Hoha! (Pointblank): Hear the Talkingheads

"The theme of this meeting is a crucial one for our country. Nigeria is currently going through a series of trials but most urgent are the abject poverty facing the country's citizens and the weak state of our societal sector, particularly the education and health sectors...The Nigerian government no matter how noble its intentions cannot address these challenges on its own...in fact, in all developed countries, the implementation of social projects is never the sole responsibility of government...I retired from the service early at 41 years because I got to the top early. I started shipping business and became reasonably rich...Twelve years ago I was allocated an oil block by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha near Sao Tome and Nigeria. We discovered a lot of oil...It was at this junction I decided to establish a foundation which I have committed $100m to..."

-------Bloodthirsty cannibal Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma on giving away his loot to charity.



WHEN on February 9, 2010, precisely 78 days after President Umaru Yar'Adua effectively abdicated his office, the Senate of the National Assembly passed a resolution mandating Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act as president pending the return of his principal, it pleaded necessity as justification for the action. The plea seemed so unimpeachable that the House of Representatives immediately reversed its earlier rejection of a similar motion to align itself with the upper chamber. Even the Federal Executive Council directly charged with the task of salvaging the situation under Section 144 of the constitution but which, to its eternal shame, chose at every turn to pronounce the president fit for office also did the somersault...But while the National Assembly has contrived a temporary and unsavoury reprieve from our determined march towards anarchy, its action remains questionable even by those who called loudly for that very outcome. Their position is best represented by the Action Congress party and ex-Representative Farouk Aliyu Adamu who has filed a suit. Speaking through its publicity secretary, AC declared the resolution "illegal," being outside the ambit of Section 145 of the Constitution which spells out the mode and manner the vice president can become the Acting President. According to AC, far from rescuing the nation from the brink of disaster, the National Assembly had instead brought us "closer to the abyss." The party urged Jonathan to see his elevation as "nothing but a Greek Gift designed to do him in."

-------Ogaga Ifowodo on The Necessity of a Sovereign National Conference



“I have no problem with the NFF. After the pressure and tension of the competition, it is obvious one needs rest. My contract is clear. The team B of the Eagles is my idea and so it is no big deal...I have not even seen any letter yet from the NFF and I no longer read newspapers because the criticisms have been too much from all angles...Section 10 sub-section 2.6 of the Amodu, NFF contract states, 'He (the head coach) must be irrevocably committed to work with the Technical Adviser, in the event the NFF decides to engage one.' Also, Article 1.5 of the contract reads, “The national team(s) shall mean the senior male national team (A), the Super Eagles or other national representatives which shall be under the supervision of the head coach...The chairman of the technical committee, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, said recently that I was in charge and my contract also says so...Let me also state that the NFF is still implementing my programmes till date. I have already prepared a programme for the March 3 friendly with Paraguay. I am just human and it is difficult to understand why people descended on me and the team heavily after the Nations Cup despite winning a broze medal at the event...My contract is my bible and so far I am still conscious of not going anyway out of the agreement I had with the NFF.”

-------Coach Shaibu Amodu on him still being in charge of the Super Eagles.



“All my life, I’ve been a very private person. This is a new ball game for me, I must be honest. But because of the office I hold, as a goldfish, you have no hiding place. But like I tell my colleagues, the responsibility we need to show our people is how we have made their lives better. Whenever something like this award happens, what we say is; ‘the reward for hard work is more work.’ So, it raises the bar of expectation on us, but we see that bar of expectation not as a burden, rather, it is a vote of confidence in our ability to do it...We’ve stopped seeing problems in this government, we’re looking for solutions. Every criticism that we get invites us to a realisation that there’s an urgent need to do more...Even in the most prosperous economy, there are education issues, security issues, even of more complex nature than we have to deal with. These problems, as long as the human race remains, will task the minds, the skills, the intellect of leaders across the world. It’s a problem of humanity. But the upside to the report is that 140 cities were ranked across the world. In Nigeria, Lagos was the only city mentioned. So we see that as an upside...I wish to leave behind a Lagos that will be able to actualise its huge potentials, a safe home for all those who choose to make it home, a city-state that will retain its pre-eminent position in the country, in the sub-region, in the continent, and even globally. A city that will also be able to provide for all those who served her, when we’re no longer able to fend for ourselves.”

-------Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola on receiving Sun News' Man of the Year Award.


“Sergeant-at-Arms, shut that door; I say shut that door, shut that door...A Bill for an Act to Prescribe Investment in Petroleum Refineries as a Condition for Licensing and Operation of Oil Producing Companies in Nigeria and other Matters Connected thereto 2010.”

-------Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole shutting out lawmakers over lateness.