"NIGERIA CELEBRATES THE EMPTINESS OF HER EXISTENCE AND PURPOSE AS A NATION AT 53"

What Nigeria is celebrating today at 53 years of age is simply a celebration of a huge national developmental stagnation, decades of the unabated official culture of corruption and the mammoth mismanagement of her state resources by her officials. This celebration is also a celebration of the rule of lawlessness and brutality, the reign of pseudo-democracy in the governance of Nigeria and her party politics as well as a celebration of religious terrorism, religious bigotry and the mediocrity in power. Many questions that are highlighted below remained unanswered from all Nigerians as we celebrate this independence day in the life of this country. These questions demand our immediate responses and practical actions as Nigerian citizens. Today marks a special era in the life of Nigeria which also at the same time calls for a moment of our deepest sober reflection about the present state of our nation.

(i) Is Nigeria truly and presently moving in all reality in the right direction toward her actual greatness and destiny as a nation or not? (ii) Are we exactly where we should be today at 53 years old as a developing nation when we compared our nation with the other similar developing countries around the world in 2013? (iii) Is our oil-wealth a true national blessing to us as a country or a major avenue that directly fuels the reign of the massive official corruption and the huge mismanagement of our state resources by our leaders? (iv) Do our leaders in all honesty truly love this nation that we can call them our genuine patriots or are they not our own traitors that have continued to destroy our nation for the last 53 years? (v) Do we really have any bright future with the present leadership in power, with the present status quo and the business as usual in the governance of this nation? (vi) What are our visible achievements today as a nation that we should all be proud of as Nigerian citizens and should be celebrating?

Nigeria's future for now appears to be very bleak if we continue on the same path that we have towed for the last 53 years as a nation. Time in life marches on despite all the odds in Nigeria. Nigeria can never develop in all reality and be able to address by overcoming all her national challenges and the basic needs or expectations of all Nigerians and still be able to compete globally in all the spheres of human endeavors with the other nations of the world in this 21st century human universe. Nigeria's national affairs and her state resources continue after 53 years of independence to be controlled by the present crops of leaders that can be described simply as mediocre, incompetent fellows, visionless human beings, religious bigots and fanatics, ethnic lords, lawless and selfish public elected officials, treasury looters, traitors and unpatriotic elements to the cores and never our heroes, patriots and nationalists in all ramifications. 

"PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOODLUCK AND THE DEADLY MENACE OF THE BOKO HARAM IN NIGERIA"

I have one simple advice for President Jonathan Goodluck of Nigeria. He should resign from the office of the President of Nigeria immediately if he cannot practically address this issue of terrorism in Nigeria under his watch and presidency. One of the constitutional responsibilities of the President of Nigeria as it is written in the Nigerian 1999 constitution that Jonathan Goodluck swore openly and publicly to defend is to protect the life and the properties of all Nigerians and her residents. The same constitution has given President Jonathan Goodluck all that he would ever need in that office to protect all Nigerians from terrorism or terrorists. The President is the commander-in-chief of the entire Nigerian Armed Forces and her security agencies. 

The President is the chief financial official of Nigeria who signs the Nigerian budget into law. The President has all the needed financial means and resources that come daily from our oil sales, foreign loans and taxation to be able to effectively fight the menace of the Boko Haram to a final standstill in Nigeria. No American President on record and to date ever gave flimsy excuses and senseless reasons why they could not fight against terrorism that threatened all Americans and then refused to protect all Americans from terrorism whenever this terrorism raised its ugly head unlike your own President in Nigeria who said that Nigerians should live with terrorism, Nigerians should use the divine instrument of prayers to fight against terrorism and the terrorism of Boko Haram will one day in the nearest future in Nigeria dies a natural death.

"NIGERIA'S LONG EMERGENCY" - NEW YORK TIMES

LAGOS, Nigeria — Last month, we Nigerians received some startling news from the army: Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has killed some 3,000 people in northern Nigeria over the last four years, “might have died.” The government has provided no proof of this claim. No corpse has been displayed, and Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates as “Western education is sinful,” has been silent on the matter. Just a few days ago, Boko Haram militants set up a roadblock in the northern town of Benisheik and shot at least 87 people to death as they were trying to flee.

This would not be the first time we had heard false rumors of his death — there was one in 2009 — and many Nigerians believe the announcement was merely a ruse, designed to provoke Mr. Shekau into making a public appearance or statement, in the hope of flushing him out. The theory is not so crazy: Boko Haram released a video a few days before the August announcement that purported to show Mr. Shekau, but the government said the man in the video was “an impostor.”

Given that the United States has placed a $7 million bounty on his head — a figure that puts him well up there in the terrorists’ league — there is plenty of incentive to get hold of Mr. Shekau, especially for soldiers in the three states in northernNigeria where the sect is believed to be holding out, and where a state of emergency was declared a few months ago.

Little is actually known about Mr. Shekau, except for his taste for killing. In a rare video clip released early last year, he said, “I enjoy killing anyone that God commands me to kill — the way I enjoy killing chickens and rams.”

Mr. Shekau’s ascent to power — and the concomitant increase in violence — followed the extrajudicial execution of the sect’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, by the police in 2009. This singular event, which was also videotaped, gave Mr. Shekau the excuse he needed to start bombing churches and schools in what quickly became a reign of terror. But the virulence of his murderous campaign points to a much deeper problem: the power struggle between the largely Islamic north and the largely Christian south.

From independence in 1960 until the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria was ruled almost exclusively by elites (largely military) from the north, who practically believed that they had a divine right to govern. By 1999, the elite accepted that its monopoly on power was no longer feasible, and allowed a southerner of its choosing, Olusegun Obasanjo, to emerge as president for two four-year terms, on the understanding that the presidency would return to the north afterward.

A northerner, Umaru Yar’Adua, indeed took over in 2007, but he died in office nearly three years later, and was succeeded by his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner, who was supposed to act as a caretaker but then decided to run in 2011. He initially promised to serve just one full term, but has now reneged and talks about pursuing a second term in the next election, in 2015.

Why does this regional struggle matter? It’s partly a curse of the bonanza of crude oil in the south, the control of which is the raison d’être of our government. As one northern ruler put it during the oil-price rises of the 1970s, Nigeria’s problem is not money, but how to spend it.

Decades later, Nigeria — the world’s seventh most populous country — is the world’s second-largest importer of Champagnebut is unable to deliver more than a few hours of electricity a day.

The southerners who inhabit the oil-producing Niger Delta, which financed the northern elite’s decades-long party, have awakened to the theft of their resources and started demanding greater political representation. Some have purloined their region’s crude wealth to buy military hardware on the high seas. Unlike Boko Haram, however, these militants are mostlyfocused on securing autonomy for the delta, not on imposing a radical religious ideology.

By the time Boko Haram started its own, far more ferocious, brand of violence four years ago, the case for a continued northern monopoly on power seemed lost. That’s why some Nigerians believe that the northern elite quietly tolerated — or even abetted — the sect, as a way to bog down Mr. Jonathan’s government, and to preserve the privileges of political patronage by keeping resources flowing to the north.

Mr. Jonathan himself has accused some leading northern politicians of consorting with Boko Haram. Muhammadu Buhari, a northern leader, former military officer and frequent presidential candidate, who plans to run again in 2015, has declined to condemn the terrorist group and has accused the government of hypocrisy. Niger Delta militants “were given money, and a training scheme was introduced for their members,” he said, while in contrast, “when Boko Haram emerged, members of the sect were killed.”

This is a ludicrous comparison, but a sad measure of the gulf between the two sides fighting for the soul of this country.

The problem goes beyond Boko Haram, which in any case appears to be splitting into several splinter groups, some expanding their reach beyond Nigeria. It may have been just such a splinter group that kidnapped members of a French family over the border in Cameroon in February and held them for two months.

As the latest deadly attacks in the north show, it hardly matters whether Mr. Shekau is dead or not. The killings continue, which is why the state of emergency is unlikely to end anytime soon - From Adewale Maja-Pearce  the author of “A Peculiar Tragedy: J. P. Clark-Bekederemo and the Beginning of Modern Nigerian Literature in English.”

"SELLING NIGERIA TO THE FEW NIGERIANS IN THE NAME OF PRIVATIZATION POLICY"

All our major national public corporations in Nigeria that were all built with our country's wealth and from the Nigerian tax payers' money are now being sold one by one to a handful of Nigerians after they were all destroyed as a result of those unabated decades of massive looting and the mammoth mismanagement of these huge state corporations by those Nigerians elite who were in charge of them. No single Nigerian to date who had helped directly or indirectly to systematically destroyed these huge state corporations and assets was ever prosecuted by our laws. The government of Nigeria is now publicly selling these assets at a giveaway prices to the same members of the Nigerian elite in the name of the shady national economic policy of the so called privatization and indigenization. Nigeria is now the property of the few Nigerians in all reality. No country in the human universe can survive into the future by intentionally widening the wealth gap between the few rich Nigerians and the majority of the poor Nigerians.

HOW DID POVERTY RATE GROW FROM 20% TO OVER 80% IN THE LAST 30 YEARS IN NIGERIA?

Wealth or riches and poverty are both man made in all ramifications. The economic system and the policy of a government can be designed to systematically make a handful of her citizens to either become super-rich and to push the majority of the same citizens into penury and abject poverty at the same time. How did the successive governments that have rule Nigeria to date helped directly in the national creation of the present poverty rate of over 80% that makes most Nigerians to live daily on $1 to $2 living budget? 
My perspectives on this issue of poverty in Nigeria is below:(i) The official policy of promoting stagnant wages for the Nigerian workers in both the public and the private sectors of our economy. The minimum wage of a typical Nigerian today is almost the same as the minimum wage that was paid in 1972 despite the yearly inflation rate, the rising cost of living and the rapid depreciation of the purchasing power as well as the official exchange rate value of the Nigerian Naira against the major international currencies of the world.
(ii). The highly porous tax law that allows rich Nigerians and wealthy corporations to evade taxes easily but forces the millions of the poor hardworking Nigerian workers on the monthly payroll system to pay their own taxes. (iii). The unabated decades of the massive looting of the state resources by the Nigerian state officials at the expense of the nation that has now created a new class of the super-rich Nigerians that is made up of retired and serving military or security personnels, senior civil servants, politicians and political office holders. (iv). The shady allocation of the nation's oil blocs, the import licenses and the selling of the failed state corporations at giveaway prices to the few selected Nigerians who are now dollar-rated billionaires in the name of the so called privatization and indigenization policy in Nigeria. 
(v). The refusal of the various governments that have ruled Nigeria to date to diversify our national economy from its present oil-dependent economy that benefits those oil corporations, few oil marketers and then leaves behind the tens of the millions of the university educated Nigerians without any hope for any employment. (vi). The adoption of the IMF policy in 1986 by the then military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida that officially devalued the the powerful Nigerian Naira. This Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) that was suggested to Babangida by IMF which he then adopted immediately reduced the purchasing power of most Nigerians by directly pushing more Nigerians below the national poverty level. 

"OBAMACARE IS HERE TODAY, TOMORROW AND IN THE FUTURE IN AMERICA"

The GOP led-Tea Party House members that are bent on shutting down the operations of the American government and causing massive financial crises in the global markets are the worst and the most dangerous politicians that I know today in the American politics. Obamacare has no direct or indirect relationship with raising the debt ceiling to keep the American government opened and functioning. Obamacare is officially the health care law of America. The bill that established Obamacare was passed by the majority from the two houses of senate and representatives. Obamacare was then signed into law by President Barack Obama. About 26 GOP controlled states' attorney generals challenged the Obamacare before the Supreme Court of America and they all lost. Mitt Romney campaigned for the presidency of America with the promise to repeal Obamacare on day one of his presidency in the White House and he lost that election. 

The GOP led House voted 42 times to repeal the Obamacare without any political success. Enough is enough in Washington, DC. The right time has now come for these GOP led House members to forget about the Obamacare and move on into more important national issues instead of using the Obamacare as a political bargaining tool and threatening to shut down the United States government, and punish American veterans as well as the federal government workers over this Obamacare. I can bet my life on this one. I am 100% confident that President Barack Obama CANNOT be politically intimidated by the entire GOP political organ in the United States Congress to use his presidential green pen to kill Obamacare and to deny 35 million Americans health care. This Obamacare remains the biggest political achievement of his historical presidency.

"THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GOP HOUSE-LED TEA PARTY MEMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS"

(i). These 80 radical Tea Party political ideologues in the GOP that are now holding the entire American nation and the global economy to a political ransom came into political power in 2010 mid-term elections in America and then took over the House of Representatives as a majority party. These Tea Party members of the House are the direct political beneficiaries from the dirty politics of the redistricting of the GOP-controlled states by the GOP governors before the 2010 mid-term elections that ushered in these political fanatics who stand for less government and lower taxes. (ii). These 80 Tea Party House members come from the districts that represent only 18% of the entire American voters. More Americans voted in the 2012 election for the Democratic House members than the GOP House members by more than 5 million voters. (iii). These 80 Tea Party House members come from districts that are politically safe for them in any future reelections. Their districts are fully under the control of the Tea Party members of the GOP. These 80 Tea Party members in the House will not pay any direct price for their political actions in the United Congress in Washington, DC even if they eventually shut down the entire federal government of America, destroy the gains of the recent economic recovery and destabilize the entire global financial markets over this OBAMACARE.

"SENATOR TED CRUZ OF TEXAS IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS POLITICIANS IN AMERICA TODAY"

Americans should watch out for this junior senator carefully from the state of Texas that is now the key arrow head of the Tea Party in the United States Congress. Ted Cruz is also eyeing the White House in 2016 under the GOP when the presidency of America will be vacant again and the American voters will vote for another occupant to take over her presidency. Ted Cruz is one of the biggest negative political energies in the United States Congress today with his radical political ideology and vision for this 21st century America. This controversial politician has no respect for the supremacy of the constitution of the United States, the principles of checks and balances in the governance of this country, the separation of powers and the majority will of the American voters in all reality. 

Ted Cruz stands for one political agenda in the United States Congress today which is the destruction of this OBAMACARE by all the means necessary without any proposed alternative for the immediate replacement of this Affordable Health Care Act that will directly provide health care coverage for the over 30 million Americans by October 1, 2013 when its full implementation will start officially. Ted Cruz is prepared to shut down the entire activities of the federal government of America over this Obamacare. Ted Cruz is ready to destroy the credit worthiness of the American government over this Obamacare. Ted Cruz is prepared to force the American government to default on her international financial obligations to her creditors over this Obamacare. 

Ted Cruz is prepared to punish the 52 million American seniors who receive monthly social security checks over this Obamacare. Ted Cruz is ready to punish the American federal workers with job layoffs and pay cuts because of this Obamacare. Ted Cruz is ready to destroy the whole gains of this economic recovery because of this Obamacare. In his words, Ted Cruz believes that it is either Obamacare is fully defunded or the entire federal government of America is totally shut down.

"OBAMA IS THE SHREWDEST POLITICAL TACTICIAN SINCE LBJ" - MOTHER JONES

The conventional view in Washington these days is that President Barack Obama is not having such a great second term and might already be suffering a bit of lame duckery. After all, he failed to overcome NRA and GOP opposition to modest gun safety legislation after the horrific Newtown massacre, and his immigration reform push has crashed into that brick wall known as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But here's a Slate pitch [1]: Obama is the most wily tactician in the nation's capital since Lyndon Johnson. 
Consider what Obama has recently done to two of his most bothersome foes: Vladimir Putin and John Boehner. Faced with the thorny question of how to respond to the Bashar al-Assad's presumed use of chemical weapons in Syria, Obama sent conflicting messages at first. He dispatched Secretary of State John Kerry to deliver a hawkish message that seemed to suggest a retaliatory but limited strike against the regime was imminent, but then Obama surprisingly announced he would seek authorization from Congress for such an attack, fully realizing that such a move would take weeks to pull off—that is, if he could rally sufficient votes.

Having sparked a contentious debate on Capitol Hill—with opposition to a strike on the rise—Obama appeared to have led himself into a political quagmire. He got perilously close to what could have been an embarrassing defeat. But before Congress could vote, this mess yielded a beneficial outcome: it drew Putin into co-ownership of the chemical weapons problem. As Obama failed to gain support on the Hill for an attack on the Assad regime, Putin leapt into the fray to broker a deal that would supposedly end with Syria's chemical weapons under international control. 
Whether by design or dumb luck, Obama succeeded in placing Putin on the hook for Assad's chemical weapons. The Russian leader was now acknowledging that Assad's stockpile was indeed a problem and, more important, assuming the role of guarantor. Certainly, the subsequent negotiations would be difficult, with Assad likely to slow-walk and obfuscate. But having sucked Putin into the process, Obama had increased the odds of achieving his chief goal: preventing the further use of chemical weapons by the regime. With Russia-brokered talks underway, could Assad deploy chemical weapons again? Doing so would risk embarrassing (and maybe angering) Putin, Assad's top benefactor. 
Hawks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere were not happy that Obama traded a military attack for talks that are likely to be frustrating. But Obama's original aim was not negotiating a chemical weapons accord with Assad but a more narrow goal: stopping another chemical weapons attack. With Putin, perhaps Obama's most pesky antagonist on the world stage, now invested in an international effort to remove Assad's chemical weapons from the Syrian tyrant's control, Obama may well have succeeded. (One side benefit might be a détente with Iran.) 
Back home, Obama has placed House Speaker Boehner in a different sort of hot seat. By declining to negotiate with Boehner about defunding Obamacare in order to prevent a government shutdown, the president has fueled the ongoing civil war within GOP ranks. True, this pitched battle would wage with or without Obama, as tea partiers try to hold the government hostage in order to destroy Obama's health care program and less extreme Republicans contend that this act of political terrorism will backfire against their party. But sometimes in politics, it takes discipline to stand back and not get in the way when an opponent is self-immolating.
Obama may start talking with congressional Republicans later this week, but he's given the Rs plenty of time and room for their internecine squabbling. In past years, Obama eschewed standing by while GOPers engaged in reckless behavior that could result in a shutdown or a financial crisis. At those times, he argued, reasonably, that he had a responsibility to ensure government operations would continue and the debt ceiling would be lifted to avert what could be serious blows to the economic recovery. And he devoted significant energy toward cutting deals with the Republicans, even endeavoring to use those occasions as opportunities to reach a so-called grand bargain on spending and taxes. But at the same time, he resolved to limit the openings for future GOP hostage-taking.
After the debt ceiling showdown of 2011, Obama repeatedly stated he would no longer negotiate future boosts in the debt ceiling. With another debt ceiling tussle coming in weeks, Obama has continued to stick to this red line. And with the government due to run out of money for its operations at the end of the month, he has not rushed to draw Boehner (or Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell [2]) into budget talks. He's craftily letting the Republicans brawl amongst themselves—bickering over who's a real conservative or not—as polls repeatedly suggest that the GOPers can expect to receive most of the public's scorn should the government come to a congressionally inflicted standstill.  
Syria and Washington's budget woes are problems that are far from being solved. And Obama still has not demonstrated how he can overcome the serious challenges he confronts in achieving other parts of his agenda: immigration, gun safety, raising the minimum wage, expanding Head Start, and boosting employment. Moreover, implementing and selling Obamacare—with the new health insurance exchanges coming on line October 1—remains a priority and tough task for the White House, which has not figured out how to win over the public on this front. Obama's skills as a strategist have often been discounted by the politerati—in part because Obama and his team have done a poor job of promoting his successes, which sometimes are nuanced and complicated. But in recent weeks, the president has displayed his ability to outmaneuver opponents. In the days ahead, he will have plenty of opportunity to do so again - By David Corn.

WHO ARE YOUR OWN NIGERIAN HEROES AND HEROINES IN 2013?

Every Nigerian leader whether they are dead or still alive do not make my personal list of those Nigerians that I will consider today as my heroes and heroines. The following men and women who are now dead stand tall on that unique list:the late Prof. Ayodele Awojobi, Prof. Chinua Achebe, Dr. Bala Usman, Dr. Bala Muhammed, Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Lawyer Gani Fawehinmi, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Musician Fela Anikulapo, Dr. Tai Solarin, Prof Chike Obi. Prof. Eskor Toyo, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Lawyer Alao Aka-Bashorun. 

On the list of the living Nigerians, I have the following personalities on it:Prof. Wole Soyinka, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Prof. Tam David-West, Bishop Kukah, Bishop Gbonigi, Lawyer Femi Falana, General Muhammadu Buhari, Arch-Bishop Olubunmi Okogie, Arch-Bishop John Onaiyekan, Arch-Bishop Akinola, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, Oluyele Sowore of the Sahara Reporters and few other Nigerians that I may not list here. These men and women spoke the truth always to the powers in Nigeria, did not sell their precious birthrights, genuine patriotism, true nationalism and personal integrity for a meal from the Nigerian oil wealth or her oil bloc shady allocations, the Ghana must-go-bags, the juicy political appointments, the highly inflated contracts that do not need to be done, the selective import licenses for dubious business men and the privatization or indigenization policy that are created to make some selected Nigerian overnight dollar-rated billionaires.

"HIV GLOBAL INFECTION IS ON THE RAPID DECLINE" - UNITED NATIONS

In the course of the past dozen years, the rate of HIV infections has fallen dramatically, according to a new report from the United Nations out today. Since 2001, the number of cases has gone down by 33 percent overall— and 52 percent among children, according to the UNAIDS report released today.

While the number of people living with HIV continues to increase, reaching more than 35 million people last year, the number of new cases has actually fallen, according to the report which also detailed how sub-Saharan Africa remains the most hard-hit by HIV/AIDS, especially when it comes to children and the disease. Last year, about 230,000 children died from AIDS-related issues in sub-Saharan Africa compared to fewer than 200 children in North America.The executive director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, vowed to provide HIV treatment to 15 million people by 2015, insisting that nobody would be “left behind.” “Not only is focusing on the most disadvantaged women and families the right thing to do, it’s the most efficient,” Dr. Kumanan Rasanathan, a health specialist at UNICEF, told reporters at the United Nations on Monday. “This week can make a difference. We are at such a pivotal point.” - From the Daily Beast.

"AS OIL THIEVES BLEED NIGERIA REPORT SAYS, OFFICIALS PROFIT" - NEW YORK TIMES

DAKAR, Senegal — Oil is being stolen on an “industrial scale” in Nigeria, the world’s 13th largest producer, and the country’s politicians and security officials are among those profiting,according to a new report from a prominent British research group. Thieves steal an estimated average of 100,000 barrels a day, the report said; working in elaborate networks and protected by corrupted security officials, they tap into the huge and isolated network of pipes that crisscross the country’s swampy southern Niger Delta region. The price of oil fluctuates, but a hypothetical per-barrel price of $100 would mean an annual loss of $3.65 billion. Oil closed at $107.28 per barrel on Thursday.

Much of this oil winds up being exported globally, said the report, which was released Thursday by the London-based organization Chatham House. The problem has reached such proportions that major oil companies operating in Nigeria have recently complained that theft is cutting significantly into production.

A similar report last year, commissioned by the Nigerian government but largely ignored, said that over the preceding decade, thieves had been stealing 6 percent to 30 percent of the country’s daily production. “Hydrocarbon theft is a major source of loss of revenue to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” said that report, prepared by the country’s former top anticorruption official, Nuhu Ribadu. It described the problem then as an “emergency.”

The full extent of the country’s larcenous ingenuity is on display in the oil thievery. There is “theft from tank farms, refinery storage tanks, jetties and ports,” according to the Nigerian report. “Officials and private actors disguise theft through manipulation of meters and shipping documents.”

Small-scale pipeline tapping operations can easily be detected in short daytime trips into the swamps from the Niger Delta’s population centers. Telltale plumes of smoke from illegal refining operations rise above the water.

But more significant “bunkering,” as oil theft is known here, involves siphoning oil from pipes on land or underwater, loading it onto small barges, then transferring it to bigger barges offshore in the Gulf of Guinea. Sometimes thieves use pipes up to 12 inches in diameter to tap the lines, according to Chatham House. Sometimes crude is stolen from export terminals.

The Chatham House report underscored profiteering at high levels.

“Top Nigerian officials cut their teeth in the oil theft business during military rule,” it said. “Over time, evidence surfaced that corrupt members of the security forces were actively involved. The country’s return to democracy in 1999 then gave some civilian officials and political ‘godfathers’ more access to stolen oil.” Security officials are said to extort payments from the oil thieves in return for protection, according to Chatham House.

The Chatham House report suggested that high oil prices have contributed to the incentive to steal. But it was inconclusive on the question of how much of the stolen crude was exported, and how much was processed in operations in the Nigerian swamps. “The bush refining business is highly decentralized and secretive,” it said, “which makes its size hard to estimate.”

Mr. Ribadu’s report gave a higher possible figure for the scale of daily theft — 250,000 barrels — but the Chatham House document emphasized the unreliability of figures from government and oil companies. Mr. Ribadu suggested, in stronger terms than the more recent document, that the problem is growing, noting that Shell claimed a fivefold increase in losses between 2009 and 2012, from 10,000 barrels per day to 50,000 in March of last year.

Chatham House, by contrast, said that “outsiders should look closely at claims that Nigeria is losing oil at unheard-of rates,” adding that “the high divergence in industrywide estimates makes it hard to gauge trends reliably.”

"THE OBAMACARE IN AMERICA WILL SURVIVE INTO THE FUTURE JUST LIKE THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT"

The present Affordable Health Act or the Obamacare in America was never an accident of political history under the presidency of Barack Obama. This health care issue has been at the center stage of the political agenda of the Democratic Party of America since the 1930s. The following six Democratic Presidents:(i). Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945). (ii). Harry S. Truman (1945–1953). (iii). John F. Kennedy (1961–1963). (iv). Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969). (v). Jimmy Carter (1977–1981). and (vi). Bill Clinton that have all ruled America at one time or the other since the years of the Great Depression to date have all attempted to pass this affordable health care act in the United States Congress without any political success or victory.
President Barack Obama campaigned for the office of the President of the United States in 2008 with the promise to give all Americans a universal affordable health care and he was elected by the American people on this health care issue that finally became the law of the land in America after it was passed by the United States Congress in 2010 and was later upheld by the Supreme Court of America in 2012. 

The GOP controlled House of Representatives have attempted more than 40 times unsuccessfully to vote down this Obamacare to date that will officially kick off on October 1, 2013 all over the United States. I understand the deep inner workings of the American politics clearly. I know very well that no American President in the 237 years of the highly eventful history of this union had ever agreed with an opposition political party to intentionally, diabolically and systematically destroy their most important political legacies in governments or the biggest signature tunes of their presidencies. President Barack Obama in my own personal judgement and political conviction will fight until his last breath politically if it is needed, required and necessary to save the OBAMACARE from the GOP's deadly and destructive political machine in the U.S. Congress that is now fully in the hand and the control of the radical Tea Party political fanatics who are bent on defunding this historical health care law of America or shut down the whole operations of the federal government by destroying the faith and the credit of the American government. 

The biggest political suicide that the House Tea Party GOP members will bring upon the Republican Party of America is to shut down the entire federal government of America by making her to default on her financial obligations to the international creditors, destroys all the recent major gains of this economic recovery under President Barack Obama in the last 3 to 4 years and then denies the tens of millions of Americans their monthly incomes or livelyhoods in an attempt to simply defund this highly hated Obamacare. Finally, the Obamacare will survive now and in the future just like the Social Security Act that has given a decent retirement presently to the 52 million American seniors in 2013.

"PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOODLUCK OF NIGERIA AND THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION"

These are the direct words of the Nigerian President when he addressed the annual meeting of the Nigerian Economic summit this week. The President said“ When you talk about corruption, the private sector is involved; the public sector is involved; even individuals. But I wouldn’t want to mention names so that I will not be attacked" This development that is coming out of Nigeria did not surprise me for one second as a political observer, political analysis and public commentator on the Nigeria's most important national issues. 

I have never believed in the ability of this President to fight the menace of the official corruption in Nigeria from the day one of his questionable presidency for the following four main reasons that I have listed below:(i). He has no single public record of actively or passively fighting the menace of the official corruption in Nigeria to date as a deputy governor, a state governor, a vice-president, an acting president and as a president. (ii). It is on record that no single corrupt Nigerian public official has ever been successfully prosecuted by the EFCC to the fullest of the law and jailed successfully despite all the alleged corruption evidences by the same EFCC against those corrupt Nigerian public officials under the watch and the presidency of this lame-duck leader to date.

(iii). President Jonathan Goodluck is a direct product and one of the biggest beneficiaries from the highly corrupt Nigeria's electoral and political system to date. A product of corruption cannot fight the same corruption successfully that produced him in the first instance. (iv). President Jonathan Goodluck was the biggest political accident of history in the presidency of Nigeria. He was not ready, prepared and equipped from the day one of his presidency for the challenges and the constitutional responsibilities of this highest office in Nigeria that he occupies today

"OBAMACARE WILL REMAIN AS THE OFFICIAL HEALTH CARE LAW OF AMERICA"

I understand the deep inner workings of the American politics clearly. I know very well that no American President in the 237 years of the highly eventful history of this union had ever agreed with an opposition political party to intentionally, diabolically and systematically destroy their most important political legacies in governments or the biggest signature tunes of their presidencies. President Barack Obama in my own personal judgement and political conviction will fight until his last breath politically if it is needed, required and necessary to save the OBAMACARE from the GOP's deadly and destructive political machine in the U.S. Congress that is now fully in the hand and the control of the radical Tea Party political fanatics who are bent on defunding this historical health care law of America or shut down the whole operations of the federal government by destroying the faith and the credit of the American government

CAN NIGERIA AVOID NOT HOLDING THE MUCH-NEEDED SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOREVER?

The subject of convening the much-needed Sovereign National Conference for the Nigeria's 386 ethnic nationalities, many religious faiths, social organizations and pressure groups before the elections of the year 2015 in Nigeria that will restructure Nigeria and put a new constitutional term of engagement in place for our continuous coexistence together in the same union and under the same Nigeria is seen by some Nigerians in 2013 as a no-go area, a huge political abomination and a forever settled national issue. The whole truth about Nigeria is the fact that nation was not birthed by any divine intervention or any supernatural event in all reality. It was humanly carved out in 1914 by the British colonial authority when the Northern protectorate continued to suffer from the yearly budget deficit and the Southern protectorate enjoyed annual budget surplus. The British then forced those two protectorates together so that the budget surplus in the south can take care of the budget deficit in the north. The various historical caliphates, empires and kingdoms that existed as autonomous political entities, religiously diverse, culturally distinct and historically uniques for centuries were all forced together into a new political marriage to benefit the economic advancement of the then British Empire. No single political contribution, input or referendum were sought by Britain from these ethnic nationals about their new political and economical future together as Nigerians. 

The many of the political creations of the same Britain around the world have since falling apart and many more will soon fall apart as time goes on due to their faulty political foundations. The original nation of India that was created by the same British colonial authority had since broken up into the today's three autonomous nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The original nation of Sudan in Africa that was also the British creation had broken up since 2011 into the two different nations of Sudan and South Sudan. The historic vote on whether Scotland should break away from the rest of the United Kingdom will be held on September 2014. The Quebec sovereignty movement is getting popular by demanding for the independence of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada. The Catalonia region of Spain after centuries of the political coexistence with Spain now wants their own different nation within the European Union (EU). 

If Nigeria as a nation is truly working for all Nigerians in all reality as many Nigerians deceptively believed by pretending that all is well with their beloved nation. Why is every geopolitical zone and every major ethnic nationality today are all busy holding nocturnal meetings, forming political alliances, militants groups with political undertones and advocating for a President of Nigeria of an Igbo origin, an Ijaw root, a Southern Nigerian background, a South-South geopolitical zone, a Northern Nigeria extraction, a Muslim by faith and a Christian by religion? The Presidency of Nigeria is now fully based on the turn by turn basis that is not in the Nigerian 1999 constitution and never on meritocracy, leadership qualities, managerial abilities and sound political-economic visions for Nigeria. I see a political resolution in the convening of the much-needed Sovereign National Conference shortly. 

The convening of the much-needed Sovereign National Conference of her ethnic nationalities is bigger that the presidency of Nigeria or Jonathan Goodluck, the present occupier of this seat. The political situation in Nigeria as they unfold gradually with time will eventually make this conference inevitable and unavoidable if that nation will survive. Nigerians are poor students of their own recent history. They have forgotten that the political crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s that almost tore Nigeria apart made the Aburi Conference in Ghana inevitable and the final outcome from that conference was to implement the political system of confederacy or regional autonomy which the then military dictator of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon refused to implement when he returned to Nigeria from Ghana. Another history is about to repeat itself shortly in Nigeria because we have refused as a nation to learn from our bitter past history

"NIGERIAN LEADERS ARE THE BIGGEST HYPOCRITES AND TRAITORS THAT DO NOT BELIEVE IN NIGERIA"

These so called Nigerian leaders only pay the needed lip service to their country in all reality. They do not truly love Nigeria, sincerely cherish Nigeria or genuinely believe in that country that they rule. How do you believe in a country and then go ahead to loot its state treasury dry and for your personal use? How do you believe in a country and then you intentionally mismanaged its finances by destroying its national economy? How do you believe in a country and then turned that country into a debtor nation to the IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, London Club, Islamic Bank and the rising China? 

How do you believe in a country and then allowed the oil thieves to steal its oil wealth under your nose? How do you believe in Nigeria by intentionally conniving with those dubious foreign investors and multinational corporations by siphoning its natural resources through deals that favor them and not your beloved country that you claimed to truly loved? How do you believe in a country and then destroyed its educational system by starving it of funds and then you go ahead by sending your own children to those expensive private schools and universities abroad? How do you believe in a country and then you destroyed its entire health care system that makes it personally possible for you and your family to easily travel abroad for health reasons?How do you believe in a country by pushing your own political ambition to stay in power that is capable of destabilizing that entire country? 

How do you believe in a country by allowing the country's youths to be jobless, miserable, hopeless and helpless with you baiting an eyelid? How can you believe in a country and then agreed with the IMF/World Bank to destroy the purchasing power of the Nigerian Naira and her national economy? How do you believe in a country by allowing its profitable state parastatals, such as NEPA, Nigeria Airways, Nigerian Railway, NIPOST, NITEL and the oil refineries to fail and then you diabolically sold these failed agencies at the giveaway prices to your friends and family members? How do you believe in the hardworking Nigerian workers by paying them poverty wages? How do you believe in a country by allocating salaries and allowances for yourselves as NASS members that are gulping 30% of the federal annual budget?

"NIGERIA IN 2013:ALL EYES ON THE ONLY POLITICAL PRIZE IN THE LAND ITS PRESIDENCY"

If Nigeria as a nation is truly working for all Nigerians in all reality as many Nigerians deceptively believed by pretending that all is well with their beloved nation. Why is every geopolitical zone and every major ethnic nationality today are all busy holding nocturnal meetings, forming political alliances, militants groups with political undertones and advocating for a President of Nigeria of an Igbo origin, an Ijaw root, a Southern Nigerian background, a South-South geopolitical zone, a Northern Nigeria extraction, a Muslim by faith and a Christian by religion? The Presidency of Nigeria is now fully based on the turn by turn basis that is not in the Nigerian 1999 constitution and never on meritocracy, leadership qualities, managerial abilities and sound political-economic visions for Nigeria. I see a political resolution in the convening of the much-needed Sovereign National Conference shortly.

As the all-important election year of 2015 draws closer in Nigeria in the midst of the highly divisive and explosive threats that are coming almost every day from the South-South region that produces the nation's oil wealth over President Jonathan Goodluck's political ambition to rule Nigeria for another term by all means and at all cost plus the deep division in the PDP and the desire of the Northern Nigerian political class to have the presidency back in the North in 2015. I see a major political crisis on the horizon in Nigeria that may finally forced all Nigerians to hold the much needed Sovereign National Conference in a political marriage that has failed to work since 1914 to date.

The convening of the much-needed Sovereign National Conference of her ethnic nationalities is bigger that the presidency of Nigeria or Jonathan Goodluck, the present occupier of this seat. The political situation in Nigeria as they unfold gradually with time will eventually make this conference inevitable and unavoidable if that nation will survive. Nigerians are poor students of their own recent history. They have forgotten that the political crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s that almost tore Nigeria apart made the Aburi Conference in Ghana inevitable and the final outcome from that conference was to implement the political system of confederacy or regional autonomy which the then military dictator of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon refused to implement when he returned to Nigeria from Ghana. Another history is about to repeat itself shortly in Nigeria because we have refused as a nation to learn from our bitter past history.

"NIGERIA IN 2013:AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR THE FEW NIGERIANS"

Nigeria as a country cannot be considered to be great with a prospering economy when only a handful of its citizens are the direct beneficiaries from such an economy or government policy. The economy future of any serious minded nation cannot be left in the hands of few dubious, shady and crafty businessmen to run freely without the proper federal oversights and regulations fully in place. President Jonathan Goodluck's economy is designed in all ramifications to directly benefit a handful of Nigerians, to enthrone the reign of monopoly of the Nigerian national economy by the few Nigerians, to kill any form of competition from other interested businesses, to limit the consumers' choices and to maximize profits for those few businessmen selected to run this economy. 

Below are the direct and practical questions that patriot Nigerians need to ask and demand answers for:(i).Has the economy policy of President Jonathan Goodluck that primarily benefitted the likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola and the few oil markerters truly helped in the reduction of the huge national youth unemployment rate in Nigeria from its present 23%? (ii). Has Jonathan Goodluck's economy improved the wages of the average Nigerian workers in all reality and the standard of living of an average Nigerian in all truth and honesty? (iii). What are the visible positive impacts of the President Jonathan Goodluck's economy policy on the Nigeria's outdated educational system, inadequate social services, dilapidated health care and collapsing national infrastructures? 

The only indicators today that the economy policies of President Jonathan Goodluck point to as the positive economic growth are the yearly increasing GDP that now stands at about $273 billion, the national economic growth rate of about 7% annually, the foreign reserves that fluctuate and the privatization of the failing state parastatals that have made a handful of Nigerians like Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola and few other Nigerians government created dollar-rated billionaires. In conclusion, no nation in all reality can truly developed, be self-sufficient, becomes a global political force to be reckoned with and an economic engine in the 21st century when the majority of its citizens are helpless, hopeless, miserable and are languishing in chronic poverty due to the high unemployment rate, lack of economic opportunities and the poverty wages that are paid to the majority of the hardworking Nigerians.

"RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN WRITES TO THE AMERICANS THROUGH THE NEW YORK TIMES"

MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies. Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.

The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.

No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.

No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.

No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect.

The world reacts by asking: if you cannot count on international law, then you must find other ways to ensure your security. Thus a growing number of countries seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is logical: if you have the bomb, no one will touch you. We are left with talk of the need to strengthen nonproliferation, when in reality this is being eroded.

We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.

A new opportunity to avoid military action has emerged in the past few days. The United States, Russia and all members of the international community must take advantage of the Syrian government’s willingness to place its chemical arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction. Judging by the statements of President Obama, the United States sees this as an alternative to military action.

I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations.

If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues.

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal- From the New York Times and by Vladimir V. Putin is the President of Russia. 

IS THE NEW APPLE'S I-PHONE 5C TRULY CHEAPER WORLDWIDE? - NBC NEWS.

Apple's newly announced iPhone 5C, an "unapologetically plastic" model meant to broaden the company's reach with a substantially lower cost, is not so low-cost, it turns out. For those in other countries, the cost of the phone will generally range between $600 and $800, and in China, Apple's biggest target market, it will cost $730.

Apple has been hoping to crack the Chinese market, but the price may crack the deal for many — or even most — potential customers there.

"People were all expecting the 5C would be a low-cost model, but it doesn't look like it will be too competitive now," Jackson Wong, Tanrich Securities vice president for equity sales in Hong Kong, told Reuters.

In Europe, the iPhone 5C will be as much or more than China. In theUnited Kingdom, it's £469 ($741); in France and Germany, it's €599 ($796). Other countries will have it for slightly less, as low as $579, but nowhere is it "cheap."

In the U.S., the phone will be offered, starting Sept. 20, for $99 with a two-year wireless contract. Outside the U.S., where carriers don't subsidize the cost of phones, the cost is substantially greater. 

Though you can pay more to buy phones off-contract in the U.S., neither Apple nor the U.S. carriers have announced that pricing yet for the new iPhones. IHS research says it considers the "unsubsidized cost" of the iPhone 5C in the U.S. to be $549, "the same price point as the existing mid-range model in Apple's smartphone line, the iPhone 4S," Apple's 2011 phone.

Already in China, on social media sites, some people are griping about the iPhone 5C cost, and asking others to bring them a 5C from other countries where it's cheaper to buy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bear in mind, the average annual income in China was about $2,100 last year, according to one survey.

And a snapshot of response on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, done by measurement firm Engagor on Tuesday, found that a strong negative reaction to the phone, with comments focusing on how it is still too expensive.

So much for the "C" in iPhone 5C standing for "cheaper" or "China," unless Apple's new license with China Mobile — the world largest carrier with more than 740 million customers — yields word that the carrier will subsidize the phones there.

Mobile analyst Chetan Sharma told NBC News Wednesday that with the 5C's pricing, Apple is "saying 'no' to the low-cost segment and focused entirely on the 'premium' marketplace. And for that strategy, I think they achieved that."

"In light of this pricing, the 5C appears to be a midrange product that cannot significantly expand the available market for the iPhone line to lower-income buyers," said Francis Sideco, director for consumer electronics and communications technologies at IHS, in a statement. "As a result, the arrival of the 5c will not spur a major increase in iPhone sales in the second half of 2013 compared to previous expectations."

Sideco said that if Apple "had hit a $350 to $400 unsubsidized price range for the iPhone 5c, as some had speculated, the company might have had a chance to expand its smartphone shipments beyond what we originally expected in the second half." But in the U.S., even at the subsidized $99 price "the 5c will not spur sales because it does not materially expand Apple’s addressable market past the level we had already taken into account."

The real unanswered question is, why would Apple price its "cheap" phone so high? We have asked Apple, and will update the story when the company provides an answer.

"THE 1,000 DIFFERENT REASONS WHY NIGERIA IS NOT YET OUT OF THE WOOD"

Nigeria will only become a great country and an emerging economy in this 21st century human universe if the present poverty rate of 80% is reduced through the massive creation of those good paying jobs and the economic opportunities for the ordinary Nigerians. Nigeria will only be great when her hardworking workers can earn the true living wages instead of the present poverty wages of $100 or N18,000 a month. Nigeria will only be great when the present youth unemployment rate that stands at 23% is reduced drastically to a reasonable level. Nigeria will only be great when her middle class population that is almost facing extinction is made vibrant again like the 1970s during her oil boom. 

Nigeria will only be great again if her hospitals are now modernized to the 21st century international standard and any sick Nigerian can have easy access to the quality and affordable health care. Nigeria can only be great when her citizens can enjoy the most basic social services, such as, good roads, weekly trash-collection, constant electricity and treated or safe water supply. Nigeria can only be great if all her school-age children can go to school and enjoy the 21st century education to any level of schooling. Nigeria can only be great if her universities and research centers are recognized globally as the true centers for academic excellence and research innovations. 

Nigeria can only be great when the elections of her public officials at all levels of government are free, fair and transparent. Nigeria can only be great when her judiciary is truly independent and completely autonomous. Nigeria can only be great when all Nigerians are treated equally before the same supreme law of the land. Nigeria can only be great when her police force can be trusted to do the right things and her armed forces do not see other Nigerians as bloody civilians. Nigeria can only be great again when any Nigerian can live freely anywhere in Nigeria without the fear of intimidation, deportation and harassment from the state governments, locals or the natives. 

Nigeria can only be great when the regime of merit replaces mediocrity, nepotism, tribalism, quota system and federal character as the standard way of conducting the business of that nation. Nigeria can only be great again when Nigerians embrace religious tolerance instead of religious bigotry, religious violence, religious terrorism and religious ignorance. Nigeria can only be great when the sanctity of the human life and the properties of all Nigerians are protected and defended by the government of Nigeria and her security agencies. Nigeria can only be great when the menace of the official culture of corruption and the decades of the mammoth mismanagement of our state resources by the successive governments are officially stamped out, once and for all.

Nigeria can only be great when the rule of lawlessness and brutality are both replaced by the rule of law, justice for all and public accountability from all public officials. Nigeria will be great again when Nigerians that live in the diaspora can easily renew their expired Nigerian passports without any undue stress and bribery at the Nigerian foreign embassies and consulates. Nigeria can only be great when her citizens in foreign nations will be readily evacuated in the times of international emergencies, crises and conflicts. Nigeria can only be great again when the foreign investors can trust the Nigerian system to the point that they will invest their hard earned money into her national economy. Nigeria can only be great when the anti-gay law that now criminalizes homosexual Nigerians as with hefty jail terms and as second class citizens of that country with limited constitutional rights is finally abolished.

The likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga and the few other Nigerians who are now government created dollar-rated billionaires do not make any nation to be great in all truth, honesty and reality when the same economic opportunities that lifted up a handful of those Nigerians are not physically available to the tens of millions of these ordinary Nigerians today in 2014 to partake in in order to have their own bites of the Nigerian dream in all reality.