Thursday, September 26, 2013
Photo of the day: Lagos leaving Nigeria behind! Lo...
Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Photo of the day: Lagos leaving Nigeria behind! Lo...: This is a photo of the Lagos State Government's ten-lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway and railway line. Erm...yeah, people are already tr...
[NewsRescue.com] : "Paying Double The World Price: Dangote Cements Nigerians In Poverty"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Paying Double The World Price: Dangote Cements Nigerians In Poverty
Sept. 26, 2013
NewsRescue- The going price for a 50kg bag of cement in Nigeria is anywhere between N1,650.00 and N1,800.00. That corresponds to -11. At this rate, Nigerians pay at least double the cost of the same size bag of cement in most nations around the world.
Samuel Awoyinfa writing for the Punch this March, captioned this 'Cement price still defies laws of demand and supply.' It does.
In his article, he compared costs to the amount paid for the same product in neighboring Ghana and Benin republic, two countries who unlike Nigeria, do not have cement manufacturing plants. In neighbouring Republic of Benin and Ghana, a bag of 50kg of cement sells for 4500CFA (N1,500) and GH¢15.295 (N1,150) respectively. That equals and /bag.
But the disparity in price is even much worse when other countries are compared globally. In the United States, this quantity of cement sells between and .00
In South African Rands, the bag sells for an equivalent of .50.
In Kenya, the 50kg bag of cement sells for 450 Kenyan shillings, that's about .00
We can go on and on. The median price of this raw material is about worldwide.
Nigerians pay double.
One asks why if Nigeria manufactures this product, the price should be double the cost around the world. It is expected that by manufacturing Nigerians should have an advantage and possibly pay less than the price of the product in other countries, or at least equal.
Cement is a commodity that is almost always manufactured and utilized locally. 97% of cement is manufactured locally around the world from glue and limestone. Hence the difference in rate is not related to importation costs or other such factors.
Gladly though, Nigerians only recently started paying just double after new government regulations. Prior to 2011, Nigerians paid about N2700 for the same 50kg bag of cement. That is three times the global average.
With the rate of constructions developing Nigeria is churning out, one sees that only a single man benefits from this exorbitant price. This is Aliko Dangote. The man who became a billionaire and the world's 40th richest man courtesy of his monopoly policies in Nigeria.
Dangote manufactures Dangote cement. With his friends in the government, Dangote, Nigeria's president sponsor, who literally finances and imposes most recent leaders on the nation, benefits from various sole production and importation rights. As Samuel Awoyinfa commented, the demand and supply just does not add up. Without competition in the market, there is frank exploitation bordering on robbery. Stealing from the poor.
Every Nigerian who builds a house pays Dangote and his cronies in the government, almost double for each cement bag. The impact of this in houses not built, built to sub-standards and infrastructure Nigeria fails to have is enormous.
- Punch: Cement should not cost more than N800 a bag- Ibeto Cement
Sometime in June, 2012, Ibeto Cement had to seek a legal option to retain its import licence when the FG tried to stop it.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="283"]
Dangote and Ibeto, cement manufacturing giants, on a silent war.[/caption]
The latter's action was said to be based on advice allegedly offered by local manufacturers (Guess who?). Reacting to this trend, the chairman of New Entrants into Cement Production, Mr. David Iweta, says there is a need for the local manufacturers to review their prices downwards, since there are many variables that work in their favour, which the importers of the commodity do not enjoy.
Iweta sees no reason why a bag of 50kg bag of cement should be sold above N800, since local manufacturers are using lime stones, which are sourced locally, as raw materials. Besides, he notes that labour is available and cheap. He says, "I believe it is exploitation for Nigerians to pay above N800 for a 50kg bag of cement as retail price. Let them reduce it to N700 and see how the commodity will disappear from the market."
Also, Iweta does not see wisdom in selling imported and locally produced cement at the same price. According to him, an importer pays 0 on cost and freight per metric tonne of cement. He says the locally produced cement should be cheaper than the imported variety because the latter attracts duty and 35 per cent levy, which is another per tonne.
"The local manufacturers do not pay these levies. So, their prices should be cheaper. Imported cement sells within the same price range as the locally-produced ones. This should not be," Iweta stresses. Read full on Punch
Ibeto Cement berated Dangote Group for being afraid of competition and trying to instigate the federal government to wade in and stop the importation of bulk cement.
It is little surprise that Dangote cement which has now edged itself to control up to 90% of the Nigerian cement market is a whopping 33% of Nigeria's entire stock market. Literally by monopolizing this industry, and by facilitating the limitation and business death of all his competitors, Dangote has been able to raise his stock and his worth on the backs of all Nigerians, to global recognition. Africa's richest man, thanks to our thousands in cement dollars and our shut-down businesses.
The United States as documented in a wikileaks expose, criticized the Dangote's oppressive business model in Nigeria. Classifying it as the 'Beggar-thy-countrymen' Dangote business model which turns Nigerians into beggars at Dangote's benefit.
Quoting:
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="204"] Wikileaks: Julian Assange[/caption]
¶1. (C) Summary. Alhaji Aliko Dangote (Dangote) is Nigeria's most well known businessperson and may be its wealthiest citizen. He has taken on the aura of an economic folk hero for some, villain for others. To supporters, he symbolizes that Nigeria can do more than barter and trade. It can succeed in manufacturing. To detractors, he is a predator using connections in a corrupt political economy to tilt the playing field in his favor and sideline potential competition. The truth resides somewhere between these caricatures. Dangote is counted among President Obasanjo's inner circle of business advisors. It is no coincidence that many products on Nigeria's import ban lists are items in which Dangote has major interests.
¶2. (C) Summary Cont'd: Although an undiluted success in terms of wealth accumulation, Dangote personifies the duality in Nigeria's economy. This duality presents a dilemma for US economic policy. On one hand, Dangote imports significant amounts of US produce and equipment for his manufacturing ventures. On the other, he has had success blocking trade and investment that might compete with his enterprises. Weighing everything in the balance, we believe the Dangote model is harmful to Nigerian and American interests in the long run. Unfortunately, the Dangote model will likely be the one most emulated until its beggar-thy-countrymen contradictions become more apparent. End summary.
The same wikileaks report described how Dangote literally financed the campaign and bought the presidency of dying Yar'Adua and in effect made Jonathan the president of Nigeria.
By sponsoring Nigeria's gubernatorial and presidential candidates, Dangote ensures that his interests are protected to the detriment of his competition, smaller businesses and the Nigerian populace in general who can end up paying double for each bag of cement.
Nigerians are quick to admire and respect whoever is wealthy. Many Nigerians sing Dangote's praise, not realizing that he represents the ultimate cabal that fixes his puppet leaders and ensures the country remains with the most corrupt leadership who safe guard the interests of the tycoons who can literally kill their competition.
It is recalled that when Michael Otedola ranked also as a billionaire in a top world wealth list, Aliko aka Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote was alleged to have intentionally crashed the value of Otedola's business, simply to diminish his competition.
Duel of the Oligarchs,Otedola Vs Dangote & the winner is….. In February last year, the SEC had accused Otedola and AP of price manipulation, but took no concrete action against him. A recent report by Forbes, which only a few weeks back rated Otedola as the second Nigerian, behind Dangote, on its world billionaires' list, stated: "Nigeria's only other billionaire when we published our ranks in March, worth .2 billion. His fortune is now down to approximately 0 million," in reference to Otedola.
People celebrate when this billionaire donates as he is doing now; he is engaged currently in the disbursement of million in grants to 'empower' women. Dangote publicly announced this 'charity', in so-called grants to empower women. .00 per woman. Everyone knows that does not empower, but rather merely buys 3 meals and then turns people to fans and dignified beggars.
What people do not realize is that when the wealthy give these charitable donations, they do so for tax breaks, to evade paying taxes. By doing so they get two benefits for the price of one. They get fame and publicity and get government tax write-offs to the value of the amount donated.
This is why companies like Nigerian Breweries is seen sponsoring shows and occasions all over Nigeria, year in, year out. These shows are the way this company which makes billions in profits sheds off its tax burden. Dangote's publicized grants are pretty much the same thing.
Nigeria's cabal like Dangote steal ,000 from each woman via their government enforced monopolies, then give back .00.
For what Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote has stolen from Nigeria, the rights and resource Nigerians have lost, carved up and handed to Dangote by Obasanjo and Jonathan, both of whom he paid for their presidential victories; Dangote should return not to his companies and by giving peanuts to the people, but by real social empowerment. Free infrastructure, road access for the farmers to convey their goods. Free developmental, educational and research institutions. Acquiring land and giving this free to farmers. Providing supported irrigation, security, technology, transportation, etc. These are real contributions, that if Dangote did on any serious level, broadly, Nigerians will be able to say that at least he gave back one tenth of what he stole from them.
[caption id="attachment_22398" align="aligncenter" width="544"]
Former NSA of Nigeria, Aliyu Gusau complained to the US ambassador, that Obasanjo and Dangote were willing to put a dying, already suffering from black-outs, epileptic and unable to govern Yar'Adua into power, so as to destroy the country.
When Yar'Adua objected, telling Obasanjo that he was too sick to run Nigeria, Obasanjo allegedly told him that 'God will cure you.'
When Yar'Adua complained that he had no money, Dangote and Transcorp came in to finance the dying man's campaign, with Jonathan ready beside to assume office if and in the event that he passed.
[caption id="attachment_17208" align="alignright" width="204"]
- Wikileaks: Aliyu Mohammed Gusau said that Dangote and the other "Transcorp boys" seek a Yar'Adua presidency to facilitate their gaining control over most of Nigeria's oil and gas production
¶4. (S) Aliyu Mohammed, saying he was quoting Yar'Adua directly, said that Obasanjo had "ordered" the Katsina governor to contest for the Presidency. When Yar'Adua objected that the state of his health precluded it, Obasanjo countered that "God will cure you," and undertook to cover all medical expenses. When Yar'Adua said he had no money, Obasanjo organized financial angels, all associated with Transcorp and led by Northern millionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote. This group is supplying the Yar'Adua campaign with 45 jeeps (of which four are armored), a war chest of 5 billion naira, and a rented jet. (Aliyu Mohammed said that Dangote and the other "Transcorp boys" seek a Yar'Adua presidency to facilitate their gaining control over most of Nigeria's oil and gas production.) Andy Uba, recently selected as PDP gubernatorial candidate for Anambra state, has been a "special assistant" to President Obasanjo; he has no independent power base of his own, and is widely disliked because of his arrogance. Aliyu Mohammed went on to say that the President had ordered the arrest of the chief of staff to Rivers State Governor Peter Odili to warn the latter away from seeking the vice presidential nomination himself.
Many cherish Dangote for providing over '50,000' jobs to Nigerians (his staff, but better called 'slaves' who run his industries as machines can't yet), they compare him to others who are certainly not as rich, but appear to do less than him. It is a slavery and worship of money as greatness mentality that some Nigerian have. This is why the late MKO Abiola overwhelmingly won the annulled June 12 elections, despite the popular belief that he robbed Nigeria blind with the ITT schemes, that in his memoirs, he himself admitted the program was far from perfect.
People do not understand that a thief is a thief, whether he wears a suit and drives a fancy car or walks and wears a hood. And a thief potentially kills. Excessive greed and profiteering is wicked, bordering on criminal. It is really sad to have to lay it bare about the worlds richest African this way. Africans possibly should rather than dignify a man whose state has over 1.5 million beggars, remember and cherish their ancient worlds richest man in history, dignified King Mansa Musa of the Malian empire which included north Nigeria.
To make situations worse and add insults to the beggars Dangote makes of Nigerians, it is widely understood that Dangote highers staff--more like slaves--PhD holders to drive his trucks. Thus devaluing the Nigerian education system. Bachelor holders are likely hired to be his cleaners.
And to protect the image he gets in the press, you will see his sponsored ads on almost all Nigerian newspapers and popular blogs. Look out for the emblem that lets you know you Aliko beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote runs what you read:
Immunity from criticism of the press bought by paid sponsored ads
Dangote for president, right?
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/paying-double-the-world-price-dangote-cements-nigerians-in-poverty/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "TERROR: Dozens of US Armored Trucks and Military Weapons Stolen In Libya; Nigeria, Syria Other At Great Risk"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
TERROR: Dozens of US Armored Trucks and Military Weapons Stolen In Libya; Nigeria, Syria Other At Great Risk
- NewsRescue- To the exclusive Fox news story below, please remember and add an earlier story we published 'Prison Break,' which described up to 2000 of the worst terrorist who "astonishingly" broke out of jails in Libya, Pakistan and Iraq last July.
Sept. 25, 2013
EXCLUSIVE: The recent theft of massive amounts of highly sensitive U.S. military equipment from Libya is far worse than previously thought, Fox News has learned, with raiders swiping hundreds of weapons that are now in the hands of militia groups aligned with terror organizations and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The equipment, as Fox News previously reported, was used for training in Libya by U.S. Special Forces. The training team, which was funded by the Pentagon, has since been pulled, partly in response to the overnight raids last August.
According to State Department and military sources, dozens of highly armored vehicles called GMV's, provided by the United States, are now missing. The vehicles feature GPS navigation as well as various sets of weapon mounts and can be outfitted with smoke-grenade launchers. U.S. Special Forces undergo significant training to operate these vehicles. Fox News is told the vehicles provided to the Libyans are now gone.
Along with the GMV's, hundreds of weapons are now missing, including roughly 100 Glock pistols and more than 100 M4 rifles. More disturbing, according to the sources, is that it seems almost every set of night-vision goggles has also been taken. This is advanced technology that gives very few war fighters an advantage on the battlefield.
- NewsRescue- CIA Was Moving Libya Missiles to Syria Terrorists When Benghazi Attack Blamed on Islam Occured: Report
"It's not just equipment ... it's the capability. You are giving these very dangerous groups the capability that only a few nations are capable of," one source said. "Already assassinations are picking up in Tripoli and there are major worries that the militias are using this stolen equipment to their advantage. All these militias are tied into terrorist organizations and are tied to (salafists)."
The "salafists" are a jihadist movement among Salafi Muslims. This growing movement in Libya directly endangers the U.S.-supported government, and sources worry that this sensitive equipment is now going to be used by these groups in an attempt to overthrow the government and install a more hardline Muslim leadership.
Some diplomats, who asked to remain anonymous, say they are seeing the kinds of conditions that opened the door to the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack now appearing in Tripoli and across the rest of Libya. They worry that American convoys and western convoys will be attacked using these stolen weapons and vehicles.
"The European ambassador was attacked and we are now commonly seeing robbing and attacking of people in broad daylight. ... This isn't perception, this is actually happening," said one source. The source was referring to an August incident where an escort vehicle for the European Union ambassador was attacked in Tripoli.
To make matters worse, the U.S.-developed training camp on the outskirts of Tripoli has now been taken over by one of these militia groups who are hoarding weapons, sources said. The worry is this camp, abandoned by U.S. trainers within the last month, is being used in preparation for an attack on the new Libyan government.
Meanwhile, special operators told Fox News that training camps throughout eastern Libya continue to train terrorists, and border controls right now around the country are non-existent in most areas.
"The theft of these weapons and the open borders are feeding Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood and threatens Libya's neighbors as well. It's already bad. ... and now it's really bad."
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/terror-dozens-of-us-armored-trucks-and-military-weapons-stolen-in-libya-nigeria-syria-other-at-great-risk/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Dangote Gives Pennies To "Beggars" 65,500 Women In Adamawa And Yobe In Spurious Grants"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Dangote Gives Pennies To "Beggars" 65,500 Women In Adamawa And Yobe In Spurious Grants
"Headlines: Empowering Women with .00" ... the insult to Nigeria's women!
Sept. 24, 2013
by Hamza Suleiman
NewsRescue- The media is awash with so-called grants by Aliko Dangote to women and youth in Adamawa and Yobe state, to the tune of N655 million ( million) to be given as cash to 'assist the women in starting petty businesses'. 65,000 women are to receive N10,000 each, that's .00 a piece in the scheme/scam.
The true level of destruction of Nigeria by Aliko Dangote is well covered and only covered on NewsRescue. You will not read of how he turns Nigerians into beggars on any other media, thanks to Dangote cement and Dansa juice advertising with which he has 'bought' all Nigerian media companies, just like the mogul bought the nation its dying president, Yar'Adua and inadvertently bought the nation its current and unfit president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
[caption id="attachment_20194" align="alignright" width="298"]
Thoroughly trained by his mentor, Bill Gates, Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote incorporates the big corp own it all and turn them into beggars, new world order exploitative economics in Nigeria.
Dangote has been given sole-importation and sole-manufacture rights of so many commodities in Nigeria. His crony, ex-president Obasanjo literally carved up and transferred the nation to him and his likes.
Destroying small businesses, the bane of the economy and the subsistence and dignified insurance of survival above begging of the masses, by blocking imports of all products Dangote manufactures, the government of Obasanjo in policies continued by Dangote-Obasanjo imposed Jonathan, crippled very many small businesses and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
This beggar-thy-countrymen principle is executed by them, after stealing trillions of dollars directly through Federal government projects, through corrupt kick-back privatization and being granted sole and government supported commodity import and production rights; by then giving peanuts to the masses in purported poverty alleviation schemes or better put, scams to buy gullibility, allegiance and divination.
With a paltry .00 a piece, according to time tested and documented economic studies, there will be absolutely no poverty alleviation in these women and youth. These 'beggars' will have a meal on their table for a week, and then that is it. These new beggars will now feel indebted to Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote for his spurious endowment, that has only complicated their misery and increased their shame.
We have all heard the Chinese proverb:
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
NewsRescue recently wrote: Forbes Lists Dangote As Africa's Richest Man: His State Has 1.5 Million Almajiri's (Beggars)
It is great to know Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote, who is famous for saying that Boko Haram terrorism is not Nigeria's big problem, rather the lack of infrastructure (which he alone can build and his cement will be used for) is Nigeria's biggest problem, will soon be addressing the terror related problem of the 1.5 million Almajiri's in his state. He will soon in this same principle, give them each .00 in grants to 'set up businesses.'
Throwing pennies at the poor is only a method of gaining cheap publicity and feeling of self-worth, while further crushing them. This is Dangote's legacy.
Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote creates jobs by building companies he will use to crush small businesses and operate as an arm of a communist type government, while employing staff (slaves) to work in them. The staff he employs, overqualified Nigerians who work for him in his sole-right companies are the jobs he creates, including when he employs PhD holders to drive his trucks. This is Dangote empowerment.
For what Aliko Beggar-thy-countrymen Dangote has stolen from Nigeria, the rights and resource Nigerians have lost, carved up and handed to Dangote by Obasanjo and Jonathan, both of whom he paid for their presidential victories; Dangote is to return not to his companies and by giving peanuts to the people, but by real social empowerment. Free infrastructure, road access for the farmers to convey their goods. Free developmental research institutions. Acquiring land and giving this free to farmers. Providing supported irrigation, security, transportation, etc. These are real contributions, that if Dangote did on any serious level, broadly, Nigerians will be able to say that at least he back one tenth of what he stole from them.
Dangote's name is predicted to crumble just as late multimillionaire Abiola's name all but crumbled when he passed. It is remembered that University of Lagos students protested and rejected the renaming of their institution after Abiola, despite his wealth.
Already in Dangote's Kano, they say they prefer a dog walking the streets to him.
A Kano man made this comment about the son of the soil:
Dangote was born and grown up in Kano; but Wallahi; Owella Rochas Anayo Okorocha is far better than him and his so-called father Aminu Dantata. They are killing Kano, they should go to hell with their wealth. A. A. Rano, A. S. A Hadejia and the likes of Na Allah are the kind of people Kano, north and Nigeria want. Forget Dangote, Dog feel more safer than him in Kano metropolis.
- NewsRescue- Shocking Video: Dangote's mentor, Bill Gates Attacks Dr. Dambisa Moyo; Says She Believes in Death
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/dangote-gives-pennies-to-beggars-65500-women-in-adamawa-and-yobe-in-spurious-grants/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Monday, September 23, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Kenyan Bloodbath: Reaping the "Benefits" of US AFRICOM Collaboration -- Tony Cartalucci"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Kenyan Bloodbath: Reaping the "Benefits" of US AFRICOM Collaboration -- Tony Cartalucci
NATO's North African terror tidal wave predictably sweeps into Kenya.
September 23, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - At face value, and how the Western media is attempting to portray it, the Westgate Mall siege in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi appears to be yet another senseless terrorist attack by the "religious fanatics" of Al Qaeda's Somalia franchise, Al Shabaab. Already, both Kenyan and Western politicians, as well as editorials across the Western media, are attempting to use the attack as a pretext to launch a military campaign against neighboring Somalia, while fueling anti-Muslim sentiment across profoundly ignorant audiences in the West.
A telling op-ed in USA Today titled, "Nairobi mall attack strikes against all of us: Column" states in its subtitle that:
As on 9/11, terrorists are waging a war on our modern, democratic way of life. Today, we are all Kenyans.
The op-ed continues by stating:
Just as important: The fight is not just a Kenyan, or African, fight. Somalia could be the new Afghanistan. A lawless, fundamentalist Somalia could incubate a Somali Osama bin Laden and new attacks on the USA, just as Afghanistan protected and nurtured bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
And:
After the Nairobi attack, the message should be "We Are All Kenyans." Not just in our sympathy. But also in going all out to prevent another terrorist attack.
Leaving Somalia to al-Shabab is not an option.
Kenya: Proxy for US Aggression in Africa
What the USA Today op-ed fails to mention, even as it alludes to impending military intervention in Somalia, is that Kenya has already participated in military operations against its northern neighbor, including a full-scale military invasion complete with US and French military support in 2011. In the UK Independent's October 2011 article, "Somali invasion backed by West, says Kenya," it was reported that:
Kenya has confirmed that Western allies have joined its war on Islamic militants al-Shabaab despite denials from the US and France that they are involved in fighting in southern Somalia. Foreign military forces have carried out air strikes and a naval bombardment close to the militant stronghold of Kismayo, a Kenyan army spokesman said yesterday.
"There are certainly other actors in this theatre carrying out other attacks," said Kenya's Major Emmanuel Chirchir.
The Kenyan invasion has already caused a major rift between Somalia's interim prime minister and president, who yesterday condemned the presence of foreign troops inside his country.
While the US attempted to deny any role in the invasion, it has admittedly carried out periodic airstrikes and drone strikes across Somalia, as reported by the BBC's 2012 article, "Somalia air strike 'kills foreign al-Shabab militants':"
The US military, which has a base in neighbouring Djibouti, has previously carried out drone strikes in Somalia.
It has also launched air strikes against alleged al-Qaeda militants in the country.
Before using Kenya as a proxy for US aggression in Africa, and amidst two decades of unilateral, covert military operations, the US had backed two Ethiopian invasions into Somalia. The first US-backed invasion, under then US President George Bush, was carried out in 2006. USA Today reported in its 2007 article, "U.S. support key to Ethiopia's invasion," that:
The United States has quietly poured weapons and military advisers into Ethiopia, whose recent invasion of Somalia opened a new front in the Bush administration's war on terrorism.
The second US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, under US President Barack Obama, was carried out in 2011 - coordinated with Kenya's 2011 US-French-backed extraterritorial adventure into Somali territory. The UK Independent's December 2011 article, "UN-backed invasion of Somalia spirals into chaos," reported that:
Kenya's invasion of Somalia, hailed by the West and the UN Security Council, was meant to deliver a knockout blow to the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab. Instead it has pulled Somalia's regional rival Ethiopia back into the country, stirred up the warlords and rekindled popular support for fundamentalists whose willingness to let Somalis starve rather than receive foreign aid had left them widely hated.
It was in fact this US-backed military invasion that served as the alleged motivation of the Al Shabaab terrorists who attacked Kenya's Westgate Mall this week.
The Same Terrorists the US is Arming in Syria are Killing Civilians in Kenya
Beginning in 2011, geopolitical analysts warned that US, British and French intervention in Libya would create a terror emirate that would unleash a tidal wave of militant destabilization across Northern Africa and beyond. From Mali to Kenya, and as far as Syria, violence directly linked to the militants and the aid and weapons they received from the West in Libya, have now been felt.
Image: (click image to enlarge) Truly NATO's intervention in Libya has been a resounding success. Not only has the West managed to revive the terrorist LIFG organization Qaddafi had been fighting successfully for decades, but now "international institutions" have a casus belli spreading across the whole of North Africa, into the Middle East and beyond as NATO weapons and Western cash enable LIFG fighters to battle as far as Syria in the east and Mali to the west. The wave of terror unleashed and the predictable "pretexts" it will provide, has now swept into Kenya.
....
Shortly after NATO's intervention in Libya, it was Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a US State Department listed terror organization (listed #38), that played a central role in the invasion of northern Mali, which provided the pretext for French military intervention and occupation. AQIM of course, was merged with Al Qaeda's Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), the ground troops used in NATO's regime change operation in Libya starting in 2011. In a 2007 West Point Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) report and a 2011 CTC report, "Are Islamist Extremists Fighting Among Libya's Rebels?," AQIM is specifically mentioned as working closely with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The latter report admits:
There have also been reports during the past few years of a handful of Libyans who have traveled to Algeria to train with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), although these reports are unconfirmed. AQIM has sought to capitalize on the situation in Libya
Geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar would elaborate in an Asia Times piece titled, "How al-Qaeda got to rule in Tripoli," that:
"Crucially, still in 2007, then al-Qaeda's number two, Zawahiri, officially announced the merger between the LIFG and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM). So, for all practical purposes, since then, LIFG/AQIM have been one and the same - and Belhaj was/is its emir. "
"Belhaj," referring to Hakim Abdul Belhaj, leader of LIFG in Libya, led with NATO support, arms, funding, and diplomatic recognition, the overthrowing of Muammar Qaddafi and has now plunged the nation into racist genocidal infighting. This intervention has also seen the rebellion's epicenter of Benghazi peeling off from Tripolias a semi-autonomous "Terror-Emirate." Belhaj's latest campaign has shifted to Syria where he was admittedly on the Turkish-Syrian border pledging weapons, money, and fighters to the so-called "Free Syrian Army," again, under the auspices of NATO support.
The torrent of militants and weapons flowing from Libya into Syria to support Western-backed regime change against the Syrian government has been extensively documented over the last 2+ years.
In November 2011, the Telegraph in their article, "Leading Libyan Islamist met Free Syrian Army opposition group," would report:
Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, "met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey," said a military official working with Mr Belhadj. "Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim Libyan president) sent him there."
Another Telegraph article, "Libya's new rulers offer weapons to Syrian rebels," would admit
Syrian rebels held secret talks with Libya's new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
At the meeting, which was held in Istanbul and included Turkish officials, the Syrians requested "assistance" from the Libyan representatives and were offered arms, and potentially volunteers.
"There is something being planned to send weapons and even Libyan fighters to Syria," said a Libyan source, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is a military intervention on the way. Within a few weeks you will see."
Later that month, some 600 Libyan terrorists would be reported to have entered Syria to begin combat operations and as recently as last month, CNN, whose Ivan Watson accompanied terrorists over the Turkish-Syrian border and into Aleppo, revealed that indeed foreign fighters were amongst the militants, particularly Libyans. It was admitted that:
Meanwhile, residents of the village where the Syrian Falcons were headquartered said there were fighters of several North African nationalities also serving with the brigade's ranks.
A volunteer Libyan fighter has also told CNN he intends to travel from Turkey to Syria within days to add a "platoon" of Libyan fighters to armed movement.
On Wednesday, CNN's crew met a Libyan fighter who had crossed into Syria from Turkey with four other Libyans. The fighter wore full camouflage and was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. He said more Libyan fighters were on the way.
The foreign fighters, some of them are clearly drawn because they see this as … a jihad. So this is a magnet for jihadists who see this as a fight for Sunni Muslims.
CNN's reports provide bookends to 2011's admissions that large numbers of Libyan terrorists flush with NATO cash and weapons had headed to Syria, with notorious terrorist LIFG commanders making the arrangements.
Al Shabaab - Al Qaeda's Somali franchise - is also directly linked to AQIM and the myriad of other Al Qaeda extremist subsidiaries, including Libya's LIFG, and the more recently christened Al Nusra front in Syria. The BBC in its 2012 report titled, "Africa's Islamist militants 'co-ordinate efforts'," stated:
Three of Africa's largest militant Islamist groups are trying to co-ordinate their efforts, the head of the US Africa Command has warned.
Gen Carter Ham said in particular North African al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was probably sharing explosives and funds with Nigeria's Boko Haram.
Speaking in Washington, he said the separatist movement in northern Mali had provided AQIM with a "safe haven".
Somalia's al-Shabab was the other "most dangerous" group, he said.
This cooperation between AQIM, Boko Haram, and Al Shabaab has been clearly bolstered by the immense influx of NATO-provided cash and weapons flowing into Libya first to overthrow the Libyan government, then to be shipped to Syria to overthrow the government there. NATO's assistance in expanding Al Qaeda's operational capacity in North Africa can only be helping terrorists like those behind the Kenya Westgate Mall siege carry out cross-border operations of this scale.
Despite attempts by the West to provide other explanations as to where Al Qaeda is receiving its funds, manpower, and arsenal to carry out global campaigns, it is clear that it is a product of state-sponsorship - states like the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and others.
Indeed, Al Shabaab's attack in Kenya is abhorrent, unjustifiable terrorism - however, what Kenyans and the world as a whole must remember, is who armed them, who continuously props them up, provides them entire nations (Libya) as safe havens, and swells their ranks and armories with billions in cash and thousands of tons of weaponry at a time in war zones like Syria.
Al Shabaab's continued existence, along with its counterparts AQIM across Northern Africa, LIFG in Libya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Al Nusra in Syria, is due entirely to both covert and overt Western military and financial backing. The blood of Kenya's innocent are on the hands of those within the Kenyan government willfully serving as a proxy for US aggression across Africa, and those across the West using Al Qaeda as a geopolitical tool to achieve their global objectives.
Al Qaeda: The Perfect Pretext to Invade, The Perfect Mercenary Army to Covertly Wage War
Al Qaeda, for the West, serves as the ultimate geopolitical tool. It can be used as a pretext to invade, as well as a nearly inexhaustible mercenary army to carry out ruthless terrorist campaigns and even full-scale war as seen in Syria and Libya, to achieve Western objectives. Additionally, the omnipresent, nebulous nature of Al Qaeda serves as justification to strip away the rights and liberties of people at home, across Western civilization - perpetuating a climate of fear within which the seeds of very profitable war can be sown and continuously reaped.
How profitable? A Harvard's Kennedy School research paper titled, "The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan," places the total expenditures of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars alone somewhere between 4-6 trillion dollars. That isn't 4-6 trillion dollars that went into a black hole. That is 4-6 trillion dollars that went to the Fortune 500 corporations that engineered and sold these conflicts to the American public in the first place.
The Washington Post in its recent article, "Americans are tweeting about 'Syria' almost as much as 'twerking' – sometimes more," celebrated the general public's ignorance regarding geopolitics. It stated:
The fact that more people are discuss twerking than Syria is not necessarily bad news. They share, as Floating Sheep notes, "little in common apart from recent media attention": One is a pop culture phenomenon (both more fun and more accessible to a wider swath of the population) and one is a tragic, complicated news event halfway around the world (critically important, but not very fun — particularly on a platform many use for recreation).
It continued by claiming:
Of course, even if you polled all 300 million Americans on their relative interest in twerking and Syria, twerking would probably win — and that's okay, too. There are many justifiable reasons why an individual or a population wouldn't care about foreign news — things like a lack of education and limited access to computers or newspapers.
It is this " lack of education" that the Washington Post's editorial board and the special interests that steer it, claim is "okay too," that allows these special interests to continue to use Al Qaeda both as the ultimate villain and to swell the ranks of its inexhaustible global "freedom fighters."
The aforementioned USA Today editorial seeking to exploit the latest tragedy in Kenya also warned:
The Nairobi shopping mall attack is heartbreaking. The stories could so easily be American stories.
For the real interests driving and solely benefiting from Al Qaeda's campaign of global terror, should they decide these stories need to be "American," they will be, unless we rectify the "lack of education" these special interests have carefully cultivated and reassuringly claim is "okay."
Article originally posted in LandDestroyer
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/kenyan-bloodbath-reaping-the-benefits-of-us-africom-collaboration-tony-cartalucci/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Sunday, September 22, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Abuja: Security Agencies Plot To Plant Weapons In Apo Building Where Squatters Were Killed "
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Abuja: Security Agencies Plot To Plant Weapons In Apo Building Where Squatters Were Killed
Sept. 22, 2013
To cover up their extra-judicial murder of at least seven innocent squatters at an unfinished building in the Apo District of Abuja, Nigerian security agencies are plotting to plant weapons in the building as a purported evidence that it was used for terrorist activities, multiple security sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.
Soldiers and operatives of the State Security Service had on Friday stormed the building, inhabited by homeless artisans and petty traders, and immediately began shooting at random, killing at least seven and injuring 17 others, witnesses said.
They then tried to cover up their atrocity by labeling the murdered men Boko Haram insurgents plotting an attack in Abuja. They claimed they carried out the raid to recover hidden weapons but that they were shot at shortly after they began digging up the weapons.
They are however yet to tell the world whether any of the operatives were injured or killed in the purported shootout. They are also unable so far to display the weapons they purportedly recovered from the building.
The two security agencies have come under global condemnation for the killings, and, our sources said, are now plotting fresh cover-up schemes to convince the world that the raid and the killings were done in the interest of national security.
Our sources said on Saturday night that the Army and the Department of State Security have now resolved to return to the building, plant weapons therein and then pretend to have dug out hidden weapons from there.
The weapons will then be displayed right in front of the building with journalists in attendance, our sources said.
"Our people are really embarrassed by the way the issue of this killing is turning out," one of our sources said. "They are desperately planning a cover-up and some of us have resolved not to be part of it. They are going back to the building to plant weapons and then accuse the murdered men of having buried them there. It's really sad but that's what our people are planning."
Another of our sources said the operatives that are being selected for the cover-up operation would be sworn to secrecy.
Spokesperson for the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, did not answer or return calls seeking her comments for this story.
While news of the killings and pictures of the victims spread on social media on Friday morning, the SSS released a statement saying its officials acted based on information obtained from two Boko Haram suspects, Kamal Abdullahi and Mohammed Adamu, who it claimed had earlier been arrested for terrorist activities.
"They led the security team to the uncompleted building where arms were purported to have been buried underground," Marilyn Ogar, the SSS spokesperson said in the statement. "No sooner had the team commenced digging for the arms than they came under heavy gunfire attack by other Boko Haram elements within the area."
Unable to afford the excessively high cost of housing in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, these squatters usually gather in scores to sleep on mats in the few uncompleted buildings on the street, after returning from their daily jobs.
"The keke-napep (tricycle) men that stay in the house (where the shooting occurred) are almost 100," Abu, a construction worker in another uncompleted building on the street, told PREMIUM TIMES. "Apart from keke-napep, some also sell recharge cards act as phone chargers on the street."
Witnesses told this paper that the owner of the house (or his representative), believed to be a top army officer, visited on Thursday morning and ordered the squatters to vacate.
"He gave us one week, one week to leave his house," said one survivor, who declined to be named for fear he could be arrested or targeted by soldiers. "He threatened us saying he would bring soldiers to do anything to us if we don't leave after one week.
"But just two days later, they came to attack us," one of the tricycle operators who used to sleep in the house cut in in Hausa. He pleaded anonymity saying he feared he could be targeted by 'soldiers'.
Many of the residents of the building, who escaped being killed or arrested, have already fled the area.
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/abuja-security-agencies-plot-to-plant-weapons-in-apo-building-where-squatters-were-killed/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Saturday, September 21, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Kenya Westgate Mall Terrorists Kill Ghana Elder Professor Kofi Awoonor"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Kenya Westgate Mall Terrorists Kill Ghana Elder Professor Kofi Awoonor
Sept. 21, 2013
NewsRescue- Ghana's Senior citizen, poet and author, Professor Kofi Awoonor was among the victims who were killed in the September 21, 2013 terrorist attack at Westgate Shopping Mall, Nairobi, Kenya.
So far, 39 people have been killed in the terrorist attack at the Kenyan mall. The radical Islamist Al-Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack which led to a hostage situation. Several other foreigners have also been reported killed in the tragedy the upscale mall.
Kofi Awoonor (13 March 1935 - 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams.
[caption id="attachment_22309" align="alignright" width="231"]
Kofi Awoonor is a lecturer in English and African literature at the University of Ghana. He directed the Ghana Film Corporation. He also founded and directed the Ghana Playhouse. Kofi Awooner served as an editor of the literary journal Okyeame and as an associate editor of Transition. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, including Night of My Blood, Ride Me, Memory, The House by the Sea, and The Latin American and Caribbean Notebook. His collected poems (through 1985) were published in Until the Morning After. -Bio
Awoonor was born in Ghana when it was still called the Gold Coast. He went to university there and went on to teach African literature at the University of Ghana. While at the University of Ghana he wrote his first poetry book, Rediscovery. Like the rest of his work, Rediscovery is based on African oral poetry. In Ghana he managed the Ghana Film Corporation and founded the Ghana Play House. He then studied literature at the University of London, and while in England he wrote several radio plays for the BBC. He spent the early 1970s in the United States, studying and teaching at universities. While in the USA he wrote This Earth, My Brother, and My Blood. Awoonor returned to Ghana in 1975 as head of the English department at the University of Cape Coast. Within months he was arrested for helping a soldier accused of trying to overthrow the military government and was imprisoned without trial. After ten months he was found guilty and released. The house by the Sea is about his time in jail. After imprisonment Awoonor became politically active and has written mostly nonfiction. From 1990 to 1994 Awoonor was Ghana's Ambassador to the United Nations where he headed the committee against apartheid. -Bio: Wikipedia
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/kenya-westgate-mall-terrorists-kill-ghana-elder-professor-kofi-awoonor/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Ombatse Terror: Nasarawa Under Siege Of Deadly Cultists; Several Killed, Army Drafted"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Ombatse Terror: Nasarawa Under Siege Of Deadly Cultists; Several Killed, Army Drafted
Sept. 18, 2013
Joseph, Lafia
The corpses of the Managing Director of Police Community Bank, Alhaji Alhassan Gidado, the Abuja branch Manager, Mr. Tunde Banwo, and a driver, Aliyu Adamu, were found in their car pushed into a ditch in Tudun Adabu, an Eggon settlement in Obi Local Government Area, today, by armed soldiers patrolling the area.
State police commissioner, Umar Shehu, who said information on the development was still sketchy when he spoke to Daily Trust on phone, at past 6pm, today, said that the police had received reports last Saturday that the three were missing.
They had travelled for a wedding in Nasarawa State, and were on their way back when they were trapped in the bloody violence which hit Adabu and Obi town that Saturday, the police boss said.
The information came after the State Security Council (SCC) meeting in Government House.
"We cannot be so sure to confirm that they are the ones, for now. But three persons were found in the car. My men are there are yet to return with details," the police commissioner said.
But Daily Trust learnt from other members of the council that reports which reached the council said the three visitors to the state, were found lifeless in a car pushed into a ditch and covered up with leaves and grasses.
Our source said the smell from the decomposing bodies of the three visitors attracted the soldiers, who mounted a search and rescue since last Saturday, upon reports that communications with the three and their families, as well as friends cut off because their phones all went dead.
Their throats were said to have been slashed, and their corpses left in the vehicle.
Adabu was hit by killing and burning after Eggon youths of the Ombatse militia stormed in on Alago people whom they have co-existed with, and inter-married for decades.
The violence, which spread to neighbouring towns and villages, in Obi and Lafia, attracted troops from neighbouring states, including Abuja, to restore normalcy.
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/ombatse-terror-nasarawa-under-siege-of-deadly-cultists-several-killed-army-drafted/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Sunday, September 15, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Good News: Jonathan May Convene Sovereign National Conference "
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Good News: Jonathan May Convene Sovereign National Conference
Sept. 15, 2013
THERE are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan may soon consider the option of a national sovereign national conference to douse political tension ahead 2015 presidential elections.
A group of political leaders from the South East and South South geopolitical zones were said to have prevailed on the President to wield it as master stroke that would put a stop to the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the current political instability.
The group, made up of hardcore supporters of the President, said immediate convocation of a Sovereign National Conference among the 389 ethnic nationalities, would douse the tension in the polity and cause combatants in the political arena to pause and think as all component groups in the country take advantage of the platform, where the basis of Nigeria's existence will be "fully discussed and agreed."
They are also advising the President that, in case his convoying a SNC makes it difficult for him to run for second term in 2015, he should work to hand over to a President from either the Middle Belt (North Central) or the South East geopolitical zone.
The memo, which is receiving "serious considerations" from President Jonathan, also said the SNC is needed to put a stop to the "blackmail and balkanisation" of the PDP, and give the President "the needed Plan B and C whereby he would shame his critics and stop the domination of Presidential politics by any group or region."
Presidency sources in the know of the "strong memo to the President" canvases that President Jonathan should "think seriously of convoking Sovereign National Conference in which he will be the one to midwife it. It will bring out a "We, the people..." constitution, which would be an answer to the agitations of Nigerians for a forum to decide on how they want to live. After the SNC, if he contests and wins, he will be a national hero."
The group, however, said the move would be the best way to strengthen and deepen Nigerianism. "This makes sense because the South East has not produced a Nigerian President. They have always been denied this opportunity. Only recently, they were allowed to get the office of the Chief of Army Staff and leadership of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
"For the minorities of the Middle Belt, they have always succeeded in keeping Nigeria one. If the office of the President is aimed at satisfying the North, it should be to the Middle Belt minorities and not go to those who have not only produced dictators and a civilian President."
Though President Jonathan is yet to give his reply to the contents of the memo "sent by some of his loyal supporters", he is studying it and would soon give his decision to them.
Jonathan has said that while he does not oppose a SNC, he feels that because of constitutional issues, it is better for the nation to have a national dialogue. But the new push, which is quickly gaining converts within his administration, is a direct move to permanently change the political history of the nation.
On Thursday, August 30, 2013, President Jonathan affirmed the belief of his administration in the rights of the nation's constituent parts to come together to discuss how they will continue to live in peace and unity.
The President told a delegation of The Patriots, which submitted a memorandum, which, among others, demanded the convocation of a sovereign national conference to discuss Nigeria's future, that the issue of Nigerians coming together to discuss their future should not be out of place.
He admitted that there have been discussions within his government on how to create an acceptable and workable platform for a national dialogue that will reinforce the ties that bind the country's many ethnic nationalities and ensure that Nigeria's immense diversity continues to be a source of strength and greatness.
According to Jonathan, "the limitation we have is that the Constitution appears to have given that responsibility to the National Assembly. I have also been discussing the matter with the leadership of the National Assembly. We want a situation where everyone will key into the process and agree on the way forward."
Leader of The Patriots, Prof Nwabueze stated that the sovereign national conference should be convened before 2015 elections because the 1999 Constitution was not prepared by the people but a schedule to Decree 24.
Calling for a new constitution derived from the people, the renowned constitutional lawyer noted: "We have done our own research and we have in this country 389 ethnic nationalities. We need to bring these nationalities around a conference table to discuss how we are going to live together as one country – in peace, in stability, in security – as one country with the aim of achieving national unity. But as of today, we are not a nation yet. We are a state. This conference should be convened as a matter of priority as soon as possible, in any event before the 2015 general elections."
On the position of the National Assembly that there is no need for a sovereign conference since there is an elected National Assembly in place, Nwabueze said: "It is important that what the National Assembly is putting forward is their powers under sections 8&9, which is to alter the Constitution. Power to alter is not as important as the power to abolish what you are altering and to replace it completely. It must be directly from the people and that is the position of, at least, 85 per cent of the countries of the world.
"If you read Section 1(1) of the Decree these are all preambles to that decree and the 1999 Constitution that you are talking about, it is a schedule to Decree 24. Repeal the decree and the constitution will disappear and you enact a brand new constitution, which would derive its authorities from the people. That was done in 1963 when we adopted the Republican Constitution to replace the Independence Constitution. That 1960 Constitution was also a schedule to British Order-In -Council just as the 1999 Constitution, is a schedule to the Decree 24."
Author of this article: From Madu Onuorah (Abuja Bureau Chief)
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/good-news-jonathan-may-convene-sovereign-national-conference/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Friday, September 13, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "2015: Terrorists For Jonathan Meet in Owerri: Al Mustapha, Dokubo, Fasheun with Uwazuruike"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
2015: Terrorists For Jonathan Meet in Owerri: Al Mustapha, Dokubo, Fasheun with Uwazuruike
Sept. 13, 2013
NewsRescue- Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, Mohammed Abacha and Chief Ralph Uwazuruike are gathering in Owerri, Imo State for a meeting which organisers say would pave way for the unity of youths in the country.
The gathering of these personalities yesterday surprised political observers because they are coming from differing backgrounds and tendencies.
Major Al-Mustapha, who was just freed of murder charges after standing trial for 15 years, was the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State General Sani Abacha.
Mujahid Asari Dokubo was, until the introduction of government's amnesty progamme four years ago, leading the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF) in an insurrection against the Federal Government. He has recently been threatened violence should President Goodluck Jonathan lose the 2015 election.
Dr. Fredrick Fasheun is founder of the Odua People's Congress (OPC), which is engaged in a campaign for fiscal federalism. A faction of the group is known to have violent tendencies, and was blamed for the killing of many Northerners in the Southwest years ago.
[caption id="attachment_20211" align="alignright" width="261"]
Their host, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, is currently leading the separatist Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to break away the southeast out of Nigeria. Such attempt by the late Odumegwu Ojukwu led to a three-year civil war that was crushed by federal troops in 1970.
However, some of members of the delegation for the Owerri meeting dismissed suggestion the programme is related to the politics of 2015 or that they are being promoted by the Presidency.
Al-Mustapha, who led the delegation to Owerri, while speaking at the palace of Eze Nri, Eze Obidiegwu Onyesoh of Nri Kingdom, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, stressed need to create a bridge for the younger generation to crisscross Nigeria in peace, unity and harmony.
He said for the people to understand how to prosper, it must be through the spirit of brotherhood and building of a bridge of peace. He said the country must work out modalities for greater interactions, unity and understanding.
"We are leaders of youths in North West, North Central, North East and South-South and delegation from South West led by Fasheun and of course others who are with us," Al-Mustapha said.
"We decided to pay you a courtesy call and to bring to you our desire to bridge the gaps in this country so that peace, unity and development will envelop the entire nation."
Al-Mustapha said they came together as the sons of all the six zones, leaders of associations, youth bodies and movements, to chart a course that will promote peace and harmony. Earlier in his speech, the monarch commended Al-Mustapha and other members of the delegation for their work toward peace and unity in the country.
He advised them to employ dialogue and non-violence in pursuit of their objective.
At Okwe in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo state, the home of Biafran warlord Ojukwu, Al-Mustapha was received with a 21-gun salute. He called for forgiveness and tolerance among all ethnic groups in the country.
Our correspondent reports that there was a large turnout of Igbo leaders and members of MASSOB to receive the visitors.
In a brief chat with newsmen at the airport, Mujahid Asari Dokubo said they were in the state to discuss issues bordering on security and other challenges facing the country with a view to proffering solutions.
A town hall meeting is holding today at the home of the MASSOB leader after which a communiqué would be issued.
Speaking to Daily Trust from Owerri by telephone, Al-Mustapha's brother, Nasiru G.N. Hamza, said the coming together of these leaders from different parts of the country was spontaneous and had no political undertone.
"As far as I know there is no 2015 consideration in this gathering. It is purely about youths and how to bring them together for the purpose of engendering peace and unity in Nigeria," he said.
He said the youths were the ones that feature prominently in any crisis and that it was important to bring them on board in the quest for peace in the country.
He said all the leaders that have come together are known to Al-Mustapha and that they stood by him during his trial, adding that they have now come together to work for the cause of peace and unity of the country. -DailyPost
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/2015-terrorists-for-jonathan-meet-in-owerri-al-mustapha-dokubo-fasheun-with-uwazuruike/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "Pres. Jonathan Orders 53 Gold iPhones from Dubai Company worth over 4 million dollars"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Pres. Jonathan Orders 53 Gold iPhones from Dubai Company worth over 4 million dollars
Sept. 11, 2013
A Bristol-born businessman based in Dubai is bracing himself for a flood of orders for iPhones clad not in the gold-effect finish of the new iPhone 5S, but the real stuff.
Amjad Ali supplies royal families, governments, and minted customers across Russia, China and the Middle East with gold-plated devices that cost up to £50,000.
The 42-year-old entrepreneur, who grew up in Glasgow, has pre-ordered hundreds of new iPhones. His team at Gold and Co. will set to work the day after launch before delivering the devices to luxury retailers.
"We strip the units down and then plate them in copper, nickel and then pure gold," he told the Independent. "We have limited units per region and each is numbered and placed in a handmade wooden box with a certificate of authenticity and wax seal."
Ali typically delivers 50 devices a month, including Blackberries and iPads, but orders rose to more than 300 a month when the iPhone 5 was launched last year. The firm expects greater demand still for the sixth-generation device, announced today.
Gold and Co.'s customers have included the Saudi royal family, which, Ali says, ordered a gold iPhone studded with hundreds of diamonds, including a giant piece that served as the device's "home" button. The bill: £50,000.
Basic models in gold or rose gold cost from £3,000. Ali says he is fulfilling an order from the Nigerian government for 53 gold iPhones to mark the country's 53rd year of independence from Britain next month.
"We will engrave them with the coat of arms, a shield and two horses," he said.
---
The Nigerian government is yet to react to the claim.
British luxury products company, Gold and CO, has revealed that it has an order from the Nigerian government to deliver 53 customised gold iphones for the celebration of the next independent celebration.
The founder of Gold and Co, Amjad Ali,, told the UK's Independent newspaperthat the Nigerian government has made an order of "53 gold iPhones to mark the country's 53rd year of independence from Britain next month."
Mr. Ali told the Independent that the order from the Nigerian government "will [be] engraved them with [Nigeria's] coat of arms, a shield and two horses,"
Mr. Ali's Gold and Co clients include royal families, governments, and wealthy individuals from across the world.
A gold-plated device costs between £3000 and £50,000 (N750,000 to 12.5 million). The order from the government with its customised coat of arm is believed to be among the constant premium orders the company gets.
The London-based company recently received an order from the Saudi royal family for "a gold iPhone studded with hundreds of diamonds, including a giant piece that served as the device's 'home' button."
Gold and Co is yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiry about the Nigerian agency or official that made the order and the exact cost of the order from the government.
When contacted, Joseph Mutah, the spokesman for the Information Minister, Labaran Maku, asked for an SMS enquiry, which was sent.
Mr. Mutah promised to get back to PREMIUM TIMES on the federal government's position.
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/pres-jonathan-orders-53-gold-iphones-from-dubai-company-worth-over-4-million-dollars/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Monday, September 9, 2013
[NewsRescue.com] : "BREAKING: Syrian Rebels Plan Chem Attack on Israel from Assad-controlled Territories -- Sources"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
BREAKING: Syrian Rebels Plan Chem Attack on Israel from Assad-controlled Territories -- Sources
Sept. 9, 2013
A chemical attack may be launched on Israel by Syrian rebels from government-controlled territories as a "major provocation," multiple sources told RT.
The report comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed that Syria puts its chemical weapons arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction in order to prevent a possible military strike against the war-torn country.
Moscow also urged Syrian authorities to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The offer has already been passed over to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, who met Lavrov in Moscow for talks on Monday.
"We don't know if Syria will accept the offer, but if imposing international control over chemical weapons stored in the country can help to avoid military strikes, we are immediately going to start working with Damascus," Lavrov said.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has welcomed Moscow's initiative, "based on the Syrian's government care about the lives of our people and security of our country," Muallem said later on Monday.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice made a statement saying that Damascus' alleged "use of chemical weapons against its own people" posed a threat to US national security. "The use of chemical weapons also directly threatens our closest ally in the region, Israel," she said, speaking at the New America Foundation in Washington.
"The use of chemical weapons also directly threatens our closest ally in the region, Israel." —@AmbassadorRice on #Syria
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 9, 2013
The statement was made shortly after RT published a report about the possibility of a chemical provocation.
---
NewsRescue- We have published earlier about an AP, BBC reporter who revealed that Syrian rebels allegedly confessed to having been responsible for the deadly August 21st chemical weapons attacks; utilizing chemical supplied by Saudi Arabia.
Today, a Belgian kidnapped by the rebels also revealed on video, that he overheard the rebels saying that Syrian president, Assad was not responsible for the chemical attack.
Apparently Grandmaster Putin's offer for Syria to seal its chemical weapons under international eyes, was not only a checkmate that also helped US president Obama to save face with a 'soft-landing,' but also a strategy to insulate Syria from upcoming false accusations.
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/breaking-syrian-rebels-plan-chem-attack-on-israel-from-assad-controlled-territories-sources/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
[NewsRescue.com] : "PDP ASKS IGP TO UNSEAL ITS NATIONAL SECRETARIAT"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
PDP ASKS IGP TO UNSEAL ITS NATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Sept. 9, 2013
NewsRescue- The fracas over the representation of the former National Executive of the People's Democratic Party of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, today at the Ikeja Division of the Lagos High court is testimonial of the confusion that consumed the party under Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
The Ikeja Division of the Lagos High court under Justice Ganiyu S. Safari had on 2nd September, 2013 ordered both parties to maintain the status quo pending his determination of the motion on notice. He also directed that the defendants be served outside jurisdiction.
Again on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 a Federal court in Abuja reiterated the ruling of Justice Safari asking both parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing of the case.
In keeping with the ruling, the Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje executive obeyed the learned Judges but was shocked at the sealing up of its secretariat under the instructions of Inspector General of Police on 7th September, 2013 probably prompted by the Alh. Tukur's faction of PDP Leadership in its usual fashion of lawlessness and supported by their cronies in government.
In view of the ruling ordering both parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case, PDP national executive committee wishes to request the Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar, to immediately unseal its National Secretariat in Abuja and allow it to operate unhindered.
[caption id="attachment_21839" align="alignright" width="304"]
In line with the resolve of the leadership of the PDP under Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje to respect and uphold democratic tenets and the rule of law and considering that the judiciary is the bastion of democracy and the last hope of the common man, the PDP once again approached the court to interpret its former ruling that two factions should maintain the status quo and assist us to decide on the legality or otherwise of the sealing off of our National Secretariat by the police on the orders of the Inspector General of Police but Alh. Tukur led faction of the party could not agree on a common Counsel to represent them thereby forcing the Lagos High Court to adjourned the case till 17th September, 2013.
Today, the High Court in Lagos once again ruled on the legitimacy of the PDP under the leadership of Baraje and maintained that the status quo be maintained until the determination of the motion on notice.
We wish to therefore appeal to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to immediately unseal the party's National Secretariat to allow us continue our lawful activities and set our party on the path of victory in all the coming elections.
The party views the continued seal up of our offices as barbaric, undemocratic and an abuse and demonstration of naked power, the very elements that characterised Alh. Bamanga Tukur's leadership.
No matter the odds, it is our resolve as a group to rescue PDP from the hands of undemocratic elements and draconian rule which have been the lot of our political party under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
For the avoidance of doubt, we reiterate our determination and will to restore peace in the PDP. We wish to commend the judiciary for living up to its reputation as has been clearly shown by the decision of both the high court in Lagos and Abuja.
We are indebted to Nigeria and appreciate the goodwill we have enjoyed in our quest to rebuild and sustain the greatest party in Africa. We understand that leadership is a sacred trust and therefore commit to a people focussed and people centred leadership under our chairman Alhaji Kawu- Baraje.
We appeal to all our party men to be calm, loyal and desist from making any inflammatory statement that may undermine the efforts of the Peace Committee of the elders of the party under the leadership of His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.
We are certain that posterity will judge us fairly and that all this too shall come to pass in a matter of time.
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
National Publicity Secretary, PDP
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/pdp-asks-igp-to-unseal-its-national-secretariat/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
[NewsRescue.com] : "Nigeria's War Against Terrorism: Police Go Digital"
Hello,
A new article you may find interesting has been published on NewsRescue.com. Details of the article follow; We hope you find this informative.
Best regards,
NewsRescue
Nigeria's War Against Terrorism: Police Go Digital
- Police go digital: introduce biometric central motor registration (BCMR) nationwide.
- IGP calls for understanding and cooperation.
Sept. 9, 2013
NewsRescue- As part of efforts at repositioning the Nigeria Police Force to effectively and efficiently fulfill its constitutional roles of saving lives and property, combating terrorism; preventing crimes; apprehending and prosecuting offenders, amongst other duties, the Force will with effect from Monday. 16th September, 2013 change the registration processes of vehicles, tricycles and auto-bikes from the old analogue CMR to the new Digital Biometric Central Motor Registration (BCMR) system.
The decision informing the introduction of the BCMR comes against the backdrop of contemporary security challenges bordering on terrorism, high incidence of car theft, carjacking, kidnappings and other acts of crimes and criminalities in our society. Unlike our hitherto analogue based procedures, the BCMR operates on smart-cards and portable hand-held receiver and is a specially developed technological means of attaching automobile owner's unique traits and personal data to their vehicles for proper identification and protection purposes.
The Police BCMR is designed to be used for forensic analysis. Fingerprints can be matched or verified against registered finger prints collected during registration. It is designed to match 20 million fingerprints per seconds (the speed depends on the size of registered prints) 20 million fingerprints is equivalent to 2 million people (10 prints per person). Facial Matching can also be achieved with Police BCMR; our database can be matched with still pictures and frames from a video stream. The system can match 500,000 pictures per minute (if you have a registered database of 150 million, the likely match time for facial recognition is about 300 minutes (5hrs).
As a huge store of information, the BCMR will provide a one-stop information data base for all vehicle owners and serve as a strong forensic base for all manners of investigations which will greatly enhance policing operations particularly in the area of tracking down and locating positions of missing vehicles, preventing crimes, arresting criminals guaranteeing safer and a more secure use of our roads and other sundry crimes.
The BCMR has three means of registration which could be either through designated Banks, on-line or at some Police Commands. In the case of the Banks, car owners pay the registration fees at the Banks, collect their pin numbers and proceed to the registration points for their registration - a process that does not take more than ten minutes. You can also pay on-line, get your registration pin, commence the pre-registration by yourself, filling the details of your vehicle and personal data but the registrant would still have to get a designated registration to complete the registration process where his bio-data, photo and fingerprints would be captured. In the Police Commands and other designated formations, registrants would purchase a scratch card which would give pins to be used for registration. Vehicle owners are expected to pay N3,500.00, while tricycles popularly called "Keke Marwa" or "keke Napep" and auto-bikes go for N1,500.00.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar calls for the understanding, cooperation and support of all Nigerians towards ensuring the success of the scheme.
CSP FRANK E. MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA
- Link to the article: http://newsrescue.com/nigerias-war-against-terrorism-police-go-digital/
- Link to NewsRescue.com: http://newsrescue.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
