhaji Abubaka Atiku and other top politicians and traditional rulers are some of the people behind Boko Haram”.
When Haliru was asked if it meant that General Babangida, the Muslim traditional rulers and Governors that he accused of sponsoring Boko Haram to kill Christians and burn churches in the North are not aware of the passage in the Qur’an that says there must not be compulsion in Islam as Mohammadu Buhari asserted in a widely publicized interview on Saturday, the 21st of April, 2011, Haliru’s reply went on to reveal more. “: I have worked so closely with Mohammadu Buahri for five years, and I can prove it that General Buhari is the most notable outspoken jihadist hardliner in Nigeria who is also strategically sponsoring Boko Haram”, he said. He said with Buhari;s statement, it was evident that the former Head of State was being hypocritical. He based his submission on Surah Al-Baqarah Chapter 2:195, it is written here that you must use your wealth to champion Jihad of all kinds or else destruction is waiting for such a person on the last day.

“And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).”

Haliru also indicted Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State as an ally of the Boko Haram sect. Narrating his experience when he was arrested and detained years ago, Haliru said “ soon after my immediate boss Mohammed Yusuf was killed in 2009,  about 23 of us were arrested in one of our hideouts in Bauchi. But when Governor Isa Yagiuda heard about it, he immediately arranged for me to be free. Even before his official broadcast in 2010 that he was using his position as the executive Governor of Bauchi State to free 28 prisoners from Bauchi Central Prison, I was already a free man along with several of my colleagues”.

via http://thestreetjournal.org