tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23533371855780302952024-02-20T23:11:38.675-05:00 Godfather's Panorama....Crafting Order Out Of ChaosGodfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-60282396880492741322020-01-14T02:22:00.005-05:002020-01-14T02:24:56.679-05:00Adios Valverde...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Valverde has been sacked as Barca's manager halfway into the season with Barca at the top of the league, and having qualified for the knockout stage of the champions league. It may seem harsh but I think Valverde can leave with his held high.
He gave it his best, but with Suarez now officially out till the end of the season, Valverde has to know deep down in him, that Barca, as currently managed, cannot win this season's champions league. In fact it is debatable they'll even win the La Liga title this season. He can spare himself the certain grief that will come at the end of the season.
On the other hand, I think we Barca fans have been spoiled by all these years that we might have unrealistically high expectations of our team. For Valverde to be fired after winning the La Liga title 2 years in a row (and could possibly have won it at the end of this season if he had stayed) speaks volumes abt the unrealistic expectations of the Barca faithful.
I know we long for the breathless spectacle of the last decade, but we have different players now. It may not be so easy to replicate the magic of those magical years. We have to recognize that that era is now a distant memory, and strive to rebuild something based on the players we currently have. That must mean that judging Valverde harshly in light of the Guardiola years will soon turn into some self-propagating curse. Future coaches will be weighed against the accomplishments of that stellar team, and being found wanting, will equally find themselves getting unceremoniously ousted as Barca continues to pursue a rapid ever-disappearing identity.</span></span></div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-75537783717345774332020-01-01T01:56:00.000-05:002020-01-01T01:56:07.876-05:00Happy New Year 2020Happy New Year everyone!Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-8378863238143456422019-01-01T12:05:00.000-05:002019-01-01T12:06:06.394-05:00Happy New Year 2019<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QTDMtU281yU" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<b>Happy New Year Everyone!</b>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-15110897178721736462018-01-01T00:26:00.002-05:002018-01-01T00:26:27.977-05:00Happy New Year 2018<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Happy New Year Everyone!</b></div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-4809316915416158462017-06-16T07:01:00.000-04:002017-06-16T07:05:11.074-04:00When Ignorance and Self-hatred Masquerades As Wisdom and Patriotism<div style="text-align: justify;">
Reactions to the <a href="http://saharareporters.com/2017/06/06/northern-youths-declare-war-igbos-north-ask-them-%E2%80%98leave%E2%80%99-within-three-months" target="_blank">Kaduna declaration</a> has been fast and furious. Many Nigerians seemed to intuitively understand that the Northern Youths acted brashly and against the interests of peaceful coexistence in Nigeria and condemned the quit notice given to the Igbo in the North. <a href="http://www.gfpanorama.com/2017/06/biafran-referendum-is-it-just-matter-of.html" target="_blank">I equally aired my thoughts moments after the news broke.</a></div>
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Well, here's the view of a Nollywood actress that goes by the name Cynthia Amadi:</div>
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This is a shameful video. It reminds me of the fact that at the height of the Nazi-led holocaust, there were Jews who sided or supported the Nazis and helped to massacre their own kith and kin. Isn't it sad to see that some Igbo people have internalized the hatred and bile, or swallowed the ugly stereotypes about Igbo people that are spewed by non-Igbos? It is especially maddening because you know that the true tribal bigots who hate the Igbo can always justify their anti-Igbo xenophobia and hatred by pointing to misguided Igbo people, like this woman, who spew this sort of arrant garbage. </div>
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For example, it is always common to see people who want to halt the Igbo aspiration for a new deal start offering their thoughts that they think the Igbo people are not united and mist first of all be completely united before they should seek self-determination. Pray tell, do they think Igbo people are robots or machines? Do Igbo people not have the freedom of independent thought? Of course there is no possible way every Igbo person will agree on a particular matter (we are talking about over 50 million people worldwide). Using that criterion, can any nation of people ever be called united? Are all Yoruba people for instance in complete agreement over whether they should remain in Nigeria or form their own independent Oodua nation? Are all Hausas/Northerners for that matter content to remain in Nigeria- are there not sections of them that would prefer an independent Arewa nation governed by Sharia law? </div>
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If you want to know whether the Biafrans are speaking with something close to one voice, conduct a referendum in the East on this matter, and I guarantee you that given the prospect of leaving Nigeria to form their own nation despite all the warnings about the pitfalls that could bedevil a new Biafran nation, the Biafrans would choose to leave this union with something above 90%. That is as close as you can possibly be to complete unity. Of course there are smatterings of Igbo people here and there who would want to remain in this union for reasons best known to them. They will of course be free to give up Biafran nationality and remain Nigerians. As a matter of fact, if you go through the rest of her bitter emotional complaints about the Igbo people, any smart Nigerian can see that the same can be said for other ethnic groups by wayward misguided people within their ranks. If a misguided Igbo woman thinks Igbos are the most wicked ethnic group, it is because she has mostly dealt with Igbo people. If this woman was honest, the kindest, meekest, nicest people she would have also met are the same Igbos she condemns. In a similar manner, there are Yoruba persons that will tell you the Yoruba are the most wicked, or Hausa persons that will confess about the brutality of the Hausa. The point is that such persons are not representative of their ethnic group, and in any case, whatever faults they think they find are HUMAN foibles applicable to all - whether they are Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Welsh, Catalonian, Eritrean, Pakistani, Timorese, etc.</div>
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It is always more painful when the people who you think are smart enough to understand the whole concept of self-determination fail to do so, and think that the whole Biafra issue is just a silly agitation by misinformed or jobless youth for war. Someone really needs to sit this woman down to make her understand her history, what Biafra actually symbolizes, and the fact no one is calling for war. As a matter of fact, it is not just Igbos or Biafrans that are calling for a dissolution of this unfruitful union - other regions/ethnic nationalities have caught on, and have seen how unworkable this project is, and will continue to remain, and are also asking for a restructuring, regionalism, or complete self-determination. This is enshrined in modern International Law and is a right possessed by people. That is why groups like Arewa, or Oodua for example, who are also seeking for the freedom to separate from this meaningless union called Nigeria, are correct and legitimate by PRINCIPLE. There is no law anywhere that says the disparate aggregations of ethnic nations trapped in Lord Lugard's cage (Nigeria) must remain there in perpetuity because Nigeria was not created or formed with their consent.</div>
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We know the adversities of war, and how ravaging it can be, and Biafrans are not seeking for or asking for war. How could they when they are not represented in the military; when the nation's weapons are concentrated in the North; when Igbos are not even using violent methods in the agitation for Biafra even though other splinter groups are? How could Igbos be asking for war when they know that they stand to lose all the investments and businesses they have in other parts of the country if it ever came to war? I assure you that over 90% of Biafrans are not looking for that. They have been looking for a peaceful renegotiation of this Nigerian project to correct the injustices. Since this has proved elusive, Biafrans are exercising a UN-recognized right to self-determination. You can achieve this through a referendum without firing a bullet.</div>
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Cynthia Amadi, I know you are emotional. That is not a substitute for getting a proper understanding of the relevant issues. Isn't it amazing that rather than condemn the actions of the Northern Youths in giving a quit notice to the Igbo - an action that flagrantly flies in the face of the much-vaunted talk about national unity and cohesion - you have chosen to attack Igbos who were merely expressing their dissatisfaction with the status quo? Okay, let us dial back. What was the reason given for the statements of the Northern Youths? Ridiculous as it might sound, the answer seemed to be that it was because the Igbos in the South-east stayed at home on just one special day to remember and mourn the millions of their compatriots that died during the civil war. Pray tell, what was wrong with this action by the Igbo? If they had gone out on that day to <b>peacefully</b> protest the moribund economy and to express their desire for an independent state, they would have been hounded, shot at and maimed by the police force or perhaps the military. All they did was sit at home in some form of silent protest and to remember their losses during the war. Well, that painfully innocuous action was enough to get the North uncomfortable. As an Igbo woman, I would have thought that reaction by the Northern Youths would have caused you some internal disquiet, but apparently it didn't. A lot of people have spoken on the issue, and they have rightfully condemned that Kaduna declaration, which realistically is the real issue heating up the polity - why then have you chosen this path? This is a classic case of when ignorance, arrogance and self-hatred masquerades as wisdom and patriotism.</div>
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Do yourself a favor - stop looking at perhaps some of the counterproductive actions of some local "thugs" or "bullies" who do one negative thing or the other in the name of Biafra. They are not representative of all Igbo people. The vast majority of Igbo people are decent, hardworking, and do not want violence against their immediate neighbors to the south or other Nigerians. They want to pilot their affairs, and enshrine hard-work, equity and meritocracy. Your emotional outburst insults them and especially tarnishes or sullies the memories of the millions of Biafrans who died because they believed in and fought for the Biafran nation. When you speak as you have, you risk inviting the ire of a people who today still feel the hurts of the past. Just because you cannot imagine a state of affairs where Nigeria ceases to exist does not mean that Nigeria as an entity is sacrosanct or inviolable. This present unworkable union can be dissolved. If perchance Biafra is formed tomorrow, I'll ask you to wait for 50 years (you are young enough that I can see you living for another 50 years) and come back to tell us how your fears have been realized. My bet is that you would be proven wrong. In the meantime, it is saddening to notice that like the biblical Israelites, there are many like you who would prefer a life of slavery and marginalization for their people rather than true freedom.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-37316788926881653002017-06-09T01:10:00.000-04:002017-06-16T07:08:47.959-04:00Biafran Referendum: Is it Just a Matter of Time?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<b>I am of the opinion that IGBO people should immediately begin to relocate from the North.</b> If an Igbo person must stay there, he/she better make sure he/she is armed to the teeth, and/or that the Igbo over there go about in well-armed groups because their safety is no longer guaranteed. Let it be a lesson to all these Igbo people who have simply refused to situate their wealth in their homeland but have rather chosen to go to the North in search of greener pastures. </div>
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<b>Ok, let us discuss this issue</b>.</div>
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By now, you must have already <a href="http://saharareporters.com/2017/06/06/northern-youths-declare-war-igbos-north-ask-them-%E2%80%98leave%E2%80%99-within-three-months" target="_blank">read or heard that Northern Youths gathered in Kaduna recently and issued an ultimatum for all the Igbos in the Northern region to pack out of Northern Nigeria</a> or face the inevitable consequences. Anyone who knows anything about Nigeria must already know what sort of consequences will befall the Igbo when the angry violent Northern Youth begin to act. They (The Northern Youth) want to reclaim lands and property which are currently being owned by Igbo or people of the South east and possibly South-south - therefore you know there will be a bloody carnage, AS USUAL, when that time runs out and there are Igbo people and property still to be found.</div>
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The Igbo people are spread all over Nigeria - far more in number, outside their traditional states, as a proportion of their numerical size, than any other ethnic group in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, the only way to get the idea that Nigeria is one country lies in the fact that there are overwhelming numbers of Igbos living and productively thriving in other parts of the country. You would expect that sort of thing actually, if you really believed in the idea of One Nigeria. One Nigeria should mean, like in other developed countries, that regardless of your ethnic group, you can freely relocate to and live within any region of the country, and conduct your business or own property, without any harassment or fear. If this were not the case, then there would be no sense in considering the country united in any practical way - and people would never make sizable investments in parts of the country outside their traditional or ancestral states. I hope you are still in agreement with me thus far.<br />
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However, now that the North want the Igbo out, there is a possibility also that people in other regions of the country may also want to reclaim lands and property (factories, houses, companies, infrastructure) owned by the Igbo in their respective regions or states. They would, in essence, also want the Igbo out of their affairs. Lagos state comes to mind. There is an alarming overwhelming presence of the Igbo in Lagos and many other parts of the Southwest - living together, speaking the language of their hosts and thriving economically. It is reasonable to expect that many people in these regions may also want the Igbo gone. There is no denying the entrepreneurial and mercantile inclination of the Igbo, and while that attribute helps to develop the local economies of the places they find themselves, it can also breed resentment in the host populations to discover much of their areas being OWNED and dominated by these "foreigners" (Igbos).</div>
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So here's the issue: Can you explain to me again, why Nigeria/Nigerians are completely opposed to the idea of Igbos breaking off from Nigeria to form their own country as they have been demanding for 50 years, but at the same time do not want to fully integrate with them or continue to nurse resentment for them because of the way they set about to economically dominate the regions they find themselves in? Explain to me why Nigerians should continue to live under this false mirage that the unity or sanctity of this forced union is to be considered inviolable. What is so taboo about the Igbo aspiration for self-determination if other parts of the country are also equally tired of the union and also want out? How can we safely kill two birds with one stone here - i.e., grant the North their wishes by expelling the Igbo, and grant the Igbo their wish by organizing a credible globally-watched referendum on whether they want to remain part of the union or not? How long must the people dwell in forced hostile proximity? Is a referendum on Biafra now just a matter of time before it happens?</div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-1373883437611784622017-02-16T06:08:00.000-05:002017-06-16T07:06:38.216-04:00Trump's Chaotic First Month <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/us/politics/donald-trump-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn.html" target="_blank">Now that General Flynn has been fired (read resigned) of lying about his contacts with the Russians to the Vice</a>, it looks like I am beginning to see what might undo the Trump presidency - LEAKS! There seems to be competing power structures or competing power dynamics within the administration, and they are all vying for the President's ear or his trust. So they are willing to sabotage each other to have a leg up with Trump himself. This comes in the forms of anonymous leaks. I see that these leaks and hacks are going to undo Trump's presidency. </div>
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Think about it: how can you actually hope to govern or achieve anything if the details of your secret deliberations with your inner sanctum are somehow leaked, by members of that inner sanctum, to the press? How can you get anything achieved if your plans or policies are, before they are actually implemented or fine-tuned, picked apart -warts and all - on the media? You might remember that during the election campaign, Trump smiled at and had fun with the fact that Russian hacks and leaks brought down or at least massively undermined the Clinton Campaign and eventually allowed him to win. He will find out soon enough that the same odious leaks and hacks are going to be deployed to undermine his administration. He is already crying about it, but it is only going to get worse. We have seen people parting company with Trump since the night he officially won the election. We shall see even more resignations or firings in the months ahead as the gross incompetence of his administration starts filtering out in anonymous leaks.</div>
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In fact, it is beginning to look like there is something that the Russians have on Trump - some kind of bargaining chip or trump card (pardon the pun) - that they know they can use with devastating effect on Trump. They have succeeded in making Trump "Putin's lapdog". </div>
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It now leaves you to wonder what Trump's feckless and compromising deference to Putin might mean for the balance of American relations with Russia. Trump can run his mouth and attack anyone but when it comes to Vladmir Putin, a known thug and dictator, Trump becomes a meek lamb or worse a muzzled pitbull. This is an assessment that should have already begun to crystallize for even Trump's most ardent supporters. If they are capable of any self-introspection, Donald's transparently servile deference to Moscow should be worrisome if not downright frightening.</div>
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No one should have easily forgotten that he eased up the tough sanctions put on Russia by Obama for Putin illegally annexing Crimea from the Ukraine; then appoints Putin's pal Tillerson as his Secretary of State - a move speculated to help yield some financial dividend for Trump himself in the form of oil and gas money. Nor should anyone forget that Flynn, his former National Security Adviser, with his knowledge and blessings went to placate the Russians behind the scenes when Obama, in his last acts as president, decided to punish Russia for their meddling in the elections by slapping on more sanctions and sending some diplomats in the US back to Russia. The Russians did not retaliate by repatriating American businessmen or diplomats back - a move that would have doubtlessly ratcheted up international tension between the two countries. For this, Trump comes out and praises Putin effusively for being a wise leader. </div>
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But perhaps, the most chilling should be when Trump chooses to make a moral equivalence by negatively pointing a finger at the US when Bill O'Reilly confronted him with the fact that Putin is a killer who has massacred his opposition and killed journalists. For a man who was openly and eagerly willing to say negative things about his predecessors in office contrary to their tradition, and had not shied away from speaking forcefully against the Pope, you have to wonder what sort of leverage Putin has on Trump to compel such kowtowing deference. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/europe/russia-cruise-missile-arms-control-treaty.html" target="_blank">Not even when Russia broke a treaty and testfired a missile recently could anyone get Trump to utter the mildest form of censure.</a></div>
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What shall we discover down the line as more and more leaks come out? How badly compromised and given over to the Russians - our archenemy and global rival by the way - is Trump and his administration before Americans wake up and decide to do something about it? Flynn is gone, but this is just the beginning. One hopes against this but it is looking like leaks centered around Trump's incompetence (or worse his duplicity) are going to spell the end of this administration - more efficiently than any number of passionate protests ever could.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-60682107016735638992017-01-28T09:13:00.002-05:002017-01-30T13:09:45.170-05:00Why Is Abortion NOT Murder?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Okay, today's topic is ABORTION. </div>
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First of all, I am male and so I know that for this topic, a lot of people, mostly women, are going to discount or disregard my view purely based on the fact of my gender. So I am going to approach this discussion differently. I do not aim to offend anyone so please, resist the urge to come to this topic with an emotional chip on your shoulder. Let us reason this out and submit to superior reason or logic.</div>
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<b>"Human life begins at conception/fertilization." </b></div>
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The question of when life begins is not even necessarily a <i>philosophical </i>or a<i> theological</i> one. Rather it can be easily answered with <b>elementary biology</b> (i.e science). There is really no dispute scientifically as to the fact that human biological life begins at the moment of conception - and if left undisturbed would develop into an adult. </div>
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It seems the bitter debate therefore, is NOT really on whether human life begins at conception (because it does), but on when after conception can we assign person-hood. This is where it gets murky and begins to invite all sorts of philosophical debates. Some would say the living embryo only becomes a person as soon as a heartbeat is detected, some would say as soon as a brain has formed, others would say only when the fetus is developed enough to be able to survive outside the womb. But I hope you can see that so far, the question of when the life actually began remains pretty much universally agreed upon because it is not opinion but empirical fact.</div>
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Given this widely accepted fact, can someone respectfully and rationally explain to me why abortion is not murder (the taking of human life) even if the laws of a land permits it? I am open to be persuaded by reason or facts that I might not have given deeper or finer thought. Let's keep it civil and more importantly <b>informative.</b></div>
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Any takers?</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-42481525462341241482017-01-20T11:20:00.001-05:002017-01-20T13:05:22.596-05:00Adios Obama : A Changing Of The Guard<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://purbelinews.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/donald-trump-vs-barack-obama-1000x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://purbelinews.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/donald-trump-vs-barack-obama-1000x600.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outgoing 44th POTUS Barack Obama (right) & Incoming 45th POTUS Donald Trump (left).</td></tr>
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<b>B</b>efore Obama was sworn in as president in January of 2009, there were many African-Americans who were of the opinion that a black man (or a half-white man as the case may be) would never be elected to the highest office in the land. If you asked why this was the pervading sentiment then, you would have heard a range of reasons from the ugly history of slavery and the legacy of racial prejudice that still plagues this country, to the seemingly more practical issue of demographic trends and population sizes. </div>
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Clearly, some were of the opinion that even if every black person in America voted for some as-yet-unknown black candidate, the white majority would be enough to balance out or perhaps swallow that massive bloc of black votes - enough, I would imagine, to guarantee that some as-yet-unknown white candidate would always emerge the winner. That was then. That was before an Obama arrived on the political scene.</div>
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<b>He swept into power on the winds of Hope and Change</b>. The rest they say, is history.</div>
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It has been 8 years of two terms for America's first black president. Today is his last day in office as he hands over power officially to the president-elect Donald Trump. Yes indeed - today Trump would be sworn in, and he'll officially become the 45th president of the United States.<br />
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I had previously wanted to make this a lengthy piece in which I'd personally analyze or dissect what Obama's years in office has meant to me personally. I had wanted to go into details on all the little ways that Obama failed to live up to expectations; failed to live up to his billing as a radically transformative president - one who at least helped to usher in a different era of Hope and Change, like he campaigned. Some would have argued, had I done as I wanted, that I was being unncessarily strict on Obama and that I was parsing his tenure in the harshest possible light given the unprecedented level of obstructionism and blunt noncooperation presented by the Republicans.</div>
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My answer would have been the same: we are supposed to hold elected officials' feet to the fire. We are supposed to NOT give them a pass. We are supposed to hold them responsible for doing the job we elected them for, and more importantly, for doing something to actually fulfil the promises they made which garnered them the votes they needed to win in the first place. It should not matter what political party the President, or any other elected official for that matter, belongs to. <b>Accountability MUST be the watchword.</b></div>
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At any rate, on this his final day, I think it would simply be fitting to just say <i>"Goodbye Obama"</i>. I am sure there will be opportunities in the future to analyze his presidency, or to contrast his record, policies and achievements (or failures) with that of Trump. Looking back now, you can sense that a lot of people (mostly Democrats) already feel a tinge of sadness for his departure based on their premonitions of the unspeakable horror that the Trump Administration would presumably turn out to be.</div>
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Yes, Obama was not the "Messiah" many desperately wanted him to be, but he managed to pull the country back from the brink economically when it was teetering precariously over Bush's repression precipice. He saved the Auto industry, and millions of jobs and livelihoods in the process. Wall street grew, nay flourished magnificently, under his tenure - and this he did whilst managing to resist the strong and usually irresistible desire off kick-starting another costly and ill-thought out military expedition in the Middle East. Many, including I, will bristle at his extensive use of drones and targeted assassinations especially when innocent civilians were killed, but the cost of such surgical strikes to the US economy vastly pales in comparison to full-scale ground invasions/troops or as is normally said <i>"boots on the ground"</i>.</div>
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US unemployment numbers dropped precipitously under his tenure from 2008 numbers (between 7.8 - 12% unemployment) during the last year of President Bush to somewhere around 4.6% today. This means that millions of jobs were created under Obama and there was positive job growth - it might not have grown as quickly or as sharply as some fantasized but nevertheless, there was growth or improvement of some kind recorded. As a matter of fact, Obama is handing over a far more healthier economy to Trump than he inherited from Bush. Also, it needs to be said that after Bush, Obama's Administration did a lot to restore some of the goodwill and the co-operation that America formerly enjoyed before Bush's which was dangerously eroded by Bush's senseless unilateral interventions in the Middle East. This co-operation was what enabled Europe to stand together with America in handing down stiff sanctions to Russia for their aggressive co-option of Crimea from Ukraine. It was also partly because of Obama's tough sanctions policy on Iran that played some role in motivating the theocratic state to submit to Obama's efforts at checking their unrestrained push towards acquiring nuclear weapons. This sort of respect for, and the willingness to co-operate with the White House in particular or the US in general seems in peril in the near future judging by president-elect Trump's recent utterances. Let's wait and see what his foreign policy eventually looks like.</div>
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Obama's administration was front and center of the Paris Climate Deal which was convened to take tangible measures for improving the environment and future global climate. On the homefront, his administration, by executive orders, also sought to protect a lot of wildlife and natural parks, or to prevent the indiscriminate drilling for OIL. Obama also played a huge role in pushing for and finally changing much of the national consciousness on the whole issue of same-sex marriage. It was not surprising, I should think, that it was in his tenure that the Supreme Court finally ruled that same-sex marriages are to be deemed constitutionally legal in all the 50 states. </div>
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Similarly, marijuana is also now gradually becoming legal in a number of states. Personally, I do not care for marijuana (I have never smoked it neither do I ever intend to because I find the smell of pot unbearably offensive) but studies show that it is not more dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes which things are currently legal. The government should decriminalize it and tax it exorbitantly, like they did with some drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. I am sure it will yield a lot for the national coffers. Secondly, it will go a long way in addressing the obvious and the nauseating lopsidedness of our criminal justice system which disproportionately targets, arrests and incarcerates BLACK men for simple marijuana possession. Can you imagine the thousands of Black or Hispanic people that will have to be released from jail for committing no heinous crimes except that of having some marijuana in their possession - many of whom were actually framed? </div>
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It has been 8 years and it is finally time to turn a new chapter. Perhaps the single most important thing Obama achieved was the landmark legislation called the <b>Affordable Care Act</b> - derisively called <i>"Obamacare" </i>- which though being imperfect nonetheless made it possible for millions of formerly uninsured persons to be able to afford healthcare coverage. It was Obamacare that also elevated the age to 26 for which a child can remain covered by his/her parents. It was also the stipulations of Obamacare that did away with insurance companies denying people coverage on the basis of <b><i>"pre-existing conditions"</i></b>. I hear the Republicans are gearing up to dismantle and repeal that healthcare law even though they have no practical solutions or replacement for the law. We'll see exactly how they intend to leave 20 million Americans stranded and uninsured in the near future.</div>
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So yes, Obama has by no means done all that his voters in 2008 and 2012 hoped or prayed that he would do. He'll leave office regardless with his head held high hoping that history will remember and judge him favorably based on all that he was able to do with the economic and political realities bequeathed to him.</div>
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For now, we turn all attention to the new leader of the Free World, President Donald J. Trump, and to the years ahead.</div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-14734831794279706222017-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:002017-01-01T00:00:17.318-05:00Happy New Year 2017<div style="text-align: justify;">
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!</div>
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Wheww, we finally came to the end of 2016 and now I want to heartily welcome you to a brand new year 2017. May God keep and guide you in this new year and grant you success and victory, as he sees fit, in your endeavors.</div>
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Have a happy new year!</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-92024655205005111902016-08-25T10:19:00.002-04:002016-09-19T06:46:26.275-04:00Proxima B: Another Earth?<div class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An artist's illustration of Proxima B showing her sun, Proxima Centauri</td></tr>
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As the search for life outside planet Earth continues relentlessly, the Huffington Post reports the discovery of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/earth-planet-proxima-b_us_57bc6f68e4b03d51368ad735?section=&">yet another exoplanet that might be able to support life!</a></div>
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An Earth-like planet is orbiting the sun closest to ours, scientists announced Wednesday.
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The planet, called “Proxima b,” orbits a star called “Proxima Centauri” and has a temperature that would allow liquid water to exist there, according to a statement released Wednesday by the European Southern Observatory. That means the world is possibly habitable, but scientists don’t know yet whether there’s anything living there.
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“This rocky world is a little more massive than the Earth and is the closest exoplanet to us ― and it may also be the closest possible abode for life outside the solar system,” ESO said.
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Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star, lies just 4.25 light-years away from Earth. While that’s pretty far away by astronomical distances, it’s just a drop in the cosmic bucket. Other Earth-like exoplanets that have been discovered are much farther away from Earth, which makes the revelation of Proxima b more exciting.
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Earlier this year, researchers in Chile looked at Proxima Centauri using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, or HARPS, a high-resolution instrument that specializes in the search for extrasolar planets. They were searching for a wobble in the star that would indicate the gravitational tug of a potential orbiting planet.
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What they found amazed them.
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“The first hints of a possible planet were spotted back in 2013, but the detection was not convincing,” Guillem Anglada-Escude of Queen Mary University in London, who led the Chile team, said in the ESO statement. This year, the team checked every day during the 60 nights of their scans of Proxima Centauri. “The first 10 were promising, the first 20 were consistent with expectations, and at 30 days, the result was pretty much definitive, so we started drafting the paper!” he said.
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The researchers will publish their scientific paper detailing the astronomical finding on Aug. 25 in the journal Nature.<br />
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Proxima b is about 1.3 times bigger than Earth and orbits its parent sun approximately every 11 days. It’s a lot closer to its star than we are ― just 5 percent of our Earth-Sun distance, according to ESO.
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Astronomers say that Proxima b is orbiting in a habitable zone, meaning the planet’s surface temperature could promote the presence of liquid water. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s any life there. Radiation from the red dwarf star could cause a much different climate on Proxima b than we have on Earth.
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The discovery and confirmation of the planet now begins a more extensive exploration of our very close ― cosmically speaking ― neighbor. And that means the planet will become a major target in the search for life elsewhere.
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“Many exoplanets have been found and many more will be found, but searching for the closest potential Earth-analogue and succeeding has been the experience of a lifetime for all of us,” said Anglada-Escude.
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“Many people’s stories and efforts have converged on this discovery. The result is also a tribute to all of them. The search for life on Proxima b comes next.”
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First of all, I am definitely as eager as the next cosmologist or astrophysicist, in the question of whether or not there are other planets that support life (other than our own). I am also thrilled, and breathless with excitement and wonder, when certain extraterrestrial phenomena are uncovered as a result of some serious and dedicated research. However, left unspoken in the perhaps shouty exuberance of these cosmological declarations, is the rather solemn or sobering fact that we are merely stating only the findings that come to us from mere observations with our telescopes - <i>powerful though they may be.
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Yes, all we are basing these doubtlessly triumphant or enrapturing declarations of discovery (and do not get me wrong - our instruments are incredibly precise and powerful), is <b>not</b> on any kind of <b>experimental</b> evidence. No one has flown to or commissioned a deep-space probe to be sent to the exact locations of most of these deep-space exoplanets. No kind of practical data or evidence or even real life pictures exists as to what these exoplanets are definitively like. I do not therefore imply that they do not exist - I suspect that the absence of the kind of data that might convince skeptics is because the distances involved, for a probe or a manned mission to gather incontrovertible evidence, are of such sheer immensity as to boggle the mind. They are basing these discoveries solely on observational evidence from powerful scopes and on spectroscopy, which is to all intents and purposes more theoretical than it is practical. </div>
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Having said the above, I hasten to add that there is nothing wrong with these sorts of scientific postulations being grounded on only observational grounds - as a matter of fact, in some cases, that's all we'll ever have. A lot of what we currently know in cosmological or astrophysical circles to be experimentally verifiable fact started out in a similar manner. However, I must point out that most of the excitable listening public, far from realizing that there is no hands-on or experimental data or evidence for the existence of some of these exoplanets found in the "Goldilock's Zone" of their respective stars - impressively further away from us than even "Proxima b" here - actually treat or receive such news as if it were possible that now, or at some time in the immediate future, earthlings would happily set about the task of colonizing another "earth". </div>
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This is the subtext for a slew of sci-fi space movies out there. Nevertheless, I couldn't begin to tell you just how remote the possibility of such a venture truly is. Not only do we not have the equipment for manned deep-space travel, our probes are still trying to uncover much about our very own solar system, not to talk of launching off into deep space! In one of my previous posts, I tried to paint a picture of <a href="http://www.gfpanorama.com/2014/11/interstellars-faux-pas.html" target="_blank">how vast our galaxy is - just one of billions out there</a>. In another post, I talked about <a href="http://www.gfpanorama.com/2012/03/do-you-believe-there-are-aliens.html" target="_blank">how vast the universe as a whole is, and about the theoretical possibility that there could be life somewhere else in the Universe simply unknown to or perhaps unknowable to us. </a></div>
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At any rate, let's narrow things down a bit. Let's assume that we are indeed ready for a manned flight to the Proxima Centauri solar system to fly by or to land on Proxima B. We intend to take stunning pictures of the planet as we approach; to investigate whether it had breathable oxygen in its air which would be favorable to us of course; to scoop up soil samples when we land on the rocky planet for later study; to scour the planet in search of water and of possible forms of life. You get the idea already, don't you? Well, Proxima B is about 4.25 light years away from us. Do you know what that is in miles? Almost 25 TRILLION miles! If one blazes forth to Proxima B in a rocket ship, at the speed it took for us to reach Jupiter in 3 years or less, then it would require roughly 147544 years for one's rocket to get there, and yeah, 147544 years for one to get back and share one's findings with us. Not only is this trip infeasible because of the length of a human life span, or that there may not be any current technology to blast one over such distances, you have to consider the fact that whatever information one could bring back to Earth close to three hundred thousand years later, might no longer be totally accurate or even useful.</div>
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There, you have it. We will all doubtlessly rejoice over this recent information, and then we must all go back to the drawing board to continue the quest for life in other worlds.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-85838975084405191002016-08-11T12:48:00.000-04:002016-08-11T12:48:29.180-04:00Donald J.Trump: Categorically Unfit To Rule<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Republican Presidential Nominee: Donald J. Trump</td></tr>
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When I said sometime in the past that Donald Trump is the most idiotic, most clueless buffoon to ever run for president of the US, some people thought I was being hyperbolic. The truth is that this man is worse than just an embarrassment. He is a monumental joke. He is an incompetent, callous, greedy, self-absorbed, thin-skinned, racist demagogue but amazingly he has managed to con a lot of people into believing he is an agent of true positive change. Just take a look at the shambolic freewheeling public relations nightmare/disaster that is his campaign for president - it is at once hilarious, shocking and dangerous. In fact, in the bizarre fact-free bubble in which Trump and his campaign staffers operate, it is quite possible they see his conduct, utterances, and twitter fulminations thus far as the trappings of a well-coordinated campaign!</div>
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To add to it, he is an inveterate flip-flopper - and does not have any true position on any political issue at all. The man's mind is a basket or sieve, and whatever position he adopts in the morning, he is going to change or reverse in the evening. Donald Trump is just a big petulant child LYING and saying absolutely anything that comes to his head in order to deceive the simple-minded. Isn't it amazing that he still has the large following he has despite these? Is it simply that his base/supporters are immune to facts and clear, logical reasoning OR is it just that they are even more scared of the possibility of Hilary Clinton getting elected? Well, for a brief reminder of his thoughtless and now predictable waffling on the issues, watch the clip below:</div>
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Republicans are having a major case of "buyer's remorse" now. Many republicans have now - so late in the game - discovered that this man is not even really conservative, but alas there is nothing they can do about stopping him from representing the party at the November general elections. All they can now do is run from the Trump ship in droves while pointing out to anyone who cares to listen that they do not support the imposter who has managed to hijack their party. It is a pity that too many people have allowed themselves to be taken in (fooled) by this ignoramus sporting some "amber waves of grain" on the top of his skull. </div>
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At any rate, by writing this, I am not asking or suggesting that you should support Hilary Clinton either, because she has her own issues, but she is managing to present herself as a better choice to the general public despite her own shortcomings. You really have to weigh these two candidates based on the issues and make an informed choice. But guess what? If you are dissatisfied with both, don't forget that there are also two other candidates out there that could use your vote. Have you discovered who they are and what their positions are on the issues?</div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-59022585448732839972016-07-25T15:39:00.000-04:002016-07-25T15:39:54.974-04:00When A Rogue Challenges A Thief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In what can only be described as a theater of the absurd, P<a href="http://saharareporters.com/2016/07/24/why-babangida-removed-me-power-%E2%80%93-buhari-reveals-31-year-old-secret" target="_blank">resident Muhammadu Buhari is now challenging former President Ibrahim Babangida</a>.</div>
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One cannot help but chuckle at Buhari's temerity for demanding accountability from President Babangida. I had always suspected that the two were not exactly the best of friends, but I have to say I was more than a little amused at the cheekiness of it all. You know, maybe Buhari is actually beginning to believe his anti-corruption charade. Perhaps, he imagines that Nigerians are really impressed by the barefaced spin, the selective prosecutions and his largely incompetent leadership as far as the economy is concerned. </div>
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But pray tell, why does Buhari―an illiterate, incompetent soldier cum religious zealot―who overthrew the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari, expect the ire or at least, the righteous indignation of the average Nigerian for Babangida who subsequently overthrew his illegal and anti-democratic regime? <b>Are we supposed to ignore his anti-democratic precedent because he claims he was fighting corruption at the time? </b>This would be laughable coming 31 years after the fact, if not for the painful fact that Nigeria has continued to regress since Buhari's coup d'état. </div>
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Nigerians do not particularly care about his disaffection for the equally corrupt thief called Babangida. As far as many Nigerians are concerned, they are both guilty of the sort of malfeasance, ineptitude, nepotism, and clannish mindset that has hindered Nigeria. Yes, Babangida might have been the bigger thief, but no one, who is not rabidly pro-Buhari, assumes for one second that Buhari is squeaky clean in Nigeria's messy corrupt politics. He was deposed, I suspect, not just because he was an authoritarian blowhard who visited inhuman and extrajudicial cruelty upon the populace in the name of fighting indiscipline. It was partly because his administration was ridiculously inept and squandered resources. </div>
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Before you think that Buhari is some kind of suffering saint, consider this: <i><a href="http://www.akpos.net/2013/06/ibb-hits-buhari-harder-over-28billion.html" target="_blank">In March 1976, the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed Buhari as the Federal Commissioner (position now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources. When the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was created in 1977,[23] Buhari was also appointed as its Chairman, a position he held until 1978. During his tenure as Commissioner, 2.8 billion Naira allegedly went missing from the accounts of the NNPC in Midlands Bank in the United Kingdom. Former President Ibrahim Babangida allegedly accused Buhari of being responsible for this fraud.</a></i></div>
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Sure, a panel set up under Shehu Shagari's administration would later clear Buhari of the charges (wink wink), but this astronomical sum of money that disappeared from the NNPC coffers (2.8 billion naira in the late seventies was an insanely huge amount of money) was never recovered till date. Maybe if you were simple-minded enough, you may sheepishly agree that Buhari, the Minister of Petroleum at the time, had absolutely no knowledge of or complicity in the matter. <b>I will not even begin to dig into his numerous human rights abuses when he eventually overthrew Shagari's government and took over.</b> At any rate, you just have to marvel at the man's guts for wanting to put another kleptocrat (IBB) from a bygone era on blast as though he was a paragon of virtue. What will this trip down our collective memory lane, filled with painful reminders of their sordid past history, do for present day Nigerians in the midst of this pressing depressing economic downturn?</div>
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Buhari disappeared for a brief period, and came back again during Abacha's tenure. Somehow, he wangled an invitation by Abacha to come and head up the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). The PTF was a coveted prize as you can probably imagine because Petroleum was and still remains Nigeria's main export. With PTF coffers filled to the tune of billions of dollars, Buhari was supposed to oversee a modernization or a developmental project which would at the very least provide electricity, potable water and macadamized roads throughout the federation. This again was a failure in my opinion despite the fact that some have widely touted it a success on the strength of some paved roads that the PTF engineered. The fact is, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that it was like all other ambitious projects embarked by clueless leaders in the past: some tokenistic measures are taken and then eventually abandoned as precious millions of dollars slowly and mysteriously make their way into the pockets, the foreign private accounts or the tax-free havens of a thieving elite. For an uneducated soldier in 80's Nigeria who deposed a legitimate president and lorded over the country and its treasury for less than 2 years, he has done exceedingly well for himself financially and otherwise. This fact is often overlooked. </div>
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Buhari should knuckle down and tackle the problems facing the country NOW. That should be his priority. The nation is groaning under a severe economic strain right now. The exchange rate is well over N330 for $1; there is a scarcity of fuel/petrol and worse, the price for a liter has shot up; the health care sector is in ruins; businesses are closing down; the educational sector is a joke; crumbling infrastructure and amenities are staring everyone in the face; there is rising insecurity as Boko Haram threatens peace and security with apparently little to fear of from Buhari's government; and on and on and on. Instead of pressing forward on those issues, Buhari is junketing around the world or worse, inviting us to look back 31 years ago to demand from Babangida the truthful answer for his ouster―as though, to use a local expression, that makes a difference in the price of a cup of beans today. </div>
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He eventually realized his lifelong dream of becoming Nigeria's president, with the sort of powers that comes with that office. If he is really serious about Babangida's actions in those days, and he really wants to be seen battling and crushing corruption, this is his opportunity to take decisive actions to bring Babangida to justice. Surely, he should do this, right? Or are we to assume that Buhari doesn't know that Babangida is corrupt? He surely knows, but more importantly, Babangida also knows where Buhari's skeletons are buried, literally and figuratively. This is, in the final analysis, a minor spat between two scoundrels.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-29761426400703754242016-07-14T02:26:00.002-04:002016-07-15T17:43:05.230-04:00Countering Anti-#BLM Lies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I saw a post on Facebook by one of my Facebook friends in Canada regarding the <b>Black Lives Matter (#BLM)</b> movement which pleasantly surprised me because of how accurately she was able to capture the essence of the movement especially now that we are noticing a concerted effort to de-legitimize the movement. I simply clicked the "like" button for that Facebook post and left not realizing that some serious discussions were raging down in the comments box. Somehow my attention was drawn to it, and upon reading the comments that followed, I realized that there were certain claims or lines of arguments that were being trotted out to silence the movement which needed to be countered. </div>
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First of all, since I have now read them, I have to confess that I am baffled as to how people in other parts of the world can truly understand or empathize with the severity of the terrible legacy of slavery and institutional racism in the US—especially how it has manifested in the lopsided or disproportionate incarcerations or killings of the black minority population—WHILE some people just across the border in Canada completely fail to recognize this. Are they truly that insulated, that aloof, that disconnected from these sad realities? Or is this just a case of intentionally turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the issue? I loathe to dismiss some with contrarian views as fundamentally comprehension-challenged, however it seems to be the most charitable characterization if one does not simply want to label them closet racists.</div>
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Now let's review some of the false claims now being leveled in arguing against the Black Lives Matter movement (claims which anyone with a functioning internet connection can check up on and refute):</div>
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Consider this quote:</div>
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…. If 6 months ago I started wearing a shirt that said White Lives Matter. Do u not think that would be offensive? Do u not think if I wore that around Regina or the University people would think I was a racist? I honestly find the entire black lives matter movement to be racist. It discriminates against all other races and perpetuates hate and disconnection.</blockquote>
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White Lives have always mattered in the US and I suspect in Canada as well. Printing <b><i>"White Lives Matter"</i></b> on your t-shirt, if you are white, is just redundant. To use a terrible example, it would be like clamoring for a <b><i>"Straight Pride Parade"</i></b> day after witnessing a <b><i>"Gay Pride Parade"</i></b> day. Or for a <b><i>"White History Month"</i></b> after witnessing a <b><i>"Black History Month"</i></b>. Anyone with any firing neurons would readily recognize that these days, parades etc are simply for recognizing and supporting minorities whose interests and vital contributions have not always been recognized. The unstated but obvious fact is that "Straightness" has always been the norm, the recognized, the celebrated. Or in the other case, that month was marked out to recognize and celebrate Black contributions—not because Whites did not contribute meaningfully, but that as the majority population, the rest of the months are, without explicitly stating it, already recognizing White contributions. As a matter of fact, you could argue that most of what passes for American history is "White American" history in this corner of the globe—even though there was significant contributions by people of other "races". </div>
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The fact is, in the US, due to a long history of slavery and institutional racism (which by the way is not even denied by most Caucasians--there have been reams and reams of data and surveys collected on the subject), black lives have not mattered. We are talking from days when blacks were considered only three-fifths human or closer to the great apes than to modern man; to chattel slavery and forced labor; to the Jim Crow era and segregation; down through the centuries to the present day with disproportionate distribution of wealth, economic strangulation, disparities in employment opportunities, horrible disparities in the criminal justice system, and in the disproportionate murders of black people at the hands of the police--a militarized, trigger-happy instrument of the government. You may be excused if you do not live in the United States and thus do not really get to experience or properly understand the gravity of the things being discussed here, but please do yourself a favor and quit harping on something you do not understand. <b>#BLM</b> is simply a cry to redress these societal wrongs because in the grand scheme of things, it is obvious that Black Lives ought to matter TOO. </div>
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The truth is that all lives matter. Please watch some of the videos of what members of this group black lives matter are saying. They are not preachers for equality and peace but of inequality and hate. I think the energy being spent on this issues should better spent on fixing the real issues in a lot of black people's lives in the USA and that is poverty, education and health care. we all need to stop focusing on the symptom and start to cure the true disease and it is not race it is poverty, poor education and health care for again everyone because all lives matter . Please do not get caught up in this hate mongering and discord.</blockquote>
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The claim that <b>#BLM</b> discriminates against all other races and perpetuates hate and disconnection is simply a STUPID lie. Permit me to speculate on this for a second, but have you noticed how it would appear that the majority of the people who seem so threatened by <b>#BLM's</b> fight for justice happen to be Caucasians? Why is this the case? It is simply because there is a dominant white majority who have benefited richly from the long history of slavery and racial prejudice to the detriment of the people of other races. Therefore, when they (the privileged white majority) hear black people protesting the systemic injustices they have experienced, there is considerable guilt and maybe panic. Is it really too far-fetched to believe that they falsely assume that the people protesting and asking for equal treatment must, by some weird logic, be seeking to terminate the privileged status that whites have enjoyed since the creation of this country in order to impose a new reality favoring black people exclusively? It is not surprising therefore, that in wanting to blunt the moral force of such a movement, anti-<b>#BLM</b> activists (an overwhelming majority of whom are of the Caucasian persuasion) have sought to conceal their preference for a continuation of their privileged status quo by hiding under the banner of <b><i>"All Lives Matter".</i></b> </div>
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This is a point that needs to be emphasized greatly.</div>
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Too many people online do not actually understand how offensive the hashtag <b><i>#AllLivesMatter</i></b> truly is. They are not politically plugged in, and consequently many just think it is a benign phrase--an all-inclusive phrase designed to express the sentiments that all lives are sacred. I wish it were really just that simple and innocuous. The truth is <b>that all things being equal</b>, there would not have been any furor raised by such a sentiment. However, even the most cursory of glances through America's history to the present day will reveal that <b>all things have never been equal!</b> It is very important to realize therefore that before <b>#BLM</b> came along and gripped the national consciousness, there was never this concerted push by the white majority population, or by huge swaths of the police and the mainstream media to shine a powerful and uncomfortable light on the specific issue of the disproportionately greater deaths of African-Americans at the hands of the police. The matter had been around but because there were usually no video evidence, lying cops have controlled the narrative--they planted or doctored evidence, and told outright lies to justify their reckless behavior. Worse was that even when some egregious case got to trial, those murderous bad cops were tried and cleared of any serious consequences by friendly judges and juries. All things considered, <b>#BLM</b> was a protest against these sorts of galling injustices. It was only after they got national recognition that some reactionary forces, mostly shrill and possibly racist voices in the mainstream media, seeking to minimize or spite this movement, began to float the <b><i>#AllLivesMatter</i></b> slogan. I have already touched on this in a previous post.</div>
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So, yes, there are many people who are using it innocently thinking that it is expressing an all-inclusive sentiment NOT realizing that they are unwittingly helping to propagate a subtle, racist anti-black sentiment. If you would permit me to use another crude example, it would be like if my index finger was broken or sprained, and I go to see a doctor. The doctor comes, asks me which finger of my hand was experiencing the sharp pain. It would be like looking at that doctor with all the pain still being felt and exclaiming "all fingers matter--attend to all fingers!" As you can hopefully see from this example, that retort on my part, no matter how well-intentioned, is altogether not helpful. As a matter of fact, it is irrelevant. The index finger was what urgently needed the attention or focus of the doctor since it is in pain. When people post or tout <b><i>#AllLivesMatter</i></b>, what they may not realize they are doing (and trust me, some do in fact realize this) is that they are trying to stifle the legitimate voices of protests coming from the Black Lives Movement regarding the equality of treatment that was not there in the very first place! Surely, this should not be too hard to grasp. No one is by any means suggesting that people of other "racial" or "ethnic" backgrounds are not important, or that their lives do not matter rather that when it comes to certain historical and current injustices, certainly on the issue of death by cops, one ethnic minority is still being disproportionately affected. Seriously, like I said, at this point, only racists, or the willfully obtuse will fail to understand at this juncture. Have you wondered why most people from other minority ethnic backgrounds do not necessarily see the need to oppose <b>#BLM</b>? It is because, not only can they clearly see the injustices in the system against blacks, they are intellectually agile enough to realize that as minorities in the United States, they can very rapidly equally experience the ugly hand of racial prejudice and bigotry!</div>
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It is time to end these pernicious lies. If you like, you can visit the <b>#BLM</b> website and read up on their own position as espoused by organizers and "leaders" in this effort. There, you will quickly discover that the fight for justice and the cessation of the indiscriminate killing of black people at the hands of bigoted, armed, emotionally and psychologically unhinged police officers is NOT a call for the disparagement of all white people; indeed it is NOT even a call for the denunciation of all cops. This is because it is abundantly evident that not all cops are engaged in this madness. Also it is clear that there are many whites, and indeed people of all racial backgrounds, who are speaking up against these issues. They are abundantly welcomed by <b>#BLM</b> because the truth is that the only thing it takes for injustice to persist is for good men and women of conscience despite their skin color, to say or do nothing. </div>
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You simply need to think about the thousands of people that have been protesting peacefully throughout the country to see that these claims are simply fatuous lies. Yes, as with all movements borne out of opposition or resistance to injustice, there will be a definite segment or subset of the movement, who, moved by the mindless injustices they have witnessed, may be pushed to acts of incitement or even violence in order to hit back at the perceived enemy. In the past, <b>#BLM</b> organizers have resisted such factions, and denied them the right to act out in the name of the movement. <b>BLM</b> have always insisted on drawing attention to these issues through peaceful protest—and this is the indisputable fact. If nothing is done to address these obvious wrongs, no sensible person ought to be surprised then if the oppressed or marginalized resort to less-than-peaceful means to register their utter dissatisfaction. That nightmarish scenario is what every discerning, history-mindful person ought to be eager to avert. Just think of what sort of anarchy might ensue if the rest of the 41.5 million black people in this country, hitherto living peacefully with their Hispanic, Asian and White neighbors, suddenly decide to favor armed or violent conflict. Indeed, it is absolutely clear that <b>#BLM</b> is not seeking to discriminate against all other races or to perpetuates hate and disconnection. That claim is patently absurd.</div>
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Furthermore, in case it is not already evident, it is an exercise in woeful binary thinking to suppose that protesting extra-judicial murders by the police implies that <b>#BLM</b> or other Black Organizations are not concerned with or doing something to tackle some of the other issues plaguing the black community. This is a response to people who think Black people cannot walk and chew gum as it were - that is, black people are incapable of waging a multi-pronged struggle against systemic injustices. Anyone who thinks this, is, for the avoidance of a more pithy observation, remarkably dense.</div>
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(To be continued)</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-48880866391024000222016-07-11T00:32:00.000-04:002016-07-22T10:15:43.845-04:00Black Lives Really Do Matter<div style="text-align: justify;">
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There are lots of spurious, demeaning and harmful lies circulating in some aspects of the media, and in many exclusively or majority white enclaves/establishments, about the Black Lives Matter movement. Only the irredeemably obtuse, or shameless contemptible racists would, after being reliably and factually informed on what #BLM is truly all about, would continue to believe or speak such revolting drivel. </div>
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Unfortunately, many people you may see on TV purveying opinion that could potentially influence millions of ordinary Americans, and who realistically ought to be aware of the real facts regarding #BLM, are annoyingly or shockingly ignorant. A real disgrace. </div>
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#BLM is not a hate group; it does not preach violence against cops or against whites. #BLM does not preach that ONLY black lives matter or that black lives should matter MORE. These are some of the disgusting false tropes being spread to de-legitimize the movement. #BLM is the simple realization that historically, economically and otherwise, black lives have not mattered in this country-- a country which purports to be guided by the proposition that all men possess certain inalienable rights and should be treated equally under the law; it is a protest against a corrupt and unfair criminal justice system that disproportionately targets and punishes or incarcerates black people; and finally, it is a cry for justice and redress for what has become glaringly apparent--the internal prejudice and bias possessed by many cops which have now manifested its ugly head in the rising spate of needless shootings and deaths for black people even when unarmed or when complying with the police. </div>
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All good men and women of conscience, whether they be black, brown, yellow or white, who have seen these injustices and disapprove, must now speak clearly to condemn these unnecessary police killings and intimidation perpetrated in their name and join together to seek for reform. Clearly, a militarized, trigger-happy police bodes well for no one because this is not a police state. If you keep quiet because you are white and feel that this issue should be tackled by black people alone because you are not directly affected, do not be surprised when some of these power-drunk, authoritarian and trigger-happy cops, are used to brutalize you or strip you of some these freedoms you hold dear--a reality which is now being lived and felt by many of your black fellow citizens. </div>
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Speak up NOW. Demand accountability. Demand change. Demand justice and fairness. Black lives also matter.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-33403390899351345922016-06-01T10:39:00.001-04:002016-06-05T12:03:07.938-04:00Too Much Ado Over A Dead Gorilla?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Now, all I've been reading or viewing on the media is this <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gorilla-death-watchdog-group-wants-cincinnati-zoo-held-responsible/">gorilla shot in a zoo story</a>. Yes, it is very regrettable that the zoo authorities felt they had to kill this gorilla to save the life of this child who somehow fell into the Gorilla Exhibit/Enclosure. Like many people had suggested, it would have been much better if the gorilla was tranquilized and the boy retrieved with no loss of life. If the zoo had no tranquilizer darts, that's the fault of the zoo keepers knowing that they have these wild animals and that accidents can and do happen.</div>
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However, a lot of people are now viciously attacking the parents of the boy even calling for them to be prosecuted. Some are even bringing up the father's past criminal history, and the man wasn't even at the zoo on that day. Yes, some measure of blame for the mom is necessary - as a matter of fact, that was my first reaction upon hearing this sad story. How on earth could she allow herself to be this reckless that a child under her care managed to fall into a gorilla enclosure? But I think that people criticizing might be overdoing it now. </div>
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Yes, this gorilla should not have had to die this way, but on the flip side, a human life was saved. That ought to count for something. The sustained outrage against these unfortunate parents primarily from people who feel zealously attached to a dead ape is what I find a little over-the-top especially since: </div>
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1) The child did not die in the melee </div>
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2) Most of these uber- animal lovers and endangered species fanatics will probably not react with the same or more vitriol if a human life was lost instead. </div>
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Some measure of moderation is badly needed here. A good number of people clamoring for "justice" and weeping profusely over the premature loss of a gorilla life are the same people who would oppose the BLM movement, or turn a blind eye to other unnecessary loss of the lives of their own species.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-51530177864316075942016-01-04T17:44:00.000-05:002016-01-04T17:44:02.392-05:00Benitez Sacked!<br />
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Congrats Zizou for your rapid <a href="http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/2768232/real-madrid-sack-rafa-benitez-name-zinedine-zidane-as-coach" target="_blank">promotion</a>. Let's see whether Florentino Benitez will give you enough time to prove your worth as a manager.</div>
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It is unfortunate that Benitez had to go without getting the benefit of a full season to show what he could do. No one knows what might have actually happened had Benitez lasted till the end of this season. If he somehow managed to turn things around by the end of the season, he could have gotten a second season, but I suppose we'll never know now.</div>
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In the end, the simple greatest factor that cost Benitez his job was his poor Man-management skills. It is no longer sufficent, as a manager, to be a tactical genius, or to make the right team selection and rotation. You must also have the unalloyed support of your players especially the better players on your squad; they should feel sufficiently motivated by you, and eager to do their damnedest best to win games for you. If this is lacking, its just a matter of time before you become another unfortunate statistic. The upper echelons of management took a look at Benitez and noticed how he was unable to keep the support of the dressing room; they feared that at the rate things were going south under him, Real Madrid could wind up losing some strategic players to other clubs. </div>
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And so the hammer came down.</div>
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Zidane must know now that to be successful as a Real Madrid coach, the first thing to do would be to win the unflinching support of the dressing room. It might mean the difference between a resurgent Real Madrid who rediscover their deadly potential and starts to mount a more convincing challenge for silverware OR a highly divided and fractious team of super egos stumbling along to another trophyless season.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-68514822367122036552016-01-01T11:52:00.001-05:002016-01-01T11:52:59.639-05:00Happy New Year 2016<div style="text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year to all. I want to use this opportunity to wish YOU a very happy and prosperous New Year. May we grow from grace to grace; may a double portion of the blessings and prosperity of God overtake and completely overwhelm us in 2016. May we learn from the mistakes of last year so that we shall excel in this new year. This is going to be our year of Victory. I pray that 2016 will bring us all good health, joy, peace, success, breakthroughs, growth and above all, that it should more abundantly bind us all together in LOVE, caring and compassion. May we rediscover and maximally utilize our assets and potentials beneficially; may the pitfalls and disappointments of the previous year be overcome in this new year. Reach out and claim your blessings now and thus remain a child of God's favor!</div>
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I LOVE YOU ALL.</div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-18237572416769119512015-10-01T10:09:00.000-04:002016-07-22T10:20:30.398-04:00Biblical Ruminations<div style="text-align: justify;">
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I have a few things to share with you today—things that I have pondered on for some time as a Christian. Over the course of many years of study, I have come across many things in the bible which I lacked the capacity to explain or rationalize away. Furthermore, the explanations given by informed or expert opinion have not really pacified my mind on some of these issues. I wish to point out, from the initial blast of the gun, that I do not usually have the inclination to discuss matters of religion and faith. I allow everybody the right to his or her beliefs. The reason why I am not so hung up about religion is that I find that in many cases, a lot of people are encouraged to suspend reason to embrace things which may have little or no verifiable empirical evidence. This is what religion calls <b>faith.</b> </div>
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Therefore, when dealing with these issues, there is an unspoken premise that one does not necessarily need to have ALL or most of these thorny religious texts make unassailable intellectual sense before one accepts these biblical quotes or doctrines. One either chooses just to accept them on faith or one doesn’t since ostensibly, there should be no compulsion in religion. However, there are many other issues in the known beliefs or practices of different faiths which are legitimately open to rational/informed inquiry; questions for which the proffered answers can either radically improve one's understanding of the text and thus enrich one's appreciation of the faith OR else create an enduring intellectual roadblock for a particular individual concerning the faith in question.</div>
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My main purpose with this piece is to train some light on those recondite tidbits I have noticed about the bible. I am openly going to state them so that if any one has an explanation for me, I will benefit from his or her insight. Remember, this is not an attempt to discredit, disprove or smear the bible. It is rather a visceral reaction born out of the fact that since human beings are imperfect creatures, perfection therefore cannot be expected from them. While the bible, as maintained by Christians, is essentially a compilation of divine inspiration by mortal penmanship, one cannot but concede to the fact that over the span of centuries (and through no specific intent) translations/transliterations, interpretations, meanings, context or even phraseology might have changed. While these changes may not considerably alter the overall message or direction of the bible, these abstruse breaks in logic, narrative or diction are pertinent fodder for deeper study; thus they deserve our keenest attention.</div>
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1) In the bible, Genesis chapter one (reputedly written by Moses), gives the account of how God created the world. It starts by informing the reader that there was nothing previously in existence. Reading in verse 28, the King James Version (KJV) of the bible states and I quote: </div>
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<i>“<b>28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”</b></i><b> </b></blockquote>
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The word "replenish" is not found in many of the other versions of the bible. Why does the KJV have this word “replenish”? Unless the meaning of the word “replenish” means something different from what it was in the 17 century, it seems rather odd here. Why? To replenish is to refill, restore, refresh, renew, restock or replace. In that sense, one would ask what previous creation the account in Genesis chapter One was meant to replenish. Compare this to Gen 9:1 where the word “replenish” makes perfect sense.</div>
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2) Were there other people that existed <b>contemporaneously</b> with Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel? It seems the bible suggests that these four constituted the first family. So, it is perplexing when we read in Gen 4—after Cain killed Abel his brother and was then banished—that Cain went to the land of Nod and dwelt there and later sired children with his wife. He must have chosen a wife from Nod which seriously questions the premise that they were the first humans. In the next chapter, we discover that Adam lived up to 930 years and had numerous sons and daughters, but there was no suggestion that there was a sister whom Cain married, neither any insinuation that there were any civilizations existing apart from the colony of humans descending from Seth. Who inhabited Nod then? After all, the Tower of Babel scenario comes very much later in Gen 11 by which time hundreds of years had passed.</div>
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3) How many tribes of Israel were there? 12, you’d answer readily. But have you ever heard of the tribe of Joseph? Ok, you have not. That’s understandable. The bible recognizes the two sons of Joseph as tribes in lieu of their father—so that means that there is a tribe of Manasseh and a tribe of Ephraim. That will make 13 tribes of Israel when you add Joseph’s 11 brothers. Read Joshua 14:4 to confirm this. Strange isn’t it? Ok, if you decide to consider Manasses/Manasseh and Ephraim as<b> half-tribes</b> (so that you can retain the number 12), then what can you say about Revelations 7:5-8?</div>
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4) What does the bible mean in Genesis 6:1,2 &4? Who were the <b>“Sons of God”</b> as distinct from “Daughters of Men”? If the “daughters of men” were mortal, human females then who were the “sons of God”? Were they fallen angels as some seem to believe? Surely they couldn't have been for spirits cannot physically copulate with fleshly agents. Or were they spirits who assumed human bodies and then were drawn by the beauty of these women? That will be stretching the limits of logic if you ask me. It sounds like an apology for fiction. If the term “sons of God” was a hyperbolic expression for describing righteous humans, is this also the prevailing wisdom when one reads Job 1: 6 or were spiritual/celestial entities referenced there?</div>
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5) Have you ever read the book called the Songs of Solomon? Should this love poem be part of the Bible? Some have posited that it is symbolic of Christ’s love for his Church, but have you actually gone through the language employed in this book? Solomon was never a prophet so you couldn’t compare his writings to the prophetic writings of the Old Testament times regarding Christ. The language of the book is not cryptic—it is sufficiently clear that this was an account of another one of Solomon’s amorous escapades. After all, he had 300 wives and 700 girlfriends (concubines). Seriously, how apt is this comparison to Christ and the Church his true bride?</div>
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6) Have you noticed that the word “Trinity” and “Rapture” never appear anywhere in the bible? The word “Rapture” for instance was certainly very much in existence during the 17th century when the KJV was written. Its dictionary meaning suggests that such a word could very well have been used by bible translators for any of the myriad occasions where ecstasy or lofty emotions were involved. Reading the epistles of Paul, you will find lots of rich, flamboyant language that befits a lawyer. Therefore, I find it absolutely amazing that the word “Rapture” was never used in the bible whether as part of routine speech or as a doctrine. That does not mean that the doctrine commonly regarded as Rapture is not found there. It is very instructive to note that the word was coined. Remember the King James bible for instance boasts such words as “innumerable”, “manifestation”, “inexcusable”, “recompense”, “forbearance”, “immortality”, “justification”, “transgression”, “condemnation”, “principality” and “dissimulation”. Also, the entire teaching on Trinity has continued to generate debate chiefly because human logic cannot effectively compute 1+1+1 to be equal to 1. You simply have to take this by “faith”.</div>
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7) Have you ever wondered how contradictory it must be for one to be taught that flesh and blood (physical or tangible agents) shall never enter heaven—a spiritual dimension, yet one reads that Enoch and Elijah never died, but were somehow taken to heaven? Assuming you declare that Elijah’s physical body was burnt off in the chariot of fire, what natural element destroyed Enoch’s corporeal constitution when he was mysteriously translated into heaven? Is it uncharitable to suggest that he was snatched out of sight by God, killed (or else stripped of his earthly tabernacle) and his spirit/soul taken to heaven? Do you feel concerned that his life might have been cut short intentionally against his own will? Remember he lived for only 365 in an era when men had average life-spans that was well over 800 years. Read Genesis chapter 5.</div>
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Permit me to add that some people however choose to regard these subtle issues as “sealed mysteries” which would be revealed or explained to steadfast Christians in the afterlife. There are many other questions, but by blog standards, this piece is lengthy already. I think when I am persuaded to continue, further commentary will come as sequels to this piece. As always I am open to all discussions, questions or suggestions on these issues. Thanks and have fun!</div>
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Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-91960210977959897092015-09-30T08:58:00.000-04:002015-09-30T08:58:16.311-04:00Afro Music Remix by DJ ShinskiA friend shared this special remix from the famous DJ Shinski. If you have never heard of him, you'd do well to check this video out as well as some of his other work on Youtube. I thoroughly enjoyed it and so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GCETJ3Xlceo" width="640"></iframe>Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-17868066386063544242015-06-22T13:44:00.000-04:002016-07-19T11:22:34.900-04:00Change, Thy Name Is Death!<div style="text-align: left;">
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Sometimes I let my mind roam. When I do, I find myself pondering some issues. Well, now I am thinking of that cold inevitable destiny of all living flesh—Death. Yes, it is a topic that people shy away from for its transparently gloomy nature. But if we are to fully appreciate each breath, each waking moment then we must make time every now and then to ponder on death. Oh that man could fully understand what lies behind the grey curtains of Mortality! That great veil cast formidably over all living matter! Would that people could experience, even if only briefly the transition brought about by Death!</div>
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You see, you've been told that at death, you cease to exist. You've been told that once you breathe your last, and lay down your once proud head in submission to the cold grip of Death, everything about you comes to a final end. You have been told that your body decomposes quickly to nourish the plethora of soil-inhabiting devourers of carrion, and that that's where the story ends. But of course, your intelligence rebels against this because you perceive yourself to also be something much more intangible than your material composition; something much more enduring; something much more profound. Your consciousness rebels because you find it difficult to accept that your rational incorporeal parts will simply get lost—thermodynamic laws or not! Why indeed should life exist—in a world of indescribable pain and suffering one may hasten to add—if Life's teleological imperative is nothing more than Death? And how indeed can you explain to other equally immortal fellow travelers, though they be blissfully unaware or painfully unimaginative, the great realms you might have traveled to when you allowed yourself to be rid of your ideologically-driven, perception-limiting, earth-bound shackles? For indeed, you do realize that you can shut your eye for a moment and be totally and instantly transported to vistas grand and indescribable in beauty; and in like manner, you can also find yourself, complete with your rational and sensory attributes, away from your present physical state or from erstwhile scenes of glory into scenes of squalor. With a clarity unfettered by the strictures of contemporary science, you know within yourself that you are part of some undying—though changing—life stream.</div>
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Having convinced yourself on your own immortality—a conviction which persists in you despite the familiar taunting of Godless skeptics who would fain be addressed as scientists—you are once again left with the nagging question of why you are apprehensive and unsettled by the idea of death. Yes, that fearsome foe that has in time humbled all tenants of this house of clay! The truth is that no matter how much you try not to think about it, one thing is certain. It is the fact that with time, everything returns to dust; with time, the hair turns grey, and the breasts sag, and the powerful limbs grow weak, and the eyes grow dim. As Death approaches closer and blows his breath on you: your muscles atrophy, and the brain turns to mush and can hardly remember what it has always known. Yes, youthful beauty fades, adolescent vivacity disappears, and juvenescent strength is gone. Finally, when Death, like a punctual creditor, knocks at the door of this temporal tabernacle, to collect his due doubtlessly, the indwelling Man, without choice or resistance, links his arm with Death and trudges off into that deep dark unknown.</div>
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Your trepidation and unease is magnified when you remember that Death is erratic and indiscriminate in his methods—he may not allow you to draw the first breath, choosing to sling his hook in your nose and claim you right from your mother's womb; he may allow you to emerge from your mother's womb and begin the inevitable race towards your eventual cessation but then he cuts you down viciously when you are still young and ultimately helpless; he may allow you to bloom into youth and just when you are ready to indulge the carnal pleasures of youth, he stealthily creeps behind you and kisses you at the most inauspicious moment. <i>Yes, a lie it is to assume that Death doth always <b>gently</b> draw souls to his frigid embrace!</i></div>
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But I say to you expressly that Death is your friend. Indeed, humanity is comparable to a self-consuming cancer. Mankind is akin to some destructive plague which after wreaking havoc on the body of its host (in this case it is this terrestrial ball), must itself likewise be purged. Death is therefore like a quiet friend who helps a drunk, violent and abusive actor exit the grand theater of Life—with nary a thought to the violent protestations of the actor! It is the great leveler! How horrid this Sorrowful and Suffering Rock would be if Death, like a strong but silent friend, had not acted, from time to time, to rid it of destructive and ultimately trumpery clods of kickable matter known as Life!</div>
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With this realization, your mind is mollified. You've finally come to the realization that your destiny from birth is death. Your destination in Life is, in a manner of speaking, to die regardless of what happens in between. Every other thing you happen to achieve in the interim is in the grand scheme of things immaterial and pointless; you will not glory in them when your eyes close in death. For what reason then should people fear this transition which would be ushered in by Death? Has it not occurred to you that the reason you cling to life so tenaciously is simply because you do not know what you would find at the other side of the great revolving doors? When Death comes, links his hand in yours, like a doting dad marching his chaste daughter down a church aisle, and ushers you into realms of light, does it not occur to you that you would even more tenaciously hold unto that hitherto uncharted Life? Here's the shocker—even if Death ushers you into realms of squalor and gloom, you will equally hold unto that uncharted Life! Why? Because, in the final analysis, you are an immortal soul; your never-dying spirit cannot be extinguished. Death is therefore the uncelebrated harbinger of an inevitable transition as your carnal body, necessary solely for this frail, temporal reality, gives way to other planes of existence more profound than this vale of tears or conceivable by the human imagination. Transitional forms may be lost but your essence will be preserved as an eternal consciousness or transcendental life-stream.</div>
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So then, let this third rock from the Sun be dashed to innumerable pieces; let the moon be darkened; let plagues break forth and wipe out mankind; let the beasts of the field form an army and exterminate their human overlords; let the sun perish; let squalid humanity be consumed by the very cancerous nature of their existence; let a million galaxies collide in confused fury; let the universe implode or explode in blazing heat; let the universe spontaneously fragment into smaller universes; or let other universes spring forth together creating a vaster multiverse. <b>Nevertheless, one constant remains: CHANGE or TRANSITION</b>. And his other name is D-E-A-T-H!</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-26517293542502827712015-05-24T13:08:00.001-04:002015-07-15T08:34:57.621-04:00What Is "The Holy Trinity"?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
There is an aspect of the Christian doctrine that I have, for a very long time, pondered upon. It is a topic that challenges the very core of Christian belief; a topic that has generated serious dissension over the years. I have heard and read many people try to explain it as best as they can, so I am going to attempt to do the same here. In this short piece I am going to attempt to explain what I have come to understand about the concept <b>Trinity</b>. In my mind's eye, I can visualize and imagine what I think it means, but until I can verbalize it and explain it to another person, I may not have fully grasped the concept. I am fully cognizant of the fact that in expressing such a grand, abstract and sublime idea, human language may prove to be a limiting tool. Feel free however, to share your own thoughts and opinions on the subject in the comments section especially if they are diametrically opposed to mine.</div>
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<b><b>What is the Holy Trinity?</b></b></div>
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The trinity in simple terms means "three-in-one". It can also be called <i>Tri-unity</i>, which is the idea that there are three separate, distinct but united things. As it relates to Christianity, Trinity is <i>"Three persons in one God"</i> or <i>"One entity in three dimensions"</i>. It is the understanding that in the Godhead (i.e in the very idea of One God) you have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit—Separate but Equal; Distinct but of the same Essence; One Entity in Three Dimensions. Is this hard to imagine?</div>
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Well consider this: suppose you have an electronic device that can tell you the time, tell you the temperature of your immediate environment and also dial into AM-FM frequencies simultaneously. What do you really have—what should this electronic device be called? Do you have a clock, a thermometer or a radio? The right answer is that you have a <b>triune</b> device; a device that is just one entity but it has three different functions/dimensions/personalities. It is just <b><i>not</i></b> a radio <b><i>nor</i></b> a clock <b><i>nor</i></b> a thermometer—it is <b><i>all three rolled into one</i></b>. As you can see, you have one device with three distinct 'personalities'; the three distinct personalities are separate but inseparable. This is analogous to the Trinity.</div>
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Again, suppose you have an audio device that can play cassette tapes, CDs and MP3s. Do you have a cassette-tape player, a CD player or an MP3 player? What you have is an electronic trinity; an electronic device that has three dimensions, 'personalities', or functionalities perfectly and seamlessly bundled into one. If you tamper with this device's source of power, you will be left with an electronic nullity instead of an electronic trinity—i.e you cannot play either a cassette, or a CD or an MP3. This is analogous to the Trinity.</div>
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With that at the back of our minds, we can then fully appreciate the first three verses of the first chapter of the gospel according to Saint John which reads:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.</span></li>
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In effect, the Trinity informs us that in God we have the entity which is the Father, His Word and His Spirit. All three are one and the same and have co-existed eternally. God the Father (which is who people normally just call God), his Word and his Spirit are of the same essence. The concept of the trinity calls for an out-of-the-box thinking to visualize that these attributes/dimensions of the Godhead are distinct and the same—concurrently. The drama of creation becomes fascinating for then we see a Supreme Being who simply expressed Himself. God the Father uttered His Word and that Word was captured by His Spirit and instantly expressed. From before the creation of all things, God (The Father, His Word and His Spirit) was the only thing in existence. Then on the eve of creation, in Genesis chapter 1, God said—existing as God already was from time immemorial as a hypostatic union of Himself, His roving Spirit and His Eternal Word—"Let there be Light!" Immediately he expressed his Word, his SPIRIT instantaneously captured that Word and brought it into materialization! Three-in-one; three acting in concert! </div>
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Look at what the book of Genesis has to say about this triune concept when narrating what God did at the creation of Man in <b>Gen 1:26:</b></div>
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<span style="color: red;">26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.</span></blockquote>
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Did you notice the pronoun <b>"us"</b>? This is one powerful destroyer of the Unitarian concept of God. If God (or more appropriately the concept of God) was not a triune fellowship existing in perfect harmony but a singularity, that verse would have used a different pronoun; it would have been "let <b>ME</b> make man" rather than "let <b>US</b> make man". <i style="font-weight: bold;">For without God the Father, there will be no creation. If his Spirit was not there, there would have been no creation. If God had not spoken his Word, nothing would also have been created. </i>Thus the title <b>God </b>(sometimes spoken of as the "Godhead") is to be properly understood as an umbrella term or title for speaking about this primordial creative trinity - one being in three personifications; three personalities that are exactly bound up in the same essence.</div>
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That same Word that had eternally co-existed with the Father; that practical, vibrant living Word which is the <b>same</b> and <b>equal</b> with the Father, in the course of time, was made to assume physical human flesh. In other words, one day, in the Godhead, a plan was hatched for human salvation. Working in unison as ever, God <b>the Father</b> and <b>His Spirit</b> caused <b>the Word</b> to become flesh and thus subservient. God's Word thus became <b>God the Son</b> or appropriately, <b>God the Begotten</b>. God the Son was therefore Begotten (of the Father) and never created. If you can picture God's Word suddenly stripping Himself of His eternal and divine glory, and taking on frail, corruptible human form then you are right on track. That human being dwelt and walked amongst other humans and was called Yeshua or Jesus the Christ. </div>
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You can clearly see that the Father (Creator), the Son (Redeemer) and the Holy Spirit (Comforter/Sanctifier/Paraclete) are linked in an indissoluble threefold relationship. </div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-76730545930628139422015-05-03T12:48:00.001-04:002015-05-03T12:50:48.756-04:00Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Post-match Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao was extremely BORING. It seems to me now like daylight robbery when you consider how much people had to pay to watch this rather dull affair. Maybe it is because this is a welterweight fight and not a heavy weight fight, but I was far from sitting on the edge of my seat for a fight that was billed the "Greatest match of our generation". </div>
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Money Mayweather may be undefeated and all, but he is far from being an exciting boxer. I think he is far more concerned about preserving his win-loss record than about actually going out there and giving people something to cheer about and remember. He is far too guarded - basically, his game plan is and seems to have always been, to do the least thing possible while in the ring, avoid getting knocked out, and coast on to victory. And in many cases, that has worked for him. But as far as I am concerned, this sort of boxing is not something that makes you a name that folks will remember ages to come. If you want to be the greatest, you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and give people a performance that they'll remember; a performance that will undoubtedly cement your pugilistic prowess in the minds of many. This cowardly way of winning by doing nothing and waiting for your opponent to exhaust himself or commit errors doesn't impress me one bit. Yeah, you made your millions, but I have seen more formidable boxing action on Worldstar.</div>
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As for Pacquaio, for all his vaunted skills, the dude seemed to lack the intensity and the drive that most people remember him by. They say it was because Floyd had a longer reach, but we know smaller boxers have destroyed larger opponents before. I think Pacquiao is not as formidable as he once was and it was plain to see. In any case, they both walked away with huge paydays last night, but they left me and millions of boxing fans massively underwhelmed. </div>
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In the end, professional boxing is a business, and I suppose boxers these days have probably figured out that they do not really need to go all out giving their 100% and possibly giving each other long-lasting head injuries in the process. All they need to do is act like bitter enemies, sell the hype of some ferocious bout, draw as much money and support as they can, and basically walk home with huge paychecks after putting up an overly cagey or guarded performance. Maybe the joke is on all of us. Maybe gone are the days when boxing was a real knock-down, drag out affairs. Indeed, this bout seemed like a real waste of time and money.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-57827655644069087652015-03-30T11:34:00.000-04:002015-03-30T11:38:32.692-04:00Thoughts On Nigeria's Elections<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://leadership.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/goodluck-jonathan-accredited-300x176.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://leadership.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/goodluck-jonathan-accredited-300x176.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Goodluck Jonathan casting his vote</td></tr>
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After what seemed like an eternity, Nigerians have finally been able to cast votes in a presidential election. As I speak, the election is going on in Nigeria and many polling places have actually verified voter registration cards and millions of votes have already been cast in an election that is keenly watched by Nigerians (and friends of Nigeria) both in Diaspora and at home. This is an exercise that started on Saturday and is continuing through Sunday—very soon, the exercise will be over and Nigerians can find out who has won the election. </div>
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I am not going to bore you by noting that there are more than 10 different political parties in this election, nor am I going to point out that there were more than 10 candidates out there either. Nevertheless, we have already known that there were two main contenders for this fight. In the one corner, we have the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan representing the ruling party PDP, and in the other corner we have five-time presidential aspirant and former military ruler of the country General Muhammadu Buhari who is the flag bearer for the APC—the biggest and staunchest opposition party to the president's party.</div>
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In early exit polls, it does appear that Goodluck Jonathan is being bested by Buhari. Early reporting shows that Buhari is convincingly trouncing Goodluck in the elections despite what anyone might have thought concerning Jonathan's path to success. The poll returns are indeed shaping up to be a convincing verdict of no confidence on the Jonathan administration. Worse, for those crunching the numbers and looking at statistical probabilities, it appears mathematically impossible to conjure up a Jonathan victory given the convincing margin with which Buhari is leading.<br />
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<b>So where is this oft-averred <i>"power of incumbency"</i>? </b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General Muhammadu Buhari casting his vote</td></tr>
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There is usually a sense that in many African elections, it is virtually impossible to dislodge a sitting president in a free and fair election—primarily because, a sitting president usually had formidable tools in his arsenal and the requisite political machinery as well as the sufficient monetary war chest (often gotten through corrupt and questionable means) needed to secure a victory no matter how popular the opposition may be. This sense seems to have been trumped in this particular election. Not only is the president's party bleeding support all over the country, it seems as if the opposition has virtually made it impossible for the president to transform any advantage he might have had into political or electoral gains. It is not surprising therefore that many savvy politicians, eager to save their own political hide, have abandoned the PDP ship being steered by Jonathan, and are taking steps to secure their own continuity in office.</div>
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Something has to give somewhere or there will simply be no way to convince the majority of Nigerians that Jonathan has somehow managed to overturn the deficits to win.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2353337185578030295.post-23161111871871063832015-01-01T09:51:00.000-05:002015-01-01T09:51:03.438-05:00Happy New Year 2015<div style="text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year to all. I pray that 2015 will bring us all good health, joy, peace, success, breakthroughs, growth and above all, that it should more abundantly bind us all together in LOVE, caring and compassion. May we rediscover and maximally utilize our assets and potentials beneficially; may the pitfalls and disappointments of the previous year be overcome in this new year. Reach out and claim your blessings now and thus remain a child of God's favor!</div>
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I LOVE YOU ALL.</div>
Godfatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14452702344814424402noreply@blogger.com3