YAR'ADUA'S emergence into the Federal Political System was controversial.

There is a general belief that his election was rigged by General Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Iwu and INEC, who presided over the general elections.

But Yar'Adua has handled this allegation with adroitness and an air of blatant integrity and honesty.

I have observed his utterances and actions very carefully and have drawn the indubitable conclusion that he is a man of extraordinary shrewdness.

He has taken over power (whatever the moral merit of such a taken-over) from a very strong and controversial president.

He is steering a very delicate course and by his own acute political instinct he knows this to be a big gamble.

General Murtala Mohammed some years ago was predicting about our future presidency when he said a future president "would need to be precise and direct in his policies" and where there is controversy, he must be "decisive as to which course to take."

One outstanding singular feature of President Yar'Adua is his doggedness and honesty that has obviously proved embarrassing to his colleagues in the party.

When he was interviewed about his election as being characteristically fraudulent, his reply was not to deny the allegation. He admitted that a lot has gone wrong but now appealed to all concerned to go to the Electoral Tribunals and see what result they would get. He would obey such verdict.

But the greatest applause, which goes to him, is in the realm of the Rule of Law. "The law would be upheld no matter whose ox is gored." This utterance was at first shocking to me particularly coming from a PDP echelon who are used to breaking the law or not following it. At the latter days of the past government little regard was given to the law and the Rule of Law suffered great depression.

Prof. Iwu became a lawless leviathan and he rode tough-shod on the feelings of Nigerians and on the constitution. The first major act of the new President was the controversy over increase in Petroleum price. When the NLC confronted his government, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe made a belligent and unguarded statement, which implied that the government would use force on demonstrators. A retrospective reflection would now show that this was not the thinking of the President. He held a meeting with the NLC and brokered an agreement, which involved a reduction in the fuel price, and a suspension of the value added tax. The NLC aborted its strike unexpectedly and there was peace on the land immediately. On the ground that President Obasanjo awarded petroleum contract to Dangote and Otedola, he said that these did not comply with the law, he abrogated the contract award given to the two men.

He cancelled other contracts, which were not on agreement with commonsense and good judgment. In a military set-up these would have led to a coup de tat.

Perhaps one very important decision of the President relates to the EFCC and the ICPC. This is a very monumental decision, not only for the rule of law and its maintenance but for our constitutional order. It was Lord Denning, the legendary English Judge who declared "Be not so high for the law is above you."

One of the greatest achievements of the Obasanjo's regime is that it promulgated the EFCC. It was given the widest power possible. Robbers in executive positions were now in trouble.

They saved Nigerian's money in all parts of the world.

One over whom injunction was recently imposed and over 20 million in English pounds in his banks including houses and other resources. There was no evidence that he inherited any money from his parents or that he was engaged in some lucrative business. Apparently, these were money given to his state for the maintenance of the people of the state and he appropriated most of them to his personal and family ownership.

He would go around in his life as a very rich man. President Obasanjo attempted to stop all this.

Look at Deprieye Alamieyeseigha. He stole a colossal amount, without trial he was put in prison, may be this is what he deserved but this did not comply with the law. When he was later charged he plea-bargained and was set free leaving him to brag "that he was fighting for the Niger-Delta people."

The EFCC hunted some of these men in executive positions with great zeal. The cry that followed was that it was political persecution that they did not agree with Obasanjo in his third term bid that Obasanjo was a wicked man. None of them admitted that they had stolen public funds, and therefore deserved this punishment.

We have a lot to learn from the Europeans. When they are down they admit everything, but in Nigeria someone must be hunting them. Dariye, a master in appropriating public money ran away from Britain like his colleague Alamieyeseigha.

But President Yar'Adua now saw the lawlessness in some behaviour o f the EFCC and decided that it must be curbed and brought within the law. Henceforth no Nigerian citizen can be arrested and charged to court without the authority of the Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. This is how it should be in the first place.

This means that the facts that the case must be laid before the Attorney-Generals and his opinion formally given, "No more cutting of corners."

Prior to the partition of Africa, Africans were subjected to grave inhuman treatment in the name of slave trade by their imperious white master. Africans were used as labour in plantation farms in Europe and North America with their lips locked with iron. And after Africa was partitioned, Africa vast agricultural resources were stolen from Africa by the colonial master to serve as raw material for industries in European countries.

The Europeans reluctantly relinquished power to Africans in the mid nineteen century after they could not withstand pressures that were mounted on them by African Nationalist. But before the baton of leadership was passed to the black man, they ensured that a seed of discord was planted among the ethnic groups in various African countries and a system of government, educational and judicial system that could not meet the socio- cultural demands of Africans were bequeathed to us.

The seed of discord planted by the imperial lord among the African ethnic groups started germinating after independence. Civil wars which were rooted in ethnic intolerance took the centre stage in Africa. The Igbo was against the Yoruba and Hausas during Nigerian civil war in Nigeria, the Arabs in Sudan are today raising up sword, against the black Sudanese in the Dafur region.

The story was not different in Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Coted’lvoire and many other African countries who had one time experienced civil war. The little financial resources of these countries are spent on procuring ammunition to prosecute such war from the white man who at the same time serve as mediator in the conflict. The educational, judicial and governmental system we inherited from the colonial masters has continued to be the bane of our development.

After the independence era, colonialism was designed in different forms by the west to deny unsuspecting Africans of their independence.
A campaign of calumny was launched by the powerful Western Media against Africa to plant in Africans and her leadership the inferiority syndrome, only crisis spots in Africa are given media attention by the western media and Africa is always portrayed as a continent that is crude and backward that her people cannot manage their own affairs without the west lending an helping hand. The West had succeeded in colonizing the Africa media and its practitioner that a Nigerian daily was using the story of BBC on an event that happened in Kano.

Also, UN agencies and other international non governmental organizations are not fair to Africans on statistics released on major world issues. For example, their statistics shows that Africa has the highest number of HIV and AIDS victims, the most corrupt nation on earth is in Africa, the poorest nation in the world is in Africa etc. The West had planted this inferiority complex in us that we have forgot to ask them if the ESKIMOS that live in the freezing North pole are better than Africans.

When the West was introducing visa lotteries to swell their population so as to have enough manpower to sustain the industrial growth of their nations. Family planning methods were introduced simultaneously to African continent to reduce the population of the continent so as to achieve their motive of denying African the necessary optimum population that can support economy and industrial growth.

Another new colonialism tactics that is being used by the West to rob African countries of their freedom is the use if IMF loan to dictate how the economy of African country should be run. A good example is that of Nigeria when in 1986, the IMF told the then federal government to devalue the naira against the dollar and embrace the SAP programme. Since then, Nigeria has not come out of the economic wound inflicted on the country by this programme. Ghana and some other African countries experienced something similar from IMF.

All these and other anti Africa policies of the west have continued to deny Africa countries the impetuous to accelerate the growth of the continent. This is why Nigeria, a country endowed with enormous human and natural resources is still crawling 47 years after independent. Until African leaders come together as one to wrestle the continent from the grip of this tyrannical “white lord”, the continent will continue to suffer in the midst of plenty.

The Muslim Ramadan month has ended. In it, Muslims demonstrated once again the need for sacrifice for the attainment of glory. Daily, they faced the practicability of self-denial a prelude to glory. Just as a woman goes through the challenges of pregnancy with the expectations of safe arrival of the baby, Muslims readily go through the sacrifices of Ramadan in anticipation of a place in eternity.

Ramadan is an admission that nothing comes easy in the relations between man and his maker. Sacrifices are part of life. The Muslim in the month of Ramadan accommodates hunger even where there is money and plenty to eat and drink.There is a lesson there: to feel how the less privileged cope so that he will have compassion for them.

During Ramadan, the Muslim abstains from worldly affairs including going in to his wife in daytime. The lesson here is to help him triumph over lust. He abstains from other pleasures and while going through the pangs of hunger daily, he appreciates what the poor suffer. The Muslim accentuates his prayer for this world and the hereafter. This enables him to be closer to his creator.

All these have wider implications for the nation. The sacrifices of those who fast should result in a caring nation with people who are willing to make sacrifice for the happiness of the majority.

Lust and greed are just two of the many enemies of this nation, conquering them helps to bring the country to the Promised Land. Of course, the Muslims have a responsibility for the peace, progress and prosperity of the country and we will prevail on them and followers of other religions to allow these lessons to stay with them. The lessons should become part of their lives and those who encounter them.

The Nigerian society will benefit from the lessons of Ramadan, if they do not end with the celebrations. Increases in greed and corruption are challenges the lessons of Ramadan should tackle, and it starts with the individual.Selfishness has reduced the conduct of Nigerians to a rat race in which the credo is each for himself and God for all of us. The strive for the individual's gain has resulted in the neglect of the common good, which to date hurts the common interests of Nigerians.

It should not be so. Everyone should be his brother’s keeper. That is one of the major lessons of Ramadan. The others are that the Almighty expects sobriety, purity and spartan conducts from those who follow Him.The Muslim, who does not imbibe the spirit of Ramadan and allow the lessons to reflect in his life, would have fasted in vain.
As Muslims troop to various praying grounds to give thanks to Allah and supplicate for His goodness, they must remember His goodness by providing for the less privileged, the deprived and the very poor among us, whose numbers are on the rise. Eid-Mubarak to all TIG Muslims members

GOOD PROJECT. I PRAISE THE ORGANIZERS FOR THE INTIATIVE BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN ISSUES AND CONSTRAINT THAT CONFRONT THE PARTICIPATION OF AFRICANS IN THE CONGRESS. FOR INSTANCE, MOST DEVELOPING AFRICAN COUNTRIES ARE NOT BOUYANT ENOUGH TO AFFORD THE PARTICIPATION FEE I.E. TRAVEL AND VISA FEES.
HOWEVER, I WILL SUGGEST THAT, SINCE THE CONGRESS AIMS AT ENCOURAGING YOUNG PEOPLE TO TAKE BOLD INITIATIVES TO EMBARK ON SELF-HELP PROJECTS, THEY OUGHT TO BE ASSISTED TO MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT AT THE CONGRESS.
AM VERY SURE THAT, EVERYONE HAS A STORY, IT IS NOT HOW YOU TELL IT BUT HOW YOU LIVE IT, LET US SHOW THEY WORLD HOW WE LIVE OUR OWN STURY.

Just as Aristolte has said, the best of a nation lies in her youthful opportunities. Though this maxim is only these day a matter of the few pages of write ups on the internet or better still more classic academic works as it no longer finds a befitting place in our national life, espercially policy and implementation.
In this part of the continent, it is now considered a matter of WHO YOU KNOW in getting a paid employment, even though these people will demand a small paercentage of lyour incomein return for the JOB FAVOUR! But the main problem remains unsolved and it continues to accummulate every year as more and more young people leave the four walls of the classroom for the unproductive labour market.
The Nigerian Government particularly the case is worse. Most youths therefore become useless upon completion of their various academic pursuits.
To this end, it comes down on the Government to get a solution to this problem plauging the nation.
You know why?
He who wears the shoe, knows where it pinches most!