Lessons Buhari Must Learn from Jonathan – Olu Wole Onemola

“I am whatever you say I am. If I wasn’t, then why would you say I am… In the paper, the news, everyday I am…” – Eminem
On the 1st of October 2010, while the former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was inspecting a military parade in commemoration of Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary, a bomb went off less than one kilometer away from the venue of these celebrations, killing sixteen people. Immediately, media reports attributed the attacks to the radical group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), who had said that they would be carrying out an attack within that period.
Nevertheless, a day after the aforementioned episode, in a shocking reaction that was rightly or wrongly attributed to ethnic sentiments, Dr. Jonathan, who hails from the Niger Delta region, while speaking at the ECOWAS parliament, absolved MEND of the attacks, and stated that it was “erroneous” to think that his people – namely the Niger Delta militants – could have been involved in such attacks. This statement by Dr. Jonathan drew the intense scrutiny of the press and the public because MEND had released an unambiguous statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
Two years after the MEND incident, in June 2012, while engaging Nigerians in a primetime media chat, President Jonathan again raised eyebrows when he responded extemporaneously to a question about public asset declaration that he did not “Give a Damn” what Nigerians thought about the issue as he was not legally required to declare his assets publicly. This was in spite of the fact that the issue of public asset declaration was less about the legal requirement, and more about the personal integrity of the former President.
Recently, less than a hundred days into his tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari has been stirring up some controversy of his own that can be attributed to both his actions and his utterances.
First and foremost, there is a concerted clamour from many Nigerians about the obvious tilt in political appointments from the Northern region thus far. Even though the number of appointments that have been made by the President stands as less than 20 – with over 5000 still left to go – many opposition politicians and groups are using this development as an avenue to tell Nigerians: “We told you so.” These groups of Nigerians are basing their argument on the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections, where presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, was carefully (and falsely) painted by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) machinery as an individual with religious and sectarian tendencies due to many of his intentionally misinterpreted utterances.
Additionally, President Buhari’s recent gaffe about treating constituencies that gave him 97% of their votes differently from those that gave him 5% at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), has given fuel to those that preach anti-Buhari fire. This is happening despite the President clearly stating in his inaugural address that he is committed to being a leader that belongs to everybody, and nobody.
What the President, and specifically, his media team must understand is that these mistakes are inexcusable in this honeymoon period of the administration. Less, than 100 days in, many Nigerians who want this administration to succeed will be sure to forgive these mistakes. However, many others – who have been opposed to this dispensation from the get-go – will be sure not to forget them. As in the case of Dr. Jonathan, who lost the 2015 elections gradually from eroded press and public support, President Buhari must be conscious that if it takes a thousand chinks to break armour, after a thousand chinks that armour will surely break. Hence, the number of useless chinks to the President’s armour must at once be limited to a bare minimum, and self-inflicted chinks by the President

Lol. 50 cent says he's so broke he even owes his Grandfather

We all know 50 Cent isn't really broke, but he's making it look like he is, he recently gave the bankruptcy judge a list of his many creditors, and his Grand Dad, Curtis Jackson Sr. is among them.
According to the documents, 50 owes grandpa Jackson $1,737.33.

50 also owes $137,880 to Bentley, $64,909 to American Express (Credit card) and, 2 court judgments totaling more than $23 million. And there's more that's just boring debt.

The rapper is laughing off the bankruptcy, he was even most recently seen making it rain on Monday night at Ace of Diamonds strip club in West Hollywood.

In his interview with Levinston on Wednesday, he said:
“You get a bullseye painted on your back when you’re successful, and it’s public to know you’ve become the ideal person to have lawsuits for.”

Eid-el-Fitri: Buhari, Saraki, Tinubu

Buhari, Saraki

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said if the country must quickly recover from its numerous problems and start moving in a positive direction, Nigerians must be ready to display higher level of self-denial, sacrifice and patriotism.

Buhari said this in his Eid-el-Fitri message to Nigerians, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent.

He said a greater acceptance by Nigerians of Ramadan’s key lessons of self-denial and sacrifice would serve the country well. He said his administration was striving to overcome present challenges, undo the damage done by years of bad governance and accelerate the pace of national development.

The President said, “Reviewing our dire circumstances and the many missed opportunities of the past, some commentators and observers have said that this is Nigeria’s last chance to get its act together and finally begin to fulfil its God-given potential of greatness.

In his message, former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, in his message, called on all Nigerians to be prepared to contribute to the realisation of the kind of change they want to happen.

“The change we desire, as promised by the APC, requires our collective effort to make it a reality. We must individually and collectively make sacrifices where necessary to help the APC leadership move Nigeria on the right path of development and growth,” he said.

Tinubu called on all Muslim faithful, who recently completed the 30-day fast, not to depart from the attitude of prayer, supplication and sacrifice for the country. While praising them for the discipline and purity of the last 30 days, Tinubu said he believed Allah has recognized their devotion and “will bless Nigeria and bring solutions to our problems.”

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday asked Nigerians to offer special prayers for Nigerians living in the north-eastern part of the country who were being assailed by insurgents, known as Boko Haram.

The senate president also urged all Nigerians to continue to pray for the military which are engaged in the war against insurgents so that by the period of the next Ramadan, peace would have been totally restored to the whole of the North-East and other parts of Nigeria.

The Deputy Senate Leader, Ike Ekweremadu, in his statement, urged the Muslims to carry the lessons and virtues of love, tolerance and perseverance imbibed during the holy month of Ramadan into every aspect of their daily lives in order to move the nation forward.

He said, “We are blessed with religious and cultural orientations that teach us to place general good above personal interest; show love and kindness to all; live holy and to be our brother’s keeper.”

In his greetings, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar urged Muslims in the country to embrace the virtues of forgiveness and common understanding as they join counterparts across the world to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fasting season.

Atiku said that one of the basic components of Ramadan fasting is to seek the mercy of God in seeking forgiveness for our sins.

He said, “It thus becomes imperative for us as humans to extend the grace of forgiveness and common understanding to other human beings as well.”

The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed; the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad, and the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, urged Nigerians, irrespective of their religious beliefs to imbibe the lessons of Ramadan.

They urged them to imbibe especially the virtues of peaceful co-existence, good neighbourliness,, patriotism and respect for the sanctity of human life.

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, enjoined Muslims and indeed all Nigerians not to forget the gains and lesso

US President Obama Reduces Sentences Of 46 Convicts

President Barack Obama cut the prison sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders on Monday, including 14 who were sentenced to life in prison, saying “their punishments didn’t fit the crime.”
“These men and women were not hardened criminals,” Obama said in a video released by the White House, noting that the overwhelming majority of the 46 had been sentenced to at least 20 years.
The move was part of a broader ongoing effort by the administration to make the U.S. criminal justice system fairer. Obama has now issued 89 commutations during his presidency, most of them to non-violent offenders sentenced for drug crimes under outdated sentencing guidelines. A
commutation leaves the conviction in place, but reduces the punishment.
Obama wrote a personal letter to each of the 46 individuals to notify them of their commutations. Their sentences all now expire on Nov. 10, 2015.
In a letter to Jerry Bailey, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to violate laws against crack-cocaine, Obama praised Bailey for showing the potential to turn his life around.
“Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity,” Obama wrote in the letter, which was sent to Bailey’s address at a federal correctional facility in Georgia,. “It will not be easy,” Obama said, “and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change.”
Obama’s lawyer, White House counsel Neil Eggleston, predicted the president would issue even more commutations before leaving office in early 2017. But he also said that Obama’s powers to fix the problem were limited, adding that “clemency alone will not fix decades of overly punitive sentencing policies.”
Obama this week is devoting considerable attention to the criminal justice system. He plans to lay out ideas for how to improve the fairness of the system during a speech to the NAACP in Philadelphia on Tuesday. And on Thursday, he is to become the first sitting president to visit a federal prison when he goes to the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City. While there, he will meet with law enforcement officials and inmates.
Obama said that after his commutations, there is still “a lot more we can do to restore the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system.”
Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a group seeking changes in sentencing, said the organization was “thrilled to see that more folks serving excessively long sentences for non-violent drug offenses are going home.”
“But they’re leaving behind many equally deserving people,” she said, “so let’s keep these commutations coming, while remembering that clemency is a tool made necessary by our failure to reform mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Congress simply can’t act fast enough.”
The 46 sentence reductions announced Monday are the most presidential commutations in a single day since the Lyndon Johnson administration in the 1960s.
Obama has commuted the sentences of 89 people, surpassing the combined number of commutations
FNC granted by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Nigeria, Ghana, S’Africa top ECA’s road safety ranking

The Economic Commission for Africa has adjudged  Nigeria as one of the best three performers among 23 countries in accomplishing activities of the African Road Safety Action plan.

The commission listed Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa as the leading countries with clear prospects of accomplishing the activities of the African Road Safety Action Plan.

It added that 40 per cent of member countries are in the process of implementing more road safety management activities.

The ECA gave the rating in a mid-term review report from the Third African Road Safety Conference in Addis Ababa, according to a statement on Sunday in Abuja by the Head, Media and Strategy, Federal Road Safety Corps, Bisi Kazeem.

The statement said the Corps Marshall, Boboye Oyeyemi, in his reaction to the ranking, appreciated the Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring that enduring road safety culture was continually imbibed.

He also lauded “the resilience of the officers and men of the Corps.”

Oyeyemi pledged that the Corps would not rest on its oars, but will  rather continue to devise ways to improve on its achievements and meet the standards of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety declaration.

According to the ECA report, performance of the plan is measured based on road safety management, mobility, vehicles, road users and post-crash response.

It noted that varying results had defined the afore-listed performance indicators, given that some countries record high rates of successes in some areas, but record low performances in others.

The commission however observed that progress had been made.

“More than 30 per cent of countries have not taken significant steps to harmonize data processing formats, and use of international standards in reporting road safety incidents; countries are encouraged to invest in research and develop safety audits,” the ECA stated.

Bailout To States: Stop Deceiving Nigerians, PDP State Chairmen Tell Buhari

(THEWILL) – Chairmen of State branches of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop deceiving Nigerians about the true source of the bailout he recently granted to the states of the federation for the purpose of paying workers who are being owed salaries for months.

The PDP stalwarts in a statement issued by their chairman, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo , from Benue State, noted that Buhari was economical with the truth from the defence put forward by his spokesman that the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was intact.

They wondered why Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) would continue to mislead Nigerians, especially now that the campaigns were over, forgetting the need for government to always give truthful information to the people.

The statement reads: “The media adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari is economical with the truth. By denying release of funds from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), he is being economical with the facts regarding the bailout by Mr. President. The era of campaigns and deliberate distortion of facts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) are over.

“The APC should know that government is a sacred order built on trust and therefore must at all times give accurate information to Nigerians. There is no way that only $2bn from NLNG will equal N804 billion released for sharing by the three tiers of government.

“The bank loan arrangements are not physical cash on the table for direct disbursements to the tiers of government.

herefore, the media adviser's claim of the ECA being intact is misleading and deliberate distortion of facts. While applauding Mr. President's gesture in the bailout to help refinance local economy, we want to advise against measures that will see Nigeria totally and comprehensively on her knees economically and therefore want to opt for a phased and gradual bailout scheme instead of an outright emptying of the nation's Reserved Accounts.”

Serena wins sixth Wimbledon

Serena Williams beat a battling Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-4 to claim her second ‘Serena Slam’ and win her 21st Grand Slam title in the Wimbledon final on Saturday.

After losing a close first set and battling bravely to come back from 5-1 down in the second, the 21-year-old Spaniard was eventually downed after one hour and 23 minutes to leave Williams to receive the acclaim of the Centre Crowd.

At 33 years and 289 days, Serena surpasses Martina Navratilova as the oldest player to win Wimbledon, or any of the other three Grand Slams, in the Open era.

“It feels so good. Garbine played so well. I didn’t even know it was over because she was fighting so hard at the end. She will be holding this trophy very, very soon. I am happy it was such a great match,” said Williams.

“I can’t believe I am standing here with another Serena Slam. It is so cool. It has been a pleasure and an honour to give so many years in this unbelievable place.”

Muguruza, born in Venezuela and raised in Barcelona, had insisted facing Serena was a task to be relished rather than feared.

She was proving true to her bold claim and, by the time Muguruza moved into a 4-2 lead, it seemed an epic shock was on the cards.

However, Serena had recovered from worse predicaments earlier in the tournament.

And with the pressure ratcheted up, the inevitable Serena break back arrived in the eighth game when Muguruza missed with a wild forehand.

Williams scented blood and Muguruza crumbled, a double-fault on set point gift-wrapping the lead to Serena in a set that had been the underdog’s for the taking.

Williams had won 28 of her last 30 tour-level finals, including her last nine at the majors, and, in her eighth Wimbledon final, she was finally back in that muscular groove.

Serena’s fierce grimace and clenched fist after breaking in the fourth game of the second set suggested the finish line was in sight

But serving for the match with 5-1 and then 5-3 leads, Williams was gripped by a bad case of nerves and Muguruza broke twice to prolong the contest.

Finally able to compose herself, Serena broke in the next game to seal yet another legacy-defining success.

Serena’s sixth Wimbledon crown brought with it a slew of other remarkable landmarks that underline her credentials as one of the greatest female athletes of all time. The American’s 21st Grand Slam crown and 68th tour-level title earned her a cheque for £1.8 million.

But it is her legacy rather than her bank balance that concerns Williams these days and she now holds all four Grand Slam titles at the same time – the rare ‘Serena Slam’ she last achieved in 2002-03.