KAVANAUGH’S ELEVATION: THE VILLAINS WHO NEARLY SCUTTLED IT.

ICHEOKU says thankfully Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has been sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. But had any of these fellas had their way, the Judge will be hold up in an undisclosed location, sulking and lamenting about a dream denied. But God is an American and owns this country, hence he raised his angels and ordered them to go take charge and today the rest is now history. 

ICHEOKU says may it not ever be well with all the pitch fork bearing traducers, who threw to the dogs all their legal training and practicing taught them, just to lynch an innocent man because he is an upright person. Anyway, their evil conspiratorial plot has been defeated and Judge Kavanaugh is now an Associate Justice of the SCOTUS. ICHEOKU prays that all they heaped on an innocent man, including all the false charges and testimonies, be multiplied for them IJN. 

Senate minority leader Charles Ellis Schumer swore from the onset that he would do everything within his power to defeat the nominee and prevent his ever being sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Boy, did he try with his army of lunatics and they cane so close to achieving their devilish objective. Now, he must be reliving the agonies of November 8, 2018, all over again. What a torture. 

Then came Senator Spartacus Cory Booker of Newark New Jersey. His grandstanding and bombastic threat to release an otherwise classified information about Judge Kavanaugh went up in smoke, as it was found to be merely hot air. He too should be hiding his face in shame now, wondering why he foreclosed on his chances of ever advancing in American nationwide politics with such a macabre display of rascality in the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing room. 

ICHEOKU says then came the leaking Dianne Feinstein who received a letter from Dr Ford and hid it from her colleagues for three months, only to leak it to the media, despite Dr Ford’s plea and request that it be kept confidential. Pitiful leaky dirty Dianna and at 85 years old, she is simply too old to remain in the Senate. Shame on her. 

Then we have the nut job Aloha Senator from Hawaii, Maxie Hiroro, who told American men to SHUT THE FUCK UP. ICHEOKU says if this woman is not the worst thing to happen to womanhood, then nothing else; not even the Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton was ever this uncouth. ICHEOKU pities her husband, if she has one. Imagine the hell that guy must be living in and going through, married to such a street queer. 

Then came all the Democratic Party members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who are lawyers, but who wanted to sacrifice the rule of law of audi alterem patem on the alter of politics. A guy was accused of one of the most heinous and hideous crimes ever imaginable, sexual molestation; yet without evidence, any nor sufficient, they wanted to convict and execute him by denying him a well merited and rightly earned elevation to the Supreme Court. 

I WILL VOTE TO CONFIRM JUDGE KAVANAUGH - SUSAN COLLINS

"Mr. President, the five previous times that I have come to the floor to explain my vote on the nomination of a justice to the United States Supreme Court, I have begun my floor remarks explaining my decision with a recognition of the solemn nature and the importance of the occasion.

But today we have come to the conclusion of a confirmation process that has become so dysfunctional it looks more like a caricature of a gutter-level political campaign than a solemn occasion.

The President nominated Brett Kavanaugh on July 9th. Within moments of that announcement, special interest groups raced to be the first to oppose him, including one organization that didn’t even bother to fill in the Judge’s name on its pre-written press release – they simply wrote that they opposed “Donald Trump’s nomination of XX to the Supreme Court of the United States.” A number of Senators joined the race to announce their opposition, but they were beaten to the punch by one of our colleagues who actually announced opposition before the nominee’s identity was even known.

Since that time, we have seen special interest groups whip their followers into a frenzy by spreading misrepresentations and outright falsehoods about Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial record. Over-the-top rhetoric and distortions of his record and testimony at his first hearing produced short-lived headlines which, although debunked hours later, continue to live on and be spread through social media. Interest groups have also spent an unprecedented amount of dark money opposing this nomination.

Our Supreme Court confirmation process has been in steady decline for more than thirty years. One can only hope that the Kavanaugh nomination is where the process has finally hit rock bottom.

Against this backdrop, it is up to each individual Senator to decide what the Constitution’s “advice and consent” duty means. Informed by Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist 76, I have interpreted this to mean that the President has broad discretion to consider a nominee’s philosophy, whereas my duty as a Senator is to focus on the nominee’s qualifications as long as that nominee’s philosophy is within the mainstream of judicial thought.

I have always opposed litmus tests for judicial nominees with respect to their personal views or politics, but I fully expect them to be able to put aside any and all personal preferences in deciding the cases that come before them. I have never considered the President’s identity or party when evaluating Supreme Court nominations. As a result, I voted in favor of Justices Roberts and Alito, who were nominated by President Bush, Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, who were nominated by President Obama, and Justice Gorsuch, who was nominated by President Trump.

So I began my evaluation of Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination by reviewing his 12-year record on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, including his more than 300 opinions and his many speeches and law review articles. Nineteen attorneys, including lawyers from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, briefed me many times each week and assisted me in evaluating the judge’s extensive record. I met with Judge Kavanaugh for more than two hours in my office. I listened carefully to the testimony at the Committee hearings. I spoke with people who knew him personally, such as Condoleezza Rice and many others. And, I talked with Judge Kavanaugh a second time by phone for another hour to ask him very specific additional questions.

I have also met with thousands of my constituents, both advocates and many opponents, regarding Judge Kavanaugh. One concern that I frequently heard was that Judge Kavanaugh would be likely to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) vital protections for people with preexisting conditions. I disagree with this contention. In a dissent in Seven-Sky v. Holder, Judge Kavanaugh rejected a challenge to the ACA on narrow procedural grounds, preserving the law in full. Many experts have said his dissent informed Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding the ACA at the Supreme Court.

Furthermore, Judge Kavanaugh’s approach toward the doctrine of severability is narrow. When a part of a statute is challenged on constitutional grounds, he has argued for severing the invalid clause as surgically as possible while allowing the overall law to remain intact.

This was his approach in his dissent in a case that involved a challenge to the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (PPH v. CFPB). In his dissent, Judge Kavanaugh argued for “severing any problematic portions while leaving the remainder intact.” Given the current challenges to the ACA, proponents, including myself, of protections for people with pre-existing conditions should want a Justice who would take just this kind of approach.

Another assertion I have heard often is that Judge Kavanaugh cannot be trusted if a case involving alleged wrongdoing by the President were to come before the Court. The basis for this argument seems to be two-fold. First, Judge Kavanaugh has written that he believes that Congress should enact legislation to protect presidents from criminal prosecution or civil liability while in office. Mr. President, I believe opponents miss the mark on this issue. The fact that Judge Kavanaugh offered this legislative proposal suggests that he believes that the President does not have such protection currently.

Second, there are some who argue that given the current Special Counsel investigation, President Trump should not even be allowed to nominate a justice. That argument ignores our recent history. President Clinton, in 1993, nominated Justice Ginsburg after the Whitewater investigation was already underway. And she was confirmed 96-3. The next year, just three months after Independent Counsel Robert Fiske was named to lead the Whitewater investigation, President Clinton nominated Justice Breyer. He was confirmed 87-9.

Supreme Court Justices have not hesitated to rule against the presidents who have nominated them. Perhaps most notably in United States v. Nixon, three Nixon appointees who heard the case joined the unanimous opinion against him.

Judge Kavanaugh has been unequivocal in his belief that no president is above the law. He has stated that Marbury v. Madison, Youngstown Steel v. Sawyer and United States v. Nixon are three of the four greatest Supreme Court cases in history. What do they have in common? Each of them is a case where the Court served as a check on presidential power. And I would note that the fourth case that Judge Kavanaugh has pointed to as the greatest in history was Brown v Board of Education.

One Kavanaugh decision illustrates the point about the check on presidential power directly. He wrote the opinion in Hamdan v. United States, a case that challenged the Bush Administration’s military commission prosecution of an associate of Osama Bin Laden. This conviction was very important to the Bush Administration, but Judge Kavanaugh, who had been appointed to the DC Circuit by President Bush and had worked in President Bush’s White House, ruled that the conviction was unlawful. As he explained during the hearing, “We don’t make decisions based on who people are, or their policy preferences, or the moment. We base decisions on the law….”

Others I met with have expressed concerns that Justice Kennedy’s retirement threatens the right of same sex couples to marry. Yet, Judge Kavanaugh described the Obergefell decision, which legalized same gender marriages, as an important landmark precedent. He also cited Justice Kennedy’s recent Masterpiece Cakeshop opinion for the Court’s majority stating that: “The days of treating gay and lesbian Americans or gay and lesbian couples as second-class citizens who are inferior in dignity and worth are over in the Supreme Court.”

Others have suggested that the judge holds extreme views on birth control. In one case, Judge Kavanaugh incurred the disfavor of both sides of the political spectrum for seeking to ensure the availability of contraceptive services for women while minimizing the involvement of employers with religious objections. Although his critics frequently overlook this point, Judge Kavanaugh’s dissent rejected arguments that the government did not have a compelling interest in facilitating access to contraception. In fact, he wrote that the Supreme Court precedent “strongly suggested” that there was a “compelling interest” in facilitating access to birth control.

There has also been considerable focus on the future of abortion rights based on the concern that Judge Kavanaugh would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. Protecting this right is important to me.

To my knowledge, Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article III of our Constitution itself. He believes that precedent “is not just a judicial policy … it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent.” In other words, precedent isn’t a goal or an aspiration; it is a constitutional tenet that has to be followed except in the most extraordinary circumstances.

The judge further explained that precedent provides stability, predictability, reliance, and fairness. There are, of course, rare and extraordinary times where the Supreme Court would rightly overturn a precedent. The most famous example was when the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, correcting a “grievously wrong” decision--to use the judge’s term--allowing racial inequality. But, someone who believes that the importance of precedent has been rooted in the Constitution would follow long-established precedent except in those rare circumstances where a decision is “grievously wrong” or “deeply inconsistent with the law.” Those are Judge Kavanaugh’s phrases.

As Judge Kavanaugh asserted to me, a long-established precedent is not something to be trimmed, narrowed, discarded, or overlooked. Its roots in the Constitution give the concept of stare decisis greater weight such that precedent can’t be trimmed or narrowed simply because a judge might want to on a whim. In short, his views on honoring precedent would preclude attempts to do by stealth that which one has committed not to do overtly.

Noting that Roe v. Wade was decided 45 years ago, and reaffirmed 19 years later in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, I asked Judge Kavanaugh whether the passage of time is relevant to following precedent. He said decisions become part of our legal framework with the passage of time and that honoring precedent is essential to maintaining public confidence.

Our discussion then turned to the right of privacy, on which the Supreme Court relied in Griswold v. Connecticut, a case that struck down a law banning the use and sale of contraceptives. Griswold established the legal foundation that led to Roe eight years later. In describing Griswold as “settled law,” Judge Kavanaugh observed that it was the correct application of two famous cases from the 1920s, Meyer and Pierce, that are not seriously challenged by anyone today. Finally, in his testimony, he noted repeatedly that Roe had been upheld by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, describing it as “precedent on precedent.” When I asked him would it be sufficient to overturn a long-established precedent if five current justices believed it was wrongly decided, he emphatically said “no.”

Opponents frequently cite then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to nominate only judges who would overturn Roe. The Republican platform for all presidential campaigns has included this pledge since at least 1980. During this time, Republican presidents have appointed Justices O’Connor, Souter, and Kennedy to the Supreme Court. These are the very three justices—Republican president appointed justices—who authored the Casey decision, which reaffirmed Roe. Furthermore, pro-choice groups vigorously opposed each of these justices’ nominations. Incredibly, they even circulated buttons with the slogan “Stop Souter Or Women Will Die!” Just two years later, Justice Souter coauthored the Casey opinion, reaffirming a woman’s right to choose. Suffice it to say, prominent advocacy organizations have been wrong.

These same interest groups have speculated that Judge Kavanaugh was selected to do the bidding of conservative ideologues, despite his record of judicial independence. I asked the judge point blank whether he had made any commitments or pledges to anyone at the White House, to the Federalist Society, or to any outside group on how he would decide cases. He unequivocally assured me he had not.

Judge Kavanaugh has received rave reviews for his 12-year track record as a judge, including for his judicial temperament. The American Bar Association (ABA) gave him its highest possible rating. Its Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary conducted an extraordinarily thorough assessment, soliciting input from almost 500 people, including his judicial colleagues. The ABA concluded that “his integrity, judicial temperament, and professional competence met the highest standard.”

Lisa Blatt, who has argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any other woman in history, testified: “By any objective measure, Judge Kavanaugh is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.” “His opinions are invariably thoughtful and fair….” Ms. Blatt, who clerked for and is an ardent admirer of Justice Ginsburg, and who is, in her own words, “an unapologetic defender of a woman’s right to choose,” said that Judge Kavanaugh “fit[s] in the mainstream of legal thought.” She also observed that “Judge Kavanaugh is remarkably committed to promoting women in the legal profession.”

That Judge Kavanaugh is more of a centrist than some of his critics maintain is reflected in the fact that he and Chief Judge Merrick Garland voted the same way in 93 percent of the cases that they heard together. Indeed, Chief Judge Garland joined in more than 96 percent of the majority opinions authored by Judge Kavanaugh, dissenting only once.

Despite all this, after weeks of reviewing Judge Kavanaugh’s record and listening to 32 hours of his testimony, the Senate’s advice and consent role was thrown into a tailspin following the allegations of sexual assault by Professor Christine Blasey Ford. The confirmation process now involves evaluating whether or not Judge Kavanaugh committed sexual assault, and lied about it to the Judiciary Committee.

Some argue that because this is a lifetime appointment to our highest court, the public interest requires that doubts be resolved against the nominee. Others see the public interest as embodied in our long-established tradition of affording to those accused of misconduct a presumption of innocence. In cases in which the facts are unclear, they would argue that the question should be resolved in favor of the nominee.

Mr. President, I understand both viewpoints. This debate is complicated further by the fact that the Senate confirmation process is not a trial. But certain fundamental legal principles—about due process, the presumption of innocence, and fairness—do bear on my thinking, and I cannot abandon them.

In evaluating any given claim of misconduct, we will be ill served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence and fairness, tempting though it may be. We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy.

The presumption of innocence is relevant to the advice and consent function when an accusation departs from a nominee’s otherwise exemplary record. I worry that departing from this presumption could lead to a lack of public faith in the judiciary and would be hugely damaging to the confirmation process moving forward.

Some of the allegations levied against Judge Kavanaugh illustrate why the presumption of innocence is so important. I am thinking in particular not of the allegations raised by Professor Ford, but of the allegation that, when he was a teenager, Judge Kavanaugh drugged multiple girls and used their weakened state to facilitate gang rape. This outlandish allegation was put forth without any credible supporting evidence and simply parroted public statements of others. That such an allegation can find its way into the Supreme Court confirmation process is a stark reminder about why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained in our American consciousness.

Mr. President, I listened carefully to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee. I found her testimony to be sincere, painful, and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life. Nevertheless, the four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events of that evening gathering where she says the assault occurred; none of the individuals Professor Ford says were at the party has any recollection at all of that night.

Judge Kavanaugh forcefully denied the allegations under penalty of perjury. Mark Judge denied under penalty of felony that he had witnessed an assault. PJ Smyth, another person allegedly at the party, denied that he was there under penalty of felony. Professor Ford’s life-long friend Leland Keyser indicated that, under penalty of felony, she does not remember that party. And Ms. Keyser went further. She indicated that not only does she not remember a night like that, but also that she does not even know Brett Kavanaugh.

In addition to the lack of corroborating evidence, we also learned some facts that raised more questions. For instance, since these allegations have become public, Professor Ford testified that not a single person has contacted her to say, “I was at the party that night.”

Furthermore, the professor testified that although she does not remember how she got home that evening, she knew that, because of the distance, she would have needed a ride – yet not a single person has come forward to say that they were the one that drove her home or were in the car with her that night. And Professor Ford also indicated that even though she left that small gathering of six or so people abruptly and without saying goodbye and distraught, none of them called her the next day – or ever – to ask why she left – is she okay – not even her closest friend, Ms. Keyser.

Mr. President, the Constitution does not provide guidance as to how we are supposed to evaluate these competing claims. It leaves that decision up to each Senator. This is not a criminal trial, and I do not believe that claims such as these need to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, fairness would dictate that the claims at least should meet a threshold of “more likely than not” as our standard.

The facts presented do not mean that Professor Ford was not sexually assaulted that night – or at some other time – but they do lead me to conclude that the allegations fail to meet the “more likely than not” standard. Therefore, I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the Court.

Let me emphasize that my approach to this question should not be misconstrued as suggesting that unwanted sexual contact of any nature is not a serious problem in this country. To the contrary, if any good at all has come from this ugly confirmation process, it has been to create an awareness that we have underestimated the pervasiveness of this terrible problem.

I have been alarmed and disturbed, however, by some who have suggested that unless Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is rejected, the Senate is somehow condoning sexual assault. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Every person—man or woman--who makes a charge of sexual assault deserves to be heard and treated with respect. The #MeToo movement is real. It matters. It is needed. And it is long overdue. We know that rape and sexual assault are less likely to be reported to the police than other forms of assault. On average, an estimated 211,000 rapes and sexual assaults go unreported every year. We must listen to survivors, and every day we must seek to stop the criminal behavior that has hurt so many. We owe this to ourselves, our children, and generations to come.

Since the hearing, I have listened to many survivors of sexual assault. Many were total strangers who told me their heart-wrenching stories for the first time in their lives. Some were friends I have known for decades, yet with the exception of one woman who had confided in me years ago, I had no idea that they had been the victims of sexual attacks. I am grateful for their courage and their willingness to come forward, and I hope that in heightening public awareness, they have also lightened the burden that they have been quietly bearing for so many years. To them, I pledge to do all that I can to ensure that their daughters and granddaughters never share their experiences.

Over the past few weeks, I have been emphatic that the Senate has an obligation to investigate and evaluate the serious allegations of sexual assault. I called for and supported the additional hearing to hear from both Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh. I also pushed for and supported the FBI supplemental background investigation. This was the right thing to do.

Christine Ford never sought the spotlight. She indicated that she was terrified to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she has shunned attention since then. She seemed completely unaware of Chairman Grassley’s offer to allow her to testify confidentially in California. Watching her, Mr. President, I could not help but feel that some people who wanted to engineer the defeat of this nomination cared little, if at all, for her well-being.

Professor Ford testified that a very limited number of people had access to her letter. Yet that letter found its way into the public domain. She testified that she never gave permission for that very private letter to be released. And yet, here we are. We are in the middle of a fight that she never sought, arguing about claims that she wanted to raise confidentially.

One theory I have heard espoused repeatedly is that our colleague, Senator Feinstein, leaked Professor Ford’s letter at the eleventh hour to derail this process. I want to state this very clearly: I know Senator Diane Feinstein extremely well, and I believe that she would never do that. I knew that to be the case before she even stated it at the hearing. She is a person of integrity, and I stand by her.

I have also heard some argue that the Chairman of the Committee somehow treated Professor Ford unfairly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chairman Grassley, along with his excellent staff, treated Professor Ford with compassion and respect throughout the entire process. And that is the way the Senator from Iowa has conducted himself throughout a lifetime dedicated to public service.

But the fact remains, Mr. President, that someone leaked this letter against Professor Ford’s express wishes. I suspect, regrettably, that we will never know for certain who did it. To that leaker, who I hope is listening now, let me say that what you did was unconscionable. You have taken a survivor who was not only entitled to your respect, but who also trusted you to protect her – and you have sacrificed her well-being in a misguided attempt to win whatever political crusade you think you are fighting. My only hope is that your callous act has turned this process into such a dysfunctional circus that it will cause the Senate – and indeed all Americans – to reconsider how we evaluate Supreme Court nominees. If that happens, then the appalling lack of compassion you afforded Professor Ford will at least have some unintended positive consequences.

Mr. President, the politically charged atmosphere surrounding this nomination had reached a fever pitch even before these allegations were known, and it has been challenging even then to separate fact from fiction.

We live in a time of such great disunity, as the bitter fight over this nomination both in the Senate and among the public clearly demonstrates. It is not merely a case of different groups having different opinions. It is a case of people bearing extreme ill will toward those who disagree with them. In our intense focus on our differences, we have forgotten the common values that bind us together as Americans. When some of our best minds are seeking to develop ever more sophisticated algorithms designed to link us to websites that only reinforce and cater to our views, we can only expect our differences to intensify.

This would have alarmed the drafters of our Constitution, who were acutely aware that different values and interests could prevent Americans from becoming and remaining a single people. Indeed, of the six objectives they invoked in the preamble to the Constitution, the one that they put first was the formation of “a more perfect Union.”

Their vision of “a more perfect Union” does not exist today, and if anything, we appear to be moving farther away from it. It is particularly worrisome that the Supreme Court, the institution that most Americans see as the principal guardian of our shared constitutional heritage, is viewed as part of the problem through a political lens.

Mr. President, we’ve heard a lot of charges and counter charges about Judge Kavanaugh. But as those who have known him best have attested, he has been an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband, and father. Despite the turbulent, bitter fight surrounding his nomination, my fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions and so that public confidence in our Judiciary and our highest court is restored. Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh."

WHAT STANDARD IS IT ANYWAY?

ICHEOKU says a man was accused of one of the most heinous crimes anyone can commit - sexual molestation of a woman. He wanted to defend himself, but was told that it is not a court case but public opinion; and that he should just lay back and take it. Also, that the criminal standard of "proof beyond reasonable doubt" does not apply in his case. 

ICHEOKU asks, is it that the accusation did not or will not damage the accused or that the alleged act is not a crime. Which of them made the criminal standard inapplicable? Put in another words, if not the reasonable doubt standard of proof, which other standard of proof is commensurate here. ICHEOKU says it is definitely a case of beating someone and asking him not to defend himself or protect himself and also, not to cry either. What a layered travesty of justice. If this is not lynching, what else qualifies; admitted Justice Thomas once faced a hi-tek lynching and survived it. ICHEOKU says hopefully too, Judge Brett Kavanaugh will also survive the bearing of false witness lynching. Confirm Kav NOW!

DANKWAMBO/WIKE 2019: THE ONLY PDP ASSURED ROUTE TO ASO ROCK.

ICHEOKU says an opportunity beckons for Nigerians, especially the youth of the country, to take back their country. It is so within grasp, that ICHEOKU can feel and taste it; but will "lazy" Nigerian youths take the bull by its horn and mission accomplish the objective. 

Unfortunately, they are busily occupied chasing shadows, with distracting lamentations about their plight under the Dracula of Daura, but without any concert on stopping the bleeding. They are wailing and pointing accusatory fingers at Aso Rock, but they have no working strategy to effectively go about sending the Dracula of Daura back to sender, to the people of the arid Daura, by supporting a duo who will indeed spell a revolutionary move. 

Nigeria's comatose state is real; a situation brought about by feckless lunacy of ineptitude, caused by some stone-age munchkins, who parade themselves as leaders, but who has no clue about what leadership really is all about. This band of humanoids who have successfully hijacked and bastardized Nigerians' common destiny must be stopped and now is the time to stop them. 

ICHEOKU is emphatic that short of drastically making a 180 degree turn, breaking the shackles of oppression, repression and corruption cannot be achieved and a people tired of living in bondage must rise up and take their country back. Luckily enough, two youthful, full of life, well educated personalities, with a can-do attitude are available, willing and able; and they are saying to Nigerians, please send us to go work for you. They are both governors and they have both managed Human Resources as well as economic resources of their various States and they can bring this experience to bear on the national stage. ICHEOKU therefore, heretofore, presents to the youths of Nigeria, Governors Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and Nyesome Wike, of Gombe and Rivers States, as PDP presidential and vice presidential candidates for the Election 2019.

ICHEOKU says enough of the impetuosity of these old brigades and lack of counter offense by the youth of Nigeria. The old Methuselahs have had their fair shot at leadership and now headed to their respective graves, bus yield the center stage for the younger generation. They have no more incentive to make things better or in anyway improve the lot of Nigerians. Therefore, it is about time for the youth, whose future is still very much at stake, to, with their PVCs, says enough is enough and put an end to their misery. 

ICHEOKU knows such a takeover is possible, as it has happened in so many other countries of the world before, and can also flag mount itself in Nigeria. The only thing standing on the way is the indolence and thoughtless willful indifference of Nigerian youths, who lack focus and who allow themselves to be used by these band of old brigands, who does not know jack, but who has refused to yield the floor for those with superior knowledge and motive to improve the lot of Nigerians, to do what they can do best, take Nigeria to the next level. Governor Dankwambo and Governor Wike will do a fantastic job piloting the affairs of Nigeria and they can, working together, help realize the languishing dreams of millions of Nigerian youths, because they are part of them.

The time to end this lingering malaise in the hands of centurions who were born before Nigeria's independence has come and the time to hand over the reins of authority to able and competent hands, who were actually born Nigerians, post independence Nigeria, is NOW! The golden opportunity presented by the forthcoming Election 2019, with all the stars properly lined up in the constellation for Nigerians to make a real C-change, must not be missed. It must be  grabbed with both hands, with gratitude to the Almighty who made it possible and help put the rudders of the State in the hands of both Dankwambo and Wine and watch Nigeria sizzle. In this race for Aso Rock 2019, there is no other pair that truly represents the collective dream, desire and aspiration of the post independence generation of Nigerians, than the duo of Dankwambo and Wike.  In them, has most right thinking Nigerians found something which has been missing in all the past leaders and in them, have they decided to pitch their tent and have sworn to help push them across the finish line into Aso Rock in 2019. 

An opportunity has never lined up so well as this pair:- they are both youthful, well educated, with great poise, a can-do attitude, fighters of no mean repute, level headed, magisterial demeanor, the ability to mix well and mingle well, they can remain calm under oven pressure and they are not too afraid to fight the good fight, when needed. In them has some thoughtful Nigerians found the answer to the Buhari question and also the solution to the myriad of problems facing a Nigeria that is adrift and dangerously tethering at the edge of a precipitous cliff. Nigeria is not yet beyond salvage or too late to reel back and only this two persons, among the motley of scavengers waiting to devour Nigeria, led by the Crooked and Corrupt polygamist Abubakar Atiku, can it be get done. Governor Dankwambo and Governor Wike are the knights in shinning amour now charged in to help rescue Nigeria and give back the country to the youths, who owns it; and help breath back life giving oxygen to a Nigeria in coma.

A study has it that most abused people throughout the world are often somewhat complicit in their abuse. That somehow, by covert or overt conduct, especially through their docility, implicitly acquiesce in their abuse, wittingly or unwittingly. These abused people usually have some form of participation in their abuse in the hands of their abusers, and most times, they are oblivious of their enablement. Continuing, the study said that nobody would otherwise be abused if they are honed in, with their eyes clearly wide open and with the courage to say STOP. The late Dee Onunaka Samuel Mbakwe of the blessed memory, succinctly captured Nigerians death-inducing indifference, when he said that "oke adighi era ihe onye mu anya" (the rat does not eat a thing which belongs to someone who is wide awake.) But in Nigeria, it would appear that everyone is in an Adam-styled Eve making induced sleep and their sleep is now death or nearing the threshold of death; otherwise, why would they stay so hypnotized as the brazen rape of their country continues unabated. 

Such an affront to the general well being of the country, by these deviants, would not happen and if, not as repeatedly, if only Nigerian youths have a sense of self and conscious of the fact that their future is what these brigands are destroying with reckless abandon. Nigerian youths have been at the butt of the gun in Nigeria and for so long now, that they have somewhat lost their common destiny while staring vacantly and blankly and in stupor, as their future is fretted away. So, one would expect them to rise up now that another opportunity has presented itself to say enough, not any more; but will they? 2019 is definitely an opportunity to free themselves from the yokes of repeat abuse and take their country and their common destiny back and with their both hands. But instead, they are shouting themselves hoax with their lamentations of Sodom, concerning their abuse, but are not doing the needed needful, to free themselves from their yoked burden. 

Further, they are all agreed that the Dracula of Daura is a bad news and must be dispatched back to Daura, but are greatly disjointed on the best vehicle to achieve the objective. That some of them are even willing tools in the hands of these discredited leaders, including Abubakar Atiku, who regularly use them as thugs and political muscles to perpetually retain their stranglehold on them, only to later dump them by the wayside, is actually the biggest scandal here. When will Nigerians, especially the youths, who are the majority of the population, by concert and strategy, take their country back? But rather than cease such opportunity as 2019 presents, Nigerian youths are mortgaging their future by accepting misery sums as allowances from these fellas, for providing them with political muscles with which to rig themselves back into office and you wonder what is wrong with Nigerians. 

As the 2019 presidential election comes into focus, Nigerians are faced with choices as to who their next president will be and concomitantly, their vice president. Would the youths of Nigeria flock to two of their own fellow youths and empower them to lead them and their country out of their malaise and state of abandoned stupor. Can they seize on this opportunity to elect two youths, men born after independence, and who are highly qualified, literate and well prepared to lead from day one. Can Nigerian youths ever realize the urgency of the now which demands that Nigeria change course immediately and in order to survive and thrive. Can Nigerian youths realize that Nigeria has since been left behind in a world that has progressively moved into Artificial Intelligence era, while their grandpa President Muhammadu Buhari and his also grandpa Minister of Industries are busily manufacturing pencils, which are hardly used in this age of electronic pencils. Can Nigerian youths look hard to see that these old people leading them, who belong to old peoples homes, are simply analog and do not even know that a mouse is not the same thing as a rat. 

So how would Nigerian youths allow this pervasion to persist and continue to snatch their common fortune and destiny, when two people as supremely qualified and enlightened as Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State are present, as the real alternative solution to the Nigerian problem and the answer to the Buhari question. ICHEOKU says Dankwambo and Wike are exactly the ones we have been waiting for, looking for, and longing for; all these years, and both Dankwambo and Wike should be empowered to do what they will do best for a Nigeria in trouble and tethering on the edge. 

The question then remains are Nigerians bewitched so much not to see what many analytical and discerning minds are seeing in this two partners for progress of Nigeria. ICHEOKU says except Nigerians are simply too stupefied, unfocused, distracted and not mission driven to know any better, Dankwambo and Wike should be the next president and vice president of Nigeria, respectively, come 2019. Nigerians must do right for and by themselves; and not allow the usual suspects to once again derail their common destiny; and because of hunger, fall victims to the little money thrown their way to induce them and otherwise purchase their votes, until the next election. Opportunity calls to correct the drift and Dankwambo and Wake are the tools which God wants to use to fix Nigeria. 

Whatever you do Nigerians, please do not allow Abubakar Atiku to purchase your votes. You are not prostitutes who have a price. Please learn to say no to these temporary misery inducements and look at the long term goal and remain focused on it. Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result, is insanity defined. Nigerians cannot continuously allow their votes to be purchased and expect that those purchasers, who have already paid them upfront, would worry about them once elected. In the alternative, please do not complain tomorrow when the same cycle of abuse continues as is expected under the same old men in power. Nobody treats a paid whore with respect and so do not make yourselves rats, to avoid the wrath of cats. Now is the time to correct the anomaly of these many decades, Dr Dankwambo and Barrister Wike are the it; so lets send them to Aso Rock and watch them do great things for Nigeria. They will make Nigeria work again and they will make Nigerians hopeful again, so lets send them to Aso Rock. Vote Dankwambo/Wike2019. #DANKWAMBO4PRESIDENT2019.

The PDP must therefore not destroy the current zeal of Nigerians to effect a change in Aso Rock and/or frustrate the determination of its patriotic members who had remained loyal to the party and dedicated their lives towards its ideals. Party patriots who ensured that the party survived the turmoils of the mass defections of 2014/15, led hugely in part by Abubakar Atiku and Bukola Saraki, must be rewarded for their courage under pressure. The right and proper thing for the PDP to do is to reward those faithfuls and assure them that loyalty still matters, and that candor and character are still the hallmarks of manhood. The party must not pawn up the PDP's presidential ticket to any of those political grasshoppers, who are always hovering around and hopping about, looking for where the heavy lifting have been completed for them to swoop down and reap what they did not sow. Many of them have defected back to the PDP, including Abubakar Atiku, just to snatch the presidential ticket. ICHEOKU says but not so fast and not so soon following their grass-hopping adventure back in the party. To allow them to reap where they did not labor will amount to encouraging stupid idiocy and discouraging fidelity; and that is exactly what armed robbers do. 

Such thoughtless act will amount to lack of morals, philosophy and ideology by the party.. Therefore the PDP's presidential ticket, let Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo have and together with Team Wike, Make Nigeria Hopeful Again. They will be the best thing to ever happen to Nigeria since the 1973 Udoji Award. Such a generational golden opportunity must not be fretted away, no matter the circumstance or subterfuge or deception by Abubakar Atiku and cohorts. Both men have a can-do spirit, they have a clear eyed vision and they are eagle's eye focused, on how to turn Nigeria around and headed it to the right direction. 

There is something special about the Team DanWike2019; and hopefully Nigerians will come around to share this observation, accept them and help make them the next occupants of Aso Rock. They are both healthy and there will not be absentee president or indecisive Vice President who feels like he is a son of the other; or in any other way, be spending untoward amounts of time in a London hospital and/or convalescing home. Nigerians will be glad indeed if they objectively assess this guys and entrust them with their leadership come 2019. President Dankwambo and Vice President Wike are loading, are you on board? Please help elect Dr Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and Barrister Ezenwo Nyesome Wike, president and Vice President of Nigeria in 2019. #ElectDankwambo/Wike2019.

DR FORD: WHAT MOST LIKELY HAPPENED?

ICHEOKU says it is humanly impossible for two adverse parties to a case to be both telling the truth and therefore both credible as to the subject incident under contention. For one party to be right, the other party must, as is necessarily practicable, be wrong. This is the reason the parties assumed their adversarial positions and went to a third party to resolve it. But this time tested expectation, seems to have been defeated by the testimonies of Dr Christie Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh at their last Friday's testimonies before the Senate Judicial Committee in Washington DC. 

But for their testimonies to pass muster, it is either one of them is lying or telling half truth as a faded memory could afford them; or both of them are telling the truth, their versions of truth, albeit relatively and as their respective experiences provided them.

So, could it be a case of a mistaken identity by Dr. Ford or a case of no intent to molest by Judge Kavanaugh. Is it possible that it was just a case of two young teenage boys who were horse playing with an equally young teenage girl, but who later changed her mind to allege a molestation. If indeed the two boys wanted to actually molest or even rape the girl, they could have easily overpowered her, by physically restraining her, while they had their turns with her, but such a thing never happened. If one of the boys wanted to actually molest or rape the girl, why did he not lock the door, but left it open for the other guy to join them and continued to leave it open for the girl to later walk or "run" away into the bathroom where she allegedly hid from them. When she was "running" away from the room, why did the boys who wanted to "rape" her, not yank her back or blocked her passage, but they let her go, laughingly. Which shows that they were, if indeed anything like what she narrated took place, merely fooling around, devoid of any malicious intention. Even the fact that the three of them were all jumping into the bed at the same time, further evidences the play nature of the encounter and that it was nothing sexual.

But all these bases now been considered covered and for the sake of this discussion, assuming that an incident actually took place, is it possible that it was not as Dr Ford allegedly said it happened. Is it possible that her experience was not with Judge Kavanaugh, but with some other guy, who she cannot readily remember now and that she was cajoled into roping in the Judge, just to help the Democrats stop his confirmation. 

In America, stories abound of instances when a crime is committed and there is political pressure for the police to solve it. The police then goes out of its way to randomly arrest a black man, sometimes one with a criminal past, and then frame him up for the crime just to get the crime solved. So many of these guys were unfortunately executed and so many others are still languishing in various prisons for crimes which they did not commit; with many others since released following the activities of groups like the Innocence Project, etc based on the false testimony of an arranged or compromised witness. 

So, does such possibility exists in the matter of the current accusation of Judge Kavanaugh, no matter how remote or otherwise unattainable, it might seem. Is there a scintilla of possibility that it could have been the case; otherwise which rape or attempted rape victim would go so blank as to forget everything about the incident, except the identity of the accused person. She did not know the house or its address, the City, the year or month or day the alleged incident took place; and neither was she able to recollect how she got there or how she got home from there and she lived a fairly long distance from the place. It is fantastically strange that such a selective amnesia could be pulled off by someone, a psychologist with a PhD. Was she stage acting her ordeal, using her psychology training to confuse and deceive; and milk people's sympathy to her own advantage? 

ICHEOKU says there are simply a lot of things that either did not come out or are not known and hopefully, the FBI can abstract these things in order to exculpate the innocent and nab the lying party here. Something is not right and something is definitely smelling fishy, especially with Dr. Ford wiping off all her Social Media accounts and years long postings shortly before going public with the improbable story of her encounter in the hands of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. It is more likely than not that Dr. Ford did not tell the truth as to either what allegedly happened to her, the molestation, or the identity of the guilty party, Brett Kavanaugh. In the alternative, she could have experienced the incident, but in the hands of another fellow, who is not Bret Kavanaugh; but decided to become a willingly tool in the the hands of the Resistance Wing of the Democratic Party in their maddening attempt to frustrate his nomination. 

ICHEOKU does not wish to be in any of the tow parties' shoes, neither Dr Ford nor Judge Kavanaugh, because the both parties are not finding the current ruckus funny, not anymore.  But it is not right and it is condemnable, what the farthest to the far left wing nut jobs of the Democratic Party is forcing down the throats of real Americans; the silent majority, who are still waiting and watching these anarchists run amok. Hopefully they will recover their senses before they force the issue, resulting into a confrontation which they will never and can never win or recover from. However, ICHEOKU prays that the day never comes when the silent majority are forced to vent their pent up anger at these little fellows running around everywhere, confronting people who are having their dinner or simply going about their business. Enough of these nuisances and enough of invading peoples spaces. It is about time for these crazed out nut jobs to pull back and allow peace to once again reign in America. 

LINDSEY GRAHAM STEALS THE THUNDER: REINVENTED AND FULLY MAGA-NIZED.

ICHEOKU says it was a delight and indeed delightful to watch, as Senator Lindsey Graham finally shakes off whatever cobwebs that were holding him down and fully adorned his Republicanism conservatism and he shone like a Northern Star, of whose preeminence fix there is no one like him in the Senate Judicial Committee. He was alive, he was feisty and he was real and impassioned; and the country appreciates him and took notice. 

ICHEOKU says well done Senator Lindsey Graham, millions of the entire membership of Team MAGA appreciates and welcome you to the MAGA world integrated. Thank you for saving the day and helping Judge Kavanaugh get confirmed. Now, read excerpts of his fiery remarks.

"What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical, sham since I’ve been in politics. If this becomes the new standard, where you have an accusation for weeks, you drop it right before the hearing, you withhold from the committee a chance to do this in a professional, timely fashion when they publicly say that their goal is to delay the vote … I don’t want to reward that kind of behavior. If that’s enough for you, God help us. This happens to us, it never happens to them. But let me talk to my Democratic friends: If this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees.

And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy. Boy, y’all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham - — that you knew about it and you held it. You had no intention of protecting Dr. Ford. None. She’s as much of a victim as you are. God, I hate to say it because these have been my friends, but let me tell you when it comes to this. You’re looking for a fair process, you came to the wrong town at the wrong time my friend. 

To my Republican colleagues. If you vote no, you are legitimizing the most despicable thing I’ve ever seen in my time in politics. 

You want this seat, I hope you get it. I hope you are up at the Supreme Court that's exactly where you should be. I hope American people will see through this charade; and I wish you well and I intend to vote for you and I hope everybody who is fair minded, will." - Judge Brett Kavanaugh