If Martinez was really better coach than Moyes, Martinez wouldn’t be coaching Everton, would he? So shut it all!

To be honest, hanging out in ninth in
the log at December is by no means
what Sir Alex, Sir Bobby and the
Masters Glazers had in mind when they
endorsed David Moyes as gaffer for
United. Nah, they had dreams and
believe of a more eminent, loftier
station. But they knew the ride after
Fergie’s departure may be full of a lot of
down shifting and screaming gears.
That is why they tucked a bulky six-year
contract in David Moyes’ pocket and
patted him on the shoulder
reassuringly. ‘You’re in here for the
long haul, matey and we’re in with
ya.’ But an inconsistent run in the
league and back to back lose at Fortress
OT would have made the Glazers glance
fearfully at Sir Alex and Sir Bobby.
‘Gentlemen, er, you sure about this?’
Of course, Fergie and Sir Bobby are
absolutely sure about David Moyes.
They could have picked Mourinho, they
could have spoken to Pep Guardiola,
even Harry Redknapp. But they chose
David Moyes. ‘ Dithering Dave.’
‘Gollum .’ And I’d like to believe they
have best interest of United at heart
and would hardly sabotage the club.
If course with the less than impressive
results United is churning out under
David Moyes, fan is within his right to
give him the stick. What I will not
countenance however is labelling the
fella a muppet and glorying every coach
who manages to get a result against
him. So what, Roberto Martinez won
with Everton at Old Trafford for the first
time in twenty-one years and under
Moyes’ watch. There’s always a first
time for everything! So what, Newcastle
won at Old Trafford for the first time in
fourty years and also under David’s
watch. Big deal! It proves David Moyes
is into record breaking!
United is still in two domestic cups and
one continental cup. All is by no means
lost. I have personally ceded the league
trophy to any of City (what heart ache!),
Chelsea or Arsenal (elephants can
indeed fly! If Liverpool were to win the
league however, my grief would be
complete.) And if United were to make
some smart acquisitions in January, who
knows?
My belief will of course be tested if
United were to finish outside the top 4
this season, but I just do not see
Manchester United slipping into
obscurity like Liverpool. Something
would give. Tides will turn, mermaids
will cry. United is just too big to become
average within 2 years. Call it blind
faith. Call it stupidity. Football isn’t
exactly a logical enterprise, hombres.
Thank you, I’ll keep my faith.
My counsel to all those gloating at
United so far. Take all that United gives
right now. It’s Christmas and it’s the
season for giving and charity. Mark my
words, United won’t be this charitable
for ever!

APC woos Atiku, plans to meet with Obasanjo

former Head of State, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari, said the All
Progressives Congress (APC) was working
on modalities to meet with former
President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He made this known to newsmen in Abuja
on Wednesday after the APC chieftains met
with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,
to woo him over to the party`s fold.
“We have the intention of meeting with
former President Olusegun Obasanjo as
soon as he is available so that we will tell
him how we evolve APC.
“And then, we will ask for his
understanding and cooperation. This is
what we have been doing,’’ Buhari said.
Atiku, who spoke at the meeting, said that
a strong opposition was necessary in
every democracy to checkmate the
activities of the government in power.
The former vice president said the APC was
a strong opposition that would give
Nigerians better alternatives in every
election.
“I will consult with my political associates
all over the country and then make an
announcement later,’’ Atiku said.
Earlier, the ACP Interim National Chairman,
Chief Bisi Akande, said that the party was
consulting with political stakeholders in
the country to salvage the country`s image.
“We had worked with you before and we
know you. The country is being discredited
and we feel we should meet with men of
good will to right the wrongs,’’ Akande
said.

FINALLY: ASUU SUSPENDS STRIKE AFTER 5 MONTHS

The meeting, Vanguard gathered was attended
by ASUU branch chairmen and secretaries, the
national executive members of the Union,
coordinators and past leaders, including
members from 52 universities.
Public universities lecturers have been on strike
since July 1, 2013. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU),
has suspended its over 5months strike.
ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge disclosed this in
Minna while briefing newsmen.
The Union suspended the strike after a
marathon National Executive Committee meeting
held in the Niger State capital, yesterday.
The different chapters of ASUU are expected to
hold congress meetings on Wednesday, following
which academic activities will resume in the
universities.
The marathon NEC meeting was held to
deliberate over the agreement signed
Wednesday, last week, by the union executives
and the federal government.

The meeting was attended
by ASUU branch chairmen and secretaries, the
national executive members of the Union,
coordinators and past leaders, including
members from 52 universities.
Public universities lecturers have been on strike
since July 1, 2013.

“We Steal Because You Never Stoned Us For It” – Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers State Governor

At a tribute event for Nelson Mandela in Lagos,
Mr. Amaechi said Nigerians have not shown
enough aggression or resistance against stealing
by political office holders.

Citing recent examples, including the Fuel
subsidy removal and the theft of $50billion, the
Governor said stealing is good, when the people
don’t fight back.

“Even the musicians, you’re singing about us,
the leaders? If you see a thief and you allow
him to be stealing, what do you do? You have
stoned nobody that’s why we are stealing. Who
have you stoned? We came out and you started
dancing, the oil subsidy, we told you they stole
N2.3trillion, what did you do? Instead you’re
protesting. The oil subsidy that is not reaching
the poor, few individuals are going away with
the money, you have done nothing, you are
mourning Madiba, 95 years.
It’s good to steal if you can’t fight back. You
have heard about $50billion, nobody is talking,
we are debating whether can he talk to the
president like that. In some countries people will
be on the street, until they return that money. $
50billion is N8trillion, it will change Nigeria. Me I
want to steal only $1billion, let them bring it.”

His statements strike very close to home among
a generation that is often content to do nothing
more than on-line activism.
Why, as a people, do we feel so helpless in the
face of abuse and corruption?
Are we merely ignorant or afraid?
When will we face the reality of the cost we will
have to pay to make this country better?
And when will we be willing to pay it?

PRIVATE JETS, THE CHURCH AND NIGERIAN PASTORS

Recently, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, claimed to know the source of the plane owned by the President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. It is now running into weeks and he is yet to tell how the Pastor got his plane.The annoyed Pastor has threatened to sue. If suing is best the way to deal with this type of man, he should be sued to tatters. Litigation is perhaps the only language such a man will understand, since he obviously has no respect for servants of God. In his book the Accidental Public Servant, he took a swipe at OBJ under whom he served as a Minister. At one time he thought,laughably, that Igbos were not well educated; at other times he seemed to be against everybody and everything Nigerian. I pray he gets a good trouncing from the Pastor. There are many Nigerians who consider themselves wealthy enough to own private jets; why should that of Pastor Oritsejafor be his problem? El-Rufai must learn to respect Men of God, and stop the jabbering with Christianity and Church leaders. Period! Nigerians, they say, top list of private jet owners in Africa, spending N1.3 trillion on these big flying toys.Our aviation sector has brought into sharp focus, the paradox of a nation that is endowed with huge oil resources but where only a few are wealthy. In a country where the average Nigerian lives on less than $1 a day, there is a super-rich class of business moguls, bankers, preachers, politicians and oil magnates whose private ownership of jets is more than that of any other country in Africa. In fact,the ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria had grown from only 50 in 2008, to over 200 in 2012. Their planes mostly carry foreign registration credentials rather than Nigerian registration, for which the owners have their reasons, while Nigerian money continues to flow from our super-rich to other nations because of the hostile registration environment. The chief of the many factors that have encouraged the rise of acquisition of customised jets, which cost between N2.4 billion and N9 billion, is the fact that flight schedules in the aviation industry are no longer flexible.In a situation like this, wealthy Nigerians would opt to acquire their own private jets to save time that would have been wasted waiting for flights whose times of departure are not known. The FG has begun to impose a luxury tax on the non-scheduled flights of private jet owners and operators in Nigeria. A tax of USD4, 000 is now to be levied on the owners and operators of foreign-registered private jets for every flight departure within Nigeria, while Nigerian-registered private jets have to pay USD3,000. The tax has to be paid before each departure. Private jets are for the super-rich. How right is it, therefore, for a Pastor, or an Alfa, to own a private jet, being a person managing and running a non-profit organisation per se? There are two sides to the question: On one side are those who say the work of God is a big business, and also with big rewards. The pastor needs to take the advantages of the private jet to cope with the ever increasing challenges of his work, both as a preacher and an evangelist. After all, he is serving His Father in heaven who owns all the gold, silver and wealth on earth. Jesus died poor that His believers may become rich. Wealth, affluence and opulence become proofs of serving a rich God. On the other side, are those who think that modesty and humane standards should define the life style of Church leaders. As servants of God, most of their wealth should be spent on humanitarian works rather than on pleasure. They are thus expected to be pious and humble, helping in the reduction of the spiritual and physical sufferings and groans of the people around the world, victims of wickedness in high places, deceit, bad rulership and bad governance all over the world, especially in Nigeria. They argue that Christians should live in modesty and humility, shunning boisterous life styles. The early missionaries were not men of super affluence. They had the money from their home countries, but used this money to introduce and enhance human development in the world around them. Money is of no use if it cannot be channeled to change the life of the majority of the people for the better. Politicians, business men, and others, may live as they like, servants of God are not expected to follow the world. Many out of ignorance and lack of knowledge have therefore argued that churches and mosques should be taxed.Where the clergy has accumulated wealth, using his gifts, influence and time well, nothing excludes him as a person from being taxed based on his known income. But the Church and Mosque being charitable organisations involved in humanitarian non-profit ventures cannot and should not be taxed. Whereas there are a few religious leaders who are very affluent, an overwhelming majority of the rest struggle over their annual budgets.Non-governmental organisations, NGOs, cannot be taxed because of their services to humanity. The multiplicity of religious and non-governmental organisations in Nigeria make it mandatory now that a Charities Commission be set up by government to register,regulate and control all charity organisations and their activities in Nigeria. The Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, should be relieved of the burden and responsibilities of registering, regulating, controlling and monitoring all charities, including NGOs. This way, the CAC will be more focused on the creation of the necessary enabling environment for company development in Nigeria. The Charity Commission should be a non-Ministerial Government Department, part of the civil service which registers and regulates charities in Nigeria. Charities are accountable to the public, so the Charity Commission will prescribe the rules and regulations of registered charities in the best interest of society.

By: Mr. Clement Udegbe, A Lawyer in Lagos
Source: Vanguard

EPL TITLE CHASE: Now it's really begining to get to me, this Arsenal run. They are growing in belief and that's quite a dangerous thing for every EPL title contender

You asked yourself what has changed about Arsenal's opening day defeat to Aston Villa on August 17th, physically it is Mesut Ozil, spiritually, it's new found belief. They play like they know they will win. There is no real hurry. They take their time, pass the ball around, pass it to Ramsey and he scores! Aaron Ramsey - Whatever happened to the lad? Family kidnapped and he needs to score 50 goals as ransom? And to think Jack Wilshere is scoring goals, quite a damn thing too! I haven't seen Arsenal quite as strong and confident since 2004. The irony that the threat about them does not stem from a single player. The whole team is all up for it. And Oliver Giroud. So much is going to Ozil right now, but Giroud is just as important. The steel that Arsenal has lacked in recent years is coming back in.

I do of course hope they do not get Luiz Saurez in january. Church don close be that!
Surely they're god for the title, no?

1. Damn it, how did they get it so right this tme?
2. Do you think Arsenal will wn the league this time?

IS WIZ-KID BEING CYNICAL?

CHECK OUT OLAMIDE'S NEW ALBUM COVER!

Olamide has unveiled the cover of his highly anticipated new album titled 'Baddest Guy Ever Liveth' which will drop sometime in November. What do you think of the cover?

SAY WHAT? BBC WORLD NEWS CALLS ABUJA "The Unfinished Capital".

Sorry about the Lol, it's not funny I know but I just couldn't resist. The 'unfinished capital' cracked me up. So BBC says Abuja was built on stolen land, stolen from who? Continue to read the pic's accompanying article


Written by By Alex Preston for BBC News

When one of Nigeria's long line of military rulers, General Olusegun Obasanjo, seized the land on which Abuja was to be built in the late 1970s, he could hardly have imagined that the city would remain unfinished 35 years on.

Abuja has a makeshift, haphazard feel to it: A place of bureaucrats and building sites, its streets eerily empty after the buzz of Lagos or the enterprising bustle of Kano.
It is one of the most expensive cities in Africa, and one of the most charmless.
The skyline is dominated by the space-rocket spires of the National Christian Centre and the golden dome of the National Mosque, facing each other pugnaciously across a busy highway at the city's centre.
Its other striking landmark is the vast construction site of the Millennium Tower, which, if it is ever completed, will be Nigeria's tallest building.

The skyscraper was intended to mark Abuja's 20th birthday in 2011. Now delayed until who-knows-when, hugely over-budget and the subject of numerous official investigations.

 

 The National Mosque stands at the side of a busy road in the city centre

 

All the people of Abuja have to show for the billions invested in the project are two stunted fingers of scaffold-clad concrete.
I had been in Abuja for three days - about two-and-a-half too many - when my friend, Atta, a sociologist, picked me up from my hotel.
We drove out towards Aso Rock, the monolith looming over the presidential palace.
On either side of the road there are complexes of bulky, imposing mansions, most of them unfinished.
Some had empty swimming pools; others had mock-Tudor timbering, but were windowless and often roofless.
Atta told me that 65% of the houses in these developments were uninhabited, put up only to launder Abuja's dirty money.
Like the Millennium Tower, these grandiose schemes are ruins before they are completed, bleak monuments to a city built by kleptocratic politicians on stolen land.
We pulled off the Murtala Mohammed Highway at Mpape Junction, and immediately the road deteriorated.

 

There are many uninhabited mansions near Aso Rock

 

"I am going to show you the real Abuja," Atta told me, as his car struggled up a deeply-rutted dirt track.
A warm wind from the desert to the north - the Harmattan - whipped clouds of red dust around us as we climbed through rocky scrubland into the hills.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Life here is difficult. Often we can't see across the street because of the smoke and dust”

Mary

People began to appear on the streets - men carrying ancient Singer sewing machines, women balancing baskets on their heads.

We entered a vast shanty-town of shacks with corrugated iron roofs, slums stacking to the horizon.
Nissan minivans scuttled past - they are called "One Chance" buses, as they barely stop on their manic journeys through these uncharted streets.
Crowds thronged between skinny cows, beneath posters advertising beaming televangelists.
Dance music blared out, interrupted by a muezzin's call to prayer. Bright-eyed children kicked footballs about.
This was the home of the Gwari people, the original inhabitants of the land where the capital was built.
Hundreds of thousands of them were summarily evicted in the 1970s, and now scrape a living in the hills.

 

Many of the original owners of the land around Abuja are now living in poverty

 

Abuja is itself a Gwari word and, although the city of generals and politicians below us had barely 700,000 inhabitants, two or three million people live in these shanty towns, many of them Gwari.
The Gwari people continue to fight for compensation for the land wrested from them by the Obasanjo government, land now worth more per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in Africa.
We got out and walked through the smoke and dust towards a row of shacks.

In one of them, a woman knelt on the ground plucking a chicken, a man above her leaning on a makeshift bar.

They were Frank and Mary, Gwari people in their thirties, children of one of the thousands of families originally evicted during the foundation of Abuja.
The four of us sat in the shack sipping Fantas, staring out at the swarming life of the shanty town: Motorbikes and cattle and people, all of them through a veil of reddish dust.
"I trained as an architect," Frank told me. "I have an education. But I do not have money, I don't know the right people. So I work here with my sister. In Abuja, money defines everything."
I ask him about the empty mansions lining the roads into the city.
"That is pseudo-Abuja, a false place. It's unjust - we should be living in those houses. Instead…" He gestured to the squalid lean-to that jutted from the back of the bar.
Mary looked up from her chicken. "Life here is difficult," she says.
"Often we can't see across the street because of the smoke and dust. If it rains, you can't move for the mud. But we pray hard."

 

Thick dust and smoke often fill the streets 

 

Frank pulled out a CD. It was Fela Kuti's Suffering and Smiling.
"This," Frank said, as the music coiled out from an ancient hi-fi, "is the compressed statement of Nigerian society. We suffer, but we smile. Nothing will change until we get angry, until we stop smiling."
A storm was coming in, red clouds rolling overhead and thunder crackling down the valleys.
Frank and Mary stood waving to us, the music playing still, as we drove off down the hill, towards pseudo-Abuja.

STUNNA: LIL WAYNE TO QUIT AFTER CARTER V!

Lil Wayne says he's calling it quits following the release of Tha Carter V, which is expected to drop sometime next year.
After failing to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live a few times due to health issues and just because, Wayne finally appeared on the Los Angeles-based late-night TV show on Tuesday. The rapper talked about his favorite basketball team the Miami Heat, his recent hospitalization after experiencing multiple seizures and even dropped a bomb: He's planning his retirement.
Wait... haven't we heard this before? Kimmel wasn't buying it.
"Will this be a real retirement or one of your usual retirements, or a rap retirement when you make 12 albums after that," Kimmel cracked. "I mean Tupac died and he's still making albums."
"Yes that is true," confirmed Wayne. "I want to retire after Tha Carter V."
"What will you do when you retire? Be a Walmart greeter?" Kimmel responded.
Wayne said he wants to hang up his cap and do regular things, like a drive a car and spend time with his kids

ALUU 4 UPDATE: FOUR MEN GRANTED BAIL

A high court sitting in Port Harcourt this morning October 17th granted bail to four out of the twelve persons facing trail in the murder case of the four Uniport students. The four are: Omoikiri Aluu monarch: Alhaji Welewa, Okoghiroh Endurance, Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Evans Samuel.

Presiding Judge, Justice Letan Nyordee granted them bail on grounds that their offense is not a capital offense and is bailable. They were granted bail to the tune of N2 million with two sureties and the court asked the sureties to submit their passports. The sureties mus also have landed property in Port Harcourt and must show means of livelihood and evidence of paying tax for two years. The other eight suspects were refused bail due to the murder charges against them.

The court also admitted the photographs negatives and the Youtube CD of the incident tendered as exhibits in the matter.

Dear Nigerian police, please also arrest and prosecute the men who murdered 2 innocent young men in Badagry in July. Thank you! The sooner we criminalize jungle justice, the better for us all!

NEW MUSIC: FAZE releases two hot new singles!

Former Plantashun Boiz member Chibuzor Orji popularly known as Faze is back with two hot new singles. Ifeoma and Lambo.

DSTV CATCH UP: Why does my DSTV signal disappear when it’s ONLY ABOUT TO RAIN? Abi it’s only my area or dish?

No one should tell me about some damned physics theorem or satellite technology limitation! I’m paying top Dollar…well, top Naira, for that service and I expect to have it, rain or shine. Period! Besides, I can’t remember encountering similar
problem abroad, satellite signals scramming on you when it rains or about to rain. And I’m not talking
Mars! The Champions League final. 92nd minute Bayern was up 2-1. I was gnashing my teeth and
biting my nails desperately wishing Dortmund would equalize. The ref puts the whistle to his lips
and…coitus interruptus. Not of my making. The signal goes. The moment is lost, never to be recaptured by a million replays. What I don’t get is why my analogue reception (terrestrial broadcast, NTA and co) never jilts me at any trying moment. Worse, GOTV signal, vended by same Multichoice, never disappears when it rains. So what is the big deal about satellite technology then? See, I really don’t care about the technology; all I want is uninterrupted service. If some annoying number is not showing on your screen, it’s some damned E14 or F9 message. What, you guys make fighter jets now? Not complaining. Just pissed!

OR ARE YOU NOT???

ARSENAL EXCLUSIVE: Big news for Arsenal fans in the coming seasons

Arsene Wenger is set to pen a new Arsenal contract (Picture: Getty)

Arsene Wenger is on the cusp of signing a new contract at Arsenal after accepting the club’s offer of a new two-year deal.
Wenger, whose current deal is due to expire at the end of the season, has been locked in negotiations over an extension for months.
But after confirming he wants to see out his managerial career in England last week, the Frenchman has reportedly agreed terms on a deal that would take him until 2016.

Goal line technology in Nigeria? Nah, nothing beats beating up the referee.

Well, our beloved and bungling Vincent Enyeama has come out to root for goal-line technology on the continent after he unashamedly declared Behailu Assefa’s cross didn’t, er, cross the line for the Ethiopian goal. Given the appalling camera angles available to us during that match, Enyeama may reckon the ref and linesmen were in the wrong, but my personal Hawk-eye tells me the ball crossed the line. Victor mis-timed the ball. Lucky him we won the match. His call for goal-line technology on the continent filled me with macabre and funny images, in no way denigrating of my esteemed continent. Why do we need goal-line technology when you can threaten the ref before the match? All he has to tell his bosses is that the watch botched. Happens all the time. Waste of precious money if you ask me. That money can be put better use – bribing the officials. Or what if those aluminum
 urchins somehow manage to sneak into the stadium and steal the goal post? They then sell it to some smelter who turns it into say, beverage tins. So every time you walk past a tin of Milo or Bournvita, the tins vibrate and shouts ‘goal!’ Or perhaps, there will be so much jostling for the N10billion-per-goal-post contract, even FIFA will be
bidding for the contract… I’m certainly not short of imagination here. But the thing is, it’s actually doable. It will only be for World Cup and AFCON qualifying matches, at least in the interim, and will only be in say, two stadia – Calabar and Abuja. And only for Super Eagles matches.