OPEC COLLAPSES WORLD ECONOMIES!

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries known by its acronym, OPEC has crashed the world economy and must be held responsible for all the hardship facing mankind today. It was a rude joke when crude oil price skyrocketed to $148 dollars per barrel last summer; and despite all the entreaties, cajoling and outright genuflecting by the West, the countries constituting the cartel refused to bulge. These little "big" guys of OPEC countries were feeling like demi-gods, beating their chest on their perceived victory over the West? This blogger remembers the hoofing and puffing of the little man in Tehran, Ahmadenajad, that in Caracas Hugo Chavez and their friend in Moscow, the face of KGB Vladimir Putin? Their pugnacity at challenging the West with their new found energy leverage shows that some people should never lay their hands on real power otherwise the world will be held hostage in perpetuity. The result of their stubbornness is that today, so many world economies have collapsed and several others, on life support.

These guys at OPEC forgot that we are in this together; that the whole world economies are intertwined with one another; that these economies are so connected that if there is a glitch on any of the wheels driving the economy be it in America, Asia or Europe that the ripple effect goes down stream to everyone, everywhere in the globe. They forgot that if America does not buy no one sells and if America does not sell no one buys! So one may ask, what the frigging hell was this OPEC cartel thinking in the first place? Today America has stopped buying and the factories in China, Japan , South Korea etc are scaling down their production. When China does not make money selling to America, they will not have money to buy Sudan's oil and when Sudan does not sell their oil they will not have money to buy Kalashikovs (AK47) guns from Russia with which to kill their citizens in Darfur. When the Russians cannot sell their guns, they will not have money to buy French fine cognacs and Hummer vehicles from America and when America cannot sell their vehicles, the factories either shut down or are downsized and there goes the vicious circle of world economies linked together in an unholy wedlock. What OPEC started is a dance of death which forebodes no one any good. They simply do not have control, despite their oil. It is a domino-effect where one fall triggers series of falls. The chain reaction goes on and on and before you could say Jack Robinson, the entire world economy is near comatose! The irony of this is that some of these OPEC countries like Iran does not even have the capacity or the know-how to refine their own crude oil or to develop its refining capacity. They buy refined gas from foreign refineries at the same high price and Icheokudotcom wonders what then is the use of the stubborn price hike?

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel of 13 countries including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela has its headquarters in Vienna, pictured below. It was founded in 1960 in Baghdad - Iraq, at the initiative of then Venezuelan Energy and Mines minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo and his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Energy and Mines minister Abdullah al-Tariki, to unify and coordinate members' petroleum policies. Although OPEC's ability to control the price of oil has diminished somewhat since the 1973 oil war, due to the discovery and development of large oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, and the opening up of Russia oil to the west; OPEC nations still account for two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, and as of March 2008, controls 35.6% of the world's oil production.. Icheokudotcom says this is an example of what is possible were the West to succeed in its present quest to source alternative source of oil. Breaking the strangle-hold which OPEC has on the world energy supply will be hilarious indeed!

The next largest group of producers are members of the OECD and the Post-Soviet states which produce only 23.8% and 14.8%, respectively, of the world's total oil production.

These countries of OPEC, if they are smart should start placating the West now, otherwise, before too long they will be forced to 'drink' their oil since no one will be needing it any longer. The West, especially America are investing massively in alternative energy sources of solar, wind, natural gas, ocean-tide etc and with their well known shared, dogged determination will have a meaningful break-through soon, to render cartels like OPEC irrelevant. This is the time, for OPEC to hire hard-charging lobbyists to try and slow down the wildfire which the quest for alternative sources of energy has assumed in the West. Billionaire T-Boon Pickings alone, has invested over $2billion of his personal fortune into alternative energy research and development in the areas of wind and natural gas. President-elect Barack Obama owes to the American people, alternative energy supply sources, being one of his campaign promises - to set America free from the shackles of foreign oil. What becomes of the mono-economies of these OPEC countries once this oil freedom is secured is better imagined than fathomed as some of them will go bankrupt, turning into failed states with no money to support their existence. In the long run, nobody saves anything - American people started driving less because gas prices were too high, then some people stopped driving entirely, trading-in their vehicles; then the car manufacturing plants cut down on their manufacturing and more people who cannot afford their cars also entered the anti-driving group. Bicycle sales shot up and it is hard for people to come back since they are now used to a new normal. The effect is that some factories shot down, companies closed, fleets of airplanes were grounded all contributing to non use of gasoline hence less demand for OPEC oil.

The target for the West is to make oil a dinosaur that once was and it is our forecast that before too long oil will be out-fashioned. As has been shown by the recent downward spiral of oil from the high pedestal of $148 to today's misery $58, one thing is clear - these OPEC countries have no real control over their oil. They cannot find it! They cannot harvest or exploit it! They cannot transport it! They cannot refine it! They cannot buy it! If left with it, they do not know the heck what to do with it! If the West do not buy their oil they cannot sell it, so what the frigging hell are these heartless cartel OPEC thinking about. As far as Icheokudotcom is concerned the price of crude might as well fall to as low as $21.75 per a barrel so that Saudi Arabia and their minions in OPEC can learn one hard lesson in how not to be too mean-spirited. They failed to come to the rescue when oil price was squeezing so many Western countries and their economies. One good turn deserves another. It was their pure greed and ruthlessness that made OPEC to allow oil price to get out of control to as high up as $148 per barrel. One wonders how the world economy could have supported such a bloated price of oil - the engine and life blood of the world economy? Some of their membership were glee at the prospect of forcing the great America to its knees, God forbid! Don't these guys know that God blessed and is continuously blessing America?

Icheokudotcom calls the present free-fall of crude oil price, which has shaved off about $86 from its astronomical price of $148 to today's $58 within the last five months, a retribution from God. It is OPEC in QUANDARY! It will soon be a daylight nightmare for those little monolithic - economies of OPEC countries, when massive investments on alternative energy sources start bearing fruits. OPEC will then be cut to their actual size, with the demand for oil drastically reduced if not completely dried up! Until then, Icheokudotcom says, Good luck OPEC!

ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE, NEW GOVERNOR OF EDO STATE!

Once again the courts in Nigeria rose to the occasion - they reversed a sitting governor. Today, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, the erstwhile President of Nigeria Labor Congress is the new governor of Edo State. He was affirmed the duly elected governor of Edo State 19 months after the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial elections by the court of appeals sitting in Benin, Edo State. He contested the April 14, 2007 governorship election on the ticket of the Action Congress (AC).

The five-man court of appeal panel headed by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, unanimously upheld the decision of the election petition tribunal which had ruled on March 20, 2008 that the Action Congress (AC) and Oshiomhole won the polls in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced victory for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor whom Adams Oshiomhole will be taking over from.

Against our tradition at Icheokudotcom, we congratulate Comrade Adams Oshimole on his victory at the court of appeals and wish him a successful term of office. Icheokudotcom does not believe that elections take place in Nigeria and this is the core of our apathy to "election" results!

OHANAEZE NDI IGBO OF NIGERIA, WHICH WAY FORWARD?

This apex umbrella association of the Igbo people of Nigeria has been in the wilderness for so long, trying but in vain, like Senator John McCain, to articulate its objectives. Series of infightings and drawn-out court battles have rendered this supposed pressure group into near irrelevance in the power struggle and positioning in Nigeria. Ordinarily, Icheokudotcom would not indulge itself, commenting on a local political pressure group but that we point out, few things that we believe Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo is doing wrong.

First is the failure of this group to adequately and more succintly marshall out what it is, that they want to do - clearly defined objectives are lacking. Following naturally is the route to get to the goals and sanctions for failure to deliver or penalty for any identified sabotage.

For any Igbo political pressure group to be effective, it must be an all inclusive outfit - of all Igbo-speakers or Igbo speaking areas of Nigeria. When the north speaks they are cohesive and embraces all the multiple tribes of the north including hausa, fulani, birom, tiv, junku, igbira, gwari, bornu, kataf, zuru, etc. WHen the west speaks it includes all the Yoruba speakers and speaking areas including Kwara State. It is therefore only in the Igbo area of Nigeria that people of Igbo ancestry are excluded from "mainstream" Igbo simply because they live across a river or are not within "their" warped delineated and identifiable geographical enclave of Igbo section of Nigeria. Icheoku wonders aloud why the Delta Igbo speaking areas of Asaba, Ogwashiukwu, Onitcha-ugbo, Onitcha-Alona, etc should not be included in any associations articulated for the Igbo man? Why also should some Igbo speaking areas of Rivers state such as Isi-okpo, Portharcourt, Ikwerre etc not be given a full status in any organisation representing the Igbo man? Same goes with Akwa-Ibom and Cross-River state and possibly some parts of Benue State. It is called 'Politics 101' and the bigger the merrier and the more powerful. So many rivers criss-cross the north yet it does not present any boundary problems between the various ethnicities in the north from coming together in matters which affect them. In the west we have Ogunpa river as well as many other rivers, yet when political chess-game sets in, no Oduduwa area or speaker is left out. Therefore Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo must restrucutre itself and expand its tent to incorporate every Igbo speaker and Igbo speaking areas of Nigeria into its fold. There is strength in unity and numbers help too.

Another area of adjustment for Ohaneze is to explore co-opting all such other Igbo outfits like MASSOB and Bakassi Boys into their fold to serve as its enforcement arm. Ohanaeze, to be effective, must have an effective mechanism in place to coral any recalcitrant Igbo man or woman who may want to sabotage the Igbo agenda, once fully and comprehensibly articulated. Such would be agent-provacateurs, who may have received money/contract from Igbo detractors in ABuja or elsewhere to pervert the fruition of the Igbo agenda, must be checkmated. Such an identified pervert must be made to understand that he has no place throughout Igboland and that no amount of federal protection force will suffice once he has been adjudged an anti-Igbo agenda renegade. If the enforcers cannot reach him then the Igbo should ostracise such an element from the Igbo society completely and entirely. The Odua peoples congress was effectively deployed by Afenifere since June 12th; so why not Ohanaeze copy a winning formular from the west?

Thereafter, Ohaneze must face its biggest challenge of the century - securing the Igbo presidency of Nigeria come 2016. Ironically Icheoku recalls that the ulterior motive behind Islamist Buhari led coup of December 1983 was to reap in the bud any chance of Alex Ekwueme becoming president of Nigeria after Shehu Shagari's term. Ohaneze must articulate its line of attack and agitation like the Afenifere did after June 12 which led to their own Olusegun Obasanjo's eight years Yoruba in power in Nigeria. Although it was a nightmare but which Arewa government ever succeeded? So who cares? According to the United States of America President-elect Barack Obama, power doses not concede easily, so if you want it you must fight for it! Igbo people of Nigeria, you have been thrown the gauntlet so if you so much want power act like your depends on it! Get it by all means necessary! WHatever it takes just get it! Ohaneze should in no uncanny terms let it be known to the world especially the other component parts of Nigeria that the Igbo of Nigeria are ready, willing and prepared to die, if that is what it takes, to secure their turn in Nigerian presidency in 2016. Further that no amount of conspiracy, intimidation, oppression or sabotage will frustrate this effort again or in any other manner operate to avert it. In other words, an Igbo presidency of Nigeria in 2016 is a fait accompli. It should be without any option whatsoever - now or never mantra! If it means turning Nigeria upside down on its head to "get it did" so be it! It should be put in the head of the other Nigerians that the Igbo time has come and anything short is unacceptable and will not be accepted in an entity known as one Nigeria! That what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, and that all is fair that begets fairness. Ohanaeze must put paid to the percieved cowardice of the Igbo nation and that the experience of the Biafran war is a plus and not a negative and that their hands should not be forced again.

The only man ever taken serious in any given situation is that man who has been so backed against the wall that having no more room to retreat any further, comes back charging at the aggressor like a raving lunatic. Ndi-Igbo of Nigeria are almost at that point in Nigeria and Ohanaeze must be able to relay this message to the other constituent parts of Nigeria in a clear unmistakeable words. Ohaneze's mantra henceforth should therefore be "no retreat no surrender!" to the undeclared war being waged against Ndi-Igbo of Nigeria by the other components part of Nigeria.

Ohaneze should henceforth make one objective and only one objective its only preoccupation - 2016! They should forget begging Nigeria any longer to treat them fairly and with some human diginity! They should be getting ready to draw a line on the sand to say to Nigeria, enough is enough! Treat the Igbo as a component bona-fide Nigerians or they are out of the contraption known as Nigeria! Haven't the Igbo reached a breaking point in Nigeria or must Igbo youth continuosly be seen to ask, are we there yet? The River Niger bridge debacle and the alleged missing blueprints and worksheets is yet another pointer that the anti-Igbo conspirators of Nigeria are perpetualy working overtime to subjugate the Igbos. Icheokudotcom asks, how can contruction papers and files of a mega project such as a bridge construction be missing and if, how many of the multiple copies usually produced are missing? Who is the custodian of the missing documents and what is the state of investigation thereto? Wasn't the contract for the construction of the bridge awarded during the dying years of the Olusegun Obasanjo mayhem called administration? Did the contractor's copies also miss?

It is about time this bullshit stopped and only a galvanized Ohanaeze that speaks with one vocie under the Igbo flag can put a stop to this silliness in Nigeria. Commenting on the alleged missing construction files and papers, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, pictured left, regreted that the Igbo have had enough of these insults and sabotage in Nigeria. To whcih Icheokudotcom says, the biggest insult is yet to come in 2016 baring a concert by Ohaneze to morph into a credible, undistracted single force for the Igbo nation. The lords of the manor in Nigeria will try throwing up some dusts close to 2016 and hope the Igbo will be distracted from their goal and then and only then will Icheoku remind Ohaneze of this posting should they allow themselves to be baited once again by such a schematic.

The Igbos will not die off before 2016, having survived the pogrom of Biafra and all subsequent annihiliation-schemes of past and present tribalistic anti-Igbo Nigerian governments. Ohaneze should recoil into a bunker and continue to fine-tune and strategize on how to make 2016 a reality for the Igbo dream of a Nigerian president. As a starter, Ohanaeze should get a few select candidates, vet them and start grooming them for presentation to Nigeria come 2016, as a consensus Igbo candidate for president. Ohaneze should avoid the fate which befell them during the last PDP chairmanship tussle when there were over twenty-eight (28) Igbo candidates for the job which once again, forced the other Nigerians to impose Vincent Ogbulafor on the Igbo as their Igbo chairman of the PDP. Once beaten twice shy - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. As for possible candidates to shortlist for the job, Ohaneze should look at and consider for positioning, as Icheokudotcom recommends, Orji Uzor-Kalu, Ken Nnamani and Andy Uba for reasons already adduced in prior postings herein and we shall gladly meet in a fora to further canvass our position, if asked. So which way Ohanaeze?

MIRIAM MAKEBA IS NO MORE!

South African music legend, "Mama Africa" Miriam Makeba is dead. She died of heart attack in Caserta, Italy following a concert. Mama Africa was just 76 years young. Miriam Makeba was born in 1932 in Johannesburg, South Africa and died in 2008 in Caserta, Italy.

Icheokudotcom says, singing bird continue to provide entertainment to all African freedom fighters that have since departed, in the world beyond. We shall miss your crooning! Adieu!

PRESIDENT JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY, MEMORABLE WORDS!

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.:- John F. Kennedy

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.:- John F. Kennedy

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.:- John F. Kennedy

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.:- John F. Kennedy

Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain.:- John F. Kennedy

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.:- John F. Kennedy

So, let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved.:- John F. Kennedy

The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.:- John F. Kennedy

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.:- John F. Kennedy

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.:John F. Kennedy

The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!' :- John F. Kennedy

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining:-. John F. Kennedy

There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.:- John F. Kennedy

Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.:-John F. Kennedy

We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.:- John F. Kennedy

We set sail on this new sea because there is knowledge to be gained.:- John F. Kennedy

We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others.:- John F. Kennedy

When we got into office, the thing that surprised me the most was that things were as bad as we'd been saying they were.:- John F. Kennedy

The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.:- John F. Kennedy

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

:- John F. Kennedy

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.:- John F. Kennedy

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.: - John F. Kennedy

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.:- John F. Kennedy

For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal.:- John F. Kennedy

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.:- John F. Kennedy

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.:- John F. Kennedy

All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea -- whether it is to sail or to watch it -- we are going back from whence we came.:-John F. Kennedy

We need men who can dream of things that never were.:- John F. Kennedy

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity. :- John F. Kennedy

UZOMA OKERE, A TESTAMENT TO A LAND WITHOUT LAWS!

As Nigerian Naval ratings stripped a lady naked in public, Thisday's Simon Kolawole called it "the audacity of hopelessness" but we at Icheokudotcom chose to call it "Nigeria, a land with no laws"! This is because in a lawful society, the thought of a civil-rights violation law suit emanating from such a vagrant display of brigandage, will be so overwhelming that it will deter such inhuman mistreatment of an innocent lady. The prospect of millions of dollars in judgment sum is enough to dissuade such dastardly act - a crude maltreatment meted out to a lady by thugs in Nigeria navy uniform; paid with tax-payers money, some of which were possibly contributed by the victim.

Umaru Yar'Adua must prove by his action in this case that he is really in charge of affairs in Nigeria and that he can be decisive. Umaru Yar'Adua must emphatically confirm by his response that the days of hooligans and vagabonds in power in Nigeria is over and that he has zero tolerance for such dehumanising barracks-mentality of some uniformed honchos. Icheokudotcom says that this the only punishment commensurate with the crime here is the dismissal of Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, whose convoy perpetrated this vicious attack. It will serve as a deterrent and a warning against other egotistic mad-dogs in Nigeria especially the armed forces as well as the police. This arrogant admiral and his bunch of hooligans in uniform must be shown the way out of the Navy. Anything short of their dismissal and possible imprisonment with adequate compensation paid the unlucky victim will be unacceptable to any civilized mind and many Nigerians. Icheokudotcom calls on Umaru Yar'Adua to treat this incident with every seriousness as the whole world is waiting and watching to see how the macabre incident is finally

concluded.

According to the story, the convoy of Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade (pictured here right), wanted to pass but traffic had built up. His aides, blowing siren to high heavens, were getting impatient that traffic would not clear swiftly for the “god” they were carrying to pass. They got out of their vans and started issuing barrack-like commands to motorists even when it looked very unreasonable under the circumstance that anybody could move out of the way as a result of the gridlock. They however found a scapegoat in a lady, Uzoma Okere, whom they molested and stripped naked for reasons that can never be justified by even the maddest of all men.

Icheokudotcom salutes the courage of Ms. Uzoma Okere (pictured here), for refusing to be intimidated by these Nigerian thugs in navy uniforms! Today the whole world has shared her story of brutality in the hands of the Nigerian Navy and we at Icheokudotcom pledges to stay on it until Umaru Yar'Adua acts upon it. It took a Rosa Park to defy the segregationist white south and today Barack Obama is the president-elect of America! May be Uzoma Okere's defiance will be the catalyst for the liberation of the silent majority of Nigerians who has been 'zombified' by their ruling military and political elites all these years. Kudos to this lady of courage, your whipping is not in vain and the blood you bled will heal Nigeria. Uzoma Okere refused to be cowed even as the gun-totting naval ratings manhandled her, tearing her blouse, brassieres and ultimately exposing her breasts to the free view of passers-by and ogling onlookers while dragging her in the mud. Uzoma Okere endured the slapping, the humiliation and stoically stood her ground in challenge of oppressive and represive NIgerian Navy Officials. Icheokudotcom says, it takes raw courage to confront a despotic Nigerian military elite; we are very proud of this Amazonia Uzoma Okere. Icheokudotcom hereby, for his complicity in this uncivilized maltreatment of a lady, declare Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade, the worst person in the world!

The mad-dogs are still loose: - Naval ratings go wild again, kill policeman!

ORJI KALU, THE MAN FOR NIGERIA'S EMANCIPATION!

His name, Orji Uzor-Kalu known by many as the rabble-rouser of Nigeria politics and to Icheoku, as the Nigeria's real maverick! Unlike the other discredited worn-out mavericks, such as Arthur Nzeribe, Orji Uzor-Kalu is not a praise-singer and does not carry water for anyone. Orji Uzor-Kalu rather takes them head-on. His spectacular affront to Olusegun Obasanjo's ill-advised third term bid, stood him out among the pack. It is this his singular attribute of fearlessness among many others, that have particularly endeared him to our mind. This made Icheoku to once again, take a look at his viability for the office of the presidency of Nigeria and our verdict, without mincing words, is in the affirmative. Icheoku therefore affirms and urge Nigerians to give Orji Uzor-Kalu a chance at the presidency.

This is our second time at pushing his candidacy in recent times and we strongly believe that he can deliver for the people of Nigeria. Orji Uzor-Kalu has the mean, the style, the form, the substance, the mix and mingle, the reach, the ability, the look, the presence, the wherewithal and the charisma to be an effective president of Nigeria. Above all he is acceptable to other tribes and regions of Nigeria including the north, the west, the south and the east. Orji Uzor-Kalu is without any gainsaying, a presidential material!

Formerly a foundation member of the Nigeria ruling People Progressive Party (PDP) under which he became governor of Abia State in 1999; before quitting the party to form the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). This former governor of Abia State is currently the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PPA and also chairman of board of Slok Group of companies. Although PDP has been wooing him of late to come back to the party, but he has rebuffed them so far, scoffing at the possibility of his rejoining their fold. He is presently mobilizing the other smaller parties in Nigeria to come together to mount a formidable opposiiton to the ruling PDP. But whether he will succeed, knowing the treacherous political landscape of Nigeria leaves much to be desired. Icheoku says, Orji Uzor-Kalu should reconsider his resistance to rejoining the ruling party, since that will be his surest guarrantee to the presidency. Already, he has the wealth, contacts and experience to make him a serious contender for the office but what is lacking is a credible platform to launch him to Aso Rock. Icheoku knows the political terrain of Nigeria well enough to understand taht the incumbent party always muzzles every opposition out of contention, and hence encourages Orji Uzor-Kalu to swallow his pride and see the ruling PDP as his only viable and meaningful sea-route to Aso Rock. At worst, he should use the PDP as a ladder of opportunity to get into Aso Rock; thereafter he can kick it to the curbside or reform it to be more accomodating of other descenting view-points! Also all the Ali Baba and the forty thieves politicians in Nigeria are not reliable and they will sabotage his effort at the crucial moment when push comes to shove, like they did with Muhammed Buhari's ANPP.

Orji Uzor-Kalu's fury over the utterance of the leadership of the PDP that it plans to rule Nigerian for the next 60 years is one area of agreement with Icheoku as such idiotic comment exhibits crass arrogance. But for Orji Uzor-Kalu to be prepared to wait for Nigerians to rise up against the PDP will be a wait till hell freezes over as Nigerians are the most complacent and cowardly human-beings ever to walk the face of the earth. Like a paid call-girl, Nigerians will always stoically take it through the rear than to push for desirable change - from Buhari/Idiagbon to Babangida to Abacha to Abudulsalam to Obasanjo it is same old same old; Nigerian timidity in the face of oppressive earth-scorching brutality in the hands of their leaders. Fela Anikulapo Kuti preached resistance but died before any meaningful headway; Tai Solarin also went away unfulfilled; Beko Ransome Kuti also went home to his fathers, disappointed; Gani Fawehinmi has been like John the Baptist shouting from the mountain-top ever since this blogger can remember, but nobody seem to be listening to his clarion call that Nigerians should effect their destiny; so expecting Nigerians to rise up aganst an incumbent party is an unreasonable expectation under the circumstance. Orji Uzor-Kalu therefore, must come to terms with reality and explore the best option possible available for him - join the PDP in oder to realize his dream sooner than later.

That Nigeria will one day become a failed state like many others in Africa or lapse into a conflagrating culdrum, if the current pervasive downward-spiral trajectory is not checked as a matter of ultmost urgency; the henchmen of Nigeria having blatantly refused to yield the levers of power ever since independence, with one section of the polity continuously being blatantly marginalized is not a far-fetched possibility.

In conclusion therefore, Icheoku, not known to be a water-carrier of anybody, sees in this ebullient man, Orji Uzor-Kalu what the doctor ordered for Nigeria's emacipation from its doldrums. He is brave; he is successful, he is dynamic, he is sociable; he is hungry for the right reason - to bring desirable change to Nigeria; he exudes hope and confidence; he is young and he has made some exploitable contacts both in Nigeria and abroad. Orji Uzor-Kalu is, simply speaking, the missing link between Nigeria and the heights it can attain as a nation. Icheoku has written on this man before, and once again we are emphasising his attributes as the most positioned amongst the Igbo nation to take on the Nigerian project. Although some antagonists may label him as 'crooked' but Icheoku asks, who in Nigerian politics is a Mother Theresa? It takes a thief to catch a thief, so a smarter thief is all that Nigeria needs instead of a dumb one like Olusegun Obasanjo.

Now that we have thrown our hats in the ring, Icheoku will continue to urge Orji Uzor-Kalu to move back to the PDP and exercise his options from within, knowing fully well that succeeding from outside will be a deathly impossibility. Orji Uzor-Kalu has several contacts inside the PDP which he can effectively exploit to re-position himself and eventually secure the party's eastern nomination at the end of Umaru Yar'Adua's term; when it will be rightfully the turn of the Igbos to produce Nigeria's presiedent. Remember that even if Orji Uzor-Kalu were to be a Barack Obama of Nigeria, the Barack Obama of USA at least used a well established existing-platform of the Democratic Party, rather than one inconsequential third party, to secure the White-house. Orji Uzor-Kalu, Icheoku hopes you get it? Until then, let every Nigeria keep HOPE ALIVE! The Nigeria Project is a collective effort! All hands should be on deck! Nigerians, in one resounding voice, shout, YES WE CAN!

YOUR SUNDAY WITH PROPHET M.K.O. TIBETAN!

Today Sunday November 9th, 2008 'Icheoku dot com' brings to you part four of our new series "YOUR SUNDAY WITH PROPHET M.K.O. TIBETAN". This man of God writes on whatever subject he deems topical and Icheoku merely publishes same seriatim, without any input whatsoever, since we are not all that versed in the ways of God to have an opinion. Today, Prophet Marcus Korodele Oluwatomisin writes on "GOD'S TIME". Please enjoy his perspectives:-

"The topic for today is TIME! What is time? Who created time? Who makes time work? In Ecclesiastes 3 vs.1-10 it says, for everything under the heavens there is time - time to cultivate, time to plant and time to harvest, time to be born and time to die.

No one has power over time, except the Author and the Finisher of our faith, the Almighty God. Looking at all the activities of every human race - Black, White, Asian, Hispanic and Indians, we all work according to time. In Europe and America, the white folks work conscientiously with time but the people of colour including blacks, disregard time and treat it with levity. This disdain for time is what makes us to lack behind, leading to western world reference to us as third world.

Reading Genesis 30 vs. 25 - 43, it tells us that God deliberately delayed Jacob’s time despite his urge and desire to work ahead of time. In Genesis 15 vs. 12 - 16, when the Lord Almighty decided to delay the freedom of the Israelites and made them remain in servitude in Egypt under Pharaoh due to their disobedience. God kept their suffering until the time appointed for them to walk their away from their punishment as recorded in Genesis 47. The good Lord knew the time that the Israelite will be freed from their slavery in Egypt, He raise one of them “MOSES” to carry out their deliverance from Egypt, this came to fulfilment in Exodus Chapters 12, 13, 14,15 and 16. From reading all these chapters, we see how God took the people of Israelites through the RED SEA, gave them manna from Heaven, delivered to them the 10 commandments and with all they went through in the wilderness, their shoes never wore out. This shows how great out Lord is, everything that happened to the Israelite was done by God and at his own time. Therefore Brethren, we should make haste while the sun shines!

Brethren a closer look at the negligent attitude of black people to TIME reveals that this is the single factor that make them to lose out on so many things. When a black person is invited to an occasion for instance and he happen to come late, the excuse he will give is that he is working on “African time”. Tell me brethren, does Africa have its own time or do we have our own God that is different from the only God of host? Please brethren, respect TIME and God’s time in your life will never pass you by. In Genesis 37, Joseph arrived in time surrendering himself to God with all he has and had gone through; this was credited to him and he was raised from grass to grace above the rest. Tell me, will any of you reading this piece, pray to go through what Joseph went through? In Genesis 39, Joseph was imprisoned, came out from prison and became a leader, therefore, what is the problem that you have that is making you to ignore or disrespect time? When the time came in Genesis Chapters 44, 45, 46 & 47, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers saying “I am Joseph whom you sold to slavery"; he fed them and brought them to himself. He advised them on how to be good people and urged everyone to forget the past because it is God that brought him there ahead of time to be their saviour in their situation in order to give them new lease on life.

The immorality in the world today has become comparable to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. When the time came, God allowed a plague called HIV/AIDS in order to checkmate the world so that we can turn back to God and respect the Law that says one man one wife. Brethren weigh yourselves in all you are doing if you are respecting time or wasting away time. For instance one that God has destined to travel to Togo for a reason, decided to embark on a journey to Canada, all the years this person will spend in Canada will amount to a waste, and therefore he may come out blaming God due to his lack of respect for God’s time in his life. Can any one judge God? No, rather God is the one to judge both the living and the dead. If a student does not get promoted to the next class, then it is time for the student to study harder, read all the important books, if not he will fail and see his contemporary being promoted; though they may still be friends but not classmates. Brethren, can you now weigh yourself if you are about to waste your time or if you have already wasted it, being friends is different from being mates. Dig deep into the Bible in Numbers 11 vs. 1 - 35, Moses sent ten spies to the land they were to posses, they came back with frightening news that they are like ants besides the inhabitants of the land. But Joshua and Caleb have seen all God Almighty is capable of doing during their journey and knew that the same God Lord will help them conquer the Canaanites. Therefore, what is that trouble in your life that God cannot see you through with? All you need to do is to use your God’s given time well and all that looks mountainous before you will be brought down in Jesus name, AMEN! In Joshua 1 vs. 1 - 9, Joshua was promoted at the right time because that was the time God designed for him. If all of you wait on God’s time, your promotion will come and all your heart desire will be granted unto you, all you need to do is to purge yourself with absolute submission of your body and soul to God Almighty. Read Matthew 9 vs. 20, Ephesians 4 vs.23, Joel 12 vs. 12 &13; I Timothy 2 vs. 9, I Timothy 6 vs. 1 - 12 and Psalm 49 vs. 6end.

Looking at the world today, everyone is struggling to become a millionaire without checking their foundation; because foundation matters a lot as stated in the books of I Corinthians 3 particularly 10 plus; I Timothy 3; I Timothy 6; Romans 8; Job 1 vs. 1-10; Ezekiel 16 vs. 44, Micah 3; Micah 2 vs. 1-10 and Malachi 1 vs. 6-12. All that the bible said is already coming to pass, the car rental companies asked the scientists to make a compass (GPS) in order to boost sales. This day in age the computer technology has taken over the running of the economy, now the time has come that the same technology is destroying the Global Economy as it is rendering people jobless, the job that 5 people were doing previously is today being done by a single computer system. The scientists have actually gone a bit farther now that they think by cloning human embryo they can create their own designer babies. What a fast pace but still God is supreme because they can never be faster than time. Parent these days are getting their children into very early school, therefore forcing them into early adulthood, forgetting that God in his word, the holy Bible said that for everything there is a season, time to born and time to die, time to sow and time to Harvest.

In conclusion therefore, I want you all to start thinking now as to where you belong because we all will carry the tag RIP at a stage, which is either Rest in Peace or Rest in Pieces.Think about this Brethren and chose today if you are willing to work with God’s time or if you want to create your own time. Remember II Samuel 14 Vs.14; Genesis 3 vs.19, Psalm49 vs.6-15 said from dust were we made and unto dust shall we return. All things will come to an end and there will come a time when our beautiful portrait will no longer suit the living room but the attic".

Until next week when I shall visit with you again, please remain blessed and have a fruitful week ahead. To the joy of mankind, the United States of America's presidential election outcome was as anticipated, to God be the glory! Please note that I am still on assignment overseas and will remain abroad through the end of November 2008; should you want to reach me before my return to the United States, you can try any of my international numbers in Ireland: 353861033987; London 07903093637 and Nigeria 8054853828. I will be shuttling through Europe and Africa and hopefully you will be able to reach me at one of these numbers. As always, I am always available for your spiritual needs and prayers. God bless!

KENYA'S KIBAKI IS A SHITLESS HYPOCRITE!

While declaring Thursday November 6th, 2008 a public holiday in Kenya to celebrate the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency, Mwai Kibaki said the Kenyan people are immensely proud of Barack Obama's Kenyan roots. According to him, Barack Obama's victory is not only an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, but it has special resonance with Kenyans. To this Icheoku fires back and says, were Mwai Kibaki's to have respected the wish of the Kenyan people in their last election, it would also have resonated with the Kenyan people; but instead he chose to steal a mandate which was denied him in the ballot. Now he is adumbrating and foaming in the mouth about another country where election results are respected. Shame on this shameless anti-democracy Kenyan Mwai Kibaki!

What an irony of fate that such a man as Mwai Kibaki, who does not have regard for real democracy is now wallowing in the euphoria of a President Barack Obama's election victory? Mwai Kibaki should understand that were President George Bush to be like him, there will be no Barack Obama's victory to celebrate as he, Bush would have usurped the presidency of America just like he, Kibaki did in Kenya. Mwai Kibaki refused to respect the Kenyan people's will to yield office despite evidently losing to Odinga. Icheoku therefore says that Mwai Kibaki has no moral standing to be beating his chest about a democracy which respects one of democracy's principal cannon - election results!

All these inveterate African 'leaders' should and must learn one thing from President-elect Barack Obama's election victory - that democracy is sweet if practised well! Can any of them quantify the amount of joy Barack Obama has brought to the world simply by winning the United States of America presidential election? To the Kibaki's of this world, particularly in Africa, Icheoku says, they should stuff their congratulatory messages up their arses until they learn how to respect the will of their own people.

Except for Nelson Mandela who described Barack Obama's victory as a sign of hope for everyone; and until recently Mbeki, no other African leader has voluntarily yielded power or allowed an unfettered election to take place in their country; otherwise a lot of Barack Obamas would have risen in Africa to take Africa to its own promised land. But when tired and time-worn out senile old men perpetuate themselves in power, nothing moves forward as they continue to go round and round in a perpetual all motion and no movement Merry-go-round. And you wonder why Africa is the bottom-pot of all things negative in this world - wars, hunger, under-development, disease etc. These supposed leaders are out of ideas and their stage presence is since over! They have all overstayed and have since become boring. Their facial make-up not withstanding, their tired bones are manifest by the stale ideas which they propagate.

It is good when a good thing happens. Icheoku hopes that President-elect Barack Obama will help to clubber these African leaders back into their sensibilities so that Africa can finally learn how to take care of its own instead of being the world's "down-syndrome" child with constant needs. It is about time Africa learns how to fish! Look at the other African despots in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe -( Mugabe seeks new Obama relations ), Egyptian's Mubarak, Gabon's Omar Bongo or Libyan Moummer Qaddafi, who nobody really cares about , yet they cling to power, refusing to yield office for brighter young Obamas of Africa to take over the ship of the state. To hell with these decrepitude dictators in Africa and may their congratulatory messages not be well received or accepted or even acknowledged! They are not sincere and are worthless, coming from despots who trample upon democracy in their respective countries or fiefdoms! Enough of these African "leaders" bullshit! Icheoku says, it is about time change sweep through the African continent so that hope can be restored. Africans say, YES WE CAN!

NIGERIA, SAY NO TO FURTHER STATES CREATION!

Nigerians must cease this moment to take back their country and say no to further balkanization. States creation is not the development they need and clamour for. It is not viable, it is very divisive and continuously put more distance between families, friends and colleagues. Some of the existing states does not even have any meaningful geographical entity with sustainable source of water supply, agricultural land, and areas for future developments; yet these corrupt politicians who do not even have any mandate nor were elected in the first place, are hoofing and puffing about gerrymandering and balkanizing Nigeria, looking to create private fiefdoms where they can become the Lord of the manor. Icheoku asks, aside of Lagos State, Rivers State and may be Kano State, which other state in Nigeria can, truly speaking, exist or thrive on its own, independent of the cap-in hand monthly allocations from Abuja?

Imagine, from Lagos through Benin to Calabar there are over twelve state capitals within a land mass distance of less than one thousand (1000) miles. When juxtaposed with a state like California in the United States of America, which is about nine (900)hundred miles in length, from north to south, then the frivolity of this states creation exercise in Nigeria becomes manifests. What are they creating? What land-mass is being divided up here? A state like Enugu State with its less than four million population can easily fit into the city of Houston, Texas! A State like Gombe has more cattle and goats than human-beings which makes one to wonder aloud, the reasonableness of this effort. Between Asaba, Awka, Enugu and Abakiliki are four state capitals within less than three hundred miles radius? What is wrong with these Nigerian supposed political and military elites that they do not prioritize their activities? Or is this state creation a mere wedge-issue to distract Nigerians from holding their supposed "leaders" accountable for their democratic dividends? Maybe another avenue to loot the treasury - a nation of pirates and bandits in power?

Imagine the duplicity of bureaucracy and the cost of developing respective state infrastructures and needed manpower to run every new state. In 1979 Jim Nwobodo, governor of then Anambra State ran a wonderful government administering the area now balkanized into Enugu State, Anambra State and Ebonyi State which now, will require three Jim Nwobodos with three of his bureaucracies and manpower to still run the same area? Whether much changes in development has been recorded as a result of this new delineation is yet to be determined. Is this sub-divisions really necessary after-all?

What manner of development does Nigerians really want, spending scarce resources to pay for unnecessary bureaucracy when they could have been dispensed with? This blogger remembers fist-hand, the dislocation of families occasioned by useless state creations whereby a wife is forced out of the civil service of her state of birth because she was married to a man previously of the same state but who has been forced into another state. What is the use, one may ask? Icheoku would rather these non-viable states are merged and instead, additional local government areas created for administrative convenience only. Nigeria is a small country to have as many states as thirty-five talk-less of additional states. When one travels up to the desert northern part of the country, it becomes easily manifest that empty expanse of wretched earth and few donkeys are constituted into states with a few human-beings running them. It is apparent that no state in Nigeria is truly self-sustaining and this defeats whatever rationality bandied around for creating more. Why then create more of these pan-handling states to scramble for the withering Federal 'oil' purse? Icheoku says that it is merely for selfish reasons wherein anyone who feels marginalized from an existing state starts clamouring for his own area of influence; and like a big fish in a small pond continues this noisy agitation until some private acres of land are carved out for him as his own state where he plays the emperor who can do no wrong.

What Nigerians need is a consolidation of regional states into mega-cities just like Lagos State wherein majority of Nigerians live and call home. So if the Lagos experiment is working, Icheoku asks, why not replicate same in the east and in the north? Maybe an additional mega city Kano and a mega-city Enugu will suffice and then who needs a state? Japan, Canada and France are some of the advanced economies that do not have states but mere administrative prefectures. If only Nigeria can bring together all these independent resources being piece-mealed to each mushroom state into one huge purse and invest same in these mega-cities. With about twenty (20) million people each in these cities (Mexico-city has about 25million people) Nigeria will become a more viable place to invest as these consolidated populations can sustain industries, markets, companies and other related investments and truly become dependent on Internally Generated Revenue. Also the logistics of building an industry in Nnewi and trucking the finished product to Sokoto on non-existent roads will be a thing of the past as the product market and its manufacture will be within the same proximity. When 25million people pay their taxes including sales-taxes, the government revenue will be sufficient. Also it will make for easier management and accountability.

Icheoku calls on Nigerians to resist this proliferation of unnecessary states because they are not viable, they are wasteful and does not in any way speed up development. They are duplicitous and creates a chasm between families, friends and colleagues. Majority of these mushroom states do not have any stable, predictable and sustainable source of revenue. To this effect therefore Icheoku commends the remarks made by Umaru Yar'Adua that states and local governments should intensify their drives for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and de-emphasize their current over dependence on allocations from the monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

This clarion call by Abuja, that States and Local Governments should hence forth depend less on the monthly FAAC allocations and intensify their IGR drives, will only be meaningful where the states are viable or endowed with resources they can harness or tap into? Where can a state like Yobe or Jigawa derive their viability from where they constitute mere parched desert wastelands?

In summation therefore, Icheoku calls on the people of Nigeria to please stop this madness of states creation. It is not the answer to the myriad of problems facing Nigerians, majority of whom already have been living together in Lagos since Independence in 1960. What Nigeria needs now are few additional mega-states with enough population and well developed infrastructures that will be self-sustaining. Therefore, SAY NO TO FURTHER STATES CREATION IN NIGERIA!