
WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?
The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.
A HERO IS BORN.
I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.
IT IS WHAT IT IS.
"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.
WORD!
A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.
NOW, YOU KNOW.
When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.
JUST THE FACT.
In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle
DO YOU?.
“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.
HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.
Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.
OUR SHARED HUMANITY.
Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.
WORD.
"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.
#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.
"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.
RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.
"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS
“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ
EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.
"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)
ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?
“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
NIGERIA'S THREAT TO CUT TIES WITH AMERICA, VERY SUICIDAL!

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U.S. Threatens Senators With Visa Ban
ReplyDeleteBy Chinedu Offor (Washington DC), Paschal Njoku (Yola) and Rafiu Aja kaye (Lagos)
It has emerged that Nigerian lawmakers withdrew their threats against America for including the country on its terror watch list after Washington moved to revoke their visas.
U.S. State Department sources confirmed that all existing visas to the senators, senior government officials and their relatives were on the verge of being cancelled before Nigeria “opted out for a friendly option to resolve the impasse.”
Sources said U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called senior Nigerian officials on the administration’s intentions after getting clearance from President Barack Obama.
“They obviously underestimated the resolve of the administration on the issue, but when it comes to protecting American lives, the president will take all measures necessary,” a White House aide stated. Sources said Washington also threatened to seek the cooperation of European Union officials to also revoke the travel documents of targeted lawmakers and government officials if Nigeria had carried out its threat of diplomatic retaliation against American citizens.
“Nigeria is one of 14 countries on the list and rather than take steps to improve security, its officials are unwisely threatening the U.S.,” a senior administration official stated.
Indications are that influential American senators are urging the President Obama administration to take a tougher position on Nigeria. Republican Senator John McCain and Democrat Ross Feingold are said to be pushing for an ultimatum to the Nigerian government to fix noticeable security lapses at its exit and entry points or lose U.S. assistance programmes. The sanctions would also cover a ban on identified officials and their relatives from visiting the U.S.
“The hope is that Nigeria should see this as an opportunity to tackle its problems, rather than viewing these measures as punitive,” a legislative aide told Saturday Independent.
U.S. May Shun Nigeria’s Oil – Diplomats
ReplyDeleteWritten by By Emmanuel Bello, Abuja
Saturday, 09 January 2010 19:20
Top ranking diplomats have described as pedestrian some politicians' reaction to Nigeria's blacklisting by the United States government. They also warned that the nation's oil economy could suffer if America decides to turn to Angola for its oil needs.
Angola is now competing favourably with Nigeria and there are fears that, in the event of any diplomatic dissension between Nigeria and Western powers, Angola may take the lead as the main supplier of oil from Africa. Already crisis in the Niger Delta has caused many oil majors to rethink their continued stay in Nigeria.
Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, some diplomats said politicians are making unintelligent comments based on emotion, instead of dispassionately analyzing the situation. They said the US action was based on information available to it.
According to Authur Mbanefo, the inclusion of Nigeria on the watch list is "too serious to be handled like a political issue by politicians."
Mbanefo, a one-time permanent representative at the United Nations, says the issue is a "government to government affair and not one for pedestrian commentaries. The United States must have acted on information collated over time. Our own government should have done same by making public information at their disposal. But our government has chosen to be silent and cryptic about all of this. We are not forthcoming as the US with information available to security units."
Mbanefo said the nation's top decision makers have been evasive on the issue. He said: "Up until now, we have not heard from our ambassador in the United States. Or has he spoken? It is embarrassing to us who are career diplomats listening to politicians making all those comments. They are ruling our lives and yet it is a serious issue that should be handled delicately."
He said 90% of the nation's oil investment is in the hands of Americans - a situation that calls for careful management of the crisis. He called on the Nigerian government to promptly look at internal issues like the Boko Haram crisis and make informed opinion. According to him, this is not a time for emotional outbursts, noting that President Barack Obama is known for not making "reckless utterances". He said Nigeria has been on the US watch list for the past 10 years.
On the issue of the ultimatum handed out by the Senate president, David Mark, he said: "So what will Nigeria do at the expiration of the ultimatum?"
ReplyDeleteSpeaking in the same vein, Ambassador Sulieman Dahiru said that Nigeria is not in a position to hand out threats to the United States. He said "in diplomacy you have to match words with actions. If you said you are giving ultimatums, can you enforce it? Can we engage the US tit for tat? In any case, what they did was in their own national interest. We too have the right to feel maltreated. The truth is that we are not a terrorist country. But all this talk about whether Farouk's action is due to home-grown terrorism or from outside the country is baseless. The US is not moved by those types of arguments and, to be honest, they are useless talks. It can't change a thing. If this was like before, then maybe our threats will mean a thing."
He said: "Nigeria is not what it used to be. There was a time when our comments would have made impact. Not anymore. Nobody takes us seriously. Even small African countries are getting it right and they don't respect us. There was a time when we could call their bluff. Late General Murtala did it."
On the nation’s oil fortunes, he said "the US can get its oil supplies from Angola, even if we say they need us. Besides, we live in a world of inter-dependence. And don’t forget that the USA is still the most powerful nation in the world. If they like, they could isolate us. Besides, our hope to be on the UN security council is in jeopardy."
The way forward
Dahiru said that Nigeria should engage the US in "quiet diplomacy". He said "we have to start showing them what our efforts have been in creating a better world, our peacekeeping effort and how much we are cooperating with them. We should be able to show them that we were never involved in terrorism. If we marshall our argument well enough, we may be delisted someday."
Shehu Malami calls for understanding
Seasoned diplomat Alhaji Shehu Malami said Nigerians need to understand why Obama blacklisted the country. In an interview with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, he said: "It is devastating for Nigeria to be classified with other countries which have had disturbing records. But I can understand the initial reaction of the US government, especially taking into consideration the political pressure on President Obama who has been accused by some commentators of not doing enough to protect the country. However, one hopes that with the dust settling down, President Obama will reconsider Nigeria's position."
He continued: "So far he has shown his ability and willingness to do a critical assessment of situations as new facts emerge. Records are there. Nigeria as a country and Nigerians as a people have never been associated with terrorism. Young Farouk must have been lured by extremists. He needs our sympathies as also US deserves our sympathies over the incident. I've a feeling that Nigeria/United States relation will become stronger and more enduring after this most unfortunate incident."