Nigerian Elections 2023: GeoPoll Post-Election Survey

Nigeria Elections: what happened?

Nigeria went into General elections on 25 February 2023. GeoPoll conducted a nationwide survey to assess public perception before the election. After the highly charged election, we followed up with yet another survey to learn about people’s voting experiences on election day, as well as their confidence in the election process and results. 

Contents
• Voting Experience
• Trust in the Electoral Process Pre- and Post-Elections
  • Election Results Acceptance, Fraud, and Violence
  • Perceptions of INEC’s Performance
• Witnessing Election Day Interference
• Perceptions of Democracy
• Interactive Data Dashboard
• Conduct Democracy and Governance Research with GeoPoll

After four days of vote tallying, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria formally declared Bola Tinubu the winner of the country’s highly contested presidential election. The declaration is not without controversy, however, as multiple opposition parties have disputed the legitimacy of the election and promised to challenge the results in court. For his part, president-elect Tinubu has appealed for reconciliation with his rivals and urged all Nigerians to unite behind his administration when he takes office in May.

GeoPoll conducted a survey prior to the election to gauge public sentiment about the state of the country, people’s trust in the electoral process, and their intention to vote. Now that the presidential election is over, GeoPoll implemented a follow-up study to learn about people’s voting experiences on election day, as well as their confidence in the election process and results.

Findings from the post-election survey are detailed in this post. To view the full results, filterable by question, state, gender, and age group, scroll down to the Interactive Data Dashboard.

Voting Experience

See complete analysis with data of the statistics on 

https://www.geopoll.com/blog/nigeria-post-elections-survey/

#Nigeria

#presidentialelection

#nigeriadecides2023 

#elections 

#voters

#INEC

#pollingunits

#ballots

#presidentialcandidates

#Tinubu

#Atiku

#Obi

#APC

#PDP

#LP

2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria: Delusions of Grandeur of Peter Obi, Chimamanda and the Obidients

2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria: Delusions of Grandeur of Peter Obi, Chimamanda and the Obidients 

The followers of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) need a reality check for their bloated political Delusions of Grandeur for his victory in the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Making the loudest noise does not mean you are making sense.

Emotional immaturity, intellectual insecurity and political hypocrisy  of majority of them are glaring from their widely circulated lies of demagogy and now worsened by the intellectual hypocrisy of the celebrated Nigerian novelist and feminist, Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie who is misinforming the ignorant foreign news media on the current affairs in Nigeria. She has been posing and posturing in conceit and deceit to show Peter Obi as a new political personality. A lie.

She has known him since he became the Governor of Anambra State in South eastern Nigeria from March to November 2006, February to May 2007, and June 2007 to March 2014 as a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and later decamped to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in 2014.

He was in the PDP when the party lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 presidential election.

He was a leading member of corrupt and incompetent administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP that failed to tackle the insurgency of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in northern Nigeria and failed to rescue the unfortunate  hundreds of Chibok secondary school girls abducted by Boko Haram in April, 2014.

On 12 October 2018, Peter Obi became  the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 presidential election and they lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Oluyemi Osinbajo of the APC.

When Peter Obi was in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan,  Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie rejected the national honour given to her by the Nigerian government. 

She and Obi are from the same Anambra State and of the same Catholic Church.

In May 2022, Obi became the Labour Party nominee for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election, after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party.

Living in denial of the truth is foolishness.

It is delusional for the followers and supporters of Peter Obi to claim that he won the 2023 presidential election held on February 25 as the presidential candidate of the dysfunctional Labour Party (LP) without formal functional offices in the 36 states and federal capital of Abuja.

During the last presidential election in 2019, LP had only 5, 074 votes nationwide for the presidential candidate Alhaji Muhammed Usman Zaki and his running mate, Chief Ezekiel Akpan.

LP has had only one state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who ran successfully as Governor of Ondo State under the banner of the LP for a period of two terms (2009-2017). Then he returned to the PDP in 2021. 

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu achieved more than all the state governors combined as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 - 2007.

He made Lagos attractive to FDI.

His economic blue print made Lagos the 4th biggest economy in Africa: the Startups capital of Africa and with the most Unicorns and attracted Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

Majority of people attacking the APC do not understand the indices of human capacity development and achievements of Nigeria under the government of the APC.

Over 10 million new jobs have been created since the administration of the APC came to power in 2015.

Most of the jobs have been created in Lagos.

Lagos is the best and safest state to do business in Nigeria.

The economic development master.plan of Bola Tinubu, include the Eko Atlantic City; the Lekki Port Project, a $1.5 billion  project to develop Lekki port in Lagos. 

The acceleration of any ecosystem depends on the environment.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu made Lagos the best place to do business in SubSaharan Africa.

Achievements of the Administration of the APC

Majority of the supporters of Peter Obi are ignorant of the unprecedented achievements of Nigeria under the dynamic economic policies of the administration of the APC since 2015 - 2023.

The booming fintech sector created more than 2 million jobs from the POS vendors on every street to those trading on the internet with over 300,000 online traders.

There were over 41 million micro-enterprises in Nigeria in 2017, which represented over 99 percent of the micro. And the numbers have increased.

Number of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria in 2017.

For more details, contact Sylva Ifedigbo

Head, Clients and Markets Development, PwC Nigeria

https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/events/nigeria-sme-survey.html

$256 billion: The total sum of money Nigerians transferred electronically in 2019.

Digital payments in Nigeria have surged more than fivefold since 2014, hitting 105 trillion naira ($256 billion) by 2019. This rise was partially fueled by companies like Flutterwave and Paystack, which developed easy-to-use payment solutions for individuals and businesses.

This is why it wasn’t a surprise when U.S. payments giant Stripe paid over $200 million to acquire Paystack in October 2020, or Tiger Global valued Flutterwave at over $1 billion in March. Others are also getting involved: The Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS) and Interswitch have developed infrastructure like real-time transfers that fintechs rely on.

https://restofworld.org/2021/five-nigeria-fintech-stats/#/256-billion-the-total

All these unprecedented achievements happened during the administration of the APC with the visionary leadership of President Muhammad Buhari and tech savvy Vice President Oluyemi Osinbajo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-jjMBCgthM

The acceleration of any ecosystem depends on the environment.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu made Lagos the best place to do business in SubSaharan Africa.

Hundreds of thousands of Igbos did not come out to vote on Saturday, February 25, because of their fear of attacks by different fringe elements of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

 that threatened to enforce the Sit-At-Home order declared by the Simon Ekpa-led faction of IPOB that the 2023 general elections will not take place in the South East geo-political zone of the country.

Peter Obi has not condemned the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and this has implications for his presidential ambition, because majority of Muslims and others, especially non+Igbos who are against the breakup of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will not vote for him.

It is even unbelievable that Peter Obi defeated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos State, the home state of the presidential candidate of the APC! 

Wherever the LP won, they were happy and even claimed that they should have won more votes than the national ruling party of the incumbent administration of the Nigerian government. 

How can you claim you have won in more states than the APC that has been ruling the federal government since 2015 to date; with 22 governors in 22 states of the 36 states in Nigeria; majority of Senators in the Senate; majority of members in the House of Representatives and the Houses of Assembly in the 36 states with functional offices in all the states and in Abuja.

Peter Obi and the Labour Party cannot win the presidential election in more states than the national ruling party. 

Peter Obi actually exploited the gullibility and political naivety of majority of Nigerians by widespread defamation of the personality of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and labelling the APC as an evil political party and lied that the APC has failed in the administration of the federal government. They deliberately ignored the outstanding achievements of the APC since 2015 to date. 

The Labour Party accused the APC of rigging the presidential election. But I have a video showing the LP rigging the election. 

They lied by calling Peter Obi "Mr. Clean" and incorruptible politician. But Peter Obi was linked to the misappropriations of funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when he was a leading member of the former national ruling party, People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, the MD of Fidelity Bank was arrested by the EFCC and he told his interrogators that he was under instructions from Peter Obi, believed to be one of the owners of the bank, to go to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s residence in Abuja for a “financial transaction that could benefit the bank.”

Peter Obi was once the Chairman and is a major stakeholder in Fidelity Bank.

He is among those named in the Pandora Papers for international financial crimes in illicit foreign assets.

PANDORA PAPERS: Inside Peter Obi’s secret businesses — and how he broke the law

Peter Obi serially violated the law by failing to declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies and assets he tucked away in secrecy havens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora_Papers

Read the following for more details on the consequences of foreign illicit assets.

This Act governs the freezing, confiscation and restitution of assets held by foreign politically exposed persons or their close associates, where there is reason to assume that those assets were acquired through acts of corruption, criminal mismanagement or by other felonies.16 Aug 2016

https://www.unodc.org › 201...

PDF

Foreign Illicit Assets Act (FIAA) of 18 December 2015

The IMF and the Fight Against Illicit Financial Flows

Illicit and tax avoidance related financial flows (ITAFF) can have a significant impact on the economic stability of a country and

https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/Fight-against-illicit-financial-flows

It is really baffling that Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie would endorse such a character, because they are from the same tribe and church when she should know that suspects in similar situations in the United States of America would have been on trial for their crimes and not contesting for public office.

#Nigeria

#nigeriandecides2023

#NigerianDecides

#presidentialelection 

#President 

#Tinubu

#Atiku 

#PeterObi 

#NnamdiKanu

#kwakwanso

#Chimamanda

#Obidients

#Igbos

#IPOB

 

February 25, 2023 Elections: The Beginning of a New Nigeria

February 25, 2023 Elections: The Beginning of a New Nigeria

Only Patriotic Nigerians Are Celebrating the Victory of Democracy

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the national ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria that was held on Saturday, February 25.  He defeated Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, People's Democratic Party (PDP) and presidential candidates of other political parties. 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 presented the certificate of return to the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu in Abuja.

*AN ELECTION...*

An election that has turned Lagos from APC to another party other than PDP;

An election in which El-rufai could not deliver Kaduna;

An election in which Ganduje could not deliver Kano;

An election where Labour Party won in Nassarawa;

An election where atleast 7 popular incubent governors lost their bid for the Senate despite spending massively, to "nobodys" who barely spent anything;

An election where an Okada man and a driver have been reported to have won a seat in the Federal House of Representatives;

An election where the son of a nobody has finally been able to become somebody without the help of anybody;

Yet, you want to rubbish that election?

Because we didn't reverse it all completely?

How do we not see that THE CITIZENS have won already?!

How can we not see that the will of a people has prevailed over established political "structures"!

How can we not see that this is a MASSIVE win for democracy, and then plan to build on this even if the overall result doesn't fall as desired?

How can we not see that this is indeed the first election that the voice of the people has really mattered and has officially killed the age long narrative that *votes don't count*?

Shouldn't we start to celebrate this massive win for Nigeria;
Knowing it's the beginning of massive things to come?

Knowing that something has shifted and true change beckons?

Will blood on the streets be the only indication of change? And what guarantees does that offer?

Do we not see, that what happens from here is the most important thing?

Do we not see that how we build from here, is what matters most?

Do we not yet understand that anger is NOT a strategy and doesn't exactly produce the right result, but it is only an emotion
which, if channelled postively, should birth the right strategies?

Do we not yet see that we have achieved for the first time what has been impossible since the rebirth of our democracy in 1999?!

Are we so blinded by unguided passion that we will rather throw out the baby with the bathwater?

And cannot see that a massive thing just occured?

How many of you calling for blood on the street, is truly ready and willing to shed his/her blood?

Have we not  checked history?

Have we not seen that those that died for change still did not fast forward the process of change?

For change still happened completely, ONLY in the process of time.

Can we therefore not see the massive step we have already taken?

And for those shouting, "The violent shall take it by force";

Did you not read your reference completely to understand that violence is the language of KINGDOMS and not DEMOCRACIES?

What exactly do we want?

Outside of the bandwagon mentality and somewhat unguided passion, have we truly defined what we want?

Every election Nigeria has had from 1999, with the exception of NONE, has been marred with protests, disenfranchisement of voters, and violence of massive proportions!

This election is not different, neither is it unique in that regard!

Some of the "tipexing" and "record changing"  we have seen, which gives us the illusion that something  monumentally wrong happened this time around, has actually been happening in much worse dimensions since 1999.

The only difference which we can't seem to appreciate is that for the first time, we have now been given a system in BVAS, that will shine light on whatever happens in the backend, and therefore, for the first time in our democratic history, the average citizen has been given eyes behind the scenes!

What a WIN!!!

All of this, therefore, makes this
election, the "closest" to CREDIBLE, or if you like, the closest to REALITY that we have ever had!

The pointers are littered all over the results we see!

We must really learn to separate things and not muddle them up with emotions.

We must be sincere enough with ourselves, to know when we have stopped fighting for our country and are just now performing for our individual egos and straddling the lines of arrogance.

If there be any grievances as would legitimately be expected, should we not then go through the established legal framework to address same?

NIGERIA HAS WON!

This election shows that much!

This victory, however, is a continium;

And in our lifetime, we will enjoy the fullness of it!

- *'Laolu Alabi*
February 2023

Hon. Princess Miriam Onuoha Reelected for the House of Representatives

HON. PRINCESS MIRIAM ONUOHA DEFEATS OTHER CONTESTANTS TO WIN OKIGWE NORTH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION

The Electorate in Okigwe North have finally made their choice in Hon. Princess Miriam Onuoha through the polls in the just concluded General Elections for the House of Representatives. This portends that the incumbent lawmaker will continue her responsibility as the legislator representing Isiala Mbano, Onuimo and Okigwe Local Government Areas at the Green Chamber till 2027.

The preferred candidate of APC won the election with resounding margin to floor other contestants in a suspense ridden competition that finally gave her Victory.  Hon. Princess Miriam really deserved the victory, having done so well in her first tenure at effecting meaningful changes in the vicinity.

Congratulations 👏👏👏🎉!

© Hon. Princess Miriam Onuoha PR/Media Team

The Political Ignorance of Peter Obi and His "Obidients" on the 2023 Presidential Election

The Political Ignorance of Peter Obi and His "Obidients" on the 2023 Presidential Election

The North East and South East have challenges of widespread insecurity  caused by homegrown terrorists that will prevent majority of them from voting in the presidential election in 2023.

Many of the people shouting "Obidients" don't have and will not have PVCs on the date of the presidential election.

Both Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and his followers are politically ignorant of the fact that the presidential election will be won by political expediency and not by popularity on the internet.

I have already seen several opportunists who want to exploit this popularity in various sharp practices.

Peter Obi has never won any election on self recognizance, but by the tribal hegemony of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the South East region of the Igbos.

The majority of Igbos will most likely vote for him. But outside the region, the Labour Party cannot win any state for Peter Obi even if all the Igbos in these states vote for him. Majority of non-Igbos will not vote for him. And without their votes he cannot win the presidential election.

Majority of the so called "Obidients" on Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp groups and Nairaland are ignorant of horrifying communal wars going on between the Igbos and other tribes. These hostilities will favour Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the incumbent national ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election.

The fate of Nigeria in the general elections in 2023 will be decided by existential realities and not by emotional sentiments.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Author of "The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Dream: My Eyewitness Account of the 2015 Presidential Election", "In the House of Dogs", "The Prophet Lied", "Scarlet Tears of London" and other books distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers worldwide.

#Nigeria
#PeterObi
#Obidients
#Tinubu
#Atiku
#APC
#PDP
#APGA
#LabourParty
#insecurity
#terrorists
#voters
#PVC
#politics
#elections
#2023elections
#2023presidentialelection

2023: Professor Ikonne Sets to Adjust Abia's Sail

2023: Professor Ikonne Sets to Adjust Abia's Sail

- By Chief Maxwell Kanu. 

In the words of the American author, John Maxwell, "the pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

Professor Uche Ukonne perfectly fits into Maxwell's definition of a leader.

His emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP's gubernatorial flagbearer is indeed a trigger for a new Abia.

Professor Ikonne's expected victory in next year's gubernatorial polls will be a fitting, proper and deserving call to service, a call to reinvent Abia by recalibrating its economy and infrastructure.

He is not coming to learn on the job.A consumate administrator and academic colossus, Professor Ikonne is eminently qualified, prepared and equipped with innovative ideas with  which he will be adjusting Abia's sail for the better when he becomes governor next year.

His exhilarating performance as the Vice Chancellor of Abia state University still resonates. 

Like a goldfish, Professor Ikonne has no hiding place. It is not therefore, a surprise that the PDP spotted him and saddled him with the task of deepening Abia's socio-economic and infrastructural ascendancy.

It is obvious that the party recognises  a competent leader, a doer and an achiever when it see one. For sure, the PDP sees one in Professor Ikonne.

With a plethora of youth and women organisations, civil society groups, academics and religious leaders as well as traditional rulers routing for him, Professor Ikonne is the man to beat in the 2023 Abia guber contest.

Born in Agburuike, Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North, Abia State, Professor Ikonne's academic career spans over three decades.

He attended  Ngwa High School, in Aba  and later proceeded to Manila Central University, Philippines to study Optometry.

He also holds specialist master's degree programme in Hospital Administration at St. Jude College, also in the Philippines.On his return to Nigeria in 1985, Professor Ikonne served as consulting optometrist at the Park Lane General Hospital, Enugu, and was later to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental Health Science from Abia State University.

In an ironic twist of fate, he would in later years, serve the University as Vice Chancellor.

From 2010 to 2014, Ikonne served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Abia State University and was seconded to Abia State Polytechnic, Aba as Rector on what was described as  Rescue  Mission.

Upon returning to the University, he was appointed its 7th Substantive Vice-Chancellor in December 2015.

He also attained the following positions:

Head, Department of Optometry – Abia State University.

Director, Institute for Distance Education, Abia State University.

Acting Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Abia State University.

Deputy Provost, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Abia State University.

Professor Ikonne is a member of several professional bodies and has sat on many professional and academic Boards and Committees including:

Member, Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria from 1993 to date

Chairman of the Education Committee, 1993 to date

Chairman, Disciplinary Committee, 2007 to date

Vice-Chairman, Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria, 2009 to date. He was also Registrar, Nigerian Postgraduate College of Optometrists.

Professor Ikonne has in his kitty, an avalanche of awards including,  the African Optometric Educator Award of the year 2003 and the Distinguished Meritt Award of the Nigerian Optometric Association, 2006.

If elected governor next year, Professor Ikonne will join the list of erudite academics, especially Professor who were/are in partisan politics and who offered quality leadership and contributed immensely to national development.

The roll call include the second Republic governor of the defunct Bendel state, the late Prof Ambrose Alli, former Education Minister,  

Professor Jibril Aminu, Former Vice Chancellor of ABU, Processor Ango Abdulahi, Late Minister of Petroleum, Professor Tam David West, Former Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Former Health Minister, Onikoye Ransom-Kuti, Former Education Minister, late Professor  Babs Fafuwa, Former Minister for Science and Technology, late Professor Godion Ezekwe, incumbent Governor of Borno state, Professor Zulum among others.

***

Chief Maxwell writes from Isukwuato, Abia State.

Ozigbo as Anambra's Breath of Fresh Air

Ozigbo as Anambra's Breath of Fresh Air

- By Peter Osakwe

Val Ozigbo stands out in the galaxy of candidates for November 7, 2021, Anambra gubernatorial election not because he is flying the flag of a popular party but because he is the knight in the shining armour for Anambrarians.

You need not be clairvoyant to tell that Anambra is in dire need of fresh breath after eight years of mindless suffocation. And who will bail the cat?

Here is Ozigbo. Young, energetic, urbane, cerebral and unassuming yet well wired. His robust academic resume, uncanny strides and exploits in the corporate world firmly project him as the breath of fresh air Anambra urgently needs.

Valentine Ozigbo is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the governorship elections in Anambra State and I dare say that the party got it right in the choice of flagbearer.

For a man who connects seamlessly with the people he is seeking to govern with his well-articulated Ka Anambra Chawapu socio-economic and infrastructural module which is also his campaign slogan, Ozigbo wears the Anambra shoe and knows where it pinches the people.

"The Chawapu project is designed to touch the future by building social and economic systems that last”, he says.

Val, as he is affectionately called by admirers, is a hard-boiled business administrator and entrepreneur and has dedicated close to three decades of his life garnering and putting into work experiences in the corporate world.

He is a thinker who thinks outside the box, visionary and purpose-driven. Ozigbo rises above the fray to stamp competency and accomplishment.

Ozigbo is not your janu-faced everyday politician. He is a straight talker who speaks the language of service delivery. This candidate comes across as a man of unadulterated zeal for enduring positivity, one who is adequately prepared for the task of reinventing Anambra.

Grassroots' favourite, Ozigbo has become a movement in Anambra. His state-wide acceptability and popularity attest to the fact that his message of redemption for the Ndi Anambra positively resonates with them.

Come November 7, Anambrarians will be saddled with a simple choice: Choose as their next governor a compassionate, shrewd, urbane and cerebral manager of men and resources or a perpetuation of the dark, anachronistic politicking and voodoo governance Anambra has endured.

Ozigbo represents the former. In him, American author John C Maxwell's characterization of a leader takes flesh and blood. Maxwell: "A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way."

Starting as a young goal- getting financial manager, the PDP candidate have traversed the business and financial firmament leaving impactful and enduring imprimatur in all spheres- hospitality sector, banking, manufacturing, energy etc.

Until March 2020 when he quit to explore other areas of service to humanity, including the possibility of serving Ndi Anambra as governor, Ozigbo was at the driver's seat of Transactional Corporation of Nigeria, Transcorp, a top-flight business conglomerate with an interest in agriculture, banking, hospitality among others.

Appointed President and Chief Executive officer of the Corporation in 2011, Ozigbo brought his corporate wizardry to bear on the outfit resulting in its burgeoning success.

For example, while at Transcorp, Val developed five new projects worth over $500 million including two new hotels in Lagos and Port Harcourt as well as other retail facilities that catapulted the conglomerate to a global height.

Born on July 20, 1970, Valentino Ozigbo attended Christ the Redeemer College where he obtained his SSCE certificate.

He obtained a degree in accounting from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in 1994 and an MBA in Banking and Finance from the same University in 2000.

In 1998, he obtained a professional qualification in accounting from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Taxation from the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in 2000.

In 2004, Val Ozigbo obtained an MSc in finance from Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

Val Ozigbo obtained a professional qualification in Credit Administration from the Institute of Credit Administration in 2015. 

Ozigbo's rise to the top of the corporate ladder was swift and meritorious. Before he was appointed the CEO of Transcorp, he had17 years of experience in the banking sector working with notable Nigerian banks including NAL Merchant Bank, Diamond Bank, Continental Trust Bank, FSB International Bank, Standard Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa and Bank PHB.

Between 1995 and 2000, he was the Head of Commercial Banking at Diamond Bank Plc. He proceeded to become the business manager at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2000.

In 2001, Ozigbo was Acting Regional Director of FSB International Bank but returned to pick up the position of Head of International Banking at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2004.

He left UBA for Keystone Bank as the Global Transaction operation in 2008.

Anambra is in for impactful, purposeful leadership as Ozigbo awaits coronation on November 7.

Congratulations to Ndi Anambra in advance.

***

Peter Osakwe wrote from Inland Town, Onitsha.

The Political Pettiness of the Nigerian Ruling Class Exposed

The current scandal rocking the judiciary caused by the face-off between Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysious Kastina- Alu and President, Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami is only exposing the political pettiness of the ruling class in Nigeria. The judicial fiasco has pitched the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the main opposition party the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) over their political stakes in the dispute.

The excuse given by President Goodluck Jonathan on his appointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu as Acting President for the Court of Appeal following the suspension of Isa Ayo Salami by the National Judicial Commission (NJC) is dumb.

"What the President has done is to prevent a vacuum and the law provided for that," said Dr. Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
What a dumb excuse.

The President should have waited for the resumption of the National Assembly before appointing Justice Dalhatu Adamu.

The scandalous political fiasco was caused by erroneous and ambiguous allegations of corruption against election tribunal judges after the controversial results of the massively rigged 2007 elections in Nigeria. There have been over 7,000 electoral cases and the judges have been found wanting.

Retired Supreme Court Jurist, Kayode Eso said the election tribunals were turning judges to billionaires and other highly esteemed legal luminaries in the country agreed with him. Because, petitioners reported many instances of bribery and corruption.


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16:37	Young People Ready to Make Their Mark in the Face of a Challenging Global Legacy

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Imo Gubernatorial Polls: Governor Ohakim Beyond Electorates Redemption

Chief Ikedi Ohakim, Governor of Imo State


Imo Gubernatorial Polls: Governor Ohakim Beyond Electorates Redemption

Written By Njamanze Fidel


The governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim without mincing words has made himself unlikable to majority of Imo people by his untoward actions and inactions. Since the inception of his administration in 2007, I have tried to restrain myself from constructively pointing out my grouse with him hoping that he will turn over a new leaf but all to no avail.


The fact is he has earned for himself the notoriety of being a political deceiver of the highest order. A point in view was when he purportedly deceived Mr. President; Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that he has started rehabilitating the road that runs from Nkwala (one of the prominent weekly markets in Ngor-Opkala LGA), Eziama, Ntu, Umuohie, Umuneke (where the council secretariat is located) and Ngwuru. This road forms a T-junction to Owerri, Okpala and Owerri Nta road apart from numerous junctions along that axis. This T-junction is close to Ulakwo Junction and Park. It is about a kilometer if you are coming from Ulakwo to Okpala and on the right hand side.


While the governor was coming back from the airport some time ago, where he had gone to welcome the President, I gathered from a reliable source that he pointed at the road that connects Umuneke, Ugwuru, Umuohie, Ntu, Eziama and Nkwoala to Mr. President as one of the roads he was building. It is important to note here that the construction equipment was pulled out of the construction site after the President had gone back to the seat of power, Aso Rock. The truth is that what Ohakim did was to rehabilitate some dangerous spots along that road but this was not exhaustive, because from Umuneke to Nkwola where there are also potholes were left unattended. Why?


This road was initially constructed by past military regime. The road, which is a state road, was later constructed and continued from Umuohie Ngor to Nkwala Market by the current democratic dispensation. The present state of the road is better described as deplorable not minding the lackadaisical, cunning and deceptive move by the Chief Executive in Imo state to rehabilitate it.


What is most painful to me are the poorly executed road rehabilitation projects that have been captured in Ohakim’s campaign billboard just to earn the votes of the electorates in addition to other irritating attributes of his and flaws. For instance, the above mentioned road that leads to Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area has been captured in one of his deceptive billboards located at that strategic T- Junction. Initially, “Ochina falsehood” wanted the whole world to know or believe that the road was to be dualized but this was not to be as the road project was abandoned before it could get to half a kilometer. My heart bleeds for most rural based Local Governments Areas and its inhabitants in Imo State especially Ngor Okpala Local Government Area as there is virtually nothing to lift their dampened spirit up.


Is it our roads; which in great state of disrepair, school structures; which are a shadow of their former self, youth empowerment; which has taken flight, health centres; which are crawling on their knees. While some state Governors have initiated free education in their various states by even going the extra mile of providing free sandals, exercise books, school uniforms and bags to pupils and students of both primary and secondary schools, what is saddening is the increase in school fees of undergraduates who attend University of Imo State (IMSU) by Ohakim administration. The effect of the increment is gnawing of teeth by most parents who struggle too hard to pay the said fee which is allegedly put at one hundred and fifty thousand naira.


Ohakim should as a matter of urgency borrow a leaf from the governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Sullivan Chime of Enugu, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State etc.


Again, it is most sad to observe that a federal road that runs through Okpala, Eziama, Nkwala Market and Amala to Rivers State has also been captured in Governor Ohakim’s political campaign billboard as one of the roads he has constructed. However, this is one of the twenty first century nauseating falsehood being peddled by Ochina what I do not know.


With various allegations of misdemeanor; abuse of a man of God, his subjects in the person of Samuelson Iwuoha and Mrs Elizabeth Udoudo, inability to develop rural areas for socio-economic activities, litany of corruption related petitions, deceptive politicking and so on, I do not nurse any doubt in my mind that Ohakim would be an irredeemable gubernatorial product to market to the electorate in Imo state as he has shot himself in the leg.


Jude Ude commenting in an article with the title “Governor Ikedi Ohakim: The Example Of Ondo State Government written by one Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha, Jun 07 2010 said, “The fact that Ikedi Ohakim is worse than DEJI is not in doubt. We have an acclaimed 419ner, looter,criminal and a public enemy as the Governor in Imo State. We all know that the powers that be in the PDP are protecting this fool, but for how long they will do it, then we are waiting to see. I have always said that no amount of falsehood or campaign from people like Steve Osuji, Kenneth Uwadi, Obi Okereke, Sam Uzowum, Dr. E Dibia and Mr. J. Onyeakoh can succeed in selling or imposing this impostor, criminal and 419ner on the good people of Imo State. They tell us that Ohakim has achieved heaven and earth in Imo State, but they have never succeeded in substantiating their claim.”


Prophecy: What I do know for sure is, your investigation by the appropriate authority may tarry, but the petition dossier on your corrupt practices is in a safe place for future action. By the time the lid to your can of worms is opened, either by EFCC or ICPC, your fate may be worse than James Ibori’s.


~Njamanze Fidel a political activist and commentator write from Ihite, Imo State

Ohakim’s Empowerment Application Form (Per Ward): A Real or False Bait?

Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim


Ohakim’s Empowerment Application Form (Per Ward): A Real or False Bait?


Written By Njamanze Fidel


As the count down to the Imo state governorship and State House of Assembly elections draw close some political parties have come forward with mouth-watering promises so as to gain overwhelmingly the votes of the electorates. This move is to reelect the incumbent governor, state house assembly members or to vote them out and usher in a new governor, house assembly members from opposition political parties in Imo State.


One of such political campaign promise is the Empowerment Application Form (per ward) that is being circulated across the 27 local government Areas in Imo state which is given to prospective electorates by the People's Democratic Party’s house to house campaigners with the aim of getting their votes on the 26 of April 2011.


I do know that Imo people have not forgotten so soon what transpired when the Ikedi Ohakim’s administration advertised to provide 10,000 jobs to Imo indigenes. The question now is has the governor fulfilled that promise forthrightly not minding that majority of those who applied for the job with their hard earned money to by scratch card are yet to be employed? Is there any similarity from this Empowerment Application Form per Ward and the vehemently criticized 10,000 jobs?


The form has the following outlines under its biodata, date of birth, sex, marital status, occupation, address, Local Government Area (LGA), phone number and email address. Under its empowerment category, you will see farmers loan; 100 persons, widows loan; 50 widows, students scholarship; 20 students, youth empowerment; 10 keke/tricycles and government employment; 10 graduates, 20 non-graduates and 10 women. When you add the above figures and multiply it by the total number of wards in Imo State what will you get? No doubt, the total number of people to benefit from this empowerment scheme will exceed the 10,000 jobs which Ohakim said his administration will provide. What does this tell you? Are we not about to be hoodwinked by the political deceivers of Imo state kleptomaniac politics?


If one may ask, why the PDP led administration in Imo State did not introduce or share this form when it assumed the administration of affairs in 2007? Why is it now that the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections are very close that they remembered to distribute it among prospective and non prospective electorates whom they have faith and hope that would vote for the Peoples Democratic Party? Whether this latest political game plan of the PDP in Imo State will fly, remains only a matter of conjecture. But what I am sure of is that most Imo people are not naïve. Our governor Governor Ikedi Ohakim seems to have made enough money within a period of four years and that is why he said university education is not for the poor or everybody. What an insensitivity to the plight of the averagely rich and poor! He has as a matter of fact; increased the financial burden of majority of our parents who have their ward in Imo State University. Will you vote for him (Ohakim) if you are in the position of such parents whom the former has made their burden heavier?


The People of Imo State should vote wisely at this crucial election which will make or mar commendable governance.


Njamanze Fidel a political activist and commentator write from Ihite, Imo State

The Causes and Consequences of the 2011 Post Election Violence in Nigeria

The causes and consequences of the recent post election violence in Nigeria

The incessant ethnic, religious and political attacks on lives and properties in many states in Nigeria are caused by the appalling intellectual and political ignorance among majority of Nigerians.

If the terrorists unleashing their grievances on both their perceived enemies and innocent people have been educated and informed on the sanctity of human life, the values and virtues of peace and stability for mutual benefit of all the citizens, they would not have committed the terrifying and horrifying atrocities in their own regions and other places they have attacked.
The ruling political class is guilty of exploiting the ignorance of the poor majority in their power struggle and once they have secured their own families and properties, they no longer care about the fate of the victims of their political battles.

• They have misappropriated the public funds for health care and abandoned the broken down public health centres, clinics and hospitals for the poor masses and fly overseas to the developed nations for foreign Medicare and they have spent billions of naira of tax payers money and misappropriated funds on paying foreign medical bills.

• They have misappropriated the public funds allocated for education and neglected public schools and universities with obsolete laboratories and libraries and outdated curricula, broken down campuses with nightmarish facilities and utilities, because they can send their own beloved children to the expensive private schools and universities in Nigeria or in the US and the UK where they pay astronomical school fees from their misappropriated public funds.

• They have misappropriated the public funds allocated for industrial development and preferred to spend their ill-gotten wealth from looting the treasury on imported goods and services.

The list of the corrupt practices of the Nigerian kleptomaniacs in government is very long.

Corruption causes the leakages of power, undermines security and weakens leadership at all levels of human administration.
As corruption increases insecurity will become worse.

The Maitasine riots were the worst political and religious uprisings in Nigeria between 1980 and 1983, during the corrupt administration of President Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a Hausa Muslim from northern Nigeria who served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic (1979–1983) from the corrupt National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He was a weak leader and could not stop the Maitasine riots and over 4, 000 people were killed. The corrupt civilian government was overthrown in a military coup. And when the military ruled Nigeria there was relative peace in the country until the June 12 Crisis. So, whether the President is from the South or North does not matter to these terrorists who would attack their targets for political, religious or tribal agitations from the Niger Delta to Maiduguri.

The fact is, petty political reasons have been the criteria for many political appointments favouring loyalists of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and they compromised the rules of engagement in their responsibilities.

President Goodluck Jonathan desperately sent his ministers and PDP governors to campaign for him and ensure that they win their states in the presidential election. So the PDP flush with slush funds went to work to win by all means and at all costs by using political bribery and power of incumbency to manipulate the electoral process and rig the elections and many cases of PDP using National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and others to rig the elections were reported online and offline and with over 75 million users of GSM phones in Nigeria the reports from BlackBerry pings were circulated fast.

Two female NYSC members working for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were caught thumb printing in Enugu and the video of massive thumb printing by identified members of the PDP in Rivers State was circulated widely on YouTube.
The public proof of PDP rigging elections provoked millions of the supporters of the Opposition. So, when the results showed that the PDP was leading and winning, they went on rampage.

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
~ John F. Kennedy,
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963) in a speech at the White House, 1962.


Anti-government rebels on rampage in Northern Nigeria after the disputed presidential election of April 16, 2011.

The PDP is responsible for the corruption and insecurity destroying lives and properties in Nigeria since 1999 to date. So, President Goodluck Jonathan knows the bitter truth and is only pretending.
The genesis of the crisis is the maladministration of the corrupt ruling party.

Every armed robber and other criminals in the Niger Delta are now claiming to be militants and enjoying Amnesty, but the same PDP government refused to dialogue with the Boko Haram militant in the northern region and has not extended Amnesty to them, because there is no OIL at stake in the North.

The Amnesty Programme is political bribery to woo and win the support of the so called militants. Then President Goodluck Jonathan also dangled the huge bait of $200 million fund to greedy and hungry artistes to win their support.
If Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) had the power and offered them $300 million, they would have painted the town red to act, dance, rap and sing the praises of Buhari too. He who pays the piper dictates the tune. Who is fooling whom?
President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling party are guilty of the insecurity destroying Nigeria.
Medicine after death cannot raise the dead.

The government was duly informed and warned of the dangerous states by the State Security Service (SSS), but President Goodluck Jonathan failed to address the emergency and spent billions of naira on his presidential campaign than the amount of money spent on security for INEC staff and other citizens who have lost lives and properties in the post election catastrophe.

Anyone blaming Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is wrong. Buhari did not send those murderers on rampage to murder innocent citizens.

If the army and police already assigned in those states came out to stop the murderers, no innocent life would have been lost and no vehicle, house or church would have been burnt.

Where were the police and army when those mad boys went on rampage?

I worked for the Alhaji Bamanga Turkur Presidential Campaign in 1990 and I once carried a rifle for his Director of Publicity for use in self defence.

I have gone to the Niger Delta to address the militancy and spoke to the militant leader Asari Dokubo to bury the hatchet and he agreed, but before I knew it, the Federal Government arrested him for just openly expressing his political belief and detained him without trial and that was what provoked the emergence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and I simply left the government to face their Frankenstein monster.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The fact is we have an incompetent government that failed woefully to provide security, because of corruption.

The government keeps on telling lies upon lies to hoodwink the ignorant masses.

They boast that they have provided regular supply of fuel, but there is scarcity of kerosene, the fuel of the masses.

There is no regular supply of petrol in remote places in Northern Nigeria, the most underdeveloped region in Nigeria.

The majority of voters are in the rural areas and kerosene means more to them than petrol.
Regular water supply means more to them than petrol.

Any dummy government can provide regular supply of petrol.
Where is the petrol coming from?

Is the regular petrol from our refineries or imported with millions of dollars from foreign countries?

Ask the oil marketers why we now have regular supply of petrol.

Why is the world's eighth largest producer of crude oil importing fuel from overseas?

What happened to the refineries?

Is it not corruption that has made the government to turn to an importer of fuel?

The Nigeria extractive industries transparency initiative (NEITI) has indicted the government agencies supplying petrol of corrupt practices.

Many members of Nairaland, the largest Nigerian online forum display appalling ignorance that you cannot see on any forum in civilized nations. I am a well known member of the Huffington Post and participated in the online presidential campaigns of the 2008 US Presidential Election and our discussions were based on intelligent analyses of the realities in the US and not on hearsay by people who have never been on field trips to rural areas and who do not even read reports on the realities in the rural areas, but only shuttling on the streets of their urban comfort zones of ghettos posting from their PCs or smart phones and made themselves armchair pundits. But they are among the most silly supporters of the corrupt and incompetent government of President Goodluck Jonathan and his corrupt ruling party that was seen rigging on video posted on YouTube for the whole world to see and millions of northerners who are politically informed hooked on free cable TV and BBC News in Hausa were provoked to go on rampage against the PDP, INEC and innocent citizens caught in the mayhem.

You can fool them sometimes, but you cannot fool them all the time. They are rebelling against the corrupt government of the ruling party.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Between the ill wind and the whirlwind in Nigeria

In all contests, there will be winners and losers, no matter whose ox is gored.

What makes any leader great is not only the feat of a victory, but the courage to overcome the agony of defeat.

Those who ignore an ill wind should be ready for the whirlwind.
I said the issues of these elections are corruption, security and energy, but the political aspirants thought their ego was all that matters.
Where is the joy of victory in the house of anarchy?

I said these primitive natives are not ready for democracy.
How can you practice Democracy, when you violate her virtues?

Goodbye to all that, but I know that without President Goodluck Jonathan and his kith and kin across the Niger, the People's Democratic Party(PDP) would have lost woefully. And after him, who is next?

There cannot be trust where there is no truth and there cannot be peace where there is no justice.
Those who do not want peace will end up in pieces.

When all have been said and done, we would be gone, but the echoes of our voices and the totems of our deeds will testify for us or against us.
Why not use our common sense and say Goodbye to all the Nigerian nonsense of the power brokers who have done us more harm than good.

~ By Orikinla Osinachi

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
18 Apr 2011
20:16	Statement by the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on the presidential election in Nigeria
19:19	Nigeria / L'élection présidentielle se tient dans un climat délétère pour la presse
19:14	Nigeria / Presidential election being held as attacks on media increase
19:12	Nigeria Elections Credible and Creditable - Commonwealth Observers
18:16	ECOWAS observer mission to the presidential elections of 16 April 2011 in the Federal Republic of Nigeria
18:06	Mission d'observation de la CEDEAO de l'élection présidentielle du 16 avril 2011 en République fédérale du Nigeria

The Victory of the PDP is the mirror of Nigeria

My people must be jubilating in the village square. But I do not join in the celebration of hypocrites, sycophants, opportunists and tribal bigots.

I have already congratulated Prof. Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the excellent conduct of the presidential election in Nigeria held on Saturday April 16, 2011. It is the freest and fairest and most credible presidential election in the political history of Nigeria since 1960 to date. And Jega is totally innocent of the outcome of the presidential election. But that does not mean the winner President Goodluck Jonathan is innocent.

The corrupt People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won again and I am not surprised, because the majority of the members and voters are corrupt and narrow minded, and have voted for the perpetuation of corruption, nepotism and tribalism.

They are afraid of being prosecuted for their crimes and being disciplined by an incorruptible and upright leader. They would rather continue their immoral and criminal lifestyles permitted by a complacent and shifty apologist of the kleptomaniacs of the ruling party and his Machiavellian power brokers.

They are addicted to cheating, lying, stealing and other evils they do daily.
Imagine telling Nigerian students not to cheat?
Imagine telling their corrupt parents not to misappropriate public funds?
Imagine telling dogs not to eat rotten meat?
Behaviour change is tough for most people indulging in corrupt practices.

The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) is the mirror of Nigerians.
They want to retain the status quo.
They have even increased in population as they have recruited more from the corrupt species of their Religion of "If you can't beat them, join them". They want to continue their business as usual. So, I leave them to their fate as dog eat dog in President Goodluck Jonathan's Nigeria.
The Holy Bible said it all in John 3:19.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

President Goodluck Jonathan's Campaign Group Bribing Nigerian Voters

President Goodluck Jonathan and his running mate Vice President Namadi Sambo

A campaign group canvassing for voters to support President Goodluck Jonathan offered bribe via text message to the Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report to vote for their presidential candidate and ask others to vote for him. But he rejected their bribe.

Many people are being offered different forms of bribe in cash and kind to vote for Mr. Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential election on Saturday April 16, 2011.

Some were offered recharge cards of N500 to N1, 500 to vote for him.

The corrupt and desperate ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) is using political bribery to compel Nigerian voters to vote for their presidential candidate.

The corrupt PDP has billions of dollars to use to bribe millions of voters to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan and political bribery is a criminal offense and an electoral malpractice that is another form of rigging an election.

The Sahara Reporters exposed the political bribes given to Nigerian journalists by the office of President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

We am against all forms of corrupt practices and since President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling party are corrupt, we will never support him and will do our best to fight against corruption at all levels and save our beloved nation Nigeria from corrupt leaders who have been destroying our nation.

DO NOT VOTE FOR ANY CORRUPT POLITICIAN OR ANY CORRUPT PARTY!

My Case is against the corrupt ruling party in Nigeria

Three great things make a great leader. DIGNITY. INTEGRITY and PROBITY. And Mr. Goodluck E.A. Jonathan, the incumbent President of Nigeria has been found wanting in these three great things.


In a civilized nation, GEAJ and other corrupt leaders of the ruling party would have been prosecuted for electoral malpractices as the courts have indicted them for such crimes as rigging the elections in 2003 and 2007. But in an uncivilized banana republic like the present Nigeria, they are the heroes of the people and they are front runners for the highest public office. This is the tragedy of most underdeveloped nations where corrupt rulers can hoodwink the people and manipulate the electorate to win election by all means and at all costs with impunity. And they soon turn the masses at their mercy into their political zombies. This is your tragedy and not mine. You are just pathetic characters in the drama of life and interesting subjects for my books.

Majority of Nigerians are intellectual illiterates and even prefer to remain morally bankrupt and ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE.

Just be prepared to face the grave consequences of your erroneous choices. And do not come back here to whine about corruption and unfulfilled promises of your political rulers, because you chose them and sold your conscience to them. We reap what we sow?

How many of their children are in public schools?

How many of them depend on public health services?

How many of them use their privileged children as their political thugs?

How many of them live on less than $5 a day?

LOGICAL INTUITION is even enough for any human with brains to know what is GOOD and what is BAD, except he or she is a DUMB backside.


He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.


I rest my case.

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration

A voter casting his vote. Photo Credit. Capacity4Development

Vote to end 12 years of Corruption and Maladministration in Nigeria

Twelve years of the corruption and maladministration of the ruling party have left the majority of the citizens poorer and powerless with the nightmares of incessant political assassinations, extrajudicial killings, ethnic and religious riots, terrorist attacks and systemic collapse of government administration jeopardizing public health care, public education and economic security of the poor majority in Nigeria.

We had botched National Assembly Elections on Saturday April 2, and there were glaring electoral lapses. Then the elections were rescheduled and the first round of the elections was held last Saturday April 9, 2011.

There were critical issues of violence and many cases of malpractices. But before we could read the reports of the total results, the incumbent President of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rushed to claim that he has fulfilled his promise of electoral reforms and allowing free and fair elections. But the most important gubernatorial and presidential elections have not been conducted and the remaining National Assembly elections are still pending.

The political fanatics and sycophants of the president and his shamelessly corrupt ruling party have gone to town to hoodwink the ignorant masses and screaming the same misleading claim of free and fair elections when they have not been concluded. It is like a student claiming that he has already passed his final examinations when he has only done the first examination or claiming success when you have not even completed the assignment. This is the same dishonest way Nigerians engage in the notorious crime of 419 advance fee fraud by claiming that they have some huge loot they would share with their White “mugu” if the “mugu” provided thousands of dollars to process the documents for the collection of the loot. The ruling party has been using the same political 419 to lure and con the millions of ignorant masses who have become their political “mugus” or political zombies.

In a country known for mass failures of the pupils and majority of the students engage in examination malpractices with impunity, it is not unusual for them to accept the political 419 of these desperate and greedy political contractors and their beneficiaries who would prefer a corrupt way of life to an honest way of life. If you are a stranger here, don't panic. If you cannot beat them, you might as well join them and share in the looting of the treasury, pay a fat tithe, give a large offering, contribute to the heavenly purse of their celebrated bishops to buy a new private jet, build a new private university for the children of the rich looters and ask God for forgiveness. It is business as usual in Nigeria and life goes on in the house of dogs. But there are true Nigerian patriots who have resolved to end this corrupt government of kleptomaniacs and sack their kleptocracy and replace it with a new government of an honest and transparent leadership for the reformation and transformation of the country in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa in the 21st century.