Political killings: North asks Jonathan to prosecute Obasanjo

The North has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to explain who he was waiting for before taking action to bring officials of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration to book over political killings which he (Jonathan) said were the order of the day when Obasanjo held sway as the head of government in the country.

It also insisted that the next president of Nigeria, must emerge from the area, pointing out that President Jonathan must stand down  for  their own in 2015.

The northern groups, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, made these known at two separate  interviews with Saturday Vanguard yesterday.

Reacting to a letter from Obasanjo, alleging that the President had placed 1000 people on watch list, Jonathan had in turn placed political killings in the country on the door steps of the former President.

Jonathan replied Obasanjo’s  18-page open letter dated 2, 2013, to him, pointing out that all the political killings since the Fourth Republic began, took place at the time Obasanjo was President.

According to Jonathan, although political killings had occurred in the country, none of them had taken place since he became President about three years ago.

Among those who were said to have been politically murdered during Obasanjo’s administration included, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, and  South-South politicians, Chief Harry Marshall, Chief A.K. Dikibo, a former Senatorial Candidate of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, in Imo State, Uche Orji, Arc Layi Balogun, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, Prof Chimere Ikoku, former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, in Anambra State, Chief Barnabas Igwe and his wife, Chief Victor Nwankwo of Fourth Dimension Publishers and Chief Funso Williams.

However, the Secretary General of NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, confirmed in an interview with Saturday Vanguard that the North had made its position on the 2015 presidency known to President Jonathan’s emissaries, who had attempted to recruit some of their key stakeholders for the next poll.

In the letter to Obasanjo dated December 20, 2013, Jonathan further stated, ‘’There have certainly been cases of political assassination since the advent of our Fourth Republic, but as you well know, none of them occurred under my leadership.

’’Regarding the over 1000 people you say are on a political watch list, I urge you to kindly tell Nigerians who they are and what agencies of government are “watching” them. Your allegation that I am using security operatives to harass people is also baseless. Nigerians are waiting for your evidence of proof. That was an accusation made against previous administrations, including yours, but it is certainly not my style and will never be. Again, if you insist on the spurious claim that some of your relatives and friends are being harassed, I urge you to name them and tell Nigerians what agencies of my administration are harassing them.

’’I also find it difficult to believe that you will accuse me of assisting murderers, or assigning a presidential delegation to welcome a murderer. This is a most unconscionable and untrue allegation. It is incumbent on me to remind you that I am fully conscious of the dictates of my responsibilities to God and our dear nation. It is my hope that devious elements will not take advantage of your baseless allegation to engage in brazen and wanton assassination of high profile politicians as before, hiding under the alibi your “open letter” has provided for them.’’

However, reacting to President Jonathan’s allegation on political killings before he came into office, the National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Mr Anthony Sani, said, ‘’If you consider the submissions by Mr President,whose place in the order of things, is to provide order and direction to the nation… I wonder if he needs ACF to ask him to take necessary actions that are within his mandate.

’’I have made it clear that what the former president wrote to his place-holder, President Jonathan, except perhaps the issues of training and arming snipers against political opponents-was common place knowledge. The same with the issues raised by President Jonathan.

Meanwhile, Prof Abdullahi who spoke in an interview with Saturday Vanguard noted that the North had already made its position on the 2015 presidency known to President Jonathan’s emissaries, pointing out that a list of 151 key northern politicians and leaders was drawn by presidential political tacticians with a view to wooing them to work for the president in the next general elections.

The former ABU Vice Chancellor and Presidential Adviser on Food Security admitted to Olusegun Obasanjo, said that he and some other northern leaders, whose names appeared on the list, had already been contacted for possible support to Jonathan ahead of the impending election.

He said however that the presidential team must have hit the rock, as most of the northern elements consulted on the need to work for Jonathan’s re-election, politely turned down the offer.

Abdullahi did not mention the name of any of those who contacted them and who politely rejected the offer to work for the president.

His words, “What I can tell you now is that my name is on the list of the 151 Northern leaders and politicians, who have been earmarked for consultation by those working for Jonathan. But the good thing is that most of those contacted have also politely turned down the offer.

“What Nigerians should know is that the North as it is today, is ready to receive and welcome a Nigerian president from any of the 19 northern states come 2015. He can come from any of those states and we are ready to support and work with such a leader come 2015.

“I have been contacted by those who believe they can lure me and other Northern leaders to change our cause and we courageously but politely made our political position regarding 2015 very clear to them.

“They must have got our message and have decided to adopt other strategies, which in any case, would not change our position regarding the emergence of the Nigerian president in 2015.”

Although President Jonathan is yet to declare his intention to run in the 2015 poll, his body language suggests he would run, hence, opposition has been mounting against his second term particularly from the North, which claims that he signed a deal to run for only a term of four years after completing the remaining two years of late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The lingering disagreement among some of the party leaders and governors in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over 2015, led to the defection of five PDP governors to the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, last month.

President Jonathan has repeatedly said that it is too early in the life of the administration to begin campaign for re-election in 2015, pointing out that it was better for him to concentrate on the provision of  social amenities for Nigerians than dissipate energy on an election that was still far away.

APGA asks court to declare Okorocha’s seat vacant

ABUJA— Following his defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, yesterday, approached  Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking it to declare the seat of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State vacant.

The party, through its lawyer, Mr Victor Odjemu, further prayed the court to order that the deputy governor of Imo State be sworn -in to take over from Governor Okorocha who  decamped to a party which policies were different from APGA’s.

*Okorocha

APGA told the court that its decision to seek the immediate removal of the governor culminated in a meeting held by its National Executive Committee, NEC, in Abuja on August 3, 2013.

Consequently, it urged the court to, in the alternative, either okay the deputy governor as a viable replacement for Okorocha or direct that the speaker of Imo State House of Assembly or any officer next in line to the position of the governor, who is a member of the plaintiff, APGA, be sworn-in to pilot the affairs of the state.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/apga-asks-court-declare-okorochas-seat-vacant/#sthash.uB8HJKvN.dpuf

Battlefield, as APC mobilises against Jonathan, visits Obasanjo

The cloud overhang of mass mobilization that the All Peoples Congress, APC, has engendered appears to be getting heavier with the visit of the party’s leadership to former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Abeokuta residence.
But the APC hierarchy would not stop at that, Sunday Vanguard can reveal authoritatively.

In fact, also slated for consultation in the coming weeks by the party’s top brass are Second Republic President and Vice President, Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari and Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme,
respectively, and former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma. Before yesterday’s visit, the party leaders had consulted with  former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as two former military leaders, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

One of the party leaders in attendance at the meeting with Obasanjo told Sunday Vanguard that the “ill-wind blowing in the country as a result of the mis-governance of President Goodluck Jonathan is ominous and most right thinking leaders as opposed to the sycophants surrounding the President are worried.”

The leader pointed out, “Even those we have so far visited and those we are going to be visiting are also concerned”.
According to him, “what we are doing is not scouting for leaders to come and join the party.  What we just want to establish is that since we are all stakeholders and what binds us is the unity and
stability of the Nigerian state, we are consulting with the elder statesmen with a view to sensitizing them to the moves we are engaging so that they are in the know.

“And whereas we are not recruiting them into our mission and vision, we would not want them to create obstacles on our way to rescuing Nigeria from a clueless administration.”

Yesterday’s meeting, sources confirmed , had been fixed long before the defection of the five Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors.

From left; Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; APC leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu; Gen. Muhamodu Buhari; Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, Interim National President, Chief Bisi Akande, Gov. Nyako of Adamwa state and other chieftains of the APC during their visit to Obasanjo at Abeoukuta, yesterday.

Former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, led the pack of other APC leaders, including the party’s Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari; former Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff; Senator Bukola Saraki; and  Alhaji Lai Mohammed to the meeting with Obasanjo.

The APC leaders and the PDP  governors who defected started trickling into the former president’s  Hilltop Mansion from 5:22pm when Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State arrived in company of  the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu;  and a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

Other APC governors at the meeting are Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos) and Senator Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).

The Chairman of the New PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, led some of his members to the crucial meeting.

`Be APC navigator’
In his remarks, Tinubu begged Obasanjo to be the navigator for the APC.
“You have come out of tribulation and held the highest position in this country. We are here because of your courage and salient points. Nobody can say he has information more than you,”the APC leader said.

“You have surmounted  a number of crises. Nigeria is divided more than before. To realise a  stable Nigeria, we want to encourage you to continue to speak the truth. We have resolved and determined to rescue Nigeria. We want you to be our navigator” .

The interim National Chairman of APC, Akande, explained the rationale behind the meeting with Obasanjo.
He said, “We have come to introduce our party to you; we are in the support of the 18-page letter written to Jonathan, you are capable”.

Speaking on behalf of  APC governors, Imo State governor, Okorocha, urged the former president to be upright.
He said: “You should be upright on the issue of Nigeria. Many of the governors passed through your political school, the battle is for the generation on board. It is a task that must be done”.

Responding, Obasanjo  declared that the APC has been enhancing democracy in Nigeria  through its reactions to issues.

The former president  begged the opposition party to play politics without bitterness.
He, however, turned down the request  to become a member of the APC. ” I am a card carrying member of the PDP but  the politics I play traverses Nigeria,  Africa and world in that order,”Obasanjo said.
” I am a democrat and one of the essential ingredients of democracy is opposition. A democracy that has no opposition built into it  is not democracy.

“As an opposition, you are enhancing democracy, you are at home, you are welcome to being at home. As time goes on, I will just appeal that the politics you play is politics without rancour, without bitterness, with decency, that has Nigeria at heart. I am  an incurable optimist about Nigeria. I am totally committed to Nigeria and nothing  will divert me from that commitment”.

Obasanjo declared himself as a political father who has no rival, saying, “In whichever party,  for whatever office that contested or aspired in Nigeria since 1999, such a person, young or old man or woman can claim to be my political child and I can claim to be by virtue of  the political office I have held. I can also claim to be political father; so, you are here and you are welcome”.

Crucial Consultations
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has initiated moves to placate members of the National Assembly as he has been having series of nocturnal meetings with members and the leadership of the National Assembly.

Since Monday, Jonathan was said to have been meeting with members and leaders of the National Assembly individually to find a common ground on some of the issues agitating the minds of the legislators.

The meetings, it was gathered, began when the issue of impeachment of the president was broached by members of the opposition APC over alleged breaches of the constitution.

So far, Jonathan has met with the Leader of the Senate, Senator Ndoma Egba, the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi, and  the Deputy Senate, President, Senator  Ike Ekweremadu, culminating in a midnight meeting with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Though details of what was discussed at the meetings could not be ascertained, the recent defection of some members of the PDP in the House of Representatives to the APC as well as the call for the impeachment of the president by the APC may have featured in their discussions.

Sack defected lawmakers, PDP tells INEC
In a related development, the PDP has written to the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, asking him to declare vacant the seats of the 37 members of the House of Representatives who dumped the party for APC.

In  a letter to INEC, dated 19 December,  2013, the party said there were no factions in its fold as it remains one PDP, just as it stressed that what the lawmakers did was contrary to the Constitution of the party and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The letter, signed by the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, and the National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon, asked INEC to immediately conduct elections in the defected lawmakers constituencies against the backdrop that what they did was cross-carpeting.

According to the PDP, INEC must declare the lawmakers seats vacant and conduct elections unless they have a change of mind, adding that it has no factions as observed by INEC and upheld by the court.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the PDP took the decision to write INEC for fear of losing the majority  in the lower chambre of the House just as members of the PDP say the APC could only take charge of the House if its members hit 181, basing their argument on the rule that requires a simple majority to take over the leadership.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/apc-mobilises-jonathan-visits-obasanjo/#sthash.FHBLUoI9.dpuf

Gunmen killed family of 6 in Plateau State.

UNKNOWN gunmen yesterday night attacked a family of six and killed all of them at Foron in Barkin Ladi Local Council of Plateau State.

  The household which comprised the man, his wife and their four small children were wiped off by the yet to be identified assailants.

   The immediate past chairman of the local government, Dr. Emmanuel Loman, who rushed to the scene yesterday morning said:  “Yesterday (Tuesday, December 17) around 9 p.m., some gunmen were passing by the Foron Junction and opened fire on a house containing a husband, his wife and their four kids killing all of them.”

  Spokesman of the Special Task Force (STF), Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha, said he had not been briefed, promising to call back but failed. Calls put to him could not be responded, as he was said to have switched off his phone. Same with the Police Public Relations Officer, Felicia Anslem.

  Barely 24 hours after Governor Jonah Jang raised the alarm last month that available security reports indicated there was a grand plot to attack the state at Christmas, the tragedy actually struck when a pre-dawn attack was launched on November 26 when no fewer than 40 people were hacked to death by unknown gunmen in four communities of the Barkin Ladi Local Council.

  The communities are Tatu, Rawuru, Bok and Dorang. About 10 persons said to have been injured are receiving treatment at various hospitals in the local government.

  Jok Cholonm of Rawuru village told journalists that the gunmen stormed  the house of his relatives at about 12.30 a.m. and killed him and his seven children. He lamented that despite the presence of security operatives in the locality, they did not come to the aid of the community.   The Village head of Tatu, Pam Gyang Tsok, who then spoke to journalists said the attack took place at about 1 a.m.

  Tsok had told newsmen then that “at about 1 a.m. yesterday  I started hearing gunshots , I then rushed out of my home to the direction of the gunshots and saw the bodies of our  villagers who were murdered in their cold blood by our attackers. Our village was under siege for more than 30 minutes.”

  Pam Yakubu, who lost six relatives told journalists that the gunmen struck the village at about 12.30 a.m. and started shooting sporadically. He gave the names of those killed as Davou, Yop , Sarah, Felix , Timothy. “Our attackers must be professional killers as they were speaking good English,” he said.  He appealed to security operatives to tighten security around the local government.

Source: Guardian Newspaper.

N225M Bullet Proof Cars: Reps adopt c’ttee’s report finding Oduah culpable

The House of  Representatives yesterday adopted the Aviation committee report which  found the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah culpable over her alleged  role in the purchase of two BMW bullet proof cars worth N225 million and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to review her continued engagement as minister.

Minister expresses shock
But in a swift reaction, the embattled minister in a statement by her Special Assistant on media, Mr. Joe Obi  expressed shock that in spite of the mass of evidence presented to the Committee of the House during investigation, it went ahead to adopt all the recommendations which she said was to mar her reputation and that of her office.

The Eze -Igbo of Lagos, Dr. C.U. Nwachukwu, has also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ignore calls for the removal of the aviation minister saying she did not contravene any law of the land.

The committee report also directed the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to immediately terminate all transactions and loans agreement entered into with First Bank of Nigeria Plc and directed the ministry to recover all the monies on the entire transactions and pay same back into the Consolidated Revenue Account.

House reaches decision
The House reached the decision after considering the report of the investigation carried out on the purchases of the cars by its Committee on Aviation.

It will be recalled that the report was initially laid before the House on November 7, 2013 by the chairman of the Committee, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejiocha.

Faulting the role of the minister, the House said that Oduah “contravened the Appropriation Act, 2013 and the Approved Revised Thresholds by exceeding the Ministry of Aviation’s approval limit of N100m by the purchase of 54 vehicles valued at 643m.”

Stella Oduah

Further directives were also given to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other relevant anti-corruption agencies to “further investigate the discrepancies in the Chasis Number (DW68032) of the vehicles on the one reported to have been delivered and the one inspected by the Committee and further investigate and if found wanting, prosecute all persons/institutions involved in the transactions.”

Others recommended for sanctions
Also recommended for sanctions were the former Acting Director General, Mr. Nkemakolam Joyce and the Director of Finance, Mr. S. Ozigi of NCAA “in accordance with the Civil Service rules for deliberately breaching the Appropriation Act, 2013 and other Extant Laws of the Federation.”

COSCHARIS Nigeria Ltd, the vehicles clearing agency was asked to be instigated on the issue of waiver on import duties, source and exact cost of the two BMW vehicles.

It was further recommended that the company be made to pay the value of the waiver into the Federation Account.

Minister reacts
Meanwhile, the Minister swiftly reacted to the action of the House.

In a statement by her Special Assistant on media, she expressed shock that in spite the mass of evidence presented to the Committee of the House during investigation, it went ahead to adopt all the recommendations which she said was to mar her reputation and that of her office.

She insisted that due process was followed in the procurement of the two amoured vehicles.

According to the statement: “We are shocked and disappointed that in spite of the deluge of representations and evidences provided by the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah and all invited stakeholders on the matter, the House would reach conclusions that have only confirmed that there was a hidden agenda in the entire exercise from the beginning.

We recall vividly the underhand tactics of the House when, 24 long hours before the Report of the investigation was due to be laid before the Plenary, “Certified True Copies” were handed over to online and traditional media. The motive of those who handed the document to unauthorised persons has fully manifested in the adoption of the recommendations that have no reflection to the Public Hearing conducted in the full glare of Nigerians and the media.

“We stand by our earlier submissions to the committee that Due Process was followed in the procurement of the vehicles by the NCAA. The Minister told the Public Hearing; and her evidence was corroborated by the NCAA that the cars were neither purchased for her nor in her name. Evidence also shows that the cars in question were included as a line item under the “safety and security vehicles” sub-head in the Appropriation Act. The position of the committee that this was not included the budget is spurious as clear evidence exists in the Appropriation Act as stated above.

“The action of the Committee and the House were pre-meditated with the sole aim of casting aspersion on the person and office of the Aviation Minister. We reiterate that the recommendations of the Committee do not reflect the actual course of proceedings at the Hearing.”

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/n225m-bullet-proof-cars-reps-adopt-cttees-report-finding-oduah-culpable/#sthash.eA9ks0d2.dpuf

Doctors’ strike paralyses health services

BY Sola Ogundipe, Ola Ajayi, Racheal Olayiwola  & Faith Oyibotie
The five-day warning strike called by the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, took its toll on healthcare services in public hospitals, yesterday, as patients waited long hours without getting attention from doctors who stayed away from their duty posts.

The strike, which took off on a slow pace in most hospitals in Lagos and Ibadan, later became total.

Empty hospitals in

At Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba, only senior medical consultants, nurses, ward aides and other ancillary staff were observed attending to patients in the wards and the accident and emergency unit.

The institution’s outpatient clinics, which were open for the day’s business, were devoid of the usual activities.

A hospital source disclosed that contingency measures were in place to cushion effects of the strike.

At the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta, attention to patients was later suspended as doctors complied with NMA’s directive.

A similar scenario played out at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, where dozens of patients that had booked appointments were told to go home after waiting for hours without getting attention.

In a reaction to the development, Chairman NMA, LagosState branch, Dr. Francis Faduyile, said: “It is a full blown strike. This is the first strike called by the NMA in the last 10 years.”

At the UniversityCollegeHospital, Ibadan, several patients, except those on emergency, were turned back and forced to seek alternative medical attention.

Source: Vanguard Newspaper.

Open Letter To Pastor E.A. Adeboye And Pastor W.F. Kumuyi Come To Macedonia And Help Us! By Bayo Oluwasanmi

Dear Venerable Pastors:
After a lot of inner turmoil concerning the situation in Nigeria, I decide to write you this open letter. Each time I visit Nigeria I experience a deep inner threat as to the direction of the country.
I have deliberately addressed this open letter to the two of you out of more than dozen Nigerian Pentecostal and Charismatic Preachers with Mega Churches both at home and overseas. Three of you including Pastor Tunde Bakare in my view, are the only influential men of God in our country that Nigerians hold in awe and high esteem. 
Pastor Bakare is not included in this letter because he is already a proven combatant in the war against oppression, corruption, and injustice that have become the trade mark of the Nigerian ruling class. You’re a target of this letter in order to conscript you as it were, into the people’s army of non-violence to be soldiers in the long running battle of oppression that has decimated Nigeria as well as her citizens.
Fifty three years ago, Nigeria became independent after a century of British rule. October 1, 1960 became a momentous occasion and a beacon of light and hope to millions of Africans and other oppressed people in the world.
Fifty three years after independence, Nigeria remains a symbolic elephant casting off the colonial yoke; and today is being replaced with a new authoritarian yoke of a representative democracy.
Since independence, the antecedents of Nigeria’s crisis has acquired a drama all its own. The historical genesis of the Nigerian crisis is well known to you. Therefore, I don’t intend to bore you with annoying repetition. 
Just as the prophets of the eight century BC under the mandate of “thus saith the Lord,” deployed their Gospel of Liberation to fight religious, political, social, and economic injustice and oppression in their hometown and far beyond the boundaries of their land; so also you’re called to take up the mantle of the struggle in today’s contemporary Nigeria.  
Like Apostle Paul, who initiated, instigated, encouraged, and fought for the oppressed in the Greco-Roman world, and championed the gospel of freedom, likewise you must NOW respond to the Macedonian call for help!
I’ll like to remind you that to fail to confront when confrontation is required for the freedom of the oppressed represents a spiritual as well as moral failure. To confront or criticize is a form of exercising leadership. It is nothing less than an attempt to influence the course of events human or otherwise. When we confront or criticize someone it is because we want to change the course of the person’s life. 
The two of you are highly regarded for your enviable humility. The paradox of being humble is the more humble one is, the more one is awed by the fear in exercising leadership with activism: Who am I to influence the course of human event? By what authority am I entitled to decide what is best for my country or the human race? Who give me the right to dare to believe in my own understanding and then to presume to exert my will upon Nigeria? Who am I to play God? That is the risk.
For whenever we attempt to influence the course of the world, of humanity, we’re thereby playing God. To act is to play God. Yet, we also know that there is no alternative except inaction and impotence. Within this consciousness the apostles of old assumed the responsibility of attempting to be God and not to carelessly play God, but to fulfill God’s will without mistake.
I’m troubled by your deafening silence and inaction to the subjugation, repression, oppression, exploitation, injustice, and impoverishment of the poor by the greedy and corrupt ruling class. I realize that siding with the poor against your friends in government may not be most politically correct thing for you to do. But your inaction is coming at the cost of our God given freedom and the pursuit of happiness.
Many Nigerians remain confused about the ways religion relates to government and the way politics intersects with religion. For this reason, some people actively discourage political participation and most will remain silent. 
I believe the church should be involved in political activism with the primary objective to fight  tyranny of government whenever and wherever it exists. Some pastors see themselves as religious leaders. They believe the role of the church is to focus on the spiritual needs of their congregation and perform charitable works to aid the needy. To this group of pastors, the social-political activism I’m calling for amounts to dangerous radicalism.
I’m the least qualified to stress to you the importance of discipline of theological reflection: it causes one to constantly aware of God’s hand and leading in every aspect of life. It is expected therefore that you should lead from a posture of being led. 
If I may ask, what role if any, do you see for yourselves as religious leaders in a political society with tyrants, oppressors, thieves, and wolves as rulers who are devouring the very sheep you’re called to shepherd and save? The twin expectations of your discipleship are serving the spiritual needs of your congregants while at the same time serving the “outsiders.” This is the meeting point of interaction between religion and public life.
The challenge before you now is to go where you would rather not go – to lead the people to confront the tyranny of the majority in Abuja – Aso Rock and the National Assembly. This is the challenge of “somebody else will take you” by Jesus to Peter:
“In all truth I tell you
When you were young
you put on your belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch your hands
and somebody else will put a belt around you
and take you where you would rather not go.” (John 21:18) 
Soon after Peter has been commissioned to be a leader of his sheep, Jesus confronts him with the hard truth that the servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful place.
Just like Jesus told Peter that he would be an old man being led by others to place he would rather not go, so also Nigerians are pleading, urging you to be willing to plunge yourselves into the indescribable crisis of political, economic, and social injustice destroying the multitude of the Nigerian poor caused by the ruling class. To be in the forefront leading the poor, confronting a tyrannical government to end its wickedness in high places, I believe will be the high octane attention and expectations of your discipleship.
As you well know, the way of the Christian leader is not upward mobility the mantra of the world, rather the downward mobility which ends on the cross. The Christian leadership I’m calling you to embrace is not a leadership of power and control, but of powerlessness and humility. By powerlessness and humility I do not mean a weak leadership position that renders Christian leaders as passive victims. It is not Christian leadership without spine who let people make decisions for them. It is a Christian leadership that is “radically poor, journeying with nothing except a staff – “no bread, no haversack, no money, no spare tunic” (Mark 6:8). The “radically poor,” leadership allows you to be led and suffer with the poor. 
I understand that there is the temptation for you to be relevant to your congregation and to influence the new converts to the Lord as in what you can offer in terms of their needs and their desires, etc. You don’t need to be relevant leaders only to your congregants. I believe now is the time for you to adopt a radically counter-culture tactic: to be like Jesus you must give your power away, divest yourselves of human privilege and status, and practice the downward mobility of Christ.
It is now – this is it – the opportunity for you to radically redefine the meaning of your spiritual leadership. It’s time to put off the yolk of Mega Churches and ally yourselves with the oppressed poor of this nation so that you can make impact and be more relevant to the 99.9% poverty stricken Nigerians. 
You are positioned and privileged to be the Christian leaders of the future (and the future is now) who are called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but your own vulnerable selves. That’s the way Jesus came to reveal God’s love.
If you’re sick, you need a competent doctor, if you are poor, you need a competent politician, if there are technical problems, you need competent engineers, if there are wars, you need competent negotiators. Is Nigeria a sick nation? Yes you bet! Are Nigerians poor, no doubt. Do we have competent politicians from the president to governors to federal, state, and local government legislators? Absolutely not!  
God and ministers have been used for centuries to fill the gaps of incompetence. It happened in the Bible. It was replicated in the United States. And of course it was duplicated in South Africa and elsewhere.
Needless to remind you, Nigerians are hurting, they are sick spiritually and physically, they are hungry, they are homeless, they are jobless, they are useless, they are hopeless, they are helpless,  they are pulverized by extreme poverty, neglect, abuse, and disuse. These Nigerians are extended families of your congregations – mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, cousins, uncles, nephews, and nieces.
You will find God’s charge to Prophet Isaiah instructive and compelling to mobilize, organize, and lead the masses like Martin Luther King Jr. and other clergy men of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Reverend Leon Sullivan (Lion of Philadelphia), Bishop Tutu, Albert Luthuli (author of the bestselling book Let My People Go) and other preachers too many to mention.    
Isaiah, one of the greatest prophets in Jewish history and one of the most powerful models in the Bible was known in his days for his uncompromising convictions, and clear vision that drove him to continue speaking out despite the unfaithfulness of his people. His convictions teach us about avoiding ungodly compromise. Isaiah furnishes a beautiful case study of a leader who led from vision that brought about national reforms.
Listen to God’s mandate to Isaiah: 
“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people (the wicked, corrupt Nigerian rulers) … To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed (Nigerians) go free.” …”If you take the yoke from your mist, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday … And you shall be called the Repairer of (Nigeria) the Breach, And restorer of Streets to Dwell in.”
Evangelization is good. Planting churches all over the world is desirable. But God delights not merely in his people going without some daily staples, but in loosing the “burden of wickedness” and undoing “heavy burdens” of the oppressors in government.
God is calling on you to fight the destructive agenda and oppressive attitudes of the ruling class. Ethics supply the foundation of our values. Values supply the power that drives leadership. Moses led without compromise because his life was controlled by his popularity with God, not popularity with people. 
It’s time for you to leave the theological elite world of popularity to experience and tell the Biblical story of Jesus and his compassionate and loving kindness to the poor and the oppressed by leading the protest and agitation against the oppressors of God’s children. 
Nigerians remain shackled in many ways to the past and face a difficult and unpredictable future. They are living a suffocating existence. Here is my suggestion on what you could do to help free Nigerians from oppression, injustice, and poverty:
Form a non-violence and Civil Rights organization of Christian leaders patterned after the Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded in 1957 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Baptist ministers. The organization will fight on behalf of the poor using the non-violent method – civil disobedience – the idea of not cooperating with evil system:
(a)    Organize a poor people’s campaign to address issues of economic justice – economic bill of rights for poor Nigerians.
(b)    Set up mobilization committees to end unemployment and corruption, to fight for decent housing for the poor, voting reforms, education reforms, judicial reforms, police reforms, and infrastructures.
(c)    March on Abuja for jobs, social welfare, and social security for senior citizens, and provision of 21st century hospitals.
As leaders of the proposed organization, you should maintain policy of not publicly endorsing any political party or candidate. This would allow you to look objectively at the parties and be the conscience of all – not the servant or master of any of the parties. The parties have not served Nigerians well.
The record of non-violence/civil disobedience has been very impressive. Successful precedents of non-violence include Mohandas K. Ghandi’s challenge to the might of British Empire and Dr. King’s objection to White America racism. They used and relied solely on the weapons of truth, soul force, non-injury and courage.
Just like Ghandi and King had been influenced by Jesus’ teaching on nonresistance to evil force so also as Christian leaders you should follow their examples and make Nigeria a better country. Revolt against injustice is not only honorable, but it is imperative.
One of the greatest remedies for our own suffering is serving others. Servant-leadership becomes a solution for both the one serving and the one being served.
Venerable Pastors, consider this: your righteousness on this matter will answer for you in time to come!
Sincerely,
BJ

Obasanjo's daughter, Iyabo writes father, says: ‘Dear Daddy, you don’t own Nigeria -

In what is turning out to be a season of open letters, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo, has ruled out further communication with her father till death, describing him as a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president.

Senator Iyabo Obasanjo in a letter to her father accused him of having an egoistic craving for power and living a life where only men of low esteem and intellect thrive.

Olusegun Obasanjo and Iyabo Obasanjo

In the 11-page letter dated December 16, 2013 exclusively obtained by Vanguard, Iyabo accused her father of orchestrating a third term for himself as president, cruelty to family members, abandonment of children and grandchildren, and also, a legendary reputation of maltreatment of women.

Iyabo who forswore further political engagements in Nigeria denied any political motive for her missive, and described Nigeria as a country where her father and his ilk have helped to create a situation where smart, capable people bend down to imbeciles to survive. She particularly noted her experience as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health when she led the committee on a retreat appropriated for in the budget only for her to be prosecuted for it.

Iyabo, first child of the former president, started the letter titled, Open Letter to my Father with a 4th century Chinese proverb by Mencius which states: “The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.”

Her letter:

“It brings me no joy to have to write this but since you started this trend of open letters I thought I would follow suit since you don’t listen to anyone anyway. The only way to reach you may be to make the public aware of some things. As a child well brought up by my long-suffering mother in Yoruba tradition, I have been reluctant to tell the truth about you but as it seems you still continue to delude yourself about the kind of person you are and I think for posterity’s sake it is time to set the records straight.

“I will return to the issue of my long-suffering mother later in this letter.

“Like most Nigerians, I believe there are very enormous issues currently plaguing the country but I was surely surprised that you will be the one to publish such a treatise. I remember clearly as if it was yesterday the day I came over to Abuja from Abeokuta when I was Commissioner of Health in OgunState, specifically to ask you not to continue to pursue the third term issue.

“I had tried to bring it up when your sycophantic aides were present and they brushed my comments aside and as usual you listened to their self-serving counsel. For you to accuse someone else of what you so obviously practiced yourself tells of your narcissistic megalomaniac personality.  Everyone around for even a few minutes knows that the only thing you respond to is praise and worship of you. People have learnt how to manipulate you by giving you what you crave. The only ones that can’t and will not stroke your ego are family members who you universally treat like shit (sic) apart from the few who have learned to manipulate you like others.

“Before I continue, Nigerians are people who see conspiracy and self-service in everything because I think they believe everyone is like them. This letter is not in support of President Jonathan or APC or any other group or person, but an outpouring from my soul to God. I don’t blame you for the many atrocities you have been able to get away with, Nigerians were your enablers every step of the way. People ultimately get leaders that reflect them.

“Getting back to the story, I made sure your aides were not around and brought up the issue, trying to deliver the presentation of the issue as I had practiced it in my head. I started with the fact that we copied the US constitution which has term limits of two terms for a President. As is your usual manner, you didn’t allow me to finish my thought process and listen to my point of view. Once I broached the subject you sat up and said that the US had no term limits in the past but that it had been introduced in the 1940s after the death of President Roosevelt, which is true.

I wanted to say to you: when you copy something you also copy the modifications based on the learning from the original; only a fool starts from scratch and does not base his decisions on the learning of others. In science, we use the modifications found by others long ago to the most recent, as the basis of new findings; not going back to discover and learn what others have learnt. Human knowledge and development and civilization will not have progressed if each new generation and society did not build on the knowledge of others before them.

The American constitution itself is based on several theories and philosophies of governance available in the 18th century. Democracy itself is a governance method started by the ancient Greeks. America’s founding fathers used it with modifications based on what hadn’t worked well for the ancient Greeks and on new theories since then.

“As usual in our conversations, I kept quiet because I know you well.  You weren’t going to change your mind based on my intervention as you had already made up your mind on the persuasion of the minions working for you who were ripping the country blind. When I spoke to you, your outward attitude to the people of the country was that you were not interested in the third term and that it was others pushing it. Your statement to me that day proved to me that you were the brain behind the third term debacle. It is therefore outrageous that you accuse the current President of a similar two-facedness that you yourself used against the people of the country.

“I was on a plane trip between Abuja and Lagos around the time of the third term issue and I sat next to one of your sycophants on the plane.  He told me: “Only Obasanjo can rule Nigeria”.  I replied: “God has not created a country where only one person can rule. If only one person can rule Nigeria then the whole Nigeria project is not a viable one, as it will be a non-sustainable project”

“I don’t know how you came about Yar’Adua as the candidate for your party as it was not my priority or job. Unlike you, I focus on the issues I have been given responsibility over and not on the jobs of others. It was the day of the PDP Presidential Campaign in Abeokuta during the state-by-state tour of 2007 that Yar’Adua got sick and had to be flown abroad. The MKO Abiola Stadium was already filled with people by 9am when I drove by (and) we had told people based on the campaign schedule that the rally would start at noon.

At 11 am I headed for the stadium on foot; it was a short walk as there were so many cars already parked in and out. As I walked on with two other people, we saw crowds of people leaving the stadium. I recognized some of them as politicians and I asked them why people were leaving. They said  the Presidential candidate had died. I was alarmed and shocked. I walked back home and received a call from a friend in Lagos who said the same and added that he had died in the plane carrying him abroad for treatment and that the plane was on its way to Katsina to bury him.

I called you, and told you the information and that the stadium was already half-empty. You told me to go to the stadium and tell the people on the podium to announce that the Presidential candidate had taken ill that morning but the rest of the team, including you and the Vice-Presidential candidate would arrive shortly.  I did as I was told, but even the people on the podium at first didn’t make the announcement because they thought it was true that Yar’Adua had died. I had to take the microphone and make the announcement myself. It did little good. People kept trooping out of the stadium. Your team didn’t arrive until 4pm and by this time we had just a sprinkling of people left.

That evening after the disaster of a rally, you said you had insisted that the Presidential candidate fly to Germany for a check-up although you said he only had a cold. I asked why would anyone fly to Germany to treat a cold?  And you said “I would rather die than have the man die at this time.”  I thought of this profound statement as things later unfolded against me.  Then I thought it a stupid statement but as usual I kept quiet, little did I know how your machinations for a person would be used against me.  When Yar’Adua eventually died, you stayed alive, I would have expected you to jump into his grave.

I left Nigeria in 1989 right after youth service to study in the US and I visited in 1994 for a week and didn’t visit again until your inauguration in 1999. In between, you had been arrested by Abacha and jailed. We, your children, had no one who stood with us. Stella famously went around collecting money on your behalf but we had no one.  We survived. I was the only one of the children working then as a post-doctoral fellow when I got the call from a friend informing me of your arrest.

A week before your arrest, you had called me from Denmark and I had told you that you should be careful that the government was very offended by some of your statements and actions and may be planning to arrest or kill you as was occurring to many at the time.  The source of my information was my mother who, agitated, had called me, saying I should warn you as this was the rumour in the country. As usual you brushed aside my comments, shouting on the phone that they cannot try anything and you will do and say as you please.  The consequence of your bravado is history.

We, your family, have borne the brunt of your direct cruelty and also suffered the consequences of your stupidity but got none of the benefits of your successes. Of course, anyone around you knows how little respect you have for your children.

You think our existence on earth is about you. By the way, how many are we? 19, 20, 21? Do you even know?  In the last five years, how many of these children have you spoken to? How many grandchildren do you have and when did you last see each of them? As President you would listen to advice of people that never finished high school who would say anything to keep having access to you so as to make money over your children who loved you and genuinely wished you well.

“At your first inauguration in 1999, I and my brothers and sisters told you we were coming from the US. As is usual with you, you made no arrangements for our trip, instead our mom organized to meet each of us and provided accommodation. At the actual swearing-in at Eagle Square, the others decided to watch it on TV. Instead I went to the square and I was pushed and tossed by the crowd.

I managed to get in front of the crowd where I waved and shouted at you as you and General Abdulsalam Abubakar  walked past to go back to the VIP seating area. I saw you mouth ‘my daughter’ to General Abdullahi who was the one who pulled me out of the crowd and gave me a seat. As I looked around I saw Stella and Stella’s family prominently seated but none of your children.  I am sure General Abdullahi would remember this incident and I am eternally grateful to him.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/iyabo-obasanjo-writes-father-says-dear-daddy-dont-nigeria/#sthash.aNQImlWX.dpuf

Nigeria invents made in Nigeria drone.

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, unveiled the first indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, named GULMA, built by the Nigerian Air Force in Kaduna.

UNVEILING OF ‘GULMA’ NIGERIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE IN KADUNA

He declared that the giant technological breakthrough of various sectors, particularly the Armed Forces, are pointers to the country’s potential for greater deeds.

In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, President Jonathan said: “We must not forget the lesson of this encouraging moment in our nation’s history; that as Nigerians we are capable of great deeds.

“In the same manner, we must not forget that ahead of us still lie challenges that we must surmount. We must, therefore, stay focused on our common national purpose.

“Today marks another landmark moment in our nation’s history, as we gather here to witness the unveiling of our country’s first indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle, which has been designed and constructed by the Nigeria Air Force.

“Besides its diverse military application, unmanned aerial vehicle provides mankind with a range of benefits in disaster management, power line surveys, law enforcement, telecommunications, weather monitoring, and aerial imaging/mapping.
“It is also rapidly becoming an important tool in news coverage, environmental monitoring, and oil and gas exploration.

“Considering the potential impact of its benefit and versatility, I cannot but say how proud I am of the men and women of our Armed Forces.

“Apart from their commitment to the protection of our sovereignty, they are helping to keep our nation ahead in military science and technology and to keep their civilian counterparts on their toes.”
Minister’s comments

The Minister of Information, who also supervises the Defence Ministry, Labaran Maku, noted that the true professionalism of the military since 1999 had given rise to the indigenous military-led technological breakthroughs.

Maku said: “The development of surveillance aircraft by the Nigerian Air Force at this crucial moment in our history is a bold statement of our resolve to provide security for the Nigerian populace.

“The GULMA UAV potentially affords the Armed Forces a window of immense opportunities in its task of acquiring timely intelligence and combating criminality, especially in light of the nation’s prevailing security challenges.”

GULMA’s history

In his speech, Air Marshal Alex Badeh explained that the surveillance aircraft was named GULMA, a word in Hausa that means gossip, because of its function as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.

According to him, the idea began in 2005 with the acquisition of three Aerostar UAVs for the defunct Presidential Committee on Maritime Safety and Security, PICOMSS, which was frustrated “by numerous vendor-related problems that eventually led to the grounding of all the three systems in 2009.

“Following the dissolution of PICOMSS in 2012, the Federal Government handed over the UAVs to the NAF.”
He said NAF Optimising Local Engineering, NAF OLE, which handled the project, did it at the cost of $3 million, half of the $6 million quoted by foreign vendors and also trained 15 UAV pilots at less than half a million dollars compared to the $2 million quoted by foreign vendors to train only three pilots.pp

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/jonathan-unveils-nigerian-made-drone/#sthash.6nreWAgp.dpuf

ASUU calls off 6-month-old strike

Minna— Parents, students and government officials, Tuesday, expressed relief as the six-month old nationwide strike, by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over non-implementation of 2009 agreement between the union and the Federal Government, was called off.

Addressing journalists in Minna, yesterday, after long hours of brainstorming, ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, said the union decided to call off the strike after diligent and careful appraisal of various report, especially the resolutions signed last Wednesday by ASUU and the Federal Government.

ASUU, however, said it would continuously and diligently monitor the implementation of the joint resolutions in all branches, facilitate the inauguration of the implementation monitoring committee on the report of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities, ensure faithful compliance with the report and ensure that ASUU members do not suffer any loss of deserved benefits arising from the strike, specifically the unresolved issue of the Earned Allowances.

OPEN: Lagos State University, LASU, re-opens as Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, called off its six-month-old strike, Tuesday.

ASUU also highlighted the remaining areas in the 2009 agreement, which require policy and legislative steps for the challenges facing the system to be effectively addressed and expressed hope that the provisions of the extant agreements for revitalisation of the university system will imme-diately focus on theseneeds.

Accordingly, Fagge declared that with effect from yesterday, the six months old strike has been suspended and thereby directed all branches to resume work forthwith.

A major casualty was recorded when the former National President of the union, Professor Festus Iyayi, died in an auto crash on his way to Kano to attend the National Executive Committee meeting of ASUU.

On December 3, which was the dead line given by the Federal Government to the lecturers to either resume classes or be sacked, the government extended the deadline to December 9, saying the action was in honour of late Iyayi, who was to be buried on same date.

ASUU’s expectations
ASUU listed some of its expectations from government.

They include government’s faithful implementation of the resolutions reached and signed, even as it vowed to work assiduously for the revitalisation of Nigerian universities where students and parents will begin to see the fruits of the struggle.

ASUU expects that the revitalisation funds for the next five years will be provided as agreed in the resolutions, while the implementation monitoring committee will ensure that funds released will be used to meet genuine revitalisation needs of public universities with strict and disciplined supervision of the implementation processes by the universities themselves.

ASUU also expects the monitoring committee to conclude, within a short time, the verification of the level of implementation of the Earned Academic Allowances and that government should also, as agreed, provide fund for the payment of outstanding balance.
It also expects government to act quickly to engage the services of the universities in special consulting services as contained in the resolution.

Union’s concession
Fagge said: “Although ASUU would have preferred to undertake the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement in the second quarter, our union was persuaded to shift the date to third quarter and it is our hope that government will honour these resolutions as signed and that nobody shall be victimised in any way for his/her role in the process leading to these resolutions and agreements.”

The union condemned vice-chancellors that made efforts to undermine and in some cases attempted to break ASUU’s strike and also commended the committee of five vice-chancellors for their persistence, hard work and determination towards the final signing of the December 11 resolution.

He said: “On our own part, we shall accept fair and honest criticisms made in the interest of the university system and the people of Nigeria.

“We have no illusion that the resolution signed with government will resolve all the important problems in the system.
“What we believe is that if the Federal Government faithfully implements the resolutions with ASUU, with students and parents playing their essential roles, further crises would be avoided to the benefit of our education and our country.”

Presidency’s reaction
The Presidency, in its immediate reaction through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Communication, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said: “It is a great relief to parents and students that ASUU has called off the strike because the students have suffered so much.“The government on its part will honour its word by implementing the agreement.”

Students, too
Students, yesterday, received with mixed feelings the news of the suspension of the strike.
UNIBEN SUG Chairman, Mr. Osasere Osifo, said: “It is good that the strike has been called off. But I am not necessarily jumping for joy about it, because we have already lost so much.

“Who will compensate us for the six months that we have lost? As for the results of the strike, only time will tell whether the sector will be better. ”An undergraduate of English and Literary Studies, Lagos State University, Anwuliker Stancey Nduba, told Vanguard: “It is almost impossible to measure what one has lost during this strike.

“Time, lives and futures have been lost. The strike just slowed down my progress up the ladder of achievement.“I do not even know how to pick the pieces of my academic career.”OAU SUG Chairman, Mr. Ayo Toe, holds a contrary opinion.

He said: ”I believe that it was a bold step by ASUU to go all the way until the government shifted ground. In situations like this, every stakeholder has to pay a price. Students have paid theirs and so has ASUU.

“We just have to hope that the MoU will be thoroughly implemented so that ASUU does not have any justification to go on strike again.”

Lecturers

National Treasurer, ASUU, Dr. Demola Aremu, said: “We believe that the strike was worth it. If we had not gone on strike, there would have been no move whatsoever to implement the 2009 agreement.

“It is obvious that until we went on strike, the government was not at all interested in bringing an end to the strike. It was when they saw our genuine commitment to the strike that they made a move.

“If the Federal Government learns to display more responsibility, funding of universities should not be an issue we should have to go on strike for.”

A lecturer of the Department of Mass Communications, University of Lagos, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, advised students to be ready for marathon lectures as the lecturers would have to rush to cover up for the lost five months.

He said: “We thank Mr. President for his marathon meeting with us. The strike should have been suspended before now, but for the satanic vices of some government officials.”

He said the loss cannot be quantified, adding “rather, I’ll urge Mr. President’s aides to learn how to deal with lecturers because we are intellectual people and can’t be threatened with termination of appointment.”

Dr. Chris Onwunari, also a lecturer at the University of Lagos, said: “It was a well deserved struggle. It demonstrated to the authorities to learn to keep their commitments instead of behaving like outlaws.”

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/asuu-calls-6-month-old-strike/#sthash.5U3SnBS0.dpuf