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No Regrets —Kingibe

September 10, 2008 by chris4gold

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ambassador Babagana Kingibe
Photo: Sun News Publishing

* More Stories on This Section

Sacked Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SFG), Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, left office in a sombre tone on Tuesday, and in apparent parting salvo aimed at those who were rejoicing over his downfall, Kingibe said it would be someone else’s turn to leave from his own ‘office tomorrow.’

But he did not expatiate. Kingibe, who said he had no regrets leaving the exalted office consoled himself that as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would still be doing those things he knew how best to do, mobilizing people, even out of office.

He warned that time would always catch up with everyone to retire from office one day, pointing out that it was now his time.
Wearing unperturbed face while handing over to his successor, Alhaji Yayale, the out -gone SFG declared: “May I finally tell you that every morning I enter the office, I look up at the pictures of 14 of my illustrious predecessors hanging on the walls.

These pictures of men, some long gone, some in their ripe old age, and others though retired, not yet tired, all serve as daily reminders that one day, God’s appointed time will come for everyone to leave office. Time for me is now.”

Also paying glowing tributes to President Yar’adua, Kingibe said: “I thank Almighty Allah and His instrument, my friend, brother and President, Umaru Yar’adua for the opportunity to serve my nation in the past fifteen months.”

Responding, the new SFG, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, said the appointment exposed him to the most difficult and challenging environment of his life, even as he promised President Yar’Adua and the nation that it was a task he was prepared to handle.

“Allah has destined that Umaru Yar’Adua would appoint Babagana Kingibe from whom I am taking over and I am not at all disturbed or worried that I am succeeding my revered brother, so I take up the challenge with confidence.”

wana make money online

September 9, 2008 by chris4gold

www.meettheboss.com www.olinetrusttrading.com

Education in Yahoo

September 9, 2008 by chris4gold

Why our schools are producing yahoo boys and lettered ignorant people
By CHRISTIAN OCHIAMA
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

•Rev. Stan Anih

* More Stories on This Section

A Catholic priest Rev. Father Stan Anih, Professor and founder of the Institute of Ecumenical Education has said that the absence of reasoning or thinking in the nation’s education curriculum has made it possible for students to memorize just to pass examinations.

According to him, "Our education emphasizes rot memory so that when students memorize facts given to them by their teachers, they write examinations and pass."

He further argued that because "we are developing the memory, we produce yahoo boys and lettered ignorant people."
Father Anih in an interview with Daily Sun warned that the system was on the verge of collapse because it was based on a faulty foundation. He also spoke on Ecumenical education and other issues.

My Odyssey with education
I studied law but I did a post-graduate study in education. Ever since I finished my doctorate in 1977, I have done a lot of research on how to communicate. Priesthood, of course, by its very nature, is communicating with people where communication means sharing because the Latin word corr and munus would be heard, sharing values with others, so communion is to share the values.

I believe that the highest value you can share would be intellectual values which lights and ignites the light in other people and they begin to grow from inside out.

When somebody’s intellectual value is rekindled, that person’s intellectual value grows and it does not diminish the giver. Rather it increases the value of the giver because there is sharing. They call it teaching. And teaching means sharing of values. The teacher and the thought have a lot in common. If you teach him one point, the person you are teaching may teach you another point-sharing again. Teaching as a formal education helps people to know the values to share. Unfortunately, there are people, instead of sharing are setting traps for others. Instead of sharing what they have, they ensnare, they talk of all sorts of things. That is not what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to rekindle the values in others, as a form of catalyst to activate other minds and build them. Whenever you ignite the value of another person, that person’s values begins to grow and the world is made better. That is why I am spending my time teaching.

Ecumenical education
I started with ecumenical education, in 1981, by the grace of God, under Bishop Michael Eneja, now bishop-emeritus of Enugu diocese, I was able to establish the Institute of Ecumenical Education at the Thinkers’ Corner. After 18 years of nurturing that institution, by the grace of God, through our effort, the NCCE saw the need to integrate into the National Commission for Colleges of Education curriculum a programme designed for ecumenism for religious tolerance, religious understanding, for religious sharing. Having done that, and directed by the will of God also, there is another angle that is strongly lacking in Nigerian life.

After that of religious ecumenism we noticed that, by series of studies I made in education, I found that out of our essential values or ingredients in the educative process, which will include reading, wring, arithmetic and reasoning, Nigeria was using only three – reading, writing and arithmetic, there is no curriculum in this country that teaches children in the primary school, secondary and tertiary institutions on how to reason, how to think and you can’t make any effort or progress without the use of reasoning process.

Our education emphasizes rot memory so that when students memorize facts given to them by their teachers, they write examination and pass but have not done anything to develop the intellectual unit. They are developing the memory and not the intellect. And because of developing the memory, we produce ‘yahoos’, we produce lettered ignorant people. We have so many young people in this country who are graduates but cannot sit down to format a way of life, they cannot sit down to discuss with another person on how to make life meaningful. They all end up as parasites on their families, society. They don’t collaborate because they can not think.

So, I am convinced that with the missing link in Nigerian education, which we call reasoning or thinking, our education will continue to be a servant of the education of other people, we will continue to receive from Europe. They format and give us because we cannot format. We will continue to be servants instead of being masters. Remember that the level of management is a level for policy making and implementation. If you can not participate in policy making because you can not think, then how can you participate in the work of the country.

Many a time, you see Nigerians talking of childish things. Think of the several ideologies advocated in this country starting from MAMSER, Green Revolution, school to farm programmes. So many ideologies came out in this country and died because there is nobody with a critical mind to implement them. Our education strongly lacks a thinking system, our education lacks reasoning abilities.

General studies department in universities
Many universities now have General Studies department, but it has a wrong slot. It is slated for the first year when the students are still grappling with registration, JAMB or looking for admission and the time for teaching the courses goes away, they just jump, finish, or carry over and they don’t do it again. But if you take up the curriculum of university studies in other parts of the world you would see that General Studies contains a lot of reasoning system. But it is not taught.

Now Albert Einstein made it very clear that problems created on one level of thinking cannot be solved at that level of thinking. It will require a higher order of thinking. You can only join higher order thinking if you know the system of thinking. I am talking of thinking because it is a lacuna. It is lacking in the system. If it is added, our graduates will begin to invent, they will begin to create, begin to appreciate maintenance culture, begin to grow and become reasonable. Most of the people we produce today as graduates are not reasonable. They need reasoning to make their knowledge reasonable.

And reasoning has a way of being taught. You do not just catch it in the air. There is a way of teaching creative thinking. There is a way of teaching critical thinking, a way of teaching clear thinking, a way of teaching systems thinking, a way of teaching literal thinking, a way of teaching higher order thinking. These are ingredients of the countries which are making progress, unless these ingredients are strongly inserted into the Nigerian educational system, we shall continue to wind, wound and re-wind the cycle of ignorance as we are doing now. I believe there is need to add thinking as a major ingredient of teaching. People are just getting facts without getting the values behind the facts. If you teach a child "Nigeria got her independence in 1960" that is a fact, what does independence mean? Independence means working hard on your own to be self-directed, self-producing and self-organized. That is independence. Not depending on others. Do we have a system that could produce a group of citizenry who are self-directed, self-propelled and self-manned. We are still looking up to Europe for everything.

Do you need to establish a university to achieve that goal?
Definitely, you have to start from somewhere on earth to meet y our own purposes and you need to organize with people who know so that you can produce something. We need to produce graduates who are imbued with the spirit and gradually as we continue to emphasize, if our products definitely come out and manifest well, as University of Nigeria, Nsukka did, then we are on the right track. The first products of the university went for civil service examination, they took the first eight positions because they were well trained with the basics in their General Studies. It is in the production of the fruit that you know the content of the root.

So, we believe that if we do participate in the production of the manpower that would work in the country, from their fruits others will see that need. I don’t believe in shouting, I want to do something you will see as an example. If they accept it, well and good, if they don’t centuries are coming. I believe in evolution, I don’t believe in revolution, if we don’t take it today, we shall take it tomorrow. I am in an association called the International Council for Philosophical Inquiry. Now over 70 countries in the world are participating in this to learn how to teach thinking in the community. They are trying to turn the school into a community of inquiring children. Because, so far, we bring children to school to give them ideas. We don’t teach them to inquire and when they leave school, they don’t study again. So, our method of inquiry is the system we are using here so that the students could become inquiring students, creative students who will in future affect their companions to help this country to become greater.

Private universities, a blessing or a curse?
The government is doing very well. If you examine the number of what we call Federal Government universities you would see something that is insignificant. You take the state universities, it is the same thing. Since Nigeria has grown enough to talk of individuals participating in helping to develop the country, many have come forward to help. Remember that there is nothing that cannot be abused even the way to heaven. Churches are being abused, religious values are being abused today by church leaders and their followers.

There is no element on earth which cannot be abused. Thank God we have the National Universities Commission (NUC) whose duty is to check standards. I believe in standards. And if there is any private university that is producing sub-standard graduates, they should be told to pay attention to quality. If they do not pay attention, they should be told to stop. We already have enough bad products to increase the number. So, I believe that there must be standards. And the NUC keeps to the standards. They demand the standards. We should help them to maintain the standard.

New appointment

September 9, 2008 by chris4gold

Yar’Adua fires Kingibe, appoints Yayale Ahmed SGF
By Chidi Obineche, Lagos and Lucky Nwankwere, Abuja
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua
Photo: Olufemi Kayode

* More Stories on This Section

After many months of swimming in troubled waters, the tide turned against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ambassador Babagana Kingibe as he got the boot on Monday.

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua resumed work after two and a half weeks absence from office, relieving the powerful SGF of his seat for undisclosed reasons.

Kingibe, who was in the Presidential Villa for Monday’s decoration by President Yar’Adua of the new Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs was informed of the decision to relieve him of his appointment and thereafter handed his sack letter.

He was immediately replaced by the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, who performed his first official assignment as the new government scribe an hour later.
At the inauguration in the Presidential Villa of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta Crisis, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan broke the news when he introduced Yayale Ahmed as the new SGF.
A tacit announcement of the change was announced in a statement signed by presidential spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi as follows:

“President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua today (Monday) appointed Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“Alhaji Ahmed, who was until his new appointment the incumbent Minister of Defence, replaces Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe.

“His reassignment is with effect from today, Monday, September 8, 2008.”
The decision to fire him, Daily Sun learnt, has been on the drawing board but was accentuated by his accelerated moves to put his presidential ambition on full throttle, following disturbing reports of the failing health of President Musa Yar’Adua.

Reports allegedly claimed he was the decoy behind several pressures from the North to force Yar’Adua to resign or in the event of his death, put in urgent measures to ensure that if Vice President Goodluck Jonathan becomes president, he would emerge as deputy.

A source said, “the presidency was unsettled when it received the reports and promptly acted on it.” It was not, however, confirmed, if he was queried, last night before his sack.
Last December, Kingibe barely survived being sacked, following similar reports of activities bordering on disloyalty and perceived presidential ambition.

Confirming the close shave on his plum job at Ubiaja, Esan South-East Local Government Council of Edo State, at the wedding of the daughter of Senator Odion Ugbesia and Iriobe Anenih, son of Chief Tony Anenih, former chairman of the (BOT), he had said, “I want to thank God that I am still the secretary to the Government of the Federation and chairman of this occasion today, because I would have been sacked last week by the president because of a newspaper report. If not for my loyalty, commitment and dedication to service I would not have survived it.”

How it all began
According to his traducers, Kingibe allegedly began nursing the presidential ambition following unconfirmed disclosures from Yar’Adua that he would not re-contest should his election in April last year be nullified by the election petitions tribunal. He eventually won, on at least two petitions against his election, although the two are still pending at the Supreme Court.

He has also allegedly been linked to negative media reports on the unstable health of the president. He came close to being accused of helping the cause of the opposition at the tribunal. With such heavy allegations on a man who is like the heart of the government, ceaselessly, the mind of the head of the government may be poisoned against him.

One of Kingibe’s associates from Ogun State in the hey days of the third republic politics when he held sway as chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), came to his rescue last night when he dismissed the allegations heaped on him.
“It is like the president was being told that he is dinning with the devil, and that the time has come for him to show the devil the way to hell. It would be a surprise if these allegations were true, not least, because I believe that Kingibe, a man of keen intellect with a knack for details is not one to display such sinister intent towards his boss. He got his job not through the nomination of his state government, which is controlled by the opposition party, but purely on personal, and his long standing relationship with the president.”

How he landed the job
After several years in political limbo, the Yar’Adua administration gave him a big lift with his surprise appointment as SGF. His appointment was informed by both his rich bureaucratic experience and closeness to the late brother of the president, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. These two factors swiftly aided him in settling down to his job as SGF. His understanding of the workings of security agencies has also been of great advantage to him. Aside from once working closely with the secret service in the past, he was also internal affairs minister during the late General Abacha’s regime.

The sore parts
Kingibe’s actions after the June 12, 1993 election actually tainted his glorious days in politics. He was running mate to the late Chief M. K. O. Abiola, who won the election.
Shortly after the election was annulled, he disagreed with Abiola over the actualization of the presidential mandate and swiftly took up appointment as minister of external affairs with Abacha’s regime in 1994. He was later redeployed to the internal affairs ministry.
An astute tactician, he analyzed the futility of wresting power from a sitting military despot and opted to team up with Abacha and accept a ministerial position.

Today, particularly in the South-West his role in the June 12 saga is still evergreen.
The belief is that he turned coat and gave credibility to the then fledgling Abacha regime. When he was named the SGF, the Action Congress in Lagos expressed deep reservations on his choice thus: “We believe he is the wrong person to be appointed SGF by any government that is desirous of mending the walls of hate, the annulment that the June 12, 1993 election created. Kingibe should not be rewarded with public office for his role after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll.
“Kingibe abandoned the mandate when it mattered most, to serve the Abacha junta. Since his ignominous act, he had been wallowing in political obscurity. This is why we feel he does not deserve such rehabilitation the appointment is meant to achieve.”

The Borno angle
There are talks of his troubles coming from his home state of Borno, where there is muscle flexing over who calls the shots. So many people in Borno were taken aback on his sudden emergence as SGF.
The politics of Borno as in many other states is full of intrigues and power play between the old generation of politicians and the new godfathers: some serving governors in the North-East have been fingered in Kingibe’s travails. One of these governors, the arrowhead, who recruited others, may not have forgiven him over his role in drafting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after him over some alleged financial misdeeds in office.

He, it was, who also called for a state of emergency in the state when thugs almost overran the state.
A former senator, who is positioning himself for the 2011 governorship seat is also part of the plot against Kingibe, Daily Sun learnt.

Working odyssey at a glance
Kingibe, a Kanuri was born June 25, 1945 in Borno State. He was educated at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. He once worked as a journalist with the defunct Northern Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation and as a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was also Nigeria’s ambassador to Greece and Pakistan, as well as a principal political secretary in the Supreme Military Headquarters. He was secretary of the Constituent Assembly (1988-1989), apart from working with the senior Yar’Adua at the Supreme Military headquarters.

He served from October 2002 to September 2006 as the African Union’s (AU) special envoy to Sudan and subsequently, special representative of the chairperson of the African Union Commission and head of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS). He was chairman of the SDP and later became the late Abiola’s running mate.

olympic

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

A man comes home from work one day and tells his wife that he just bought a pack of olympic condoms. His wife asks which ones should they try first and he replies "we'll try the silver medal condom first ok?" and she says "yes thats fine, atleast that means this time you WONT COME FIRST!!"

kid vs old man

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

A teenager takes a seat on a bench next to a middle aged man reading a newspaper. After a few minutes the man looks over and stares intentively on the youth's multicolored mowhawk. The teenager looks over at the man and says "What's the matter old man, never done anything interesting in your life?"

The man responeded with "I once got drunk and had sex with a parrot, I was just wondering if you were my son."

Son and Father!!!!!!!!!!

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

One day, man walked up to his son and said, "son, i am a very wealthy and powerful man. I can buy you anything you want. Now being your highschool graduation day, i am giving you this offer of anything you want. Money is no thing to me. Tell me anything you want and I will get it for you." The son replied without hesitation and said, "I want 1, 000 green golf balls." The father, obviously bewildered asked the son why, and his son did not answer him. The father however, gave him the 1, 000 green golf balls he had asked for. 4 years later, The son had graduated from college and the father once again made him an offer. "Son, i am very wealthy, and i am very powerful. Money doesnt mean a thing to me. Once again, tell me anything in the world that you want and ill get it for you. The son once again asked for 1, 000 green golf balls. The man had grown very angry by this time, but loved his son so much that he gave him the 1, 000 green golf balls. The two men separated and after 5 years, the son had a computer software business and was very wealthy. As a congradulations gift, the man gave his son the generous offer of anything that he wanted in the world. The son once again said that he wanted a 1, 000 green golf balls. The man was furious but gave his son the golf balls. They separated once again but did not talk for almost 20 years because the man was so angry at his son. One day, his son got in a car accident and his father flew across America to come to his side. The son was in very bad shape. Despite all of their anger, the father said, "Why did you want all of those green golf balls all of these years?" The son looked into his eyes and said, "Well I..." And then he died.

President is back

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

More than two weeks after he left the country for Saudi Arabia for the treatment of kidney related disease, President Umaru musa Yar’adua, at last, returned to Nigeria early this morning, along with his wife, Hajiya Turai Yar’adua.

The president was also in company of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor; Katsina state governor alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema, and his Kwara state counterpart, Dr. Bukola Saraki; president’s director of protocol, alhaji Inuwa Baba; president’s relatives and a host of other top government officials. He was seen off from the King Abdulazeez International Airport, Jeddah by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba Aminchi and Saudi Royal Protocol officials.

Impeccable source close to Nigeria’s embassy in Riyad told Weekly Trust last night that the president boarded the presidential plane from Jeddah airport, around 10pm (local time) and arrived in Abuja early in the hours of today.

President Yar’adua has been in Saudi Arabia since august 20, supposedly for the muslims lesser hajj (Umrah), a ritual that takes only a few hours to perform. But despite government’s denials over the past two weeks, speculations persist in the country about Yar’adua’s health that the president only went to the holy land for a surgery.

Ogbulafor joined the president in Jeddah on Thursday, saying he met the president in high spirit. Ogbulafor, who spoke last night through the party’s national publicity secretary, Professor Rufai Alkali, said the president’s health improved tremendously.

But there were speculations yesterday that the president after his return may go back to Germany soon after addressing the country in an unscheduled national broadcast. Weekly Trust also learnt that ministers and other top government officials will have an opportunity to see the president within the week.

Man United History

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

Full name: Manchester United Football Club
Previous Name: Newton Heath LYR FC
Nickname(s): Red Devils
Ground / Stadium:
Old Trafford, Manchester, England.
Capacity: 76,212
Founded:

1878 - as Newton Heath LYR FC
Notable Staff:

Chairman: Joel & Auram Glazer
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
English Premiership Champions:

1907-08, 1910-11, 1951-52, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08.
FA Cup Winners:

1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
League Cup Winners:

1992, 2006
European Cup Winners:

1968, 1999, 2008
Other Club Honours:

European Cup Winners' Cup Winners: 1991
Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship: 1999
European Super Cup: 1991
FA Charity/Community Shield: 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007 (* joint holders)
About Manchester United:

Manchester United were founded in 1878 as Newton Heath, the works team for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway workers in the local area. It was in 1902 following a brush with insolvency that the club changed hands and became Manchester United Football Club.

It was under manager Matt Busby during the 1950s that Manchester United really came to the fore though as Scotsman Busby built a side based on players he had groomed through United's youth structure and fashioned a great side which became known as the "Busby Babes" due their precocious talents at young ages.

Tragedy was to befall the club and the Busby Babes before they truly reached their peak though as the players and staff were involved in a plane crash at Munich in 1958 resulting in eight players and fifteen other passengers losing their lives and many others seriously injured including talismanic manager Matt Busby.

The club recovered slowly under Busby's return following his recuperation and in the early 1960s began to piece together a side including players like Bobby Charlton (a survivor of the Munich crash), Denis Law (a Scottish goal machine striker) and the mercurial Northern Irishman George Best.

An FA Cup win in 1963 was followed by English league title wins in 1965 and 1967 and was capped off by winning the European Cup in 1968 at Wembley, with Manchester United becoming the first English club to get their hands on Europe's premier club trophy.

The side began to fall apart after this and following Busby's resignation in 1969 and several failed replacements the club found themselves relegated to the second division in 1974.

Despite several FA Cup wins over the next ten years and a quick promotion back to the First Division, United didn't find a natural successor to Busby's legend until 1986 when Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson as manager and began a new dynasty.

The impatient Manchester United board may have been close to sacking Ferguson a few times in his first few years but once he found his rhythm there was no stopping his sides with eight Premiership titles in ten years between 1993 and 2003 to show for their domestic dominance. In 1999, they also completed a treble of Premiership, FA Cup and a second European Cup win as Ferguson finally laid Matt Busby's ghost to rest.

Now owned by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer, Manchester United are arguably the world's best known sporting brand and undeniably world football's biggest club

Chelsea history

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

History

For more details on this topic, see History of Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea were founded on 14 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The club's early years saw little success; the closest they came to winning a major trophy was reaching the FA Cup final in 1915, where they lost to Sheffield United. Chelsea gained a reputation for signing big-name players[5] and for being entertainers, but made little impact on the English game in the inter-war years.

Former England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.[6]
The first Chelsea team in September 1905.
The first Chelsea team in September 1905.

The 1960s saw the emergence of a talented young Chelsea side under manager Tommy Docherty. They challenged for honours throughout the decade, and endured several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two.[7] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. In 1970 Chelsea were FA Cup winners, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.

The late 1970s and the 1980s were a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,[8] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.[9] Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.[10] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.

After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.[11] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the FA Cup final in 1994. It was not until the appointment of former European Footballer of the Year Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top-class international players to the side, particularly Gianfranco Zola, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2000. Vialli was sacked in favour of another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.

In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club.[3] Owing to Abramovich's Russian heritage, the club were soon popularly dubbed "Chelski" in the British media.[12] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, so he was replaced by successful Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who had just guided Porto to victory in the UEFA Champions League.
Champions League finalists 2007-2008.
Champions League finalists 2007-2008.

In 2005, Chelsea's centenary year, the club became Premiership champions in a record-breaking season (most clean sheets, fewest goals conceded, most victories, most points earned),[13] League Cup winners with a 3–2 win over Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium and reached the Champions League semi-finals. The following year, they were again League Champions, equalling their own Premiership record of 29 wins set the previous season. They also became the fifth team to win back-to-back championships since the Second World War and the first London club to do so since Arsenal in 1933–34.[14] In 2007, Chelsea won the FA Cup and League Cup,[15][16] but finished runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League. On 20 September 2007, Mourinho parted company with Chelsea and was replaced by Israeli Director of Football Avram Grant,[17][18] under whom the club finished as runners-up in the Premier League and the League Cup, and reached their first UEFA Champions League final, where they lost on penalties to Manchester United. On 24 May 2008, Grant's contract was terminated.[19] On 11 June 2008, it was announced that Luiz Felipe Scolari would be taking over as manager on 1 July 2008.[20]

Stamford Bridge
Chelsea vs. West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on September 23, 1905; Chelsea won 1-0.
Chelsea vs. West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on September 23, 1905; Chelsea won 1-0.

For more details on this topic, see Stamford Bridge (stadium).

Chelsea have only ever had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since foundation. It was officially opened on 28 April 1877. For the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletics Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother, J T Mears, who had previously acquired additional land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) site.[21]

Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears family by the noted football architect Archibald Leitch.[22] They offered the stadium to Fulham Football Club, but the offer was turned down. As a consequence, the owners decided to form their own football club to occupy their new ground. Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge. Since there was already a football club named Fulham in the borough, the founders decided to adopt the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea for the new club, having rejected names such as Kensington FC, Stamford Bridge FC and London FC.[23]

Starting with an open bowl-like design and one covered terrace, Stamford Bridge had an original capacity of around 100,000.[21] The early 1930s saw the construction of a terrace on the southern part of the ground with a roof that covered around one fifth of the stand. It eventually became known as the "Shed End", the home of Chelsea's most loyal and vocal supporters, particularly during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The exact origins of the name are unclear, but the fact that the roof looked like a corrugated iron shed roof played a part.[21]
The East Stand during a match in 2006. The cost of building this stand caused many of Chelsea's financial problems during the 1970s and 1980s.
The East Stand during a match in 2006. The cost of building this stand caused many of Chelsea's financial problems during the 1970s and 1980s.

During the late 1960s and early 70s, the club's owners embarked on a modernisation of Stamford Bridge with plans for a 50,000 all-seater stadium.[21] Work began on the East Stand in the early 1970s but the cost almost brought the club to its knees, and the freehold was sold to property developers. Following a long legal battle, it was not until the mid-1990s that Chelsea's future at the stadium was secured and renovation work resumed.[21] The north, west and southern parts of the ground were converted into all-seater stands and moved closer to the pitch, a process completed by 2001.

The Stamford Bridge pitch, the freehold, the turnstiles and Chelsea's naming rights are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation in which fans are the shareholders. The CPO was created to ensure the stadium could never again be sold to developers. It also means that if someone tries to move the football club to a new stadium they could not use the Chelsea FC name.[24]

The club plans to increase its capacity to over 50,000. Owing to its location in a built-up part of London on a main road and next to two railway lines, fans can only enter the stadium through the Fulham Road entrance, which places severe constraints on expansion due to health and safety regulations.[25] As a result, Chelsea have been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge to sites including the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Battersea Power Station and the Chelsea Barracks.[26] However, the club have reiterated their desire to keep Chelsea at their current home.[27]

Crest

Since the club's foundation, Chelsea have had four main crests, though all underwent minor variations. In 1905, Chelsea adopted as their first crest the image of a Chelsea pensioner, which obviously contributed to the "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. As part of Ted Drake's modernisation of the club from 1952 onwards, he insisted that the pensioner badge be removed from the match day programme in order to change the club's image and that a new crest be adopted.[28] As a stop-gap, a temporary emblem comprising simply the initials C.F.C. was adopted for one year. In 1953, Chelsea's crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff, which was to endure for the next three decades. This crest was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea[29] with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It also featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. This was the first club badge to appear on shirts, since the policy of putting the crest on the shirts was only adopted in the early 1960s.[28]

In 1986, with new owners now at the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.[28] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, yellow and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. It lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours. With new ownership, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the club's traditional badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2004. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005–06 season and marks a return to the older design of the blue heraldic lion holding a staff.[4] As with previous crests, this one has appeared in various colours, including white and gold.

Chelsea's first crest

Club crest 1952-1953

Club crest 1953–1986

Club crest 1986–2005

Club crest 2005–2006 (centenary)

2006-Current crest

Colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Chelsea's first home colours, used from 1905 until c.1912.

Chelsea have always worn blue shirts, although they initially adopted a lighter shade than the current version, and unlike today wore white shorts and dark blue socks. The lighter blue was taken from the racing colours of then club president, Earl Cadogan. The light blue shirts were short-lived, however, and replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912.[30] When Tommy Docherty became manager in the early 1960s he changed the kit again, adding blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season.[31]

Chelsea's traditional away colours are all yellow or all white with blue trim, but, as with most teams, they have had some more unusual ones. The first away strip consisted of black and white stripes and for one game in the 1960s the team wore Inter Milan-style blue and black stripes, again at Docherty's behest.[32] Other memorable away kits include a mint green strip in the 1980s, a red and white checked one in the early 90s and a graphite and tangerine addition in the mid-1990s.[33]

Chelsea's kit is currently manufactured by Adidas, which is contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2011. Their previous kit manufacturer was Umbro. Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed midway through the 1983–84 season. Following that, the club were sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin tea and Italian company Simod before a long-term deal was signed with computer manufacturer Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an off-shoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (1995–97), Autoglass (1997–2001) and Emirates Airline (2001–05). Chelsea's current shirt sponsor is Samsung.[34]

Supporters
Chelsea fans at a match with Tottenham Hotspur, on 11 March 2006.
Chelsea fans at a match with Tottenham Hotspur, on 11 March 2006.

Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football[35] and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the fifth best-supported Premiership team in the 2005–06 season, with an average gate of 41,870.[36] Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from working-class parts of West London, such as Hammersmith and Battersea, from wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the Home Counties. In addition to the standard football chants, Chelsea fans sing songs like "Carefree", "Blue is the Colour", "We all follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory), "Ten Men Went to Mow", "Zigga Zagga", "Hello! Hello!" and the celebratory "Celery", with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery.[37]

Chelsea do not have a traditional rivalry in the manner of Liverpool and Everton or Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. The club's nearest neighbours are Fulham, but they are not seen as big rivals by Chelsea fans, because the clubs have spent most of the last 40 years in separate divisions. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their main rivalries to be with (in order): Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.[38] Additionally, a strong rivalry with Leeds United dates back to several heated and controversial matches in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the FA Cup final in 1970.[39] A more recent rivalry has grown with Liverpool following several clashes in cup competitions.

During the 1970s and 1980s in particular, Chelsea supporters were long associated with football hooliganism. The club's "football firm", originally the Chelsea Shed Boys, now known as the Chelsea Headhunters, were nationally notorious for violent acts against hooligans from other teams, such as West Ham United's Inter City Firm and Millwall's Bushwackers, both during and after matches.[40] The increase in hooliganism in the 1980s led chairman Ken Bates to propose an electric fence to deter them from invading the pitch; the proposal was rejected by the GLC.[41] Chelsea's hooligan element were revealed to have links with neo-nazi groups such as Combat 18, and other far-right or racist organisations including the National Front.[42] Since the 1990s there has been a marked decline in crowd trouble at matches, as a result of stricter policing, CCTV in grounds and the advent of all-seater stadia.[43]

Records

For more details on this topic, see Chelsea F.C. statistics.

Of Chelsea's current players, Frank Lampard has made the most appearances and scored the most goals.
Of Chelsea's current players, Frank Lampard has made the most appearances and scored the most goals.

Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 first-class games for the club between 1961 and 1980.[44] This record is unlikely to be broken in the near future; Chelsea's current highest appearance-maker is Frank Lampard with 366.[45] The record for a Chelsea goalkeeper is held by Harris's contemporary, Peter Bonetti, who made 729 appearances (1959–79). With 116 caps (67 while at the club), Marcel Desailly of France is Chelsea's most capped international player.

Bobby Tambling is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, with 202 goals in 370 games (1959–70).[44] Seven other players have also scored over 100 goals for Chelsea: George Hilsdon (1906–12), George Mills (1929–39), Roy Bentley (1948–56), Jimmy Greaves (1957–61), Peter Osgood (1964–74 & 1978–79), Kerry Dixon (1983–92), and Frank Lampard (2001–). With 193 goals, Dixon is the only player in the club's recent history to have come close to matching Tambling's record. Greaves holds the record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960–61). Lampard is the top scorer currently at the club.[45]

Officially, Chelsea's highest home attendance is 82,905 for a First Division match against Arsenal on 12 October 1935. However, an estimated crowd of over 100,000 attended a friendly match against Soviet team Dynamo Moscow on 13 November 1945.[46] The modernisation of Stamford Bridge during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands mean that neither record will be broken for the foreseeable future. The current legal capacity of Stamford Bridge is 42,055.[1]

Chelsea hold numerous records in English and European football. They hold the record for the highest points total for a league season (95), the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the most consecutive clean sheets during a league season (10), the highest number of Premier League victories in a season (29), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (all set during the 2004–05 season),[13] and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season (6) (2005–06).[47]

The club's 21–0 aggregate victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 remains a record in European competition.[48] Chelsea may also hold the British transfer record, but the fee for Andriy Shevchenko, estimated at around £30m, remains unconfirmed.[49] Roberto Di Matteo holds the record for fastest goal in an FA Cup final at Wembley, which came 42 seconds into Chelsea's win over Middlesbrough in 1997.[50] Chelsea hold the record for the longest streak of unbeaten matches at home in the English top-flight. They secured the record on 12 August 2007, beating the previous run of 63 matches set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980.[51] The record is ongoing, and currently stands at 83 matches.[52]

Chelsea have recorded several "firsts" in English football. Along with Arsenal, they were the first club to play with shirt numbers on 25 August 1928 in their match against Swansea Town.[53] Chelsea were the first English side to travel by aeroplane to a domestic away match, when they visited Newcastle United on 19 April 1957,[54] and the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when they faced Stoke City on 27 January 1974. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British side to field an entirely foreign (non-UK) starting line-up in a Premier League match against Southampton.[55] On 19 May 2007, they became the first team to win the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium, having also been the last to win it at the old Wembley.[15] After the conclusion of the 2007/2008 season, Chelsea became the highest ranked club under UEFA's five-year coefficient system used in the seeding of European club competitions in the following season, the first English club to do so in the 21st century.[56]

In popular culture

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, The Great Game.[57] One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills and Sam Millington.[58] Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football hooliganism, most recently The Football Factory.[59] Chelsea also appear in the Hindi film, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.[60]

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls, with their underachievement often providing material for comedians such as George Robey.[61] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic song in 1933, ironically titled "On The Day That Chelsea Went and Won The Cup", the lyrics of which described a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.[5]

The song "Blue is the Colour" was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup Final, with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart.[62] The song was later adapted to "White is the Colour" and adopted as an anthem by the Vancouver Whitecaps.[63] In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup final, the song "Blue Day", performed by Suggs and members of Chelsea's squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts.[64] Bryan Adams, a fan of Chelsea, dedicated the song "We're Gonna Win" from the album 18 Til I Die to the club.

Players

As of 28 August 2008.[65]

Current squad
No. Position Player
1 Flag of the Czech Republic GK Petr Čech
2 Flag of Serbia DF Branislav Ivanović
3 Flag of England DF Ashley Cole
5 Flag of Ghana MF Michael Essien
6 Flag of Portugal DF Ricardo Carvalho
8 Flag of England MF Frank Lampard (vice-captain)
9 Flag of Argentina FW Franco Di Santo
10 Flag of England MF Joe Cole
11 Flag of Côte d'Ivoire FW Didier Drogba
12 Flag of Nigeria MF Mikel John Obi
13 Flag of Germany MF Michael Ballack
15 Flag of France MF Florent Malouda

No. Position Player
16 Flag of England FW Scott Sinclair
17 Flag of Portugal DF José Bosingwa
18 Flag of England DF Wayne Bridge
19 Flag of Portugal DF Paulo Ferreira
20 Flag of Portugal MF Deco
21 Flag of Côte d'Ivoire FW Salomon Kalou
23 Flag of Italy GK Carlo Cudicini
26 Flag of England DF John Terry (captain)
33 Flag of Brazil DF Alex
35 Flag of Brazil DF Juliano Belletti
39 Flag of France FW Nicolas Anelka
40 Flag of Portugal GK Henrique Hilário

Player of the year (1967–2008)

History of Arsensl fc

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

The History of Arsenal Football Club - 1886 to 1992 Arsenal was originally formed in 1886 by a group of workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in south London, and the club was first known as Dial Square. The name was soon changed to Royal Arsenal, though when the club turned professional in 1891 the name changed again to Woolwich Arsenal. The prefix was later dropped and the club became Arsenal Football Club. For a period it was popularly known as The Arsenal though this was never the club's official name. Arsenal was elected to the 2nd division of the Football League in 1893, and gained promotion to the 1st division in 1904. The club survived in the first division for nine years, high points of that period coming in 1906 when the semi-final of the FA Cup was reached, and in 1909 when a 6th place finish in the league was achieved. Unfortunately, relegation followed in 1913, but coincided with a major landmark in the club's history. Having played for the previous 27 years at various sites in Plumstead, South London, the club moved to its present site at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, North London. The move was instigated by the then chairman, Sir Henry Norris who foresaw greater potential for the club in the north London catchment area. It almost paid off in the following season when Arsenal missed out on promotion only on goal average, and 5th place was achieved in 1915 before the hiatus caused by the 1st World War. Promotion back to the 1st division was engineered by the colourful Sir Henry under somewhat contentious circumstances when the Football League resumed in 1919, and Arsenal has not been relegated since, thus holding the record for unbroken tenure in the top division of English football. The incident remains the source of rancour with local rivals Tottenham, along with the earlier move when Arsenal were seen as invading their new neighbours' north London fiefdom. Spurs had finished the 1915 season at the bottom of the 1st division, but after the war the league was expanded to include an extra 2 teams in division 1, so Tottenham expected to stay up after the top 2 teams in Division 2 were promoted. However, Norris somehow managed to get Arsenal elected in their place, and elements of the Tottenham support have nursed a grievance ever since. The following few seasons saw the club maintain a mediocre standard adequate to remaining in the 1st division, but insufficient to progress. However, after narrowly avoiding relegation in 1925, another turning point in Arsenal's fortunes was reached. The legendary Herbert Chapman, fresh from guiding Huddersfield to the first 2 of their 3 successive titles, was appointed manager and over the next 9 years transformed Arsenal from an average first division club into one of the great names in world football. The visionary Chapman had the nearby underground station renamed in honour of the club, introduced the now famous white sleeves and pioneered the use of shirt numbers. Under his guidance Arsenal gradually progressed in the late twenties, coming 2nd in the league in 1926 and reaching the Cup final in 1927. The club went on to dominate English football over the following decade. The FA Cup became Arsenal's first major trophy in 1930, and the first league championship in 1931 was followed by a further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years. 1937-38 brought Arsenal's 5th league title in seven years, though the near invincible team which had dominated the decade was generally held to be in decline. After the interruption caused by the 2nd World War, Tom Whittaker forged another great team, and 2 more titles (1947-48 and 1952-53) and an FA Cup (1950) were won over a 5 year period, with the 1951-52 season also seeing the Gunners narrowly miss the elusive double, runners up in both league and FA cup. Whittaker's death in 1956 marked a decline in fortunes of the great club, and a barren 14 years followed. Even the appointment as manager of Billy Wright, one of the great names in English football, failed to turn things round, and it took an unknown to bring the glory days back to Highbury. Bertie Mee was previously the club physio and had minimal experience in professional football when he took over as manager in 1966, but he led the club to Wembley in the League cup final in 1968 (though that ended in ignominious defeat to 3rd division Swindon), and 2 years later Arsenal captured their first European trophy, winning the UEFA Fairs Cup against Anderlecht, having to come back from a 3-1 first leg deficit to do so. The following season was to be the most successful in the club's history so far, when the mythical domestic double was achieved. The league was clinched on the sweetest of nights, a 1-0 win at the home of the old enemy Tottenham, and the FA Cup followed a few days later, a Charlie George goal winning the cup in extra time at Wembley against Liverpool. The double success wasn't really built upon, despite reaching the FA cup final again in 1972 and finishing second in the league the following season, and Arsenal became a mid-table team once again during the mid seventies. Towards the end of the decade however, under Terry Neill and Don Howe, some success returned when Arsenal set another record, reaching the FA Cup final in 3 successive seasons. Only the middle visit to Wembley, in 1979, was triumphant, a thrilling last minute 3-2 victory against Manchester United. The following season saw cup heartbreak when Arsenal lost the FA Cup final to West Ham, and 4 days later the European Cup Winners Cup final to Valencia on penalties. Success became more habitual once again during the George Graham era. After Graham took over in 1986, Arsenal won six major trophies in the next eight years. A League Cup triumph in 1987 was built upon, and in 1989 the league championship returned to Highbury after an 18 year absence when Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title on goals scored. In the most exciting finish to the league season ever witnessed in English football the final, deciding match at Anfield was won 2-0 with a now definitive last minute winner by Michael Thomas. Another championship followed two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded just 18 goals in 38 matches. Arsenal's Premiership history - 1992 to the present In the Premiership's inaugural year 1992-93, still under Graham's stern control, Arsenal again made history by becoming the first team ever to win both domestic cups in the same season, Sheffield Wednesday the unfortunate victims on both occasions. Arsenal came from behind to win the Coca Cola Cup 2-1, and eventually also won the FA Cup, winning the replay by the same score with a last minute extra time winner from Andy Linighan. The following year an ambition for further European success was fulfilled by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in Copenhagen. Graham's workmanlike side were underdogs against the star-studded Parma of Italy, but defended doggedly for much of the match to carve out a trademark 1-0 win with Alan Smith's winner. However, despite the cup successes with what at the time was regarded as an ageing team, Arsenal's league results during the first 3 years of the Premiership were distinctly ordinary, and following the Rune Hauge bung affair Graham was disgraced and sacked in the middle of the 94-95 season. Under the temporary stewardship of Stewart Houston, Arsenal did manage to reach the Cup Winners Cup final for the 2nd successive year, but lost in the final seconds of extra time to the Spanish team, Real Zaragoza. The period 1995-1997 turned out to be transitional and somewhat turbulent. Bruce Rioch was installed as manager in June 1995, but after guiding Arsenal to UEFA Cup qualification with a 5th place finish in the league and significantly signing Dennis Bergkamp, he was inexplicably sacked in August 1996 just days before the new season was due to begin. The sanity and motives of the Arsenal board were questioned, but eventually the Frenchman Arsene Wenger was confirmed as Arsenal's new manager at the end of September. He quickly impressed the Arsenal faithful by the calm and assured way he took control, and without making any major changes (apart from introducing the majestic Vieira) took Arsenal to 3rd in the league, and qualification for the UEFA Cup again, by the end of the season. The following season, 1997-98, he made history by winning the double for the second time. With some astute close season signings from abroad he revitalised and reforged the team, apart from the astonishingly enduring defence. The new faces took time to bed in, and the early part of the season reached a low point with a UEFA Cup 1st round exit at the hands of PAOK Saloniki, but the ultimate result was an exhilirating and irresistible late season surge. At one point in January 13 points behind Manchester United, Arsenal eclipsed their rivals in the title run-in to clinch their first Premiership (and 11th league) title with 2 games to spare. The second half of the double, the FA Cup, was acheived with a comfortable 2-0 win against Newcastle at Wembley in May. The team almost performed similar heroics the following season, but this time fell just short, losing unluckily in FA Cup semi-final extra time to Manchester United, and missing out on the title to the same deadly rivals by just one point. In a sign of times to come, a reserve Arsenal side played in the Worthington cup, losing heavily in the 4th round to Chelsea. The Gunners also disappointed in the Champions' League, failing to get beyond the group stages as self inflicted woes cost them dear.

prodoctivity

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

Productivity" ended up being unhappy. He was miffed at the "suggestion that one should find the culprit of a lapse that is capable of destroying the company." First I am honored that at least a Nigerian employer was provoked to kick against an attempt to expose the weakness in a certain leadership style. We had attempted to analyze some leadership styles last week with the objective of identifying the leakages in the productivity of our leaders.

For those who missed that piece or did not pay enough attention to the issues raised, let us do a recap. There are different types of leaders with regard to overcoming challenges. There are the fault-finders, the blamers and the solution seekers. While these may not be absolutely distinct, there are major tendencies that leaders exhibit along these three attitudes.

Leaders who are quick to find faults in everything are a tough nut to crack. They are like diehard internal auditors who claim that their job is only to find variances. Their thought patterns are reflected in the following quotations:

"Who did this?" "I must know the fellow responsible for this mess before we can get out of it." "This assignment is too crucial. This is why I will personally monitor you to ensure that you do not mess up as usual" etc.

The truth is that such negative statements are not capable of bringing out the best in followers. A tendency towards negative perspective of issues injures productivity. Fault-finding is an emotional journey that will not produce results. We can solve a problem by focusing on the issues (often times the persons show up willingly in this process without feeling condemned) with open minds.

The second leadership tendency is buck-passing. Blamers are always passing the buck. Blamers can be heard making statements such as, "I am sure it is the Head of Operations who bungled this assignment", "All my staff members are nonentities", "If I can replace all these laggards who I employed, my business will flourish." Ironically, the man who, with his eyes wide open and his brain functioning as a leader employed or tolerates "nonentities" and "laggards" has no business complaining when the chips are down. If only he can take full responsibility for the misfortune of his business, he would be more productive.

The most productive leaders are the solution seekers. They are focused on solving problems and not hitting those responsible for the problems. While we do not posit that offenders should not be sanctioned or punished, the focus of management should be on the realization of the goals of the organization. How you exert energy is as important as what you exert the energy on.

The reader who introduced himself as a "leader of hundreds of men and women" reacted sharply to the statement below: "Who did this?" "I must know the fellow responsible for this mess before we can get out of it." "This assignment is too crucial. This is why I will personally monitor you to ensure that you do not mess up as usual" etc. The truth is that such negative statements are not capable of bringing out the best in followers. A tendency towards negative perspective of issues injures productivity. Fault finding is an emotional journey that will not produce results. We can solve a problem by focusing on the issues (often times the persons show up willingly in this process without feeling condemned) with open minds.'

In his opinion, "the theory X and theory Y cannot be ignored in managing people. Though some workers are very good, others are stubborn goats possessed with the demon of destruction. If you do not identify such people and flush them out of your system they will pollute the few good ones." The leader poured out his mind.

"The first place to start solving a problem is to identify who is responsible for the problem." He continued: "I agree that some wicked workers will not own up and that is why a leader must be brutal with unscrupulous staff!"

I immediately lost my appetite for lunch that afternoon. I could not believe that a self-confessed leader will admit that only a few people are good among the hundreds of men and women that he purportedly leads. First, I did not see a leader in him. I saw a slave master. Secondly, listening to him made me realize that he had a right to search for the culprits in his establishment. The unfortunate thing, however, is that he was too arrogant to apprehend the chief culprit: himself. If "only a few workers are good" among the hundreds of men and women, then the recruitment policy and procedure of the organization is faulty. There is certainly a need to redress the foundation.

I fervently believe that erring staff members should be sanctioned in accordance with the company's laid-down policy. However, an organization should have in-built systems that throw up the lapses of the staff and the organization's procedure without an individual intimidating people into admitting their errors. It is important to reiterate that leaders who want to boost their productivity will need to position themselves as solution providers and not hunters of offenders.

The leader will do well to maximize his time by focusing on high impact activities and not chasing shadows. This can be done through instituting a clear-cut policy that encourages performance. Secondly, the leader needs to embrace regular training on how to manage human resources. The training may include crisis management skills as well as analysis of problems. An understanding of what is important and relevant is key if the leader wants to maximize his time. Often times, leaders engage themselves in physical activities that add little or no value to the overall objectives of the organization. Yet, there is nobody in the organization who is saddled with the responsibility of strategic thinking and networking. Please do not laugh if you discover that a lot of CEOs of organizations with staff strength of over 50 people are personally involved in buying diesel at the gas station. This is their own way of cutting cost! For more info, contact me on opeyemi4gold@gmail.com

Researchers advance in search for herbal AIDS, malaria, TB drugs

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

NIGERIAN researchers have made progress in developing herbal cures for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis (TB). CHUKWUMA MUANYA reports.

They are the top adult killer diseases in the developing world today. The United Nations, Global Funds for AIDS, TB, and Malaria and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have declared war against this triple menace.

Scientists, WHO and Health ministries of many countries in the developing world through research agencies are urgently searching for new, alternative but herbal remedies for AIDS, TB and malaria.

The quest is following the failure of conventional drugs for these diseases and the genuine fears that they may develop resistance to current drugs.

In Nigeria, the National institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja, and the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Lagos, are blazing the trial. They have made progress in developing herbal cures for AIDS, malaria and TB.

Also, a WHO-led effort to support drug discovery in Africa based around traditional herbal remedies is now in its fourth year. It involves an ambitious effort to foster pan-African hubs and laboratories for in vitro (outside a living environment) and in vivo (inside a living environment) natural product screening, which can serve scientists across the continent.

Hopes are high that over the next few years, at least one viable lead compound might be identified that will not only cure HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB and the attendant drug resistance associated with conventional drugs, but will be accessible and cheap.

Director General NNMDA, Dr. Tamuno F. Okujagu, told The Guardian: " For malaria, apart from the herbal combination therapy we are looking at, we have so far screened over 20 plants, looking at those that have potentials. We are also screening plants for diabetes, TB and hypertension. The screenings are on-going; they are part of the critical projects we have going on now. But for malaria, we think it is one of the major developmental challenges of Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa and that is one of our priorities.

"Already, we have an observational study going on for HIV/AIDS and we are also looking at a number of issues there. Mainly on the issue of immune boosters and antibacterial and antiviral plants and how they can be used in combination to achieve some kind of results.

"A number of plants are being screened to see which ones have the properties that can manage TB. If you note, I am sure there are some people with TB, who have been treated or manage with some kind of herbal therapy. We need to find those therapies and we need to know what is in them and need to take of note and do them better."

A study on preliminary evaluation of a local phytomedicine for the management of HIV/AIDS by a team of researchers from NIPRD published in the Newsletter of the International Conference on AIDS investigated the potential value of a herbal product used locally for the treatment of AIDS patients.

The researchers include; Wambebe C, Gamaniel K, Ibrahim K, Abimiku A, Sule U, and Eyo V. They said the drugs currently in use against HIV/AIDS have cumbersome dosage regimen, unbearable and potentially fatal adverse effects, and are generally unaffordable hence the need for cheaper and less toxic alternatives.

The researchers studied the freeze-dried extract of the crude medicinal sample. Laboratory animals, as well as, clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Candida albicans, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis were used for the experiments. Acute toxicity (LD50) was determined. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined. Immuno-active studies were carried out using the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) model in rats.

The results indicated that no remarkable adverse reaction was recorded in laboratory animals within 24 hours. The preliminary data suggest immuno-stimulant activity of the extract. The sample caused a dose dependent relaxation of both the isolated guinea pig ileum, and the rabbit jejunum. No anti-TB activity was recorded, but significant inhibitory activity was noticed against Candida albicans, Esherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The researchers wrote, " the product appeared to be safe and may be useful against some opportunistic infections. The relaxant effect on the guinea pig ileum and rabbit jejunum corroborates the use of the product since this could be beneficial in the treatment of profuse diarrhoea, which is frequently noticed in AIDS patients."

They concluded that with the discovery, cheaper and safer drugs for the management of HIV/AIDS could be developed.

Indeed, NIPRD have developed formulations from local plant extracts, which have been studied in the Institute. They include: A solid dosage form of NIPRISAN, a preparation for the Management of Sickle Cell disease; A solid dosage form of CONAVIL, a preparation for use in the supportive Management of HIV/AIDS; A solid dosage form of NIPRD AM-1, a preparation for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria; A semi solid topical preparation of NIPRISAN for the treatment of fungal infections; and A solid dosage form of a plant extract for the management of peptic ulcer.

NIPRD's Deputy Director and Head of Department of Microbiology, Human Virology and Biotechnology, Dr. Kolo Ibrahim said that the Institute is committed to the research and development of anti microbial agents from natural sources and research and development of herbal remedies for priority diseases namely HIV/AIDS, Malaria and tuberculosis.

Ibrahim said NIPRD takes care of the validation of anti - HIV/AIDS claims of recipes received from traditional medical practitioners and screening of Nigerian plants for anti-tuberculosis activity, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Until now, Nigeria has developed phytomedicines for ulcers, anemia, contraception, malaria and HIV, and it now holds patents for some of these medicines in several countries.

Director General of NIPRD), Dr. Charles Wambebe, at the WHO Forum on Traditional Medicine in Health Systems, Zimbabwe, Harare, February 14-18, 2000, gave a fascinating presentation about the development of two phytomedicines.

The presentation was published in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Both were developed from herbal medicines obtained from local traditional healers. The NIPRD followed a procedure in which the traditional healers and their patients sign consent forms, allowing study of the phtomedicine and the effects on patients.

In phase 1 placebo-assisted clinical trails, patients were given the experimental phytomedicines for both sickle cell anemia and for HIV. After three months, patients in the experimental group were found to be improving. The clinical trials are continuing. The NIPRD is also targeting malaria, and started a pilot clinical trial of a new antimalarial phytomedicine in July 2000.

The HIV/AIDS phytomedicine is called Dopravil. From preliminary anecdotal and experimental evidence, the new compound looked promising.

Wambebe said: "But since research results will no doubt be published, I will confine my comments to the NIPRD's plan for recognising the intellectual property rights of traditional healers by means of a scheme for sharing any future royalties from a phytomedicine that becomes a profitable drug (or patentable comound). For most of the history of drug development in which initial drug discovery leads came from indigenous healers, both the healers and their communities received no benefit."

According to a study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, titled "Inhibition of Mycobacteria by Garlic Extract (Allium sativum)" by Edward C. Delaha and Vincent F. Garaguis of the Microbiology Division, Department of Clinical Laboratories, and Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine,

Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, United States, 30 strains of mycobacteria (the organism that causes tuberculosis), consisting of 17 species, were inhibited by various concentrations of garlic extract. The concentration required ranged from a low of 1.34 mg/ml to a high of 3.35 mg/ml of media.

Before now, the inhibitory effect of garlic on mycobacteria has been reported only on rare occasions. Around the turn of the century, W. C. Minchin, head of the Tuberculosis Ward at a Dublin Hospital, wrote that garlic had a remarkable cure rate for tuberculosis. It was used as an inhalant, taken internally, and applied as a compress and as an ointment.

McDuffie, at approximately the same time in New York City, compared garlic with 55 other treatments for tuberculosis and concluded that it was the most effective.

In the only previous study to quantitatively determine the concentration of garlic extract that inhibited Mycobacterium tuberculosis, using only one strain of M. tuberculosis, found that 2 mg/ml was required to inhibit that particular strain. To confirm their study and to determine the inhibitory concentration of garlic for several strains of M. tuberculosis as well as for 16 other species of mycobacteria, the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy study was undertaken.

The inhibitory effect of garlic on M. tuberculosis has been mentioned in clinical reports for nearly 100 years; however, the only previous laboratory evaluation was performed by for a single strain of M. tuberculosis.

The researchers wrote " in this study we were able to confirm their quantitative determination of the concentration required to inhibit M. tuberculosis and to establish evidence of the inhibitory nature of garlic extract on 16 other species of mycobacteria.

"Of the six strains of M. tuberculosis tested, four required 1.34 mg/ml, one required 2 mg/ml, and one required 2.68 mglml for inhibition. These data suggest that there is only a slight variation in the susceptibility of the strains to allicin. Three strains of the commonly isolated photochromogenic pathogen M. kansasii required a mean inhibitory concentration of 2.45 mg/ml. M. fortuitum, M. flavescens, M. intracellulare, M. simiae, and M. szulgai required the most extract, 3.35 mg/ml. Overall, the concentration required to inhibit the 30 strains tested ranged from 1.34 to 3.35 mg/ml.

" Whether garlic extract has any future in treating human mycobacterial infections remains to be evaluated. If the in vitro studies of the inhibitory power of garlic extract against mycobacteria can be interpolated, it may be surmised that very high levels in serum would have to be achieved.

"These high levels could be toxic to the -SH groups of the animal or human being treated. Further studies in animals are indicated to determine achievable safe blood levels and overall toxicity. It is conceivable that smaller amounts or garlic extract along with other standard antituberculosis drugs may act synergistically against mycobacterial infections."

However, local researchers have made huge progress on herbal cures for malaria. One of such herbs used to treat malaria that efforts are currently on to study its safety limits is Enatia chlorantha, a herb that bears different local names in Nigeria. The stem bark of this plant also known as African yellow wood among the Yoruba speaking community is called "Iyani" or "Awopa" while in Benin it is called "Evenbavbogo"

In Nigeria, the bark extract are used widely to treat malaria fever, high body temperature, wounds, kick start labour in pregnant women and as a naturally occurring antibiotics.

The plant is also used traditionally to treat jaundice, tuberculosis and leprous spots and many researchers including Dr. E. A Agbaje from the department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos in the journal West African Journal of Pharmacology and Drug Research of year 2005, have even confirmed that its aqueous extract is effective in the treatment of conditions like ulcer.

Nigerian researchers have shown that the fruit extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera possesses significant anti-malarial, analgesic and anticonvulsant activities.

Tetrapleura tetraptera belongs to the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae:Mimosoideae). To the French it is esehese a grandes feuilles. In Nigeria it is ebuk in Bokyi; esegheseghe (rattling), ighimiakhie or ikhememi in Edo; edeminang (four backs) in Efik; manto in Ejagham; ekpankpan or ekuk in Ejagham-Etung; ighirehimi in Esan; dawo in Hausa; Uyayak in Ibibio; ashobo, ashosho, oshogisha (Arochukwu), ora-ora (Awka), osshosha (Bende), osakirisa (Owerri) in Igbo; apapa in Ijo-izon; idisain in izon; yurem in Nkem; arida, arizan, ayida or ikoho in Nupe; sekok-mpap in Nyanga; mangongon in Yamba; imiminje in Yekhee; and aidan (Ife) or aridan (meaning cast no spell) in Yoruba.

The fruit extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera has been shown to possess antiplasmodial (active against malaria parasite) activity, which may have contributed to the immune status of the Nigerians against malaria in addition to its nutritive value.

Researchers at the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo have confirmed the antimalaria activity of ethanolic extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit. The researchers include: Okokon J. E., Udokpoh A. E., Antia B.S.

The in vivo (inside a living environment) antiplasmodial activity of the ethanol fruit extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera was evaluated in Plasmodium berghei (one of the many species of malaria parasites that infect mammals other than humans) infected mice.

Tetrapleura tetraptera (300-900 mg/kg day) exhibited significant blood schizonticidal activity both in four-day early infection test and in established infection with a considerable mean survival time comparable to that of the standard drug, chloroquine, 5 mg/kg day.

According to a study titled Formulation of an effective mosquito-repellent topical product from lemon grass oil published recently by the Department of Pharmaceutics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, extracts of lemon grass can not only bring relief in malaria fever, but can repel mosquitoes.

The team of researchers: Oyedele A.O, Gbolade A.A, Sosan M.B, Adewoyin F.B, Soyelu O.L, and Orafidiya O.O evaluated ointment and cream formulations of lemon grass oil in different classes of base and the oil in liquid paraffin solution for mosquito repelling property in a topical application.

Mosquito repelling property was tested by determining the bite-deterrence of product samples applied on an experimental bird's skin against a two-day starved culture of Aedes aegyptica mosquitoes. The one per cent v/v solution and 15 per cent v/w cream and ointment preparations of the oil exhibited not more than 50 per cent repelling lasting two to three hours, which may be attributed to citral, a major oil constituent. According to the authors, this activity was comparable to that of a commercial mosquito repellent.

A study by Gordian C. Obute of the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Port Harcourt has unveiled some 35 medicinal plants scattered in 23 plant families, with reported medicinal importance to the people of South-eastern Nigeria.

The study indicates that drinking or bathing with leaf decoction or infusion of Neem or Dogoyaro (Azadirachta indica) of the plant family Meliaceae is a remedy for chicken pox and small pox, boiling leaves with lemon grass treats malaria, used as a vermifuge, remedy for ulcers and wounds.

According to the study, unripe fruit of papaya or pawpaw (Carica papaya), which belongs to the plant family Caricaceae when mixed with garlic and fermented for three days is used as a diuretic. Chewing a handful of seeds of pawpaw, in the morning and evening and add decoction of unripe papaw with unripe pineapple, lime, 10cm long sugar cane piece, six bags of Lipton tea in four litres of water has anti-malarial effects.

The study also indicated that boiling of Mango leaves, Mangifera indica (Anarcadiaceae) in water and drinking the resultant solution is a cure for malaria; Bark is soaked for 24 hours and the water extract is used, along with bathing with this three times a day, to treat typhoid fever.

The stem of Broom weed (udo or nsi inyinya in Ibo is used to treat malaria. It is also called Sida acuta (Malvaceae).

Elsewhere, a working document prepared for the 21st session of the African Advisory Committee for Health Research and Development (AACHRD) on enhancing research into traditional medicine in the African region reported progress made in 2002 by WHO-sponsored pilot controlled clinical trials involving a small number of patients of up to 20, conducted by some institutions in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, using a specific protocol.

In these pilot clinical trials, the study group was administered traditional medicines and the control group was given either chloroquine or Fansidar.

The results show that some traditional medicines are able to clear parasites within seven days of treatment in most of the patients in the study group, without any observable side effects. The investigations are still continuing.

Seven herbal preparations for the treatment of various conditions, including malaria, have been included in the National Essential Drugs List of Mali. In Madagascar the work of the "Institut Malgache pour la Recherche AppliquZe (IMRA)" on malaria has resulted in a discovery of a new drug, which is effective against chloroquine-resistant strains.

However, more research is required to confirm this finding. Countries that are conducting research on evaluation of herbal preparations for the management of HIV/AIDS include: Benin, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ghana, C�te d'Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

In all these countries, except Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa, which have conducted pilot clinical trials, only observational studies have been carried out due to ethical considerations and financial constraints.

Preliminary results show that some herbal preparations reduce viral load. In addition, improvements have been noted in the quality of life and clinical conditions of patients treated with the locally produced medicines. Blood tests to monitor the level of immunity (CD4 and CD8 counts) of patients, all of whom are being treated exclusively with traditional medicines, has shown a marked increase in blood cell counts. In some countries such as Burkina Faso, a weight gain of up to 20 kilograms has been noted in some patients within four months of treatment.

In Tanzania, Warburgia species are used effectively for the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA).

WHO is supporting ethnomedical studies conducted by institutions in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe where, apart from baseline CD4/CD8 (markers for the immune system) and viral load values measured at the inception of the study and re-assessed every three months, liver and kidney function tests are being undertaken, using specific protocols.

A local pharmaceutical firm in South Africa has standardised into tablets a herbal preparation, Sunderlandia that is used as a tonic for diseases associated with significant loss of body mass. NIPRD in Nigeria has reported two of the many herbal preparations that Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) claim to be effective for the management of HIV/AIDS: Dopravil and Conavil on which phase II clinical trials are being conducted.

In Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe it has been claimed that some local medicinal plants are being used effectively for treating fungal infections associated with HIV/AIDS. In Uganda, conventional health practitioners and THPs have been working together since 1992 under the auspices of an Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together against AIDS (THETA), to conduct research on medicines potentially useful for combating HIV-related illnesses. Comparing subjects treated with herbal medicines with controls using acyclovir, both groups were found to experience similar rates of resolution of herpes zoster.

The investigators reported that the traditional medicine group had less super-infection, showed less keloid formation and pain due to herpes zoster reduced significantly faster in the group on the herbal medicine compared to those patients on acyclovir.

Results of ethnomedical studies on herbal medicines for treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and sickle cell anaemia are showing that they contain pharmacologically active ingredients. Further research is being undertaken. WHO is providing support is being provided to countries for evaluation of safety, efficacy and quality of these herbal medicines. These countries include but are not limited to, Burkina Faso, C�te d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.

Mr. President Health

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

It’s about two full weeks the nation commenced a drama over the real situation of the health of Nigeria’s President, Umar Yar’Adua. The matter, which is actually no issue, as every human being takes ill, became the issue it now is because a group of people in government mismanaged the information. They have not said the truth about the health situation of Mr. President.

However, there are certain points about Yar’Adua that make it important that Nigerians should ask and know what is happening to him. First among them is the fact that he is the president. When he was a private citizen, teaching at the university or when he was Katsina State governor, the entire nation never worried about what his health was. Now that his life – ill or good health – impacts on the nation one way or the other, the people have reason to ask and be informed.

Interestingly, Nigerians want Yar’Adua to live and complete his tenure of office. Even the opposition does not wish him dead, and no other reasonable human does because that would not solve any of the multifarious problems facing the nation, including the biting kerosene scarcity. So, it has been bad politics and information management for Odey and other aides to present the nation a false picture of Mr. President’s health condition. It is rather their attitude to introduce an abnormality clause into the issue that has raised the curiosity of Nigerians the more. Being ill also does not make Yar’Adua less qualified as a president because if a nation is to search for a person that is illness-free to be president, nobody will qualify to occupy that position.

No doubt, the job of a president is so burdensome to bear that it needs stout shoulders to support. It entails flying around, within and outside the country, and only capable and willing hearts would accept a job that keeps them in the sky month to month, with all the breath-skipping encounters. Whoever has a nagging and chronic frailty is just out of it. Such can’t even concentrate and do the office work, meetings and conferences that border on very serious issues where little mistakes could have spiral effects on the lives of many citizens and even the entire nation. That is the more reason Nigeria needs a fairly healthy person to take this task. But if the lot falls for us in places where a not-very-strong-president is in saddle, he needs understanding and prayers from all. The sympathy and understanding would be destroyed by a lying clique of aides who try, in vain, to cover facts in an age of information, where millions can log unto the Internet and pick whatever information they want.

An incapable President
The drafters of the constitution, the prime law of the nation knew that presidents or their deputies are human and can take ill. Therefore, provision was made for grounds on which a president or his deputy can be excused out of office.

Section 144 of the 1999 Constitution in the two sub sections clarified on this.
Section 144. (1) said: The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if:

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Section 144(3) says that “the President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.”

A confused state
The situation we face today has not come to the scenario here. What it means is that Mr. President is still very much available and in office by the provisions of the law. But when he is not actually there to carry out his duties, it becomes another problem because by the provisions of the law, the president remains intact and nobody can usurp his duties. The present case is that Mr. President traveled for lesser hajj. We later heard he was hospitalised with a not-so-comfortable health situation, renal surgery and the rest. It implies that the president, who travelled for a personal religious function, would not have deemed that a vacation as to have written the National Assembly so that the Vice President would become the Acting President as provided for in the constitution.

Section 145 said: “ Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.” With such situation, the work Mr. President should do remains undone until he is back and fit to act in his office. This is retardation to the process of governance. Such is not too good for a nation whose leadership crisis has been legendary, a nation that had been hoping for a breather.

Why Yar’Adua hangs on
Many Nigerians outside power and PDP see Yar’Adua’s position in office as out of party interest. The speculation is that even if Yar’Adua had found out that he can’t carry the burden, he would, in the interest of the party, hang on until the Supreme Court gives the final decision. It is the belief of the party that Yar’Adua leaving office may influence the decision of the final court in the petition against his election.

This line of argument is that if he has found out he can’t go the whole hog, he will, at last, throw in the towel after the final word is heard of the petition. If the verdict favours him, he can then leave and hand over to his second in command or if removed by court, he would find good reason to go, not, making any effort to re-contest.

If Yar’Adua leaves
If the health problem of the president leads to his ouster before the end of the tenure, there are so many issues that would be thrown up for resolution in PDP. Some of them include the disposition of the north in accepting a legal and constitutional replacement that would come from another zone – South South. That would upset the PDP power sharing and zoning formula, which vests the office on Yar’Adua’s zone. If presidency goes to South South, how would the offices of the leadership of the National Assembly be handled? Which zones will produce the Vice President?

Moreover, should a situation arise, where Goodluck Jonathan takes over from his boss, would the National Assembly spare him or would they be incited by the north where Yar’Adua comes from to remove him through impeachment to make way for fresh elections where a candidate from Yar’Adua’s zone will take back the position. And how would that be received by the South South if their man is impeached? How would it escalate or stop the militancy down there? These are the reasons and considerations that make many feel that Yar’Adua should be well and kicking and recover fast to continue in order to save us another disruption.

The Niger Delta question
The next question of concern is what would be the scene in the South South regarding militancy and the other security problems should Jonathan become the president.

Many Niger Deltans have never said what they want is producing the president to be appeased. All they have always called for is total control of the wealth of the creeks, or at least to pay the nation royalty for the proceeds. So, if we come to a stage where Jonathan takes the throne, would that not inflame the Niger Delta the more and make the actors go wild and beyond control? It would be a tough task for Jonathan to handle because he would be faced with a serious dilemma – to please his kinsmen and let them have the oil as they please and remain a good Ijaw man or say no to them to safeguard what is called the unity of the nation greased by oil flow in the South South.

But if the Niger Delta feels assuaged by their brother’s mere presence on the throne when they already accuse him presently of being a stooge and sell-out that would be good news. The possibility of such accession for a people who have tested the proceeds of jungle antics would always remain slim and unlikely as such compromise would not put money directly in the pockets of those that reap from crisis and kidnap.

Re: President

September 6, 2008 by chris4gold

Hey Nigeria, what can you say about this man? live or dead?

Nigeria map

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

President

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

History of Nigeria

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

Early Nigerian history

Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria (specifically Iwo-Eleru) as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu (Okigwe) in southeastern Nigeria.[1] Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking in Archaeology. Microlithic and ceramic industries were developed by savanna pastoralists from at least the 4th millennium BC and were continued by subsequent agricultural communities. In the south, hunting and gathering gave way to subsistence farming in the first millennium BC and the cultivation of staple foods.

Primitive iron-West Africa, while Kainji Dam excavations revealed ironworking by the 2nd century BC. The transition from Neolithic times to the Iron Age apparently was achieved without intermediate bronze production. Some scholars speculate that the smelting process was transmitted from the Mediterranean by Berbers. Others suggest the technology moved west from the Nile Valley, although the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years. The earliest identified Nigerian culture is that of the Nok people who thrived between 500 BC and 200 AD on the Jos Plateau in northeastern Nigeria. Information is lacking from the first millennium AD following the Nok ascendancy, but by the 2nd millennium AD there was active trade from North Africa through the Sahara to the forest, with the people of the savanna acting as intermediaries in exchanges of various goods..

Early states before 1500

Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500

Long before 1500, much of modern Nigeria was divided into states identified with contemporary ethnic groups. These early states included the Yoruba kingdoms, the Igbo kingdom of Nri, the Edo kingdom of Benin, the Efik kingdom, the Ibibio kingdom, the Annang kingdom, the Hausa cities, and Nupe. Numerous small states to the west and south of Lake Chad were absorbed or displaced in the course of the expansion of Kanem, which was centered to the northeast of Lake Chad. Borno, initially the western province of Kanem, became independent in the late 14th century. Other states probably existed but the absence of archaeological data do not permit accurate dating.

In the southeast, the earliest Igbo state and the oldest kingdom in Nigeria was the Kingdom of Nri, which emerged in 900 AD and lasted for over a thousand years. Despite its relatively small size geographically it is considered the cradle of Igbo culture. Working in publish.

Yoruba kingdoms and Benin

Historically the Yoruba have been the dominant group on the west bank of the Niger. Of mixed origin, they were the product of periodic waves of migrants. The Yoruba were organized in patrilineal groups that occupied village communities and subsisted on agriculture. From approximately the 11th century, adjacent village compounds called ile coalesced into numerous territorial city-states in which clan loyalties became subordinate to dynastic chieftains. Urbanization was accompanied by high levels of artistic achievement, particularly in terracotta and ivory sculpture and in the sophisticated metal casting produced at Ife.

The Yoruba paid tribute to a pantheon headed by an impersonal deity, Olorun, as well as lesser deities who performed various tasks. Oduduwa was regarded as the creator of the earth and the ancestor of the Yoruba kings. According to myth Oduduwa founded Ife and dispatched his sons to establish it.

Yoruban tradition, which has been backed by some historians and scholars, suggests that some of the Yorubans' ancestors may have migrated from the Arabian peninsula.[2] This theory cites numerous linguistic commonalities as evidence of Arabian origin,[2] such as the word for prayer, Adua, and the word for blessings, Al-Barikah.

The Yorubas are believed to have followed their leader Odua, the great father of the Yoruba, down to Ife, where they settled, today known as Ile-ife, a large city, in the heart of the western part of Nigeria.

[edit] Oyo and Benin

Main article: Oyo Empire

During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruban culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the alafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. Unlike the forest-bound Yoruba kingdoms, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

Main article: Benin Empire

Yorubaland established a community in the Edo-speaking area east of Ife before becoming a dependency of Ife at the beginning of the 14th century. By the 15th century it became an independent trading power, blocking Ife's access to the coastal ports as Oyo had cut off the mother city from the savanna. Political and religious authority resided in the oba (king) who according to tradition was descended from the Ife dynasty. Benin, which may have housed 100,000 inhabitants at its height, spread over twenty-five square km that were enclosed by three concentric rings of earthworks. By the late 15th century Benin was in contact with Portugal (see Atlantic slave trade). At its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries, Benin encompassed parts of southeastern Yorubaland and the western Igbo.

[edit] Northern kingdoms of the Savanna
The Songhai Empire, c. 1500
The Songhai Empire, c. 1500

Trade is the key to the emergence of organized communities in the savanna portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century AD.

By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

Following the breakup of Mali a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464 -1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and the western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493 - 1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[3]

Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500, they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu Empire

Main article: Kanem-Bornu Empire

Borno's history is closely associated with Kanem, which had achieved imperial status in the Lake Chad basin by the 13th century. Kanem expanded westward to include the area that became Borno. The mai (king) of Kanem and his court accepted Islam in the 11th century, as the western empires also had done. Islam was used to reinforce the political and social structures of the state although many established customs were maintained. Women, for example, continued to exercise considerable political influence.

The mai employed his mounted bodyguard and an inchoate army of nobles to extend Kanem's authority into Borno. By tradition the territory was conferred on the heir to the throne to govern during his apprenticeship. In the 14th century, however, dynastic conflict forced the then-ruling group and its followers to relocate in Borno, where as a result the Kanuri emerged as an ethnic group in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The civil war that disrupted Kanem in the second half of the 14th century resulted in the independence of Borno.

Borno's prosperity depended on the trans-Sudanic slave trade and the desert trade in salt and livestock. The need to protect its commercial interests compelled Borno to intervene in Kanem, which continued to be a theater of war throughout the fifteenth and into the sixteenth centuries. Despite its relative political weakness in this period, Borno's court and mosques under the patronage of a line of scholarly kings earned fame as centers of Islamic culture and learning.

Hausa states
Map of Nigeria (source: CIA's The World Factbook)
Map of Nigeria (source: CIA's The World Factbook)

Main article: Hausa Kingdoms

By the 11th century some Hausa states - such as Kano, jigawa,Katsina, and Gobir - had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing caravans, and the manufacture of various goods. Until the 15th century these small states were on the periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era. They were constantly pressured by Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east, to which they paid tribute. Armed conflict was usually motivated by economic concerns, as coalitions of Hausa states mounted wars against the Jukun and Nupe in the middle belt to collect slaves or against one another for control of trade.

Islam arrived to Hausaland along the caravan routes. The famous Kano Chronicle records the conversion of Kano's ruling dynasty by clerics from Mali, demonstrating that the imperial influence of Mali extended far to the east. Acceptance of Islam was gradual and was often nominal in the countryside where folk religion continued to exert a strong influence. Nonetheless, Kano and Katsina, with their famous mosques and schools, came to participate fully in the cultural and intellectual life of the Islamic world. The Fulani began to enter the Hausa country in the 13th century and by the 15th century they were tending cattle, sheep, and goats in Borno as well. The Fulani came from the Senegal River valley, where their ancestors had developed a method of livestock management based on transhumance. Gradually they moved eastward, first into the centers of the Mali and Songhai empires and eventually into Hausaland and Borno. Some Fulbe converted to Islam as early as the 11th century and settled among the Hausa, from whom they became racially indistinguishable. There they constituted a devoutly religious, educated elite who made themselves indispensable to the Hausa kings as government advisers, Islamic judges, and teachers.

Calabar Kingdom

Main article: Calabar Kingdom
Main article: Efik Kingdom
Main article: States in Ancient Calabar Kingdom
Main article: Old Calabar and New Calabar

Calabar Kingdom also known as Efik Kingdom is an Ancient Kingdom that existed thousands of years before Christ. The City of Calabar was the seat of power of the Calabar Kingdom. According to Obong of Calabar, Edidem (DR./Professor Nta Elijah Henshaw), Calabar Kingdom covered the entire Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, Western Cameroon, the offshore island of Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea), and extended into parts of present Abia State and Imo State (Vanguard, Monday, August 2, 2004, reported by George Onah). The indigenes of the old Calabar Kingdom were referred to as Calabar people (even at present day, some Nigerians still call indigenes of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State as Calabar people).

The old Calabar Kingdom comprised of loosely governed states. The states included: Annang, Akamkpa, Efik, Eket, Ibibio, Ikom, Ogoja, (Opobo, now Ikot Abasi), Oron, Western Camaroon and the offshore island of Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea). Calabar was (and still is) the capital city of the Efik State of the old Calabar Kingdom. As such, the Kingdom has been known as either Calabar Kingdom or Efik Kingdom.

Calabar Kingdom was an active ancient trading kingdom. Recorded history shows that the Calabar Kingdom was the first Kingdom to use a money system in trading in West Africa. The ancient money of Calabar Kingdom was called "Okpoho", a Calabar word for money. This money become known as the Manillas.

The Kingdom was ruled by Kings with the King of Calabar as the High King. Several years after the Kingdom became a British colony, there was an agreement between the British and the Kings in 1908 abrogating the title of King, and replacing it with the title - Obong (Edem, 2008). Thus, as Calabar Kingdom became a British colony, the British saw it necessary to not duplicate the title of the monarch (the King or Queen - of England) in their colony.

The High King (King of Calabar later known as Obong of Calabar till this present time), had a strong power in the capital City of Calabar in the Efik State with weak power over the other states in the Kingdom.

Leadership power in the Calabar Kingdom was derived from a major secret society, the Ekpe Secrete Society. The Ekpe secret society was instrumental in keeping outsiders (other ethnic groups) outside of the Kingdom and in protecting the sovereignty of the Kingdom. The Ekpe secret society of the Old Calabar Kingdom developed one of the major ancient African script, the Nsibidi written script.

The coastal ports of the Calabar Kingdom, especially the Calabar port made indigenes of the Kingdom to be the first group in southeastern parts of Nigeria to have contact with European traders and missionaries.

The Obong of Calabar signed a treaty with the British government in the 17th century that resulted in the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria with headquarter at Calabar, thus making Calabar the first Nigerian Capital City. After Nigerian independence in 1960, Western Cameroon opted to become a part of Cameroon because of the weakness and poor political leadership and relationship of people of the then Eastern Nigeria. Hence, parts of the Calabar people got divided into Cameroon.

The Calabar Kingdom produced the first Nigerian Professor, Professor Eyo Ita, who was the pioneer champion of youth movement in Nigeria for independence. He later became the first Premier of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, and a member of the Nigerian team that negotiated Nigerian independence in Britain. The Kingdom also produced Sir/Dr. Egbert Udo Udoma, the first Nigerian to earn a Ph.D. in Political Science and Law from Ikot Abasi and Mr. J. A. Eka of Uyo, the father of Nigerian Cooperative movement (old name for Chamber of Commerce).

During the Nigerian Civil War, the Calabar Kingdom became one of the original Nigerian twelve states, the Southeastern State of Nigeria which was later split into two states, the Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State.

Pre-colonial states, 1500-1800

Main article: History of Nigeria (1500-1800)

Savanna states

During the 16th century the Songhai Empire reached its peak, stretching from the Senegal and Gambia rivers and incorporating part of Hausaland in the east. Concurrently the Saifawa Dynasty of Borno conquered Kanem and extended control west to Hausa cities not under Songhai authority. Largely because of Songhai's influence, there was a blossoming of Islamic learning and culture. Songhai collapsed in 1591 when a Moroccan army conquered Gao and Timbuktu. Morocco was unable to control the empire and the various provinces, including the Hausa states, became independent. The collapse undermined Songhai's hegemony over the Hausa states and abruptly altered the course of regional history.

Borno reached its apogee under mai Idris Aloma (ca. 1569-1600) during whose reign Kanem was reconquered. The destruction of Songhai left Borno uncontested and until the 18th century Borno dominated northern Nigeria. Despite Borno's hegemony the Hausa states continued to wrestle for ascendancy. Gradually Borno's position weakened; its inability to check political rivalries between competing Hausa cities was one example of this decline. Another factor was the military threat of the Tuareg centered at Agades who penetrated the northern districts of Borno. The major cause of Borno's decline was a severe drought that struck the Sahel and savanna from in the middle of the 18th century. As a consequence Borno lost many northern territories to the Tuareg whose mobility allowed them to endure the famine more effectively. Borno regained some of its former might in the succeeding decades, but another drought occurred in the 1790s, again weakening the state.

Ecological and political instability provided the background for the jihad of Usman dan Fodio. The military rivalries of the Hausa states strained the regions economic resources at a time when drought and famine undermined farmers and herders. Many Fulani moved into Hausaland and Borno, and their arrival increased tensions because they had no loyalty to the political authorities, who saw them as a source of increased taxation. By the end of the 18th century, some Muslim ulema began articulating the grievances of the common people. Efforts to eliminate or control these religious leaders only heightened the tensions, setting the stage for jihad.[3]
The Igbo States

The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Benin. Later groups like the Igalas and Igbo traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18nth century. Another Igbo kingdom to form was the Arochukwu kingdom which emerged after the Aro-Ibibio wars from 1630-1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which dominated midwestern and eastern Nigeria with pockets of influence in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. There is a huge gap between the archaeological finds of Igbo Ukwu, which reveal a rich material culture in the heart of the Igbo region in the 8th century, and the oral traditions of the 20th century. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region. Ofega was the queen.

A British sphere of influence

Main article: Colonial Nigeria

Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901
Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901
Colonial Flag of Nigeria
Colonial Flag of Nigeria

Following the Napoleonic wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time.

In 1914 the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across African
Independence

Main article: History of Nigeria (1960-1979)

Jaja Wachuku, First Nigerian Speaker of the House: 1959 - 1960
Jaja Wachuku, First Nigerian Speaker of the House: 1959 - 1960

Nigeria was granted full independence in October 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country's three regions. From 1959 to 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the First black Speaker of the Nigerian Parliament - also called the House of Representatives. Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Great Britain. Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence - also known as Freedom Charter - on October 1, 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Queen's representative at the Nigerian independence ceremonies.

The federal government was given exclusive powers in defense, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policy. The monarch of Nigeria was still head of state but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, executive power in a prime minister and cabinet, and judicial authority in a Federal Supreme Court. Political parties, however, tended to reflect the make up of the three main ethnic groups. The NPC (Nigerian people's Congress) represented conservative, Muslim, largely Hausa interests, and dominated the Northern Region. The NCNC (National Convention of Nigerian Citizens), was Igbo- and Christian-dominated, ruling in the Eastern Region, and the AG (Action Group) was a left-leaning party that controlled the Yoruba west. The first post-independence National Government was formed by a conservative alliance of the NCNC and the NPC, with Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, becoming Nigeria's first Prime Minister. The Yoruba-dominated AG became the opposition under its charismatic leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

First Republic

Main article: Nigerian First Republic

In October 1963 Nigeria proclaimed itself a Federal Republic, and former Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the country's first President. From the outset Nigeria's ethnic and religious tensions were magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development between the south and the north. The AG was maneuvered out of control of the Western Region by the Federal Government and a new pro-government Yoruba party, the NNDP, took over. Shortly afterward the AG opposition leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was imprisoned on treason charges that were later admitted to be without foundation. The 1965 National Election produced a major realignment of politics and a disputed result that set the country on the path to civil war. The dominant northern NPC went into a conservative alliance with the new Yoruba NNDP, leaving the Igbo NCNC to coalesce with the remnants of the AG (Action Group) in a progressive alliance. In the vote, widespread electoral fraud was alleged and riots erupted in the Yoruba West where heartlands of the AG discovered they had apparently elected pro-government NNDP representatives.

First period of military rule

Main article: Nigerian Civil War

On January 15, 1966 a group of army officers, mostly southeastern Igbos, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. The federal military government that assumed power under General Aguiyi-Ironsi was unable to quiet ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all sections of the country.[4] Its efforts to abolish the federal structure raised tensions and led to another coup by largely northern officers in July 1966, which established the leadership of Major General Yakubu Gowon. The subsequent massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast where increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged.

In a move towards greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups the military divided the four regions into 12 states. However the Igbo rejected attempts at constitutional revisions and insisted on full autonomy for the east. On May 29, 1967 Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor of the eastern region who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region as the Republic of Biafra. The ensuing Nigerian Civil War resulted in an estimated one million deaths before ending in the defeat of Biafra in 1970.[5]

Following the civil war the country turned to the task of economic development. Foreign exchange earnings and government revenues increased spectacularly with the oil price rises of 1973-74. On July 29, 1975 Gen. Murtala Mohammed and a group of officers staged a bloodless coup, accusing Gen. Yakubu Gowon of corruption and delaying the promised return to civilian rule. General Mohammed replaced thousands of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian rule by October 1, 1979. He was assassinated on February 13, 1976 in an abortive coup and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became head of state.

Second Republic

Main article: History of Nigeria (1979-1999)

A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, which was published on September 21, 1978, when the ban on political activity was lifted. In 1979, five political parties competed in a series of elections in which Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected president. All five parties won representation in the National Assembly. In August 1983 Shagari and the NPN were returned to power in a landslide victory, with a majority of seats in the National Assembly and control of 12 state governments. But the elections were marred by violence and allegations of widespread vote rigging and electoral malfeasance led to legal battles over the results.[6]

On December 31, 1983 the military overthrew the Second Republic. Major General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), the country's new ruling body. The Buhari government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third-ranking member General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. Babangida cited the misuse of power, violations of human rights by key officers of the SMC, and the government's failure to deal with the country's deepening economic crisis as justifications for the takeover. During his first days in office President Babangida moved to restore freedom of the press and to release political detainees being held without charge. As part of a 15-month economic emergency plan he announced pay cuts for the military, police, civil servants and the private sector. President Babangida demonstrated his intent to encourage public participation in decision making by opening a national debate on proposed economic reform and recovery measures. The public response convinced Babangida of intense opposition to an economic recovery package dependent on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.

The abortive Third Republic

Main article: Nigerian Third Republic

President Babangida promised to return the country to civilian rule by 1990 which was later extended until January 1993. In early 1989 a constituent assembly completed a constitution and in the spring of 1989 political activity was again permitted. In October 1989 the government established two parties, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic (SDP) - other parties were not allowed to register.

In April 1990 mid-level officers attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow the government and 69 accused plotters were executed after secret trials before military tribunals. In December 1990 the first stage of partisan elections was held at the local government level. Despite low turnout there was no violence and both parties demonstrated strength in all regions of the country, with the SDP winning control of a majority of local government councils.

In December 1991 state legislative elections were held and Babangida decreed that previously banned politicians could contest in primaries scheduled for August. These were canceled due to fraud and subsequent primaries scheduled for September also were canceled. All announced candidates were disqualified from standing for president once a new election format was selected. The presidential election was finally held on June 12, 1993 with the inauguration of the new president scheduled to take place August 27, 1993, the eighth anniversary of President Babangida's coming to power.

In the historic June 12, 1992 presidential elections, which most observers deemed to be Nigeria's fairest, early returns indicated that wealthy Yoruba businessman M.K.O. Abiola won a decisive victory. However, on June 23, Babangida, using several pending lawsuits as a pretense, annulled the election, throwing Nigeria into turmoil. More than 100 were killed in riots before Babangida agreed to hand power to an interim government on August 27, 1993. He later attempted to renege this decision, but without popular and military support, he was forced to hand over to Ernest Shonekan, a prominent nonpartisan businessman. Shonekan was to rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. Although he had led Babangida's Transitional Council since 1993, Shonekan was unable to reverse Nigeria's economic problems or to defuse lingering political tension.

Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha, military dictator of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998
Sani Abacha, military dictator of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998

With the country sliding into chaos Defense Minister Sani Abacha assumed power and forced Shonekan's resignation on November 17, 1993. Abacha dissolved all democratic institutions and replaced elected governors with military officers. Although promising restoration of civilian rule he refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995. Following the annulment of the June 12 election the United States and others imposed sanctions on Nigeria including travel restrictions on government officials and suspension of arms sales and military assistance. Additional sanctions were imposed as a result of Nigeria's failure to gain full certification for its counter-narcotics efforts.

Although Abacha was initially welcomed by many Nigerians disenchantment grew rapidly. Opposition leaders formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which campaigned to reconvene the Senate and other disbanded democratic institutions. On June 11, 1994 Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola declared himself president and went into hiding until his arrest on June 23. In response petroleum workers called a strike demanding that Abacha release Abiola and hand over power to him. Other unions joined the strike, bringing economic life around Lagos and the southwest to a standstill. After calling off a threatened strike in July the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) reconsidered a general strike in August after the government imposed conditions on Abiola's release. On August 17, 1994 the government dismissed the leadership of the NLC and the petroleum unions, placed the unions under appointed administrators, and arrested Frank Kokori and other labor leaders.

The government alleged in early 1995 that military officers and civilians were engaged in a coup plot. Security officers rounded up the accused, including former Head of State Obasanjo and his deputy, retired General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. After a secret tribunal most of the accused were convicted and several death sentences were handed down. In 1994 the government set up the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal to try Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others for their alleged roles in the killings of four Ogoni politicians. The tribunal sentenced Saro-Wiwa and eight others to death and they were executed on November 10, 1995.

On October 1, 1995 Abacha announced the timetable for a 3-year transition to civilian rule. Only five political parties were approved by the regime and voter turnout for local elections in December 1997 was under 10%. On December 21, 1997 the government arrested General Oladipo Diya, ten officers, and eight civilians on charges of coup plotting. The accused were tried before a military tribunal in which Diya and eight others were sentenced to death. Abacha enforced authority through the federal security system which is accused of numerous human rights abuses, including infringements on freedom of speech, assembly, association, travel, and violence against women. After assuming power in June 1998 the Abubakar government took steps toward restoring worker rights and freedom of association for trade unions, which had deteriorated seriously under Abacha.

Abubakar's transition to civilian rule

Abacha died of heart failure on June 8, 1998 and was replaced by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The military Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) under Abubakar commuted the sentences of those accused in the alleged coup during the Abacha regime and released almost all known civilian political detainees. Pending the promulgation of the constitution written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the 1979 and 1989 constitutions. Neither Abacha nor Abubakar lifted the decree suspending the 1979 constitution, and the 1989 constitution was not implemented. The judiciary system continued to be hampered by corruption and lack of resources after Abacha's death. In an attempt to alleviate such problems Abubakar's government implemented a civil service pay raise and other reforms.

In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president. The NEC successfully held elections on December 5, 1998, January 9, 1999, February 20, and February 27, 1999, respectively. For local elections nine parties were granted provisional registration with three fulfilling the requirements to contest the following elections. These parties were the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the All People's Party (APP), and the predominantly Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD). Former military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo, freed from prison by Abubakar, ran as a civilian candidate and won the presidential election. The PRC promulgated a new constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 constitution, before the May 29, 1999 inauguration of the new civilian president. The constitution includes provisions for a bicameral legislature, the National Assembly consisting of a 360-member House of Representatives and a 109-member Senate.

Fourth Republic

The emergence of democracy in Nigeria on May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. Olusegun Obasanjo inherited a country suffering economic stagnation and the deterioration of most democratic institutions. Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion.

The new President took over a country that faced many problems, including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, and a military that wanted a reward for returning quietly to the barracks. The President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers holding political positions, established a blue-ribbon panel to investigate human rights violations, released scores of persons held without charge, and rescinded numerous questionable licenses and contracts left by the previous regimes. The government also moved to recover millions of dollars in funds secreted to overseas accounts.

Most civil society leaders and Nigerians witnessed marked improvements in human rights and freedom of the press under Obasanjo. As Nigeria works out representational democracy, conflicts persist between the Executive and Legislative branches over appropriations and other proposed legislation. A sign of federalism has been the growing visibility of state governors and the inherent friction between Abuja and the state capitals over resource allocation.

Communal violence has plagued the Obasanjo government since its inception. In May 1999 violence erupted in Kaduna State over the succession of an Emir resulting in more than 100 deaths. In November 1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores of civilians in retaliation for the murder of 12 policemen by a local gang. In Kaduna in February-May 2000 over 1,000 people died in rioting over the introduction of criminal Shar'ia in the State. Hundreds of ethnic Hausa were killed in reprisal attacks in southeastern Nigeria. In September 2001, over 2,000 people were killed in inter-religious rioting in Jos. In October 2001, hundreds were killed and thousands displaced in communal violence that spread across the states of Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa. On October 1, 2001 Obasanjo announced the formation of a National Security Commission to address the issue of communal violence. Obasanjo was reelected in 2003.

The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. Additionally, the Obasanjo administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions if it hopes to build a foundation for economic growth and political stability. Currently there is unrest in the Niger delta over the environmental destruction caused by oil drilling and the ongoing poverty in the oil-rich region.

A further major problem created by the oil industry is the drilling of pipelines by the local population in an attempt to drain off the petroleum for personal use or as a source of income. This often leads to major explosions and high death tolls.[7] Particularly notable disasters in this area have been: 1) October 1998, Jesse, 1100 deaths, 2) July 2000, Jesse, 250 deaths, 3) September 2004, near Lagos, 60 deaths, 4) May 2006, Ilado, approx. 150-200 deaths (current estimate).[8]

Two militants of an unknown faction shot and killed Ustaz Ja'afar Adam, a northern Muslim religious leader and Kano State official, along with one of his disciples in a mosque in Kano during dawn prayers on 13 April 2007. Obasanjo had recently stated on national radio that he would "deal firmly" with election fraud and violence advocated by "highly placed individuals." His comments were interpreted by some analysts as a warning to his Vice President and 2007 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.[9]

In the 2007 general election, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, both of the People's Democratic Party, were elected President and Vice President, respectively. The election was marred by electoral fraud, and denounced by other candidates and international observers.

How hill is our president??????????

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua left for Saudi Arabia more than two weeks ago for the Islamic obligation of the lesser Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. Yar’Adua, who is known to have a chronic kidney problem, has sought medical attention in Jeddah and has still not returned, raising fears about the state of his health. A medical source in Saudi Arabia told Reuters he had undergone an operation.

Government and presidency officials have been tight-lipped about the president’s condition and have not said exactly when he will be back. The opposition has demanded clarity on the president’s health, adding that his absence is having an adverse effect on the workings of government and that the official silence is fuelling speculation and uncertainty.

Should the head of state’s health be a private issue or is it a matter of public interest? Is his prolonged absence from Nigeria a cause for concern? As governor of Katsina state, Yar’Adua spent several months abroad for medical treatment without attracting much public attention, only to return, complete his term and win another one. Can he expect to do the same as leader of the nation?

What if the president leaves office early?

What can you say about this country?

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

Is it true that this place called Nigeria started out as a business ( a company) that belonged to some English men? Then the Americans came and stole some of the property of the English men (Slaves) and went and made money for themselves in their own country.

In the early days of this English men's business(the so called Nigeria of today) any person who could steal from the English men was given a chieftancy title in his village. If the same person stole a goat or chicken or yam from inside his own village he was disgraced.

But steal from OYIBO and you are praised. So the English theives handed over to the black native thieves that they had trained. That is why Legislators will refuse to increase teachers salaries but increase their own salaries by 100%. Thief pass thief.

That is why up till today the stealing and cheating and lies still continue. the thieves are no longer the British and Americans. The thrives now are YOU AND ME. Yes stop blaming Obasanjo and Babangida. We are all thieves or children of thieves. or brothers and sisters of thieves, or mothers and fathers of thieves .

Why are you complaining. If you are not a thief then get out from in the midst of thieves.
We need a true DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. WE NEED TO ALL COME TOGETHER TO DECIDE WHERE WE WANT TO GO.

Me I no sabi bible but bible talk say two people no go fit waka togeda if dey no agree. De trouble now be say we never agree to waka togeda. Na force na him the JAGUDA BABA OLE THEM de force us to waka with them.

If true true we agree to waka togeda den if one person steal our money we go disgrace am. Not like e be now when anybody where tief we go dey hail am. No be Yaradua be de matter. De issue be say ARE WE WILLING TO CONTINUE LIVING THIS LIE?

What can you say about this country?

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

Why are you complaining. If you are not a thief then get out from in the midst of thieves.
We need a true DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. WE NEED TO ALL COME TOGETHER TO DECIDE WHERE WE WANT TO GO.

Ist True president is dead?

September 5, 2008 by chris4gold

Yar'adua admits to "Kidney Challenge".

Last View on Fri 5th September, 2008
Last Modified on Thu 04th September, 2008 2:30:21 am
Author: Posted by Admin Sahara

“President” Umaru Yar'adua, who has spent two weeks battling a serious illness, may have made a radical decision about dealing with his perennial health problems, according to our sources.

Just as speculations run riot in Abuja and the local press about Yar’adua’s medical fate, Saharareporters was told by sources in Saudi Arabia that Yar'adua has concluded plans to end his "kidney challenge" by seeking and receiving kidney transplant before returning to Nigeria. But his handlers are insisting that he return to Nigeria first, latest by Saturday, speak to the Nigerian people about his condition, and then take off abroad—most likely to Germany—to seek a more permanent solution to his kidney crisis.

In the last three days, members of Yar’adua’s kitchen cabinet had farmed out misleading leads to several Nigerian newspapers to the effect that the ailing president would return as early as Tuesday and that he would chair this week’s meeting of the federal executive council.

But news that he would not be coming back filtered into Abuja at 12 noon when his plane failed to file an arrival notice to the presidential villa as expected. A source close to him had told Saharareporters that he was arriving midweek to Nigeria for a few days as soon as final tests were concluded to determine the compatibility of persons to donate a kidney to him.

He was expected to make a brief return to Abuja, address the nation, and then leave for Germany to explore the possibility of undergoing kidney transplant.

The plan felt apart, however, when his doctors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia scheduled further tests to determine whether to attempt renal transplant before he departs for Nigeria. If the decision is made to go ahead with the procedure, then Yar’adua’s stay abroad could be prolonged for another eight weeks, according to a source close to his medical team.

Back in Nigeria, Yar’adua’s ministers put up a show in Abuja by attending the weekly federal executive council meeting, the second since Yar'adua departed Abuja, announcing that he was off to the "lesser hajj" or Ummra in Saudi Arabia. Information Minister John Odey, accompanied by three other ministers, maintained that Yar'adua was still on the lesser hajj in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They also announced the award of contracts of various sums.

Despite the ministerial exhibition, a source in the presidency told Saharareporters that governance has finally come to a virtual stop in Abuja since Yar’adua’s unceremonious exit to the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, two weeks ago.

Among the casualties of Yar’adua’s absence are plans to declare a state of emergency in the power sector, and the planned announcement of a committee on “land reforms” to be headed by Professor Akin Mabogunje. Also in jeopardy are arrangements for the annual pilgrimage to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly.

A source close to “Vice President” Goodluck Jonathan told Saharareporters that Jonathan has been quietly chafing at the fact that he has been kept in the dark, along with the rest of Nigerians. “I can tell you that the president continues to give limited information through his wife to his aides and government officials. Vice President Jonathan has not been getting the kind of frequent briefing about the president’s status that he feels entitled to,” said the source.

Two ministers in the government told Saharareporters that most members of the cabinet were jittery about the repercussions of Yar’adua’s absence and the continued decision to lie to Nigerians that the man is on lesser hajj.

“There is palpable apprehension among some of us that President Yar'adua is showing little regard for governance and for the Nigerian people,” said one of the ministers. The two ministers told Saharareporters that they are all completely in the dark about Yar'adua's whereabouts, even though snippets of information have come in from Saudi Arabia to the effect that the man just had a slight sickness.

They said the danger is that Nigerians no longer believe anything from Yar'adua and his handlers. The ministers said some of them were putting subtle pressure to ask that Yar’adua return to Nigeria first to tell the people what is wrong with him and then depart to engage in corrective medical intervention, including the transplant option.

While Nigerians grew more worried about Yar'adua's absense member of his kitchen cabinet led by James Ibori have shifted their base to Dubai where they maintained a strong hold on Yar'adua telling him not to worry about Nigerians, a source told SaharaReporters that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar may have joined the group. The group will be sending the governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki (currently in Europe) to visit Yar'adua and tell him what to do next.

The refusal of the First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar‘Adua, to allow a Saudia Arabian hospital make use of her kidney may have been responsible for the delay in the return of ailing President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

NAN
Wife of President Umaru Yar’Adua

The indication was given by the online news agency, saharareporters, which reported on Tuesday that rather than subject herself to the use of her kidney in a crucial transplant to save her husband, the First Lady was said to have demanded that she and Yar’Adua be flown to Germany where her husband had hitherto received medical attention.

The development came just as Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, urged Nigerians to pray for quick recovery of the President.

According to the online news agency, the President was, on arrival in Saudi Arabia, said to have been implored to seek the advice of top nephrologists working in a Jeddah-based Saudi government-owned hospital.

The agency reported, ”After running a battery of tests, the team of doctors concluded that the kidney meant for the replacement was likely to suffer tissue rejection from him.

“They advised that tests be conducted on his close relatives to find alternative donors. His wife and daughter were tested, and his wife proved compatible, according to our sources. She was, however, unwilling to donate an organ in Saudi Arabia. She instead opted for it to be done in Germany. Her condition would mean that Yar’Adua would spend a prolonged period of time in Germany to recuperate.”

This, according to the news agency, informed the intervention of the President‘s brother, identified as Major Audu Yar’Adua, who was allegedly flown to Jeddah to undergo organ compatibility test.

The younger Yar‘Adua was said to have been flown to Saudi Arabia with a Gulfstream G-V aircraft to undergo the test on Monday.

A Consultant Nephrologist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Dr. Charles Alebiosu, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the phone, said it was possible for a woman to donate a kidney to a man.

Alebiosu, who maintained that kidney had nothing to do with gender, however, stressed the importance of meeting all the necessary medical criteria before the donor‘s kidney could be used for the recipient.

He said, ”Why not? A woman can donate to a man. It has nothing to do with gender. In the first and only kidney transplant done at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, this year, a young lady donated her kidney to her brother.

“Once the donor is above 18 years and all medical criteria in terms of donor selection are fulfilled, there is no problem. The donor must be medically fit and the two kidneys must be working perfectly well. Both the donor and recipient will be well and alive and able to live their normal life after the transplant.”

Meanwhile, the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said that Nigerians deserved to know the President’s true medical condition.

It said that correct information about the president‘s health would dispel the rumours about his condition.

The President-General of the organisation, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who said this while addressing journalists in Enugu, observed that it was normal for human beings to fall ill and be treated.

The Igbo leader discountenanced arguments that Yar‘Adua should resign because he was sick.

He said, ”Life and death is not a thing to be played with and the government and Presidency owe us the fact, so that the speculations will be less. If you don‘t fill the gap with facts, then speculations will run riot. I don‘t know other nations that seem to enjoy half-truths more than perhaps we Nigerians”

Urging Nigerians to pray for the president, Fawehinmi, who is receiving medical treatment in a London hospital for lung cancer, lamented that Yar‘Adua‘s state of health had made it impossible for him to discharge his official functions.

He added that despite the official secrecy about the state of his health, it was obvious that all was not well with him.

Fawehinmi stated, ”For close to two weeks, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Yar‘Adua, has not been governing the country, as it is now clear that he has been receiving medical treatment including surgery in Saudi Arabia for an undisclosed ailment.

”This is contrary to the official announcement that he went on lesser pilgrimage.

”The fact is Alhaji Umaru Yar‘Adua is sick and he is unable to govern the country because of his illness.

”Nevertheless, he deserves the prayers of all Nigerians because he is our president and, therefore, I appeal to all Nigerians of all religious persuasion to pray for his survival and recovery.”

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September 4, 2008 by chris4gold

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