Headline
2023 Polls, Show Of Shame — Obasanjo
Published
1 year agoon
By
Editor…Says he’s too old to keep quiet and watch
…Insists Nigeria more divided now than ever
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday described the just concluded elections in the country as a painful show of shame, saying efforts should be made by patriotic Nigerians to correct it and not to allow it repeat itself.
Obasanjo also said he was too old to keep quiet and watch the country slid into dystopia and that efforts were required from well meaning and committed patriots to rescue the nation from the precipice.
The former president spoke as Founding Partner of Nextier SPD, Patrick Okigbo, said election promises could only be implemented if the civil servants who were supposed to drive it were reformed.
Speaking as a guest of honour at a public lecture series, tagged,”From Elections to Governance and Performance”, in Abuja yesterday, Obasanjo lamented that the country was currently more divided and corroded than what it’s founding fathers had in mind.
READ ALSO: Why I Was Against Soludo’s Gov Ambition – Obasanjo
The event put together by Nextier SPD, also witnessed the public presentation of a book, “The Unending Quest for Reform: An Intellectual Memoir”, authored by Prof. Tunji Olaopa.
The ex-President criticised the growing debt profile and spending spree of government at all tiers, especially those at the helm of affairs currently, likening the situation to “spending like a drunken sailor.”
On the issues of reforms, he said governance in Nigeria now called for thinking outside the box in terms of development financing.
According to him, this trend of thinking has become inevitable in the face of Nigeria’s dwindling fortune in oil revenue, Nigeria’s huge foreign indebtedness and the urgency of diversifying the Nigeria’s neo-cultural economy.
He said: “Let me suggest three ideas that I think can enrich the direction of the conversation here today.
READ ALSO: FULL TEXT: Obasanjo Writes UK, Asks For Leniency For Ekweremadu
“One, given what we saw during the election, Nigeria is now even more divided and more corroded than we thought. This places a deep onus on any administration, following the current one, to urgently facilitate the process of national moral rearmament and national reconciliation that the potential will enhance skilled for the aggrieved and lead us across Nigeria and to assuage the youth.
“This must be done in sync with the imperative of national value orientation that Nigeria requires to build a collective sense of enduring and local values and national belonging.
“Two, governance in Nigeria now calls for thinking outside the box in terms of development financing. This has become inevitable in the face of Nigeria’s dwindling fortune, in oil revenue, Nigeria’s huge foreign indebtedness and the urgency of diversifying the Nigeria’s neo-cultural economy.
“Three, political will, political action and administrative efforts must be invested on reforming the public service into a capability ready institution that could enable Nigeria’s development agenda beyond 2023.
“All of these and more are necessary to correct and not to repeat the sickening and painful show of shame which the elections of 2023 degenerated into.”
He congratulated the author of the book, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, for continuing to labour on behalf of the Nigerian public service and adding significant intellectual memoir to his huge collection of publications and to the annals of administrative reforms in Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Why Obasanjo Did Not Vote First Time Since 1999
Speaking to newsmen on the occasion,, the founding partner at Nextier SPD, Patrick Okigbo, noted that reforming the civil service was necessary to drive electoral programmes and promises that would better the lot of all Nigerians.
Okigbo said it was one thing to have a political will as a leader and another to entirely translate the will into actionable projects, which was what reforms were all about.
“Every four years, we go to elections, politicians make promises of what they want to do and at the end of the day, not a lot happens. It is not because these politicians are bad people, it is not because they do not want to do stuff, it is basically because all the electoral promises will have to be delivered by the public service, the civil servants, the political appointees.
”Tunji Olaopa, the author of the book, is one of the most prolific writers on public service reforms.
“I think we have kind of mystified polictical will, we have created a myth around political will and I give you an example, President Muhammadu Buhari can decide that he wants to do XYZ, what he should do is to discuss with ministers at FEC and give an instruction to get it done.
“The President is not the holy spirit, he cannot be everywhere as there are only 24hours in a day. By the way, I am not making excuses for him. I am just saying that even after you bring the political will, it is not enough. What you need is an institution that has the capacity to deliver on those promises or programmes. “
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Headline
Group Of Top Male Footballers ‘Planning To Come Out As Gay Next Month
Published
18 hours agoon
April 25, 2024By
EditorA group of top male footballers ‘are planning to come out as gay on May 17.
German outlet Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung claims a group of professionals across the country will declare publicly their sexual orientation.
The date in question is of particular reference as it is the International Day Against Homophobia.
It is believed that all of the clubs the reported players are aware of the planned proposals.
READ ALSO: Saudi Arabia Opens First Alcohol Store, Nigerian Muslims React
However, Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung adds that some players still have reservations about revealing their homosexuality and could still make a U-turn in doing so.
Marcus Urban is a former footballer in Germany who came out as gay in 2007, 16 years after quitting the sport. Urban, now 52, is the co-founder of Diversero, a global community for diversity, and hopes next month’s plans do come to fruition.
‘I think they are respected and celebrated for that. Not by everyone, that’s clear. But hate speech cannot be a criterion for a life,
‘May 17 is an offer,’ he told the Editorial Network Germany (RND). ‘A date that you could use as a guide and get together as a group.
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‘There is controversy there. Do I still want to wait until the world of football becomes the way I want it to be? Why should I wait? An interesting dynamic has come into play, you can see that people’s minds are starting to move and are thinking about whether it really makes sense to continue to hide and deny themselves.
Urban went on to reveal that there are gay couples playing in the Bundesliga too – declaring it would be ‘liberating’ if they came out.
‘There are also gay Bundesliga couples who are in hiding,’ he continued.
‘That would be so liberating. What’s wrong with it.’
Headline
Saudi Arabia Opens First Alcohol Store, Nigerian Muslims React
Published
18 hours agoon
April 25, 2024By
EditorNigerian Muslims have gone on X to express outrage after it was announced that Saudi Arabia has opened its first alcohol store in Riyadh.
Alcohol consumption is against the teachings of Islam and Saudi Arabia, a Muslim country, has always obeyed to this law by forbidding the operation of alcohol stores in the country.
However, for the first time, the country opened its first alcohol store in the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh.
READ ALSO: UK Slams Fresh Sanctions On Iran After Israel Attack
After it was announced on X, Nigerian Muslims took to the platform to express their displeasure.
“Disgraceful,” one Nigerian Muslim wrote on X. “They’re slowly turning Saudi Arabia into Las Vegas and it’s making me mad. At the rate they’re going , very soon they’ll legalize prostitution and same sex marriage in our most sacred city.”
Nigerian Muslims read the riot act after Saudi Arabia opened its first alcohol store.
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Another said: “It’s baffling and disgusting to see that Saudi Arabia has opened the first alcohol store in Riyadh.
“I wonder why the current crown prince is going against the teachings of the holy prophet by accommodating western cultures in a country like Saudi Arabia where the two most holy mosque are situated.
“This is an insult to the religion of peace and the entire Muslim ummah. It’s disgraceful.”
Headline
VIDEO: Meet Nigerian Pastor Who Predicted World Will End April 25
Published
20 hours agoon
April 25, 2024By
EditorAn unidentified Nigerian pastor has stirred reactions on social media by following a prophetic revelation that the world would end on the 25th of April 2024.
In a video which has since gone viral, the pastor disclosed that God informed him of the end of the world during a prayer session.
The pastor emphasised that he clearly saw the date and that God mentioned it to him twice.
READ ALSO: UK Slams Fresh Sanctions On Iran After Israel Attack
He said, “By the 25th of April, the world is going to end. If you like take this serious, if you don’t like don’t take it serious.
“But this is real, rapture is coming, on the 25th of April 2024, I saw it very clear, do you understand? I saw the date very clear and the lord ministered to me. He mentioned it twice, it has happened twice.”
Watch video below:
VIDEO: Nigerian Pastor Claims World Will End April 25th
An unidentified Nigerian pastor has stirred reactions on social media by following a prophetic revelation that the world would end on the 25th of April 2024.
In a video which has since gone viral, the pastor disclosed… pic.twitter.com/9xFXAtVCNl
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) April 25, 2024
Source: PUNCH
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