Amaechi petitions Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal, PSC …gives reasons why CP must leave Rivers

   

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has sent a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan, asking for the transfer of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu.

Amaechi, in the petition, which was also addressed to the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Okiro, gave various reasons why the commissioner of police must be transferred out of the state immediately.

Copies of the petition were sent to President Jonathan, Senate President, David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

Amaechi said in the petition, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday, that the police officer had compromised his position and professional ethics in the discharge of his duties in the state.

In the petition, which was dated July 9, 2013, Amaechi recalled all the alleged atrocities committed by Mbu since he was posted to the state in February.

He said one of such was the attempt by five lawmakers out of 32 to impeach the speaker of the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.

The governor said that he had previously worked with four commissioners of police before the arrival of Mbu in the state, adding that the present CP had chosen to work against the people of the state.

Mbu, he said, had chosen not to respect legally constituted authorities as demanded of his job as a police officer and should therefore be sent out of the state.

The petition said, “The actions and comments of Mr. Mbu have shown that he is unwilling to support me to protect lives and properties of everyone in Rivers State.

“He has compromised our regular Security Council meetings leading to reluctance on the part of other members to speak up during the meetings and therefore rendering the meetings ineffective.

“Besides his disparaging comments and discussions of security matters with scant regard for decorum, he has destabilised the security apparatus in the state, thereby supporting the return of some of the key actors in the cult wars that engulfed the state from 2004 up till 2007.

“Sir, it has become evident that Mr. Mbu is not desirous of assisting us in our quest for a crime-free and peaceful Rives State. It is also evident that he lacks the appropriate mien and disposition required of such a highly placed officer of the law and is unable to appropriately perform his functions as commissioner of police in Rivers State.

“I would therefore wish to respectfully request for his re-deployment

from Rivers State in the interest of the people of the state and to restore the confidence of the people of Rivers State in the impartiality of the Nigeria Police.

“Regrettably, since after Mbu’s assumption as Commissioner of Police in February 2013, the security situation in Rivers State began to deteriorate due largely to his approach to the discharge of his responsibility as commissioner of police.

“Shortly upon resumption of duties, Mr. Mbu began to withdraw police security attached to principal officers of the state for reasons that were different from those given by the Assistant Inspector General of Police of Zone 6 during a visit to me.”

Soyinka, Nwabueze, others condemn Rivers Assembly crisis

THREE days after the mayhem at the Rivers State House of Assembly, the polity was still awash with condemnation of the action of the lawmakers and feuding stakeholders.

Among those who spoke on the crisis, yesterday, were Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, legal icons, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, Itse Sagay, SAN, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Femi Falana, SAN.

Nobel Laurete, Professor Wole Soyinka has condemned the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, saying that democratic grounds were being eroded in the state.
See video here

Soyinka also took a swipe at the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan for her alleged over bearing tendencies and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to call her to order.

While he faulted the presidency for trying to absolve the president from the crisis, he said “the perception in the world is that he bears a vicarious liability in the crisis.”

RIVERS—The police fire tear gas as rival lawmakers and their supporters clashed in Port-Harcourt yesterday. Photos: Chijioke Nwankpa.

Besides, he said the indifference exhibited by the President creates an enabling environment for his followers to act on his behalf.

He said: “What I want to do here is to remind you of a certain historic figure. I am sure most of us here must be familiar with Thomas Becket, who was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 11th Century, who was murdered at the altar by four Knights of King Henry II.”

Commenting on the crisis, he said: “Now, I have read on the pages of newspapers and watched on television that the President’s spokesmen have been trying to distance him (President) from what is happening in Rivers State. They are doing their job and I wish them well but they have to understand that the President has to understand that the perception out there in the world is that he bears a lot of responsibility for what is happening in Rivers state.”

Drawing a parallel, he said “My reference to Thomas Becket was this: the absolute Monarchism that obtained at that time was that King Henry II saw that Thomas Becket was becoming too influential and what he said was that: ‘will no one rid me of this pestilence?’

“What happened after that was that four Knights went and attacked the Archbishop at the Cathedral. Historically now, we have five operators carrying out the imaginary will of the absolute monarch, again another parallelism.”

Continuing, he said “Again, I have been asking myself are we not tilting towards absolute monarch? There are many ways of saying: will no one rid me of this pestilence in Rivers State? You don’t have to utter a word directly but from your conduct which can convey very strong signals or better still say I will come after you.”

Prof Wole Soyinka addressing  the press on the state of the Nation and  the Crisis rocking the River state House of Assembly in Lagos Thursday while Mr Femi Falana looks on. Pix Biodun Ogunleye

Stating that he was not casting aspersion on any individual, he said, “I am saying that one can establish certain conducts in the mind of one’s followers, all of which circle around impunity. There are certain ways you can convince your followers, your officials, your cohorts that they can act with impunity. There are many ways, for instance, you can expose a prey and say that prey is available.”

First Lady’s excesses
Decrying alleged excesses of the first lady, Soyinka said it was unfortunate that a mere domestic appendage of power could go to a state and take over the state for 11 days. “A queen goes to the archbishop’s domain, stays 11 days and the baron is not even allowed to move; creating an enabling environment for that baron to be dealt with. He is stopped by a Sheriff and that baron is responsible for security and governance.”

He continued: “I am calling on the President Jonathan please curb the excesses of his wife. Too much is too much. Is she the first First Lady we have had? She is now being used to abuse the authority of an elected governor.

“The governor’s lodge was tear-gassed. Anybody who said teargas was not thrown into Amaechi’s lodge is either ignorant or lying. Some of Amaechi’s security has been removed. The democratic grounds are being eroded. With a teargas thrown, the next one may be a smoke gun”.

He chided Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu over his role in the political imbroglio and described him as a political policeman.

Falana laments crisis
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana said it was regrettable that exactly 10 years after a group of thugs attempted to abduct a sitting governor in Anambra State, another set of thugs attempted to undermine democratic institutions in Rivers State.

Falana said the silence of President Jonathan on the unfortunate development in Rivers State was tantamount to an endorsement of the political crisis.

He said: “We have been through this route before. We must tell them that we are not a conquered people. The case of Rivers is more absurd, more odious, where five members of the assembly aided by the state invaded the Assembly chambers and chased away their colleagues”.

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Money laundering: Court convicts Sule Lamido’s son

   

 

Aminu Lamido

A Federal High Court, Kano, on Friday convicted Aminu; the son of Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, of money laundering charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Aminu was arrested on December 11, 2012 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on his way to Egypt for failure to declare the $50,000 in his possession. He only declared $10,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service.

According to a statement by the EFCC Acting Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, Justice Fatu Riman ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum of $40,000.

In the course of trial, which started on April 19, the prosecution called four witnesses and tendered documents which were admitted as exhibits.

One of its witnesses, Sanusi Ahmed, who is an operative of the EFCC, told the court that the accused person only registered $10,000 in the Nigerian Customs Declaration Form only for a search to reveal that he had $50,000 on him.

He identified the Customs Declaration Form when it was shown to him. The document was accepted by court as exhibit 1.

The defence called two witnesses: the Chief Press Secretary to the Jigawa State Governor, Umar Kyare, and the wife of the accused, Samira Aminu Sule.

In convicting the accused person, the trial court held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Fasehun cautions politicians on 2015

on July 13, 2013   /   in News 12:10 am   /   Comments

LEADER of Oodua Peoples Congress OPC, Dr Fredrick Fasehun yesterday warned that Politicians would not be allowed to turn the South West into a theatre of war ahead of the 2015 election.

Fasehun said this during an interview with newsmen in Ondo town.

Frederick Fasehun

”We sworn to preserve the peaceful atmosphere in the South West. We have been doing it for years and I thank God no insurgency is here, no crisis here, no assassination, no kidnapping, we thank God.

” I am not saying this is achieved due to the presence of OPC in the South West but for the grace of God and I pray that the peaceful atmosphere we enjoy in this part of the country will sustain.

”Like I said that OPC is to ensure there is peace in the South, is also determine to maintain the peace. Politics does not embrace violence. I think Nigerians have realized that we can play politics without violence.

” But we are warning the politicians to please allow peace to reign and OPC itself will not involve in politics.

” If anyone attempt to throw the country into crisis we will wade in to confront such person. So, we will not encourage violence but if you try to import violence into this part of the country, we will not keep quiet or fold our arms. It will be violence for violence. So the politicians have been warned.

” If they bring violence into the South West not many of them will go back from the region.

Speaking on Boko Haram cease fire, Fasehun said that, “which faction of Boko Haram has agreed to cease fire because Boko Haram has four functions.

” I think Boko Haram should first agree with themselves before consulting an external authority.”

He denied that the Federal government has awarded the contract of policing the pipeline to OPC

According to him, “We made an approach about this but we are yet to be given the contract so I don’t know where our detractors found the news that OPC has been awarded contract.

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BREAKING NEWS: Court of Appeal Sets Al-Mustapha Free

12 July, 2013
Local

 
 
 
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The Court of Appeal in Lagos has discharged and acquitted Hamza Al-Mustapha from the murder of Kudirat Abiola.

The judgment overturns that of the Lagos High Court which sentenced both men to death by hanging.

The presiding judge accused the lower court of being “stroked to secure a conviction by all means.” Mr. Al-Mustapha was a former chief security officer to the late dictator, Sani Abacha.

He was sentenced to death on January 30 for conspiracy and murder of Mrs. Abiola. Mrs. Abiola, 45, was shot in Lagos on June 4, 1996, as the lower court ruled, on the orders of Mr. Al-Mustapha.

More details coming soon ...

Bill Gates

William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955)^[2] is an American business magnate, investor, programmer,^[3] inventor^[4] and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer softwarecompany, which he co-founded with Paul Allen.

He is consistently ranked in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people^[5] and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009—excluding 2008, when he was ranked third;^[6] in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the world's second wealthiest person.^[7][8]According to the Bloomberg Billionaires List, Gates is the world's richest person in 2013, a position that he last held on the list in 2007.^[1]

During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock.^[a] He has also authored and co-authored several books.

Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts.^[11][12] In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.^[13]

Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work, and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, andCraig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates's last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman.

Every Childhood Dream Is Possible ––Jelani Aliyu•Nigerian Who Designed Chevrolet Volt For World’s Biggest Automobile Company, General Motors (GM), United States

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Saturday, 20 August 2011

Jelani Aliyu is a United States-based Nigerian automotive designer, who designed the General Motors’ leading auto brand, Chevrolet Volt. SEYI GESINDE, in this piece takes a look at  the background of this Sokoto-born, but now US-based automobile genius.

Jelani Aliyu

Alot of people may not know that a Nigerian actually designed Chevrolet Volt, a car described as the future of General Motors, the world’s biggest automaker based in the United States.  Who is then this genius? He is Jelani Aliyu, the man from Sokoto, who left Nigeria to become the General Motors Lead Exterior Designer.

Jelani, who started off in Sokoto State, is now a world-class car designer. With focus and determination, Jelani said he was able to fulfil his dream, not minding the initial discouragement from people around him who felt he couldn’t go far in the industry.

After his exemplary work, a night of honour was organised for him at Detroit by Nigerian Foundation of Michigan. At the event, the president, Nigerian Foundation of Michigan, Professor Chile Chukwu, described Jelani as “an embodiment of what Nigeria needs, creativity, honesty and worthy ambassador.”

His teachers who were also asked to comment about him said he was such an exceptional student. Jelani’s Senior Thesis Project Supervisor, Carl Olsen, said: “Jelani was exceptionally gifted as a designer. More surprising is the fact that of all the students we had at that time, he spoke English better that any of the American students that were there. Indeed, I gave him the title Laureate of Transportation Design, because not only that his designs were of high standard, but the verbal presentation of his designs was exceptional and the best I have ever heard.

“He led the design team for Chevrolet Volt for General Motors, one of the leading brands of GM. From the GM’s perspective, Volt is a car representing the future of GM,” Carl Olsen said.

Another Professor of Automobile Design, William Porter, said: “Jelani always asks the question that is most searching and has the most profound consequences. His questions have greater depth and searching than those of other students.”

Jelani, also responding tells his own story thus: Background
I grew up in the northern part of Nigeria, in Sokoto, the capital of Sokoto State. I’ve always loved cars since I was a kid and my brothers and dad also loved cars a lot and I love drawing. So I put the two together to really go into car design. But as you know, there is nothing like that in Nigeria, actually in the whole of Africa, there is nothing like car designing. So, I had to go out of Nigeria to study automobile design.

Challenges abroad
The first challenge I faced out of the country was the weather. When I left Nigeria, it was very hot, leaving that hot terrain in Sokoto for Michigan which was very cold was really the biggest challenge that I had. Also, the school itself was very challenging because a lot of people wanted to go into car designs, but there was a little space, so you really have to be one of the best to get in there and the competition between the students was very stiff.

How he goes about designing cars
Car designs take quite a while between the time you come up with the concept and the time it hits the road, so we are always dealing with the future. In car design, you must be able to really look down the road to see what the competition is to come up with solutions.

Inspiration
I personally grew up in Africa; I take a lot of my inspiration from nature. I try to take from that and put into my design. For instance, we look at the planet earth and you see that we live on a truly magical planet; it is a gigantic overfly hustling through space. Everywhere we look around we see that we are surrounded by wonders of our natural world, from the tiny leaf, only a fraction of millimetre thick yet highly efficient to the amazing sea race at the deep waters of the atlantics. The planet earth is a perfect balance of beauty and practicality. So, I reach into nature, learn from it and apply it to car designs.

Perspective about Nigeria.
In life everything has its positives and negatives and you can find anything wrong with any society, any community in any part of the world. It is really not right to talk or think about negative things about Nigeria. The positive far exceeds the negative and that is why I keep focused. People may think or talk negatively about Nigeria, but there are a lot of people who are doing good and had contributed positively to the development of United States and other countries around the world, most especially our own country, so I take that as my focus and adopt it to move forward.

Counsel for Nigerians.
There are so many potentials in Nigeria, so people living within or outside the country should really contribute to the development of that great nation. It is great to live outside and make a living, but it is a spiritual call to contribute to our root. It is just amazing. Each time I think about Nigeria, the potentials that exist, the potentials in the land, I’m just mind-boggling about what could be done. Nigerians in the Diaspora really need to look at that and know that there is a potential that they can invest in. And this has to be done by both Nigerians inside and outside. Together, Nigerians everywhere can be able to make a difference and make Nigeria one of the best countries in the world.

For the youth It reminds me of many years ago when I had a dream myself and a lot of people said you can’t do that, we don’t even make cars in Nigeria, but I had a dream and that passion and I know nothing is impossible. We must never underestimate the power of human determination and human imagination. When we see young kids beginning to excel and develop interest in something, it is up to the community and the parents to help the child try to nurture that gift; it can get better and better. The biggest thing is never to lose hope and believe in your imagination, go for what you want to do. If everybody around you says you can’t do it, never give up.

Born in 1966 to the family of Alhaji Aliya Haidara and Sharifiya Hauwa’u Aliyu, Jelani grew up in Sokoto with his other siblings as the fifth of seven children. He didn’t capitalise on the limitations around him as a northern Nigerian, rather, Jelani said he considered it amazing growing up in  Sokoto and being surrounded by the rich culture of his people from where he taps from to develop good inspiration.

In 1971, Jelani attended Capital School, Sokoto, and in 1978, he secured admission into Federal Government College, Sokoto, and graduated from the institution in 1983, winning the Best Technical Drawing Student award.