"The records are there. Where did he get money to almost singlehandedly fund NADECO, NALICON, and other pro-democracy groups during the Abacha days, a contribution for which he was given the AD governorship ticket ahead of Funsho Williams who won the primary election?"-MosesJust to set the records straight, Funso Williams lost to Bola Tinubu. He later decamped to PDP. Cheers.--On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 2:37 PM, Ibukunolu A Babajide <ibk2005@gmail.com> wrote:People believe whatever they want to believe. Even when and if the facts hit them in the face like a truck!
Cheers.
IBK
On 19 Dec 2014 22:28, "Bayo Amos" <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:--I apologize for "spamming" this thread with excerpts of Tinubu's interview, but I think they are necessary to give a "new" perspective. It's a long interview and the rest can be accessed here .1. I found it extremely difficult to believe an allegation that Tinubu did not graduate from Chicago State University. He gave names of his colleagues, his professor, and explained succinctly not only how he got his first job but also the trajectory of his career. A charlatan could not have achieved what Tinubu did.2. Tinubu explained how he had a financial breakthrough. In his own words "The bonus was $850,000, before taxes. My salaries were also being paid into the bank and I was not touching them. At the time, my salary deposits in the bank had risen to about $1.8 million." True or False, I don't know. However, he mentioned reputable companies where such an assertion could and can still be easily verified. The point, anyway, is simple: Tinubu had an "alibi" for being wealthy before pursuing interests in politics. The question of "where did he get money to finance NADECO?" might not be too difficult to answer, after all (assuming he actually did finance NADECO).3.According to news item on Pointblank news "On January 13, 1992, Mr. Moss, the Federal agent contacted Bola Tinubu in Nigeria by phone using a number provided to the First Heritage Bank by Tinubu himself. Mr. Moss averred that during the course of the interview, Bola Tinubu confirmed that he knew Mueez Adegboyega Akande. Tinubu further admitted during the interview with the federal agent that he had wire transferred $100,000 to Akande's bank account in Houston and that the $80,000.00 of the funds used to open the account at First Heritage Bank had come from Akande. Tinubu further admitted that he had other accounts in Fairfax, Virginia and London.
Concluding his affidavit evidence, Mr. Moss stated that with all these evidence, there was probable cause to believe that the funds in the accounts held by First Heritage Bank and Citibank, N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu represented property that was involved in narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law. He therefore, urged the Court to issue an order of forfeiture of the funds.
After a protracted litigation in which Bola Tinubu claimed that the monies legitimately belonged to him, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu and his surrogate mother, one Alhaja Mogaji, Bola Tinubu finally opted for a stipulated settlement with the U.S government. According to the settlement Order dated September 15, 1993; Hon. Judge John A Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 held by Bola Tinubu in The First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the United States Government. The Court also ordered the release of the funds held in the Citibank account and any money held in excess of $460,000 at the First Heritage account to Bola Tinubu in line with the agreement and stipulation reached by Tinubu with the federal agents. "The forfeiture, in itself, is a tacit admission of wrong doing. However, is it not curious why the United States that do pursue drug barons to any length in order to bring them to justice including, in some cases, calling for extradition of known suspects (e.g Kashamu) somehow appear 'lenient' in Bola Tinubu's case to the extent that some funds were actually released to him. Years later, the US granted the same man political asylum. So far, he frequents United States without any harassment or embarrassment. My take : he was not criminally involved but bore some responsibility for how some funds got into his account. Tinubu is, no doubt, a controversial man, but does he really cut a picture of a criminal? I don't think so, at least not a convicted one. He is not a fugitive either....On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 1:00 PM, Bayo Amos <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:Q:We learnt that you wrote one that caused an earthquake!
There were so many of them. I wrote one on Bob Eriksson, who was the Chairman/Managing Director. He was weak in his corporate control of the finances of Mobil and I boldly wrote the report based on that. And here was the Chairman/Managing Director, who was affected by the report. Everybody raised an eyebrow. But I emphasized that I was an independent auditor. I said: 'This is my report, this is my resignation letter.' I sent a copy of the report to the head office in New York. I wanted to strengthen my independence and professionalism. The third day, a signal came from New York. The managing director was to be recalled and the corporate audit manager was on his way to check the report. When he came, I had my audit file. All the findings in the report and my recommendations were accepted. They recalled the MD/Chairman and he was demoted. The company rejected my letter of resignation and promoted me general auditor.Q:How long did it take you to become general auditor?
It was less than two years. I don't want to brag about these things, but I ended up bossing the man who interviewed me. The man they brought in to block me was sent to Houston. Luckily, I was doing very well. We were at the Bookshop House on Broad Street then. My career was blossoming.
I wrote another audit report, Financial Management and the Treasury Activities. I think Ibrahim Babangida was in power then. Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, was on then and things were very difficult. I wrote and explained what we should do to strenghten the financial base and treasury activities of the company. It was a 28-page report. Akinyelure is still alive to attest to what I am saying. They brought in another Managing Director, called Mr. Bob Parker. Parker arrived Nigeria to replace Erickson. Parker walked into my office one day and said: 'Bola, Mr. Auditor, I am not here to fight you, but to work. Please let me know whatever you find about the corporation.'The most significant part of that episode was the 28-page report of the financial situation, the weaknesses and what I believed should be done. They looked at the report and there was another earthquake. For one week, they were going back and forth. The treasury people and the treasurer and everyone else that mattered called me to the boardroom. ****They said they had looked at the audit report and the recommendations therein, and that they could not find anyone else within the establishment to implement the report except me. They said they were moving me from auditor to the post of treasurer, so that I could implement the report. They said they could not but accept the recommendations.*****
I asked for 48 hours to review the report and get back to them. I went to Bob Parker and Akinyelure, and I asked that I should be given a free hand to implement whatever I felt would be right with the corporation's personnel and audit. They granted my request. They sent in a corporate auditor from London, who looked at the report and encouraged me to implement it in my new capacity as the treasurer. I started work on the report and sacked everybody in the Treasury department, except the stenographer. I brought in new hands, from the audit department – people who had worked with me. I brought in a brilliant guy called Adigun from Columbia University and others I felt I could work with. That was how I started running the treasury of Mobil, which then was located at the CMS Bookshop House on Broad Street.The Bookshop House was degenerating and was no longer suitable for our operations. So, Akinyelure and I collaborated to do financial redeployment for the purpose of having a new office complex. I began work on the financial restructuring in Mobil, so as to accommodate the new challenges of SAP. There was a BCCI (Bank of Credit, Commerce and Industry) then – the bank that went under – and I was the only treasurer that didn't lose money. I was a whiz-kid and I am proud of that.
Mobil usually depended on rent, but I was determined that Mobil must have an asset fixed in Nigeria. And that was the beginning of the revolution of real estate in Lagos. Capital Merchant Bank was there then. I retooled the Mobil balance sheet, working with Akinyelure, who was a good guy to work with – he is accommodating and he understands the financials. Mobil didn't want to sink so much money into it and we had to put our creativity into what I was doing. Ahmed Abubakar was the permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance. We were so much together to ensure that the present Mobil House was built. Gbolahan Mudashiru was the governor [of Lagos State] then. He gave us the approval. It was like using a pair of pliers to remove your own tooth to get the NNPC to go along with us.
The interesting thing about the project was that devaluation was coming and it was going to affect the budget for the building. We took the bill of quantities and gave the best financial projection that was possible, pre-purchased all the items that were needed to build. Nearly 40 per cent of that building was financed when the exchange rate was one Naira to one Dollar. We purchased additional materials, including steel and cement. Whatever I tell you was in the bill of quantities. It started at N4 to $1, if you looked at foreign exchange then. It would not have been possible. Then, at the next fortnightly bidding, the exchange rate shot up to N6 to $1 and that could have adversely affected the project. In fact, if we did not pre-purchase the building materials, it would not have been possible. The NNPC building got stagnated. We finished the building on time without as much as two per cent variation, and that was how we got so much credit for financial engineering.
On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 12:55 PM, Bayo Amos <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:Q:What year was that?
That was in 1985/1986. I was determined to return to Nigeria someday. I contemplated returning to Deloitte and at the same time coming back to Nigeria. I was discriminated against. I quit GTE. I decided to go back to Deloitte. While I was still contemplating, Deloitte was relocating from New York and I looked forward to how I would be given extra allowances and bonuses. At that time also, Mobil was recruiting for its Corporate Audit Department in the United Kingdom office. I went there and I got the offer. The rest is history.Q:Was Bade Ojora in Mobil at that time?
He was still in Mobil. I don't want to go through what I did when I was in the Corporate Office in London. I was a corporate auditor, but I was a whiz-kid, an assertive one, highly professional. I was always in suspenders and all that. I came on assignment to audit Mobil Nigeria.Q:Were you recruited abroad and sent here?
No. I was recruited in the UK. That was Mobil Foreign; it is completely different from Nigerian operation. They have the audit right, the corporate audit regulation to audit Nigeria. I came and they said they needed an auditor in Nigeria. I went through the process. Solomon Oladunni was the manager in charge of administration. He, Bade Ojora and Adesanya persuaded me to take the job. The title I was looking for was audit manager. They said I did not have any experience in Nigeria. I faced another level of discrimination. I was given an offer they knew I would reject, but I was determined to stay. The financial controller, a white man, called me to his office to say :"the people there didn't want you; your own countrymen!' He added: 'Whatever they give you, take it, I'm here.' I was shocked.At the time, there was a kind of connection between the director of finance and one guy. They were both from Shagamu. And as it played out, I was only made an auditor because they said I didn't have a Nigerian experience.
Q:But you rose to become the treasurer…
I rose to become the general auditor there. The audit manager, an Australian, was about leaving for his country and he told me that I was badly needed, particularly because I am a Nigerian. He said: "With this resume, you are so rich, you have experience. I know what Alphonso Olusanya, the financial controller, was trying to do." He added that the other person they wanted to bring in has only local experience (I don't want to mention his name because he is my friend).Q:And the money was not bad, but only the title…
The money was not bad. I took the offer to work in Mobil because I was tired of the discrimination I suffered overseas and had made up my mind that I would not work for any other company but an American company. I was encouraged to join their team and I met Oladunni, Pius Akinyelure, all of them. The white man told me to just come over and prove myself and that I would "get there". He had been the supervisor of the guy blocking me overseas. And when the white man came to Nigeria, they did not give him the title, too. He said: 'Here, I am financial adviser; I don't care what title they give me, I am getting my salary and I have my responsibilities to New York. Don't worry."On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 12:51 PM, Bayo Amos <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:Q:Why did you opt to study Accounting?
Sincerely, it was accidental. It was the university placement. I was good in Mathematics and business courses. In fact, if I were to choose a career for myself, I would have chosen marketing. I know Tunde was placed in the Mathematics department also by the university. I came in with A grades and I had nothing less than A+ in Accounting and Statistics.Q:How did you get into Mobil?
At Deloitte and Touche, I chose to travel more than 80 per cent of my working years there. And that is because if a staff chose to travel, he would make more money because he would get travel allowances. That got me into National Oil, which became the Joint Venture Partner of Aramco Oil in Saudi Arabia, which is like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. We had gone there to set up their accounting and auditing system. It was while on that service that I got my financial break. ***When I returned to the United States, my employers gave me a huge bonus, which instantly turned me into a millionaire***.Q:How much was that?
***The bonus was $850,000, before taxes***. My salaries were also being paid into the bank and I was not touching them. At the time, my salary deposits in the bank had risen to about $1.8 million.Q:You didn't freak out? No. This is because I had a strong grasp of financial matters. I was happy. I bought a house from the money and invested the rest in the US. I was living well. I was living in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in the south of Chicago.
Q:Chicago had the notoriety of being a mafia city. How did you survive there?
Chicago was a very dangerous place then, if you didn't know where to go and how to move. I wouldn't want to mention some people I knew, whose careers were ruined and got lost in the process. I could still remember some of my colleagues, who did very well. One of them is Kunle Adedayo, whose wife, Pamela, operates the Tastee Fried Chicken. We were there together. Pamela had been a good cook since then. She used to cook for us.My school, Richard Daley College, was located in an area noted for racism. Though there were other colleges I could go, I was determined to go there and succeed. The school was academically rigorous and maintained high discipline. Of course, the story has been told severally of the area where Martin Luther King was chased out and shot at. Blacks dreaded the area. Chicago was a windy, cold place. I was able to capitalise on it for academic success and achievement. Though the minimum requirement was 12 credits, I registered for extra course work. I was not getting a dime from Nigeria any longer because my tuition fee was already paid for, and whatever money I realised was meant to cushion the effect of my house rent. Winter time was the busiest time for me and Tunde Badejo, who I was sharing an apartment with.
Since I lost the earlier job at the construction site, I didn't like security or doorman jobs anymore. I was a very neat guy and was always well-dressed at the place where I was working as a dishwasher in a Holiday Inn. I also got a job for Bolaji Agaba there. In the hotel, I was able to keep warm. And I was later given a room service job because I was very diligent in my previous work. That was acknowledged by those who would come to check on us where we washed the dishes. Room service is very good; you get nice tips! I did all of that and didn't take a penny from anybody in Nigeria to go to school in Chicago. Not a dime! I was a self-educated person and I achieved the best in that respect.Q:Who were the white and African-Americans you interacted with at school and after?
Danny Kay Davies, now a Congressman; Jesse Jackson, Costello Joe, one of the most successful financial consultants; Richard Daley III, a stockbroker who became the mayor of Chicago and whose father the school was named after; Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, etc. There were too many of them.Q:How did you get into Mobil?
At the National Oil, where we set up the accounting system and at Aramco, I was head of an assignment to liquidate the Chicago Savings and Loans Bank. The assignment was meant to take me to different places, so as to gain exposure to financial services. It is usually a hostile environment when a company is under receivership and is going into liquidation. But I managed the assignment very well. A member of Deloitte's management, who was a principal partner on the assignment, was very happy.At the end of that assignment, I was recalled to the National Oil, which had a joint venture with other oil companies. The United States government had a 300-page new leasing legislation at the time. This is one moment of my life I will never forget. The leasing regulation was a subject of tax implication and analysis, and as an auditing firm, we had to interpret the new leasing legislation for compliance. And that was necessary before the client could sign the balance sheet.
It was a tough debate. The managers would sit; we had to make presentations and contributions. My colleagues and I did two aspects of the lease and I happened to be right. When the partners and all of them came and they did the computation, it gave the company an additional opportunity to wiggle and improve its bottom line. So one of National Oil's assistant controllers left there to work at Mobil. On getting there, he began to persuade me to come over to Mobil.
The period coincided with my vacation in Nigeria and during that time, the late Bade Ojora and other people I knew were in Mobil. They saw me in Lagos and we discussed generally. At the time, I met someone who was in the finance department at my uncle's place and the man thought I was a wizard when we discussed.
I later went to Ibadan to see an uncle of mine. But before then, my return ticket had been stolen in Lagos. I had a credit card. I was lamenting the loss, when Uncle Bade said he would help in getting me a passport. Then he asked if I would work for Mobil, but I said I was not ready to stay in Nigeria because I was very successful and earning a good salary. He asked me to leave my telephone number so he could get in touch with me afterwards.
The professional career placement centres, which we called head hunters, had placed my curriculum vitae in other companies. They would continue to pursue you, asking whether you wanted to change your job. I was invited by General Telephone and Electronics, GTE, Corporation and they offered a salary that was 32 per cent higher than what I was earning at Deloitte. I went there and was made an assistant manager, but MacGross didn't leave me alone, asking why I elected to work for a telephone and electronics company. He said: 'You will be discriminated against there; I know that firm.' But I didn't listen to him. I was chasing the title of manager. My career was blossoming. It was great to have a complimentary card carrying the title, manager. When the time came for a review, they promoted someone whom I trained to the position of manager, while I was left the way I was. I resigned that very day. That was when I decided that one day, I would return to my country.
On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 12:43 PM, Bayo Amos <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:Were you tempted to stay back in the US after your studies? To be honest with you, yes.I was lucky when I got to Chicago State University. I entered the university with honours from the Richard Daley College, because I got credit in majority of the Accounting courses.
After the first term, I was one of the candidates on the Dean's list and my professor, Joe Jesse, commended me for my hard work, class participation and brilliance. He said that I would be lucky if I could keep my activities and brilliant results up till the end of the term. He didn't say more or in what form the luck would manifest.
At the end of the term, and still on the Dean's list, Professor Jesse came around to inform me that he would employ me to manage the Accounting laboratory for the institution. He gave the letter of employment to the dean of the faculty. The following week, I was called upon to take up employment as a tutor because I was very good in Mathematics and Accounting. I met Tunde Badejo in the school; he was a year ahead of me. But I told him (we took a bet) that we would graduate the same year and he didn't believe. Later, when I was given a scholarship to become a tutor, I took the letter to Tunde Badejo and said: 'See, the school is paying my tuition.' He was amazed. That was how I became a tutor, with my tuition being paid. Tunde Badejo majored in Mathematics, and having been challenged, his performance got better the following semester and he also became a Maths tutor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. I was challenged and severely under pressure to keep up the grade as each semester rolled by, because if my grades should drop I would lose the scholarship. It was quite challenging and in the end, I graduated top of my class and I was recruited as an Accounting major. There were big accounting firms then. Touche was number nine. I was recruited. And I still got other job offers. Then there were eight big accounting firms in the United States, including Arthur Andersen , Arthur Young, Ernst and Whinney, Peat Marwick and Mitchell, Deloitte and others. Out of the big eight, five of them offered me jobs and that was school recruitment–right on the campus.
I was on the Dean's list; I was in line for the award for the overall best Accounting student as well as that of the university scholar's award. With that, the big firms would continue to woo you. Despite the five job offers, I was equally offered employment by IBM and others. Professor Jesse called me and advised that I should not be arrogant. He asked that I remove my name from the career placement centre because, according to him, the more they saw my grades, the more I would be sought after. He said that might hinder other accounting graduates from being recruited and that the faculty wanted as many accounting graduates as possible to be recruited by the big companies. So I went and removed it. Usually, there was a benchmark for recruitments by the big professional accounting firms and they didn't go beneath that. I got an offer of $20,000, with travelling allowances and all that. It was big money for me at the time.But when Arthur Young saw the money I was offered, they offered an additional $3,000. My adviser told me to consider an offer that would make me function effectively in my country, particularly given that the country is blessed with crude oil. I wondered what I would be coming back to do. The career placement officer called me again and asked me what I wanted to do. I said they just spoke to me from my department.
Unlike what happens in our country, universities in America prepare the students for the future; how to dress, how to face job interviews. The third day after that, Deloitte, Haskins and Sells, now Deloitte and Touche Consulting Group, gave me another offer. They said they were not just going to hire me, but develop me. They asked me to take the salary I was being offered or forget about the job. I went back to Professor Jesse and said: 'Look at what these people are offering, I would rather go to Arthur Andersen because they were offering to pay more'. But he said that I should not. He said he had always advised me that my career and professional development were more important. He said Deloitte had clients like General Motors, Procter and Gamble, National Oil and worked with Aramco Exxon, etc. He said I should consider that my country has crude oil and I might want to return someday. He said I should consider a firm with clients in manufacturing and oil sectors rather than Arthur Andersen, which only dealt with financial institutions and banks.
I took to his advice. I resumed work at Deloitte training school in June 1979. By April 1979, when I was graduating, I had gotten my future charted. And that was the greatest thing I achieved in America.
My friend, Tunde Badejo was still looking for a job. As a honours student, I was there at the high table with the Dean, President of the college and so on, while the rest of the graduands were on the lower platform. So, when they called my friend, Tunde Badejo's name, he refused to get up because they mis-pronounced his name and called him 'Tunde Badeho'. He refused to get up. I was laughing at him from the high table and was saying: 'You see, I told you we would graduate at the same time.' I later stood from where I was seated and whispered to the event handler that his name is Badejo and not Badeho. It was not until they called the name correctly that he stood up.On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 12:38 PM, Bayo Amos <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:Facts have emerged that the erstwhile Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu may have been involved in a white heroin trafficking network which operated in Chicago and some parts of Indiana and led by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande between 1988 and 1993. The source of the white heroine was identified as one Mr. Lee Andrew Edwards who was incarcerated for attempting to murder a federal agent while the agent was executing a search warrant on him.
According to the Verified Complaint for forfeiture in case No. 93 C 4483 Obtained by SaharaReporters, which was filed on July 26, 1993 before the Hon. Judge Nordberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Government urged the Court to order the forfeiture of funds in accounts Nos. 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu, funds in accounts 39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220, 39936404 and 39936383 held by Citibank N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu and funds in accounts 52050-89451952,52050-89451952, 52050-89451953 held by Citibank in the name of Bola Tinubu because there was probable cause to believe that the funds in Tinubu's bank accounts represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were monies involved in financial transactions in violations of 18 U.S.C, sections 1956 and 1957 and therefore, was forfeitable to the U.S Government.
However, in a tacit defense of the ownership of the funds, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu averred in Court that the funds belonged to himself, his wife, K.O Tinubu and his surrogate mother, Alhaja Mogaji and warranted that they had exclusive right, title and interest to the funds.
In an affidavit sworn to by Kevin Moss, a Special Agent with the United States Internal Revenue Service, criminal investigation division in support of the verified complaint for forfeiture of Bola Tinubu's moneys held in various Bank accounts, the agent gave a vivid account of how he came to the conclusion that the funds were proceeds of narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law.
Mr. Moss averred that prior to and during 1988; the government became involved in the investigation of a white heroin trafficking network operating in Chicago, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana. The investigation disclosed that an individual known as Lee Andrew Edwards was a source of white heroin. The government sources provided information about Lee Andrew Edwards including the identity of a telephone number which activated in electronic pager. This pager according to him was to be called to place an order for white heroin. According to Mr. Moss, this pager was subscribed to by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande who at that time was a resident of Chicago.
Mr. Moss further averred that during February 1988, an individual named Abiodun Agbele arrived in the U.S from Nigeria and during investigation by the government, Agbele disclosed that Akande was his uncle who provided him an apartment in Hammond, Indiana.
According to Agbele, Mr. Akande returned to Nigeria in1990; however, before he left, he instructed Agbale to serve as a source of white heroin for Mr. Lee Andrew Edwards as a result of which Agbele sold white heroin for Lee Andrew Edwards on numerous occasions. Following a tip off, Agbele sold one ounce of white heroin to a law enforcement agent undercover on November 28, 1990 for $7,000 and was subsequently arrested. After his arrest, Agbele agreed to cooperate with the law enforcement agents regarding the white heroin distribution and network of Akande.
According to Agbele, Akande controlled the operation of white heroin from Nigeria in conjunction with other individuals in Nigeria and the U.S. One other individual who worked with Akande according to the affidavit was identified as Bola Tinubu who later became the governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.
The investigation also revealed that in December 1989, Akande took Bola Tinubu to First Heritage bank where Bola Tinubu opened an individual money market. In the account opening application, Tinubu, gave his address as 7504 South Stewart, Chicago, the same address used previously by Akande and his company, Globe-Link. This is the same address used as the drop-off point for packages from Nigeria that contained the white heroin. According to bank records, Bola Tinubu also opened a joint checking account in his name and the name of his wife, Oluremi Tinubu. Mrs. Tinubu had previously opened a joint Bank account also in the same bank with Abdrey Akande, the wife of the heroin kingpin, Adegboyega Mueez Akande.
Upon opening the account, Tinubu deposited the sum of $1,000 in traveler's check. However, five days after opening the account, specifically, on January 4, 1990, Tinubu deposited the sum of $80,000 into the account.
According to the federal agent, in a credit application dated January 6, 1990, Bola Tinubu disclosed that he resided at 7504 South Stewart and that Mueez A. Akande was his cousin. Tinubu further stated that he was an employee of Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited, Fairfax, Virginia and his take home pay was $2,400 per month. Additionally, Tinubu stated on the application that he had no other sources of income and listed his wife, Oluremi Tinubu as co-applicant for the application for automobile loan. The loan was secured with the certificate of deposit in the amount of $10,000 which Tinubu had purchased with a withdrawal from the $80,000 deposit in his checking account.
According to the federal agent, Bank records from First heritage Bank disclosed that in 1990 alone, Bola Tinubu deposited $661,000 into his individual money market account and in 1993; he deposited the sum of $1,216,500 into the same money market account. The agent further avers that in 1991, Tinubu began opening accounts at Citibank in the section known as the world-wide personal banking unit where he transferred the sum of $560,000 from his money market account at the First Heritage Bank.
This development prompted the Federal agents to interview representatives from Mobil Oil regarding Tinubu's employment status and his take-home pay. The Mobil Oil representatives confirmed to the investigators that Tinubu was employed by the Mobil Oil as a treasurer. Mobil Oil further told the federal agents that this position did not involve the transfer of large amounts of money between banking institutions. Mobil oil representatives also stated that under no circumstance would Tinubu be permitted to retain money belonging to Mobil Oil in accounts bearing Tinubu's name. Finally, Mobil Oil confirmed that the corporation never had any accounts in banks in the southern suburbs of Chicago.
On January 10, 1992, the federal agents obtained a court Order freezing Tinubu's accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citibank respectively. Thereafter, Tinubu contacted the First Heritage Bank to transfer money from his accounts and was advised that the accounts had been seized by the U.S Treasury.
On January 13, 1992, Mr. Moss, the Federal agent contacted Bola Tinubu in Nigeria by phone using a number provided to the First Heritage Bank by Tinubu himself. Mr. Moss averred that during the course of the interview, Bola Tinubu confirmed that he knew Mueez Adegboyega Akande. Tinubu further admitted during the interview with the federal agent that he had wire transferred $100,000 to Akande's bank account in Houston and that the $80,000.00 of the funds used to open the account at First Heritage Bank had come from Akande. Tinubu further admitted that he had other accounts in Fairfax, Virginia and London.
Concluding his affidavit evidence, Mr. Moss stated that with all these evidence, there was probable cause to believe that the funds in the accounts held by First Heritage Bank and Citibank, N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu represented property that was involved in narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law. He therefore, urged the Court to issue an order of forfeiture of the funds.
After a protracted litigation in which Bola Tinubu claimed that the monies legitimately belonged to him, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu and his surrogate mother, one Alhaja Mogaji, Bola Tinubu finally opted for a stipulated settlement with the U.S government. According to the settlement Order dated September 15, 1993; Hon. Judge John A Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 held by Bola Tinubu in The First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the United States Government. The Court also ordered the release of the funds held in the Citibank account and any money held in excess of $460,000 at the First Heritage account to Bola Tinubu in line with the agreement and stipulation reached by Tinubu with the federal agents.
Ironically, this case came up at the peak of the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election by the Gen. Babagida-led military junta during which time Tinubu as a member and one of the leading financiers of the National democratic Coalition (NADECO) made several "pro-democracy" trips to the U.S ostensibly to press for U.S sanctions against the Nigerian junta. It is therefore doubtful whether most of those trips were actually connected with the June 12, struggle after all.http://www.pointblanknews.com/os1147.html
On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 10:38 AM, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo, fair enough. We can acknowledge and applaud Tinubu's role in helping to build a credible, competitive opposition and his role in fighting Abacha's tyranny while also holding him accountable. The two narratives can co-exist. Unfortunately, too many of our compatriots want us to overlook Tinubu's past, present, and ongoing sins and simply advance him as the savior of our democracy or as a selfless, heroic political figure. I don't deny that, like all humans, he has some redeeming qualities to him, which should go to the credit column of the ledger, but the debit column of the same ledger should also be populated with his many sins.The bottom line, as my friend, Pius Adesanmi always reminds us, is that in Nigeria it is not a choice between good and bad (PDP bad and APC good), but between bad and less bad.On that score, unless one wants to sit out the election in disgust because of two bad choices, a decision that I can respect, I think that the reasonable thing to do is to take a chance on change, given our dire circumstances.The truth is that Jonathan has been largely a disaster, and it's not just his handling or non-handling of the insurgency. On a whole slew of issues, the man has shown time and again that he simply has no game plan. The economy is on the verge of recession and the Naira is in free fall. This is not entirely Jonathan's fault, as much of it flows from the vagaries of oil prices and the fluctuations of international commodities markets. Even so, a responsible government would have kept the Excess Crude Account (ECA) rainy day savings intact and not spent most of it--even under the prodding of rapacious governors, as Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala claims. For all his villainy, OBJ was smart enough to leave a $40 billion ECA fund for his successors. Yar'adua recklessly spend it down and Jonathan has almost depleted it. As of a few days ago, the balance in that rainy day account was $3.1 billion. Alas, the rainy days are here and oil prices continue to tumble, but our rainy day funds are gone and we have no where to turn to. Electricity supply and distribution remain anaemic in spite of the much touted privatization and deregulation (sorry, my good friend and brother Dr. Sam Amadi, but the testimony on power supply on the ground ain't pretty). Major road projects have either been neglected or abandoned. Healthcare has not improved under GEJ's watch. Quite frankly, there is little to say in favor of Jonathan.Which is why, as I said on my Facebook wall a few days ago, even though I am deeply troubled by Buhari's captivity to characters like Tinubu, Amaechi, and others who funded and engineered his way to the nomination, and gave him a running mate beholden to them to boot, if I had the vote, which I, like all diasporans don't have, I would vote for Buhari. I would do this in the hope that, like Obasanjo who managed to extricate himself from the grip of Babangida, TY Danjuma, and others who funded and orchestrated his ascendance, and become his own man, Buhari, the rough retired soldier that he is, will do likewise with his godfather/funders like Tinubu and Amaechi. To use a boxing analogy, I would hit and hope--hit the change button and hope that Buhari finds the spine to be his own man outside the overbearing influence of the odious characters around him.Moreover, for me, personal integrity, which is Buhari's strong suit, and which Goodluck "stealing is not corruption" Jonathan lacks, counts a great deal. Especially in a country as ravaged by corruption as Nigeria. Like most African peoples, we are oriented towards authority and tend to take moral and ethical cues from our leaders, so even though having leaders who set the right tone at the top may not cure our corruption ailment it will trickle down and scare some of those inclined towards corruption straight.People talk about Buhari's military dictatorship history and his regime's human rights violations, but most Nigerians didn't seem to have held that against Obasanjo when he ran for president, so it should not be a deal breaker for Buhari either.People also accuse Buhari of being a religious bigot and a Sharia fanatic. But as I stated in a recent write-up, Buhari is not, in my opinion, an Islamic extremist. He passionately supports sharia as a moral system recommended for Muslims, but, like most non-politicians, he has been inarticulate and inadvertently controversial in expressing this commitment, leading to both innocent and mischievous misrepresentations of his views outside his Northern Muslim constituency. A man who spent many years in a multiethnic and multi religious army and in different governments would have had a hard time being a religious bigot. Buhari's main problem in this regard, as one prominent Northern commentator told me, is that 1) the man lacks exposure to a broader world and to other worldviews; 2) the main frame of reference in his speeches is his northern Islamic community and identity and he has a hard time transcending this; and 3) he is surrounded by yes men who have not counseled him on the need to "nationalize" his persona, outlook, and utterances: 4) as a former soldier, he is too blunt and does not do political speak. All of these mean that when he speaks, he often imagines a parochial, homogeneous Northern Muslim Hausa-Fulani audience, instead of a national, multiethnic and multi religious one. He tells them what they expect an upright, devout Muslim to say on such topics. He is then shocked when his in-house utterances find their way to other constituencies, acquire new, more sinister meanings and are then used mischievously to portray him as a bigot.His handlers in several election cycles were content to market him as a northern grassroots champion, alienating other parts of the country and stunting his appeal as a national candidate. All of this has changed with the latest campaign. I have it on good authority that a brand new cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic and multi-religious team is handling his current campaign and has shoved aside the TBO (The Buhari Organization) folks who for years limited Buhari's appeal and made the candidate feel comfortable to pander to a narrow regional, religious constituency. In fact I am told that his current campaign and all materials and messaging associated with it are being handled in Lagos, not in Kaduna and Abuja as used to be the case.Once Buhari's "past sins" and the bigotry issue are off the table, what is left is a candidate that, quite frankly would be a vast improvement over the one we have today if he is able to be his own man. Integrity alone is a huge separation between the two candidates. But all of this hinges on whether and to what extent a president Buhari can be an independent actor.And that is my main concern concerning Buhari--his ability to govern independently of the sharks that are propelling him to power. We already have one president who is beholden to special interests, we don't need another of the same hue.The other concern I have is that as the APC rides a wave of popular discontent with the direction of the country and a growing desire for change, they seem to simply want to ride this wave to power, not realizing that they have to make the case that they will be better and different, that their proposed change has substantive content and is not just a slogan or change for its own sake. They seem to simply want to win by default. That's not gonna happen. They will have to win it, earn it. Yes, Jonathan is vulnerable, but he is the incumbent, is determined to retain his position, and most Nigerian elections are not decided by policy and issues anyway.Here, below, is what I wrote yesterday in response to a Facebook post of a friend who stated that the elections should be about concrete issues--the economy, security, infrastructure, etc.Yes, Kanayo. This ought to be the "sole issue for determination" but it aint, and you know it. As in the US and other democracies where folks vote on a whim and for emotional and primordial reasons, sometimes against their own economic interests, many Nigerians (the election will turn on how many) will not vote on the premise you outlined. Moreover, in fairness to those who will not vote on this rational premise, elections are not simply a referendum on the status quo--on the incumbency. They're also a referendum on the alternative. As bad as Jonathan and his government are, APC cannot simply win by default, by presenting itself as a mere alternative, or by riding the wave of discontent among Nigerians. Nigerians would want to see how the opposition purposes to do things differently, move the country in a radically different direction. If they don't see this or the APC is unable to articulate and disseminate this, I'm afraid that enough Nigerians may choose to keep the status quo (the devil you know....) than take a chance on a vague promise of change.On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 1:57 PM, Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com> wrote:Actually the facebook post put up by Ikhide went out of its way to criticize the Yoruba (except for the ones in Ekiti and Ondo - presumably because they voted for Ayo Fayose and because Segun Mimiko joined the ruling party) for political choices they have made and political choices they are yet to make. Having opened his post with a diatribe against Tinubu, Ikhide ended his remarks by saying that the post (complaining about the Yoruba) had made some points and that "truth hurts". That is indeed ethnic bigotry, and of the highest order.As it happens, my law partner is a leading member of Afenifere which has remained in resolute opposition to the series of parties with which Tinubu has been involved, while the immediate response of my 84 year old mother to the "It's Jonathan v Buhari" headline was "I can't vote for Buhari." Both are Yoruba. In fact, as I write, of those closest to me who are also Yoruba, I am struggling to think of one who is definitely going to vote for the presidential candidate of the party of which Tinubu is a leader. At best you have several who like me, are wondering whether the past sins and outdated ideas of Buhari can or should outweigh the callous incompetence of the Jonathan administration over the insurgency in the NE.As for Tinubu, I am not interested in deflecting accusations of corruption against him. Why should I be? Since I am not seised of the facts (unlike those who are so sure that Tinubu would put out a statement of the kind under discussion without ever having been offered the running mate position!) I do not need to be "coy" about anything. He himself said that he has developed a thick skin (but not a thick brain). The ones who posture about libel actions are the same ones who will talk of judges being intimidated by Senior Advocates of Nigeria lol. Of course, I forget how obsessed some Nigerians (home and abroad) are about paper qualifications, but if somebody wants to go to town on an FBI report that one Tinubo (or some similar such misspelling) did not attend Chicago University, that is their privilege.But I wonder what relevance that has to Nigeria in its present situation. Personally, I respect and even admire Tinubu for the work he has put in to build up a credible opposition party. Since I do not belong to the school of thought that insists that everybody must vote for the winning or ruling party, I believe that Nigerian democracy will be the better for it.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijamaIA,
Do you need reminding that truth is vindication for libel? No character is being assassinated here. Tinubu knows what to do to correct including end the enduring reports on his alleged rape of public treasuries- challenge his accusers in court. Why has he not?
I am not able to see why to criticize Tinubu for some people is to criticize his ethnic group. Tinubu is one member of his ethnic group. He is not the archetypically representative of the group. The man is a politician. His actions impacts on people's lives. He is fair game for public comment. He chose to dance in the public square. People watching expect quality entertainment. He had better be a good dancer. He does not seem to have been to many attentive spectators.
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ibigbolade Aderibigbe
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 9:28 AM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo
It is quite strange that discussions have been limited primarily to assassination of characters and ethnic bigotry by Ikhide and Anunoby Ogugua. Nothing so far has been issues based!! Sensationalism and emotionally charged hatred for persons and an ethnic group offer no solutions to the "sorry State" of the Nigerian State. if this direction of of discourse is the only means of expression by those who would like to be regarded as intellectuals- then no wonder Nigeria is trapped in its present predicaments and I doubt if it will ever overcome them.. WHAT A SHAME!!!
On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 9:14 AM, 'Ikhide' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
"There came a time during the course of the events when our Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, offered me the Vice Presidential slot. Being a normal human being, I was deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions."
I happen to know that this did not happen. Buhari did not offer Bola Ahmed Tinubu the job. I happen to know that this is a lie. I dare the APC to contradict me. For ione thing Buhari was not that attentive; the poor old man just wants to be a president, he is hostage to a number of malevolent forces, Tinubu being one. He was given Tinubu's lackey as proxy for Tinubu's filthy paws into Nigeria's future - and fortunes and he had to "approve" this message as compromise.
And then this howler:
"I have concluded that the interest of the party, our campaign and that of the nation are better served if I retain my position as the National leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge builder across all divides."
The problem here with both statements though is that they effectively eliminate the APC's attempt at a compelling message - stamping out graft. Imagine for instance an Obama promising to stamp out graft by making a mafia don the chairman of the Democratic Party. It calls to serious question the judgment of the APC. It has put paid to the myth that the APC is a force for positive, meaningful change. If they had any credibility in the first place, it is all gone. In any case, Tinubu's disgusting ambitions have effectively turned Nigeria into a one-party state. I honestly believe like many reasonable people that Mr. Goodluck Jonathan is unfit for another four years in Aso Rock. Like them however, I believe Buhari's somnolent tenure in the company of thieves and bad people will only take us to hell. I refuse to move from the current hell to another. Tinubu helps make my case compelling.
You will note how commenters here and on social media carefully avoid the question on the table, the big elephant in the room: What is someone as odious as Tinubu doing in our midst trying to convince us he is the change we need? Our public intellectuals are the problem.
- Ikhide
Stalk my blog at www.xokigbo.com
Follow me on Twitter: @ikhide
Join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
From: "Anunoby, Ogugua" <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com (USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com)" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 12:25 AM
Subject: FW: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo
"He (Tinubu) and the APC have virtually all public intellectuals looking the other way. And somehow he has conned many Yoruba into false expectations about leading Nigeria. Which leads to provocative Facebook posts like this from Nwachukwu Ugochukwu:"
Ikhide
Ikhide railed against Tinubu as a politician he believes is grossly unfit for political leadership and therefore undeserving of a seat at the high table of public discourse and service. Many attentive Nigerians would agree. Tinubu in his reported statement on Buhari's choice of a running mate, acknowledged that he has integrity and accreditation challenges and many political and other enemies.
The concern for Tinubu's critics must be that Tinubu secured the next best deal possible. He shuffled a protégé with "significant" marriage connections into the APC vice president slot as he was expected to do. Tinubu was not let into the room by the front door, he slipped into the room by the back door. The APC must hope that the protégé's connections by marriage, will win her a majority of votes in South-Western Nigeria.
Time will tell whether Tinubu's imprint on the APC presidential ticket will deliver this promise and not be another case of "here comes the conman with his con-plans" as Bob Marley famously said.
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 4:03 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo
I, too, would like to register my surprise and indignation that Ikhide would endorse and repost such blatant ethnic baiting. The writer makes valid points about the hypocrisy of the "Lagos-Ibadan," "progressive" journalistic and intellectual axis and the way its members have given a pass to Tinubu and other tainted people in the opposition, a disposition which contradicts their vocal and justified denunciation of similar vices on the part of Jonathan and members of the PDP incumbency. However, he ruined these points by accusing a phantom "Yoruba" mindset and by ethnicizing the sins of a multiethnic opposition.
The self-proclaimed "progressive" wing of the Nigerian intellectual and journalistic classes, which includes, for lack of a better term, the human rights conglomerate or community, is hardly synonymous with Yoruba. It is a cast that includes many members from other ethnic groups. Moreover, while most of its members are Southerners and its ideological epicenters are in the South, it counts many northerners among its members. It is true that this broad constituency is largely in the camp of the national opposition, however much they deny it, and that a variety of reasons may account for this, including primordial considerations. It is also true that the Southern Nigerian press has traditionally been sympathetic to the opposition parties (AD, ACN, APC while their northern Nigerian counterparts have been sympathetic to the ANPP, CPC, and now APC). However, there are cogent explanations for this reality, ranging from patterns of media ownership to the need to maintain the illusion of distance from the government, to the accident of location. Moreover, the picture that emerges from all this is not one that indicts any single ethnic group. Rather it is one in which many people covering the ethnic and regional breadths of Nigeria are implicated in the hypocrisy and selective outrage that the writer (and Ikhide) points to.
By the way, Tinubu's drug trafficking history was the subject of several explosive reports done by Saharareporters several years ago. A quick search on that site should produce links to the stories. Those stories relied mostly on judicial records of drug proceeds forfeiture proceedings in the US. The records are there. Where did he get money to almost singlehandedly fund NADECO, NALICON, and other pro-democracy groups during the Abacha days, a contribution for which he was given the AD governorship ticket ahead of Funsho Williams who won the primary election? PDP have their Buruji Kashamu, another drug baron, and APC have their Bola Tinubu.
And, of course, all of Tinubu's known certificates, including his School Cert. are forged. Several publications published exposes on his fake secondary school, Chicago State, and NYC certificates when he was governor, and the late Gani Fawehinmi went to court to try and have him convicted of perjury only to be intimidated and frustrated by Tinubu's thugs and compromised judges. Moreover, just a few days ago, Saharareporters published a letter supplied by an FBI personnel confirming that Tinubu did not attend Chicago State.
So, Ayo, unless you have proof that Tinubu is who/what he says he is, it is disingenuous to dismiss as unsubstantiated allegations for which documentary proofs have existed in the public domain for a while.
On Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 2:39 PM, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:
Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News' tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berate racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.
Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.
Apologies for the multiple posting. I'm writing and editing on my iPhone whilst getting my 14 days old daughter ready for bed!
On 17 December 2014 at 21:36, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:
Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berate racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.
Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.
On 17 December 2014 at 21:36, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:
Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News' tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know about until now! Those of us who constantly berates racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.
Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.
On 17 December 2014 at 21:24, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:
Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berates racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.
Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.
On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com> wrote:Ikhide, I am disappointed in your response, and that you are finding "some points" in the Facebook response to the statement by Bola Tinubu which I thought quite patriotic and statesmanlike. Now, I don't expect you to approve it or even to find it inspiring and commendable (as I do), but the relentless sneering and repetition of allegations for which there doesn't seem to be any foundation (I am hearing the 'drug baron' one for the first time though) does little or nothing to change the level of political discourse.
There is no doubt that many expected the APC to break up over the choice of a presidential candidate, a running mate and so on, and now that that has not happened, they are having to reach into the bottom of the barrel of ethnic stereotypes and insults to mask their disappointment, though it's not clear whether those insults are supposed to encourage the Yoruba to vote for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket, or just to persuade them not to vote for the Buhari/Osinbajo one, if at all they are all supposed to vote only one way. Is it not ridiculous to stereotype a whole people just because of political choices that they make or do not make? The people of Ekiti who are exempted from the vituperations against the Yoruba, how many of them voted for Kayode Fayemi? Are they also exempted or does the saintlihood depend on how only the majority voted? What were the Yoruba when they voted for Jonathan in 2011?
The Facebook writer goes completely and offensively overboard in his determination to express his hatred for Tinubu and the Yoruba. Yes that hurts, but not for the reason Ikhide thinks, and certainly not because it is "the truth", I mean how many newspapers are there in the South West that they are all in Tinubu's pocket? Is Vanguard one of them? The Sun? Tribune? I don't know whether the writer lives in Lagos or even Nigeria, but for his and Ikhide's information Tinubu stopped being Governor of Lagos State more than seven years ago and is not running for any office. In case you hadn't noticed, godfathers have a history of being cast aside in Nigerian politics. If they endure, it might just be because they have something else to offer. So why not get all bent out of shape about something else please.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama
On Dec 17, 2014, at 5:35 PM, 'Ikhide' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:Here is Bola Ahmed Tinubu conceding the loss of the APC's vice presidential slot to someone else, whose name fails me, never heard of him before!
"There came a time during the course of the events when our Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, offered me the Vice Presidential slot. Being a normal human being, I was deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions.
"I have concluded that the interest of the party, our campaign and that of the nation are better served if I retain my position as the National leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge builder across all divides.
"I sincerely commit myself to the rescue agenda of General Buhari and Professor Osinbajo.
"I declare to you, I will work and dedicate myself so that our ticket succeeds and wins the 2015 election — not for his good, not for my good, not even for the party's good but for the good of our nation."
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
So our REFORMER offered TINUBU the vice presidential slot? So Buhari really, really, realy thought offering a goat custody of the yam barn was the best way to reform the barn? I hear!
Do you now understand why our country is in deep trouble?
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the National leader of the APC - the change agent. Reflect upon that. And after you are through laughing, start weeping. We are not serious!
Tinubu really thought himself qualified to be vice president of, not a jail yard, but of a real country? Really? Seriously?
We are not a serious people. I have to say that Tinubu is a very lucky man. He has all the newspapers in the South West in his pocket. He and the APC have virtually all public intellectuals looking the other way. And somehow he has conned many Yoruba into false expectations about leading Nigeria. Which leads to provocative Facebook posts like this from Nwachukwu Ugochukwu:
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