This clears up earlier speculations that the reporter was a victim of ‘mistaken identity’. The group said Zakariyya was killed because he was acting as an informant of security agencies. This is the first time that a journalist will be killed since the beginning of the violence in Maiduguri, but Abul-Qaqa, spokesman of the group said the killing was ‘carefully planned and executed.’

“We have ample evidence beyond reasonable doubt that he was giving vital information to security agencies on our modus-operandi. We investigated thoroughly before we killed him,” Abul-Qaqa explained. “He gave information to security agents that led to the arrest of many of our members.” He added, “We sent him a text and told him that we would visit him. We killed him not because he was a journalist, but because of his personal misconduct. His actions were against the ethics of his profession.

“And I want to tell you that we have no grudge against journalists that are working in line with the professional provisions of their work. Whenever they misquote or misrepresent our position, we normally call them and tell them to correct the error,”

Zakariyya worked with the NTA as a cameraman and Hausa translator before he was shot in front of his house at Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri on Saturday night. Witnesses said two gunmen walked into the house and shot him in the head and chest before they escaped. The Yobe State indigene is survived by his wife and children.

MONTHLY INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FROM OUR STABLES!!!

Welcome to our world of inspirational quotes. A Collection of motivating and highly inspiring quotes, beautifully expressed thoughts of great minds of the past and present from all over the world. See how easy a one line of sentence can elevate your spirit, tend to make you think and act in the way of the great. This thought provoking collection of quotations is great for everyone who aspires to be great.

DEMOCRATIC QUOTES IN THE MONTH OF APRIL 2011

Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people. Abraham Lincoln

Democracy is the form of government that gives every man the right to be his own oppressor. James Russell Lowell

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions – it only guarantees equality of opportunity. Irving Kristol

Anything that keeps a politician humble is healthy for

democracy

Irish Blessing

We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both. Louis Dembitz Brandeis ~ Our enemy sees us clearly. … They will not start a war. They’re worried about one thing: If democracy develops here, if we succeed, we will win. Mikhail Sergevevich Gorbachev

It is the common failing of totalitarian regimes that they cannot really understand the nature of our democracy. They mistake dissent for disloyalty. They mistake restlessness for a rejection of policy. They mistake a few committees for a country. They misjudge individual speeches for public policy Lyndon Baines Johnson

The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. Charles de Montesquieu Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated. G K. Chesterton

Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking. ClementAtlee

Democracy is essentially anti-authoritarian—that is, it not

only demands the right but imposes the responsibility of

thinking for ourselves. John Dryden

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions—it

only guarantees equality of opportunity.

John Dryden

ELECTION RELATED QUOTES

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant. Charles de Gaulle

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry. T.S. Eliot

The politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face. Clare Boothe Luce

Do you ever get the feeling that the only reason we have elections is to find out if the polls were right? Robert Orben

If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn’t be any inducement to go to heaven. Will Rogers

We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he never runs. Will Rogers

Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: ‘Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ll be glad to reply to or dodge your questions, depending on what I think will help our election most. George Bush

Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. George Bernard Shaw

A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation. James Freeman Clarke

I guess truth can hurt you worse in an election than about anything that can happen to you. Will Rogers

The election isn’t very far off when a candidate can recognize you across the street Kin Hubbard

The only thing we learn from a new election is we learned nothing from the old. Gerald Barzan

The fastest way for a politician to become an elder statesman is to lose an election. Earl Wilson

Any politician who starts shouting election-year demagoguery about the rich and the poor should be asked, “What about the other 90 percent of the people?” Thomas Sowell

In every election in American history both parties have their cliches. The party that has the cliches that ring true wins. Newt Gingrich

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9 april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine

By: MUSTAPHA ABDULLAHI

When on December 17lh2010, the cart of Bouazizi was confiscated by the Tunisian police headed by one FEYDA HAMDI, little did they know that such “insignificant” event could metamorphose into a revolution that today is still brewing through the entire Middle East, and has sent many governments creeping on their knees.

Tarek al-Tayyib Muhammad ibn Bouazizi popularly called Basboosa by his peers was an unemployed graduate of computer science (even though other media reports claim he was a high school drop-out ) who resorted to selling vegetables using a cart as a means of subsistence. He had his cart seized by FEYDA HAMDI, a woman municipal official who humiliated him by slapping him, spitting at him and confiscating his electronic weighing scales claiming his cart was unlicensed (even though carts are not licensed in Tunisia), and even implored the assistance of her colleagues in beating him up.

Bouazizi sought redress from the local governor and expectedly was shunned. Mohamed Bouazizi then doused himself in front of the local government building with two bottles of paint thinner, before setting himself ablaze in protestation and desperation. He was transferred to different hospitals before passing away on January 4th 2011 in Ben Arous, eighteen days after the immolation. Mohamed Bouazizi then became a symbol to an already flammable situation in Tunisia, supposedly triggering protests from his native hometown of Sidi-Bouzid to the capital Tunis, which ultimately led to the downfall of President Zine AbideenBenAli.

The success rate achieved in Tunisia served as the impetus for Egyptians to end the 30 year old misrule of Hosni Mubarak after 18 tumultuous days of protests. Today, thousands of innocent souls have lost their lives in Tunisia and Egypt,and over 8,000 souls have perished in Libya trying to free themselves from the shackles of a 42 year old reign of an oppressive dictator, Muammar Ghaddafi. The souls of the martyred will forever remain indelible in the hearts of the emancipated millions. The end of Bouazizi’s life and the liberation of the people of Tunisia has become an inspiration for the self- emancipation of oppressed people worldwide. Bouazizi’s self- immolation did not only expel Ben Ali and his cronies from Tunisia, but has cost Mubarak his job of 30 years, and is threatening the foundations of other autocrats in Africa and the world at large. May the souls of Mohammed Bouazizi rest in peace, and may the ashes of his soul from the self-immolation be a catalyst for democracy around the world. Bouazizi has gone to join ranks with other martyrs of African liberation. The way to commemorate Bouazizi and to ensure that his sacrifice does not go in vain are to ensure that democracy flourish in his native Tunisia and Africa at large; that socio-economic opportunities in employment, heath care and

• april,2011

]]> http://nigerianspectator.com/world-news/quatro-predios-da-capital.html/feed 0 http://nigerianspectator.com/politics/fda-concerned-dissolvable-tobacco-appeals-to-kids.html http://nigerianspectator.com/politics/fda-concerned-dissolvable-tobacco-appeals-to-kids.html#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:11:13 +0000 admin http://deluxethemes.com/comfy/?p=126 MIKE ODIEGWU writes that the Independent National Electoral Commission compounded the political woes of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate on Thursday when it excluded the name of the PDP candidate from the list of candidates for the February governorship election

The political clock of the February governorship election in Bayelsa State is ticking away.

In 25 days from today, the people of the state are expected to troop out en masse to elect their governor. Electioneering and other activities are gradually taking over the state’s political landscape; political parties have upped their ante, inaugurating campaigns, seeking divine interventions and royal blessings for their aspirations to rule the state.

But the Peoples Democratic Party, the party that prides itself as the largest in Africa, is still nursing its self-inflicted wound. The injury has defied all political medications and is turning into a gangrene threatening the party in the state.

The party’s wound expanded on Thursday when the Independent National Electoral Commission gave it a bitter pill to swallow.

INEC published a list of candidates for the election and excluded the candidate of the party, Mr. Seriake Dickson, and his running mate, Mr. John Jonah, from the document. While 35 other parties had the names of their candidates and their running mates published, the party’s column was left vacant with an inscription ‘subject to litigation.’

The litigation chapter was opened when the state Governor, Mr. Timipre Sylva, decided to take the case of his disqualification from contesting the party’s primary to the Federal High Court. Sylva had in the suit asked the court to declare him a candidate of the party on the basis of the party’s January 2011 primary or allow him to participate in any other primary organised by the party.

The court presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole ordered the party to show cause why the governor’s pleas should not be granted and cautioned the party against any action that would affect the status of the case. But the PDP went ahead to hold its primary on November 19, 2011.

In a swift response to the governor’s action, the party approached the Court of Appeal and sought to stop Sylva’s suit on grounds that the lower court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

But all efforts by the leadership of the party to stop the suit failed as the Appeal Court ruled otherwise. Although the court presided over by Justice Zainab Bukachuwa declared that the lower court overreached itself by making an order purporting to stop the November 19 primary, it returned the substantive case to the Federal high Court, which it said had jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

However, pundits have faulted the way the party’s leadership handled the matter. Instead of wasting its time trying to stop Sylva’s suit, they argued that the party should have faced the matter in the Federal High Court. Perhaps, the court would have decided the case and determined the rightful candidate of the party without any threat of excluding it from participating in the election.

With the current development, Sylva has become a huge bone stuck in the throat of the party. There are fears that if the matter is not decided before the election, the party will not have a candidate except its leadership is able to hold a roundtable with the embattled governor and strike a deal.

Following the development, Sylva in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Doifie Ola, commended INEC and said the electoral commission’s position was in line with the rule of law.

He urged his supporters to remain calm, expressing confidence in his case against the party. He added that he had in a counter appeal, approached the Supreme Court to challenge an appeal filed by the PDP against the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

“Sylva notes that the governorship election in Bayelsa State was postponed, and not cancelled. The postponement of the governorship poll in Bayelsa State, for the governor, could be likened to the recent postponement of the Adamawa State governorship election from 14 January to 21 January. Assuming that this election was postponed for one month or more, will the Adamawa PDP go for another primary to determine the standard-bearer in the rescheduled governorship election? The answer to this, for him, is clearly, no.

“The governor is asking the court to invoke section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to determine the case at the Supreme Court. So that the matter will not go back to the lower court and that the matter should be given expeditious hearing and treated on its own merit due to the time limitation,” the statement read.

Obviously, INEC’s decision did not go down well with the PDP. The acting state Chairman of the party, Mr. James Dugo, described the position of INEC as shocking, unjust and embarrassing. He said the party had queried the decision in a petition it sent to the commission.

Dugo said, “We are completely taken aback by this development and to say the least, we are shocked, embarrassed and disappointed that the INEC would take such a drastic and monumental decision without recourse to us as a party, having formally received and accepted the names of our candidate and his running mate following the successful conduct of our party primaries on November 19, 2011.

“Our party has formally written to INEC over this matter and we expect a speedy and prompt response from INEC in this regard. Be that as it may, we wish to strongly express our reservation over the exclusion of our candidate from the lists of candidates released by the INEC to contest the February 11, 2012 governorship election in Bayelsa State.”

As the party waits for the INEC to further clarify its position, opposition parties are celebrating a sudden boost to their chances to take over power in President Goodluck Jonathan’s state of origin.

Already, people in the state are shopping for alternatives to the PDP with speculations that Dr. Imoru Kubor of the Change Advocacy Party and Mr. Famous Daunemugha of the Congress for Progressive Change may simply be the favourites because they enjoy some popularity in the state.

justification for their stand is the fact that the northerners who are at the moment complaining of being marginalized in the scheme of things had also marginalized other regions in terms of the number of years they had spent at the helm of affairs during the military era. This development has unfortunately introduced series of negative sectarian and religious dimension to the electoral quest. Recent statements of the leaders of the country’s geopolitical zones are quite worrisome. Quite disturbing also are the reports of shipments of arms into the country , uncovering of large cache of ammunitions in some parts of the country especially in the south, unending terrorist attacks in the south- south, racial killings in the Jos areas of Plateau State, religious and political killings in some parts of the north especially Borno and Bauchi,unresolved bombings in Abuja during the independence day and Christmas celebrations are all raising considerable concerns across the globe . The core issue behind all these concerns and crises is the controversy surrounding the Zoning system within the leading political party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) in a joint session with the south east political forum recently in Abuja warned that Nigeria’s forthcoming general election could be so bad as to make the terrible 2007 election seem credible, free and fair.

In their statement, they opined that “After thorough appraisal, the Forum has arrived at the sad conclusion that Nigeria’s politicians have not learned any lesson from our past and are about to repeat the same mistakes which brought political instability to the nation and stunted its political development,”

It said all of Nigeria’s political parties must share the responsibility for this situation, particularly the ruling People’s Democratic Party “because of the level of impunity it exhibited” in areas that include:

sham elections at all levels; total disregard of the constitution of the party and the law governing elections in a desperate bid to maintain the status quo;

excessive corruption and financial inducement leading to the outright purchase of delegates, the naked display of wealth by public officers and their spouses and their open misuse of resources largely belonging to the public;

violence and thuggery leading to political assassination of opponents as well as willful and blatant misuse of public office to intimidate, harass and deny perceived opponents their liberty and democratic rights; and using security agencies and the judiciary to manipulate the electoral process in order to favour preferred candidates.

“With all of these and more taking place in the just concluded primary elections, one can only imagine what will happen during the general elections in April,” the NPLF said. It called on the parties to call their members to order and the Independent National Electoral Commission to sanction all found to be involved in subverting the nation’s democracy for personal political gain.

The Forum decries the failure of opposition political parties to occupy the moral high ground and to provide a viable alternative to the ruling party at this critical hour when Nigerians are sick and tired of more of the same. Only a viable opposition will arrest the nation’s political drift to a one-party state.

april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine

prove to be another obstacle in INEC’s path. This is because elections are approximately six to seven months away and the current acting chairman of INEC already confessed that there is not enough time to conduct proper elections. President Jonathan himself admitted that free and fair elections are not dependent on the INEC leader but instead on election structures. However, the fact that a INEC’s chairperson was nominated so close to elections also could potentially limit the effectiveness of Jega as Chairman and INEC as a whole. One can only hope that Jega is not being set up to face an impossible challenge.

Most importantly, there remains the problem of the failure to implement many of the key recommendations of the ERC. For instance, the ERC recommended a more transparent process for selecting INEC’s chairperson that would have removed control of the process from the President. This recommendation was rejected by a White Paper created by the Federal Government to review the ERC’s suggestions. This and many other recommendations that could have created a stronger electoral system will, sadly, not be a part of the eventually modified Electoral Act. Despite this, Goodluck Jonathan must be recognized for sending an unedited copy of the ERC’s report for consideration. Done within weeks of being declared acting President, the act suggested that he agreed with all the recommendations. But, the failure of other politicians to look beyond their self interest and survival places the electoral system and as a consequence, the future of Nigeria, in jeopardy, that politicians can hold the electoral system hostage in such a manner automatically places in question the credibility of the laws within which INEC will conduct and regulate upcoming elections when they eventually happen. The nomination of Attahiru Jega as the new Chairman of Nigeria’s election-governing body is welcome news for a country on the verge of it’s most important election season ever. Jega’s reputation as an uncompromising and courageous individual are characteristics that will serve him and INEC well given the country’s history of contentious and fraudulent elections. Unfortunately, the following factors cannot be ignored: the legislature’s failure to produce a modified Electoral Act, the rejection of sound recommendations from the Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee and the impending time constraint INEC faces. The existence of these issues means that Jega and INEC must operate within less than ideal conditions. Yet, as Jega served on the ERC, perhaps his nomination was made so as to ensure that INEC is led by someone who believes in those recommendations and will work towards their actualization. If that were to happen, over time, Nigeria would indeed get closer to a system of free and fair elections where votes are respected and a true Nigerian democracy exists the recommendations. But, the failure of other politicians to look beyond their self interest and survival places the electoral system and as a consequence, the future of Nigeria, in jeopardy, that politicians can hold the electoral system hostage in such a manner automatically places in question the credibility of the laws within which INEC will conduct and regulate upcoming elections when they eventually happen. The nomination of Attahiru Jega as the new Chairman of Nigeria’s election- governing body is welcome news for a country on the verge of it’s most important election season ever. Jega’s reputation as an uncompromising and courageous individual are characteristics that will serve him and INEC well given the country’s history of contentious and fraudulent elections. Unfortunately, the following factors cannot be ignored: the legislature’s failure to produce a modified Electoral Act, the rejection of sound recommendations from the Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee and the impending time constraint INEC faces. The existence of these issues means that Jega and INEC must operate within less than ideal conditions. Yet, as Jega served on the ERC, perhaps his nomination was made so as to ensure that INEC is led by someone who believes in those recommendations and will work towards their actualization. If that were to happen, over time, Nigeria would indeed get closer to a system of free and fair elections where votes are respected and a true Nigerian democracy exists

First day in office

First word 04/07/2010

Moments after being sworn in along with six National Commissioners by President Goodluck Jonathan, the new INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Mohammed Jega requested the staff of the Commission to give him and his team maximum co-operation. He promised that the members of the Commission would do their best to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency were brought to bear on the affairs of the Commission. Professor Jega while addressing the directing staff of the Commission, said that they were determined to relate with the staff on the basis of transparency and sincerity. Said Professor Jega: “We came here with an open mind. We’ll do our best, but for us to do our best, we’ll rely on you who are the professionals. We’ll relate with you on the basis of transparency and sincerity. We’ll be just. We’ll be fair. We’ll be transparent. Commission, said that they were determined to relate with the staff on the basis of transparency and sincerity. Said Professor Jega: “We came here with an open mind. We’ll do our best, but for us to do our best, we’ll rely on you who are the professionals. We’ll relate with you on the basis of transparency and sincerity. We’ll be just. We’ll be fair. We’ll be transparent.

• april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine

Global Spectator

THE

WIKI LEAKS PHENOMENON

AND THE LEAKEAGES ON NIGERIA.

The man behind the epoch making wikileaks scandal that hit the world like an earth quake Profile: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

• april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine

V

april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine

a final benchmark price stems from a complex summation of interlinked spot, physical forwards, futures, options, and derivatives markets, which means the paper market is almost as important as the physical one.

The current spread between the two main benchmarks Brent and WTI is one example of how the benchmark pricing system fails to properly represent the oil market and all its complexity. WTI has historically been slightly cheaper than Brent, but over the last year the discount has spread to a record of as much as US$19 per barrel. The difference reflects ample supply in the U.S. Midwest (WTI is an American benchmark) compared to a squeeze on supplies from Europe’s North Sea.

While that part makes sense, why is the Brent price used to determine three-quarters of the world’s oil contracts, including those in Asia? A market with very low production volumes is used to price markets with very high production elsewhere in the world.

The system has led to many other nonsensical situations, like the fact that many U.S. oil refiners and consumers pay prices that track Brent, not WTI, so right now American gas station prices reflect greater-than-US$ 100-a-barrel oil even though the North American benchmark hasn’t yet passed US$92. When you add in the fact that no one really knows what’s going on in the world’s fastest- growing oil market, China, you have all of the ingredients for serious mispricing.

Third, transportation infrastructure plays a key role in oil pricing. North African oil and gas are especially important to Europe because the only other place with pipelines running into Europe is Russia, and no one likes relying on Russia for energy. Russia already exports 7 million barrels of oil each day, which constitutes roughly 10% of global production.

To get around reliance on Russia for both oil and gas, European countries have been working to build more pipelines from North Africa, including a new, US$1.4 billion Algeria-Spain gas pipeline set to open in March. The desire to avoid increased reliance on Russia is another factor driving the Brent benchmark upwards; European prices for natural gas and liquefied natural gas are also on the rise, for the same reason.

Right now in the all-important oil world of the Middle East and North Africa, short-term supply, future prices, ownership and preferred trading partners are all up in the air. Libya’s potential revolution poses a real threat to oil supplies as mentioned, we only have 4.5 million barrels a day to spare, and Libya produces 1.6 million. On top of that, the fact is that oil prices are not decided in the most rational ways, and speculation plays a major role.

With the alarming rate of uncertainty in most oil producing nations due to the aggressive wind of change characterized by uncommon wave of violence spreading fast, what implication this trend portend for the economic stability of the world that is just recovering from one of the worst economic recession of all times is the major source of concern for global economic players.

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• april,2011 the nigeria spectator magazine