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Thursday 21 August 2014

THE BLACKMAN! WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM!

Everywhere you go, the whiteman is blamed for the calamities that ever befell the blackman race, just the way mankind blames Adam for the fall of human race in the garden of Eden! This is what a great blackman has to say to his fellow about the way forward for the blackman's race.

"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English.
I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.
And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.
In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.

People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an Education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids.
$500 sneakers for what?
And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.
I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.
Where were you when he was 2?
Where were you when he was 12?
Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol?
And where is the father? Or who is his father?
People putting their clothes on backward:
Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?
People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something?
Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?
What part of Africa did this come from??
We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa .....
I say this all of the time. It would be like white people saying they are European-American. That is totally stupid.
I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents. I don't have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany , Scotland , England , Ireland , or the Netherlands . The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa . So stop, already! ! !
With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap ......... And all of them are in jail.
Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.
We have got to take the neighborhood back.
People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.
We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job.
Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard..
We cannot blame the white people any longer."

Dr.. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed..D.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

RIBADU: A DOUBLE MOUTHED SPEAKER!



“Nigeria A Sinking Ship Under Jonathan” – Ribadu; “You Are A Tyrant and Ingrate” – FGN

By Ben Agande
ABUJA — The Presidency, yesterday, reacted to the assertion by former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu that Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan is a ‘sinking ship’.
It said that Ribadu is an ingrate considering what the Jonathan administration did for him on his return from self-imposed exile.
Mallam Ribadu at a lecture in Kaduna on Saturday said Nigeria, under President Goodluck Jonathan, was a sinking ship in which the yearnings of the masses were being neglected by a tyrannical leadership.
Reacting to Ribadu’s claim, the Presidency, in a statement, yesterday, by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said in his quest for relevance, Ribadu has resorted to disparaging leaders of the land to satisfy his new leaders.
According to the statement: “The Presidency totally rejects the false, hypocritical and self-serving claim by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at a lecture in Kaduna on Saturday that Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan is a “sinking ship” in which the yearnings of the masses are being neglected by a tyrannical leadership. http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-sinking-ship-jonathan-ribadu-tyrant-ingrate-fgn/#ixzz3AmuYuCSJ

Jonathan has surpassed my vision for Nigeria~ Nuhu Ribadu.
....Picks PDP nomination form to contest for Adamawa Governor, bombs Amaechi.

Hear him:

"With due respect to governor Amaechi, he is simply hungry for power and do not know how to go about it, except with money. I may not know how to become the President of Nigeria, but I know it's never for the highest bidder and it's never up for sale. It's an undeniable fact, that President Jonathan has done well for Nigeria in such a very short time, and I think he is the answer to the prayer of many Nigerians. I must not be President, but I have vowed to support anyone who shares the same vision I have for Nigeria. And take it from me, President Jonathan has surpassed my vision for Nigeria"~He said.
My candid take on a man who double speaks is very unfortunate. A couple of months ago he condemned President as being incompetent but turns around to say that he, the president had exceeded his own (Ribadu’s) vision for Nigeria. First, it goes to show the kind of vision he has for Nigeria. A vision which gives award to past dictators and grant pardon to any individual is ready to support its administration! A man who doesn’t believe in corruption as a bane to development in Nigeria!
Some has said Ribadu did well for his decision to dump APC for PDP, based on the perceived betrayal by the ACN leadership during the 2011 presidential elections, but then I ask them this question, don’t you think these leaders discovered some things about the person of Mr Ribadu which gave him up as a man who is up for grabs to the highest bidder?
I am still saddened for the lack of great minds lack Fashola in the leadership of politics in Nigeria!


Yomi Akinsola





NIGERIA: THE WAY FORWARD!

I think it is too elementary to attempt any formal definition of democracy.
It will serve our purpose to say that it is participatory governance in the sense that we all have a say, whether we vote or not. It is also useful to remind ourselves that participation is largely by representation; in other words, those who are old enough to vote and those who are not, are represented by people elected to speak, think and act for us.
This part is very important because we all cannot be in Government, especially the Executive and Legislative arm, so we must elect or otherwise choose people to go there on our behalf.
The problem is compounded by size.
Can you imagine what a Senate or House of Representatives where all 160 million of us can sit will look like? From this point we can see the inherent challenges that lie in a process of collective decision making.
In order to further highlight some of the challenges that lie in democratic governance, I will share with you a report of developments across the World published by Newsweek Magazine on August 23 & 30, 2010 edition titled “the Best Countries in the World”, Newsweek Top 100.
An article by Rana Foroohar posed the following question before delivering the report of a survey of 100 nations:-
”If you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous and upwardly mobile life?”
In the answer, Finland was number 1, Nigeria was number 99, Ghana was number 86, South Africa was number 82, Brazil was number 48, Singapore was number 20, USA was number 11, United Kingdom was number 14. Greece, with its recent economic and debt crises was number 26, Russia was number 51.
The United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, that are not democracies in the contemporary sense of the western conception were rated 43, 53, 54 and 64 respectively.
Out of the 53 African countries on the continent, only 18 made the ranking, the highest being Tunisia 65, Morocco 67 and Egypt 74.South Africa, which is reputed to be arguably the best democracy in Africa and at the time, the largest economy ranked lower than these “undemocratic” North African countries at 82.
As if this was not bad enough, earlier this year on a business trip to Abu Dhabi, I was forced to enter into conversation with a middle aged man of Arab extraction.
It was in the evening in our hotel. He had come out to the restaurant to dine and unwind. I ended up on the same table with him and he was insistent on making conversation while he drank a glass of red alcoholic wine.
In the event he sought to know where I came from and when I said Nigeria, he accused our Government of pauperizing our country when we have oil like his own country, Saudi Arabia.
When I told him that he was not supposed to drink alcohol he asked me if I was going to report to his country.
When I reminded him that his country was not democratic, he hit me where it hurts most.
He asked what the value of democracy is to my own countrymen when his own countrymen can build hospitals that we bring our own ailing presidents to.
As if this was not enough, he rounded off by saying to me that in his country they see what their leaders are doing with their money, building roads, bridges, new airports, schools, hospitals, rail, shopping malls and generally driving development, and he at least did not care about democracy.
Although I felt hurt that he thought very little of my country, the idea of freedoms, to think, to speak, to act and to ask questions is too valuable for me to exchange for development under an autocratic or undemocratic government.
So I worry as we must all worry, when I hear some people say that it is part of their achievement that they allow us to express ourselves. Utter Rubbish!
They seek to re-define the relationship in the social contract. They are to serve us and not the other way round. It is not a privilege for us to complain when they do not deliver.
If the only options left to choose from were between freedom and development, I for one will rather surrender development than freedom.
However, I am however convinced beyond doubt that democracy can deliver development and this is the central theme of my presentation.

Political Parties

In order for this to happen, the vehicle of politics, the political parties must be developed as first class institutions. The first thing to seek is the “idea” behind governance (this is often contained in the program of a political party). This is very important because the extremes of left and right ideologies have now converged around the centre.
If China and Russia are democratizing, no matter how imperfectly, it is clear that the communist or socialist ideologies of economic exchange have proven to become unsustainable. Conversely, capitalism in its purest sense has also had to reinvent itself to remain viable. Therefore it moved from cash to credit and credit almost killed it.
The question of ideology is important because it lies at the heart of choice making for the people who participate in election to choose their representatives. At all times, the welfare of the people is the central theme for the canvassing of votes. It is the ideology, often on economic outlook, sometimes on social outlook that helps to crystallize the difference between the political party machines.
Before concluding on party ideology (because it can be the subject of a full lecture itself) let me say that while some people still delude themselves that there is no difference between our political parties, especially the ruling party and the main opposition, the differences are emerging daily for those who are discerning enough to notice.
If on major policy issues such as power, security, agriculture, corruption and unemployment the main opposition has disagreed with the party in Government and has criticized its choices, I wonder what else the party needs to do to prove that there is a difference.
If you look at the level of progress and development (World Bank poverty index) in the States governed by old and new opposition Governors, there is clear daylight in terms of development. For example, it is no coincidence that only 2 (two) States, Lagos and Rivers, governed by APC Governors are executing rail projects on their own as a mass transit solution.
The party in government has lied about when there will be stable electricity for 16 years, and an APC state, Lagos led the way in showing what is possible with its power initiatives in Egbin, Akute, Lagos Island and Alausa. Ikeja and Lekki will be commissioned this year.
Other APC Controlled states are clearly Pack Leaders in service delivery across the religious landscape.The party in power prefers to continue to import fuel with the attendant disruptions, and monumental corruption. It cancelled its own concession of moribund refineries.
Lagos believes that in a strategic partnership where it provides land for a refinery, Nigeria can produce enough petroleum products for consumption and still have some to export in 4 (four) years. The ruling party is now sending a clear message to the people.
This is what they are saying:-
“We care about you, but you do not need development so we will not do any developmental work in 3 (three) years. In the 4th (fourth) year we will give you money, kerosene, and rice. Please vote for us, and use the money we give you to provide your own roads, schools, hospitals and security, until we see you again in 4 (four) years”.
In the last election in Osun, the APC candidate sought the peoples vote on a campaign anchored on first his record of 4 years, and a clear developmental and economic agenda to empower the people if elected. For the candidate of the other main party, the election was going to be a war. So said no less a person than the Vice-President of our country. A leading member of that party. The candidate therefore anchored his campaign on an intention to CAPTURE Ekiti. For me there is clear daylight between these two approaches. Anyone who still pretends not to see this major economic ideological difference will not see the tallest building in the world even if he stands in front of it.

People and members

I will start here with the quote of Bertolt Brecht who said:-
The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life.
 He doesn’t seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines,
 all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and
 says he hates politics. He doesn’t know, the imbecile,
 that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, 
corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations”.
It seems that when opposition does its job will the Government panic and resort to a propaganda of lies. It is part of the lies they have told us about the mismanagement of our National Security. Their first story was that those behind it were within the Government. When the opposition pushed them to identify those people they have turned around to say it is the opposition.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is still regrettable that the majority of the members of our political parties and politicians do not yet include the critical elite of our society.
They still see politics as something too dirty. Whether we like it or not, history has shown that the elite of any society, especially its professional cadre, and the very best of them decide the direction of the nation when they come to a consensus about the pathway for their nation, even if they belong to different political parties.
Where are all the people who have built things with their hands in our society?
What are they doing outside of Government?
Where are the founders of the big banks, businesses, telecoms in our body politic?
Are they just content to finance and yet remain unwilling to take the plunge?
There is unverifiable talk that they are willing to identify with the ruling party when they are in Abuja, and with the party in Government in their states when they get to their bases for fear of reprisals?
What do our elite believe?
It is only by their belief, that contributions can come in to fund parties, where members pay dues, where strong values restrain people from decamping whenever the grass in not green on their side again.
Truth be told, opposition politics is tough and only the committed and true believers see it through.
Opposition politics carries its own pain everywhere and has been the subject of a book called “How to be in Opposition. Life in the Political Shadows”, where Nigel Fletcher provides useful insight into the challenges of being in opposition and also profers useful tips.
The one I will share with you is sub-titled “choose your weapons wisely”, and this is what he says:-
“An opposition cannot compete with the Government on resources, so you must be inventive. In what is a David and Goliath contest, you can use the advantages of greater agility to aim your slingshot where it can do the most damage. Parliamentary ambushes, media attacks and effective research will wear down Ministers and help expose their mistakes”
As you may have also heard in this part of the World, the party in power will accuse you of trying to bring down the Government.
This is certainly not the same thing as bringing down the Country because the Government can be removed by LEGITIMATE and CONSTITUTIONAL means at the ballot box.
According to Nigel Fletcher:- “…bringing down the Government was a peculiar day job and it is. But that is really only the negative side of the job description. With equally lofty ambition, the positive side of opposition could be summed up as ‘trying to change the World’. This is surely something worth doing…”
Perhaps when all these issues have been put in proper place, can we then begin to talk of the people of the party and what defines it. This is different from a manifesto, which can change (discuss) easily.
It is the ideology of the party (what the Americans call the platform statement ) and what I call the DNA of the party that is very difficult to change. The nearest to it since the Action Group was formed in 1951 is the All Progressive Congress Code of Ethics unveiled at its inaugural summit on the 6th of March 2014.
It is important to repeat the codes here:-
“1. Our party considers the Nigerian people as our nation’s greatest asset, and will do everything to protect and preserve human life and dignity.
2. Our party upholds a Nigeria bound by the principles of freedom, justice, peace, unity and the rule of law.
3. Our party upholds and respects every individual’s choice of faith under God.
4. Our party has no tolerance for corruption and will manage Nigerian resources responsibly, with a commitment to accountability and the pursuit of the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
5. Our party is committed to a strong system of government at the federal, state and local levels as the most effective vehicle for harnessing the diversity and preserving the unity of Nigeria.
6. Our party rests on the foundation of democracy, fairness and the pursuit of opportunity for all citizens, predicated on economic productivity, fair competition and the bridging of inequalities.
7. Our party pursues its objective of increasing economic opportunity, social welfare and progress through a government-led and private sector driven economy.
8. Our party upholds the principle of one person, one vote grounded in free and fair elections at all levels.
9. Our Party upholds and respects the interests of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups that constitute our Nation.
10. Our party recognizes Nigeria’s strategic role on the African continent and commits to the pursuit of a foreign policy that promotes peace, security and our national interest.”
The existence of these codes leads inexorably to how the parties are managed. Who leads them? What type of experience do they have? When and where are meetings held and how are decisions taken? (Night meetings).
Finally, what is the process of choosing representative of the party (officials) and its flagbearers?
What role do debates play?
What is the efficiency of primaries?
Where do we draw the difference between “godfatherism” and “endorsements”?
I have taken the trouble, even if in summary form, to highlight some of the bridges we must cross in order to deepen democracy.
These are only some of the challenges that democratic governance faces.
It seems to me that the countries that have managed to deliver development with democracy got one thing right – they built strong political parties (Not one in four years parties).
The makings were appearing in SDP and NRC until the annulment of June 12.
Thankfully, the APC provides the opportunity for a rebirth, with the broad base from which its coalition is formed.
That in itself is a challenge, which, if overcome and harnessed, provides very deep diversity from which to project strength and national unity.

Leadership of Government

Until recently, we all used to think that our national development was inhibited by the fact that we never had a university graduate as leader of any national government in an executive capacity.
This perhaps alludes only faintly to the issue of the elite consensus, but it is not the same.
Thankfully, the myth of graduate leadership as desirable as it is, has been exploded now.
We have two graduates (a zoologist and an architect) at the helm of our National affairs and I think the majority of Nigerians will tell you today that their lives are worse off today than they were 4 (four) years ago.
Clearly there must be more to leadership than a university degree and educational qualification.
There is character, vision, courage, empathy, compassion and many more attributes that you simply will not find in a classroom or school.
They are in homes, in communities and also in the value system of society.
Recently, our leadership has re-defined empathy by inviting parents of abducted Chibok girls, bereaved people, to the presidential villa for commiseration. I find this truly strange. Truly unAfrican.
How does this sound?
“I heard you lost your child to abductors. Please come and see me at home so I can sympathize with you”.
This is my paraphrasing of what has so far transpired.
As if this was not bad enough, there is a tissue of lies around whether or not they tried to give the bereaved parents money. It is a low point for leadership. It suggests the lack of empathy.
This is not the first lie that surrounds the unfortunate abduction of young girls in Chibok.
The first statement was to say that they had rescued the girls.
When pressed to show us the girls they issued a statement casting doubt on whether the girls were actually abducted. The new story, is that they now know where the girls are.
This is the same way they lied about the unaccounted for $48 Billion; when they say it was only $20 Billion as if it was good not to account for $1.00.
They have turned around to say no money was missing, but add that they have appointed “forensic auditors” to find out of the money was missing. It seems strange and illogical to be searching for what is not missing.
Where is courage?
The character to proceed even in spite of fear.
I think we will all do well to remember that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King led from the front in the civil rights movement, so did Mandela, so did Lee Kuan Yew in the agitation for Singapore‘s independence.
Barack Obama has been to the war fronts in countries where American troops (young men and women) are put in harm’s way, to inspire them.
As racially divided as America was in the days of Martin Luther King, he did not seek to divide the country and impose black rule over white.
He dreamt and worked hard to unify divided people.
Mandela sacrificed personal liberty for the emancipation of his people and surrendered presidential power for a higher power – a moral authority – that made him the father of a continent and a global leadership reference, when by clinging to power he could not have been more than a president of one of the world’s 196 (One Hundred and Ninety Six) countries.
Instead of dividing the ethnic Chinese, Malay and Indians in Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew united them by his housing and education policies, built a nation, and took them on a journey of dizzying adventure and development.
What we are witnessing now is a daily dishonor and discredit of the service of previous Governments. They tell us now that since Nigeria was created, no Government has done for us what they have done for us.
What would the nationalists who fought for our independence say to these inheritors? I wonder how the 7 surviving formers Heads of State and Presidents who attend the National Council of States feel, when they hear this kind of talk.
Yet their unmatched achievements has not delivered stable power whose delivery date has not escaped their lies. The date has shifted from month-to-month to year-to-year since 2011. The lie was even told to an International News Agency.
Instead of boasting that no previous leader of Government has done more for the country as our Government does, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the leader of Dubai whose achievements far surpass ours (at least for now) not only acknowledges the service of those before him, he sets new challenges for his Government and dreams new dreams for his people.
This is what he said in the book “MY VISION: Challenges in the Race for Excellence” at pages 44, 45, 46, 213 and 214. “Although Arab and world history abound with numerous examples of such leaders, if I were to review the history that I stood witness to, the leader I constantly think about is Sheikh Zayed”
“Sheikh Zayed earned the love of all those around him, out of their great respect for his hard work and achievements. He was also frank and expected people to be frank with him. This is something he taught me and this is how I came to respect him”
“How can I prove this? Well many people, from the United Arab Emirates and overseas, criticized Sheikh Zayed for drilling artesian wells in the desert and using the water for farming. They said this would deplete a non-renewable source, inflict heavy damage on the environment and disturb its natural balance. Although none of those critics ever knew the actual size of the underground water reservoirs, they continually criticized the idea.
As time passed, water remained abundant and none of the fears of critics materialized, while Sheikh Zayed was proven right. In the not-so-distant past, people travelling between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain would die of thirst if they did not have enough water for the long journey. Sheikh Zayed transformed the same journey into a fascinating drive on an ultramodern highway flanked by farms, palm gardens and endless greenery.
In fact, Sheikh Zayed transformed a large area of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi into the world’s largest oasis in one of the world’s harshest deserts. All this was made possible by the huge water reserves he put to good use and which are now expected to last many decades.
“I will never abandon one opportunity and wait for another. We have not reached the goal we are striving for. What you see now is nothing compared to our vision…just tiny parts of what lies ahead”
“I know the road to development and modernization is difficult; I know that it is long and I also know that the next stages will be even tougher and longer. But I have faith in God, I believe in my people, in the wisdom of our leadership and the future of our nation. I am confident we will realize our goals. Our vision is clear, our road is paved and the clock is ticking. There is no more time for hesitation or half-baked goals or solutions. Development is an ongoing process and the race for excellence has no finish line”
So until we find that kind of leader that believes in God and country, who truly loves the people, the leader who recognizes ‘service” not awards, self-adulation and national honours as the highest honour, until then will our democracy remain un-developing.
Certainly, without subscribing to any recklessness, I would think that if the leadership of any country is worth living for, it must be worth dying for.
Regrettably, such sterling leadership as we now so desperately need is not given to nations, frequently or in abundant supply.
In 236 years of the USA, she has produced 44 presidents (of which one was elected for 4 terms) and in about 500 years of British democracy, she has produced about 75 Prime Ministers.
How many of those Presidents or Prime Ministers do you remember off hand?
Why?
Many were either not outstanding or simply did not meet the developmental aspirations of their people.
In just about a decade, Britain has produced 3 (three) Prime Ministers, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Who knows what will happen in next year’s election?
This March 2014 in India, the ruling party, the Congress Party was defeated with the winning party, BJP having 31.4% of the votes against the then ruling party’s 19.5% of votes. The instructive message of this musical chair of leaders is that their people have always acted to vote out leaders who were inefficient, not trusted or simply unable to inspire their people. A number of American presidents served only one term, some voluntarily stepped down (e.g. Nixon) others were voted out after one term (eg. Carter, Bush Snr.). Recently, Gordon Brown only finished the term of Tony Blair and was voted out in the first election he called. 

Conclusion
So apart from building great parties, finding good people, and so on and so forth, the Nigerian people must find the courage to vote out an un-performing Government after its first term. This must be the mood when a Government lies about power, about security an about the economy which are the problems it was mandated to solve.
This is the strongest message of a desire for development that the Nigerian people can send to the incoming government as well, that we will vote you out if you also do not develop our lives. It remains or me to wish Governor Timipre Sylva, at whose behest this paper was written to commemorate his birthday anniversary, a very Happy Birthday and many happy returns.
I thank you for listening.
Babatunde Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State

Friday 8 August 2014

OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, THE TRUTH ABOUT HIM!

"I was greatly saddened to read the material written by Mr. Eyieyien urging “The Remnants” to vote out the current Governor of Osun State Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and vote in Chief Iyiola Omisore. I am also still somewhat puzzled as to how what appeared to be an opposition to a bond issue and other sundry allegations degenerated to the running down
of the APC as an Islamic party, a propaganda tool notoriously deployed by the PDP through its various organs. Are we as Christians now being
urged to support the PDP or what exactly is the message? Reason,
is one of the most important contributions of the Gospel to development. From it emerge the practical concepts of fairness and justice for all, especially our enemies. Which is why lynching, even of an intellectual kind is unacceptable I am not an unbiased intervenor, I had the good fortune of serving in an AD/ACN government in Lagos State. The ACN is a major partner in the APC. I will come back to the PDP/APC issue presently. Also, I have known Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of the State of Osun, since 1999. We served on the policy committees of the then newly elected AD governor of Lagos State. He served in the infrastructure sub-committee and I, in the Justice sub-committee. I also served with him for 8 years in the government of Lagos State. He as Commissioner for Works and I as Attorney General. I developed a close personal relationship with him. His early ideological belief was shaped by Marxist-Socialist thinking, which probably influences his left- of- centre world view in governance. His first son Kabir went to university
in Cuba on a scholarship. In 2005 when he graduated, only Rauf and
I attended his graduation . He is a devout Muslim but liberal in his
approach to other faiths. This is not unusual amongst the Yorubas largely because most families have both Muslim and Christian members and have always interacted without rancour. Of his six siblings only one other is a Muslim. All the others are Christians. His sister who is of
the RCCG, is widowed (her husband died a Christian) her two sons have lived with Rauf for years, he insists that they must practice their father’s faith faithfully. They both attend the RCCG.

He and I shared and still share a burden to provide honest, transparent, people-centered governance. He is a scrupulously honest person, as Commissioner for Works in Lagos State he left office without a home and no financial comforts. I know, because aside from my personal and official interaction with him, I coordinated his legal team for the reclamation of his mandate for over three years. I know first hand, his difficulties with sustaining his family, and a small staff for that period. Not surprisingly no one can accuse him in Osun State of corruption. He is just not wired that way. Indeed, in keeping with that commitment to serve the people with complete fidelity, his major projects have been solely directed at alleviating the suffering and deprivation of his people. The hiring of, now 40,000 unemployed graduates , the provision of free balanced meals for all primary school children, provision of free uniforms, the provision of tablet computers for senior secondary school students
containing all their textbooks, past jamb questions etc., monthly stipends to the elderly – all of these in a State that is the third poorest in Federal allocations and currently gets N2.6 billion monthly, a 40 percent reduction from 2013, courtesy of the Federal government. Mr. Eyieyien
perhaps was not aware that even the 10 billion sukuk bond was
purely for the building of 24 model state-of the art schools, most of which are now completed. The Wole Soyinka led Osun education summit
recommended the replacement of the completely broken school
infrastructure in Osun State with schools capable of accommodating 1000 students with modern labs, classrooms, power and sports facilities.
The idea was to use economies of scale to benefit the largest number of students. When Mr. Eyieyien describes him as “Sheikh” it is clearly to give the impression that he is an Islamic fundamentalist. The facts on the
man completely belie this. First, as Commissioner for Works in Lagos State, he built the chapel at the State House Marina. Pastor Adeboye at the opening commended him and remarked that he would be a pastor soon! Within a year of coming into government, he commissioned in Ilesa the Open Heavens Christian Evangelical Arena , a purpose-built facility for evangelism which according to him was to celebrate the icons of the Christian faith who are from Osun namely- the Late Apostle Babalola , the Late Apostle Obadare, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, Pastor W.F Kumuyi and Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo. Today, his government supports the establishment of five Christian universities in Osun, including The Redeemers University at Ede, the Joseph Babalola University, Dominion
University , and Bowen University. How about the composition of government in Osun State? You will notice that his critics are never able to say that Christians are marginalised in government, why ? Because only Muslims can make that allegation! In the Cabinet of Osun State there are 10 more Christians than Muslims. In addition, the largest Ministries are headed by Christians-Ministries of Finance, Justice, Education, Health, Environment, Agriculture, Physical Planning, and Youth and Sports . The Legislature (House of Assembly), which came into office after he won back his mandate in court in November 2010, has a majority of Christian members – 18 Christians and 8 Muslims. Everyone knows that at that level if the Governor does not support your nomination by the party your ambitions are dead in the water. The State Judiciary is headed by a Christian who he appointed although he had preferred and
proposed a judge from Lagos Justice Olubunmi Oyewole also a
non-Muslim. Of over 30 new Permanent Secretaries appointed by him 22 are Christians. If the majority of your cabinet, (including your Attorney-
General), your Legislature, Judiciary and top echelon of your civil service are Christians how can we in truth say that such a person has an Islamisation agenda? Surely the least a “Sheikh” with an Islamisation agenda should do to achieve his objective is to populate the structure that can achieve that objective with Muslims!
It is also entirely false that he patronizes or uses “TAAWUN” guards for his security. It is common knowledge that he hardly even uses any security at all, except for a couple of SSS men, his monthly LIFE WALKS where he walks alongside his people for kilometres without any significant security cordon was commended recently by a former Governor in the South East. It is incredible what prejudice can do to us. Everyone in Osun knows that the State was nicknamed “State of the Living Spring” in reference to the Osun River after which the State is named. Renaming the State “the Omoluabi State ” – meaning “the State of children born of God” or “the State of men and women of virtue” certainly gives greater glory to God. To suggest that benefiting from a Sukuk bond to better the lives of his people of all faiths, is enough to justify the grave allegation of an Islamisation agenda, is with all due respect , calling a dog a bad name simply to hang it. I agree that it may have served the politics of religion better not to take the bond, but it is a fairer judgment of his motives, knowing him, that this was borne out of his desire to serve his people well.
The 24 mega schools with state-of -the art facilities is a quantum leap in education for the majority of children of the poor who before now schooled in what the Soyinka committee saw as scandalous. The alternative was not to build the schools. When a man who is doing right by the poor and deprived people he governs, is being condemned by those of us who are called to serve the poor, the sick, the naked, and the hungry then it is fair to ask what the values in governance we really intend to
promote are? In any event the alternative is Chief Iyiola Omisore whose antecedents we ought, to put it delicately, be cautious to associate with. A problem with uncritically accepting as useful advice this viciously anti-APC propaganda, is that it throws the baby out with the bath water. So we are now expected to reject the landmark achievements in Lagos, in Ogun (the huge infrastructural developments), Oyo (which for the first time most admit is making real progress), Edo, and Ekiti (where almost everyone agrees the governor did a good job but Fayose understood stomach infrastructure better!) Or now Kano or Rivers (where a REAL rail service is about to begin; Lagos is also about to complete a rail service amongst other exemplary achievements )! It is also false that the APC’s
new executive reserved its top positions for Muslims! The Chairman of the party Chief John Odigie-Oyegun is a Christian, the Deputy National Chairman (South) Engr. Segun Oni is a Christian, so are the National Organizing Secretary Senator Osita Izunaso, Deputy National Secretary Hon. Orji Ugofa and Chief Pius Akinyelure, the Vice Chairman of the South West. For what it is worth, there are 22 Muslims and 21 Christians in the APC National Executive Committee.
Regarding the rather thinly veiled ‘support the PDP/ JONATHAN’ message, it is incredible that we are invited to ignore the cynical manner that our President Goodluck Jonathan uses Christianity and the church to
further his political ambitions. Why are we being urged to support a PDP/Jonathan bid again? The platform has largely on account of its tragic failure to perform, decided to exploit Nigeria’s religious fault lines in
the most cynical manner to win support, in the process he continues to divide Nigeria in by the far most extreme manner in our history. I have worked with many brethren since 2002 on issues around Islamization in Nigeria, in particular with Revd. Ladi Thompson of the Macedonian Initiative and the Omoluabi network. It is clear that Al Qaeda, ISIS, and more recently Boko Haram and their splinters are committed to an Islamization agenda. Their symphathisers certainly cut across all boundaries. The Late General Azazi, then NSA, pointedly accused the PDP of being behind the escalation of Boko Haram, I have that statement on DVD. The President, also openly lamented the infiltration of his cabinet by the Boko Haram. Recently a Nigerian pastor in a widely circulated CD, speaking on the Jihadist agenda accused General Babangida of funding the Islamization agenda from his days as President. Today President Jonathan’s most influential Northern supporter is General Babangida. His narrative unfortunately gives no credit to Gen Buhari, and his deputy Gen Idiagbon (also a muslim) who
refused to join the OIC despite pressures. Or that Gen Buhari remains the one head of State who was able to defeat an extremist insurgency, the Maitatsine.
How can we fail to see that the incredible corruption, incompetence, poverty of 2/3 of our people after almost seven years of the present government is unsupportable? How is it that Diezani’s use of 10billion Naira to run her private jet (the same amount of money for the building of 24 mega schools in Osun!) and the complete silence of the President on this travesty does not lead to calling for him to be voted out in 2015? So the allegation of the missing or unaccounted for 20.8 billion USD with 110 million desperately poor, should be dismissed as pure propaganda? So it doesn’t make a difference to us that under the PDP Nigeria has fallen behind in every human development indicator? 55,000 women dying yearly of maternal related ailments, only recently Stanford’s Professor Larry Diamond compared the yearly deaths of over 300,000 children yearly in Nigeria to the killing of 800, 000 mainly Tutsis in Rwanda. The latter was described as genocide, what is the description to give to mass deaths of infants caused by grand corruption?
We discredit our treasured platforms such as this when we mask our political preferences with a religious veil. The vast majority of our people need to be delivered from terrible want and deprivation, what is required now are capable, honest men and women of all faiths, who know that this country may not long survive the daily punishment of its own people."

Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN