Tim daddy ushie

14/12/2021

The twin brother of 2pac Umaru Shakur.
His ways exactly like the rapper. Rich yet humble.

15/10/2021

Eniola Aluko: THE GREATEST

Eniola Aluko (born 21 February 1987) is a British-Nigerian football executive, commentator, and former professional player. She is currently the sporting director of Angel City FC in Los Angeles.[1] Before retiring from professional football in January 2020, Aluko last played as a forward for Juventus. Since 2014 she has also provided television commentary on football, including men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups.

Eniola Aluko
E Aluko2009.jpg
Aluko with Saint Louis Athletica in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth
21 February 1987 (age 34)
Place of birth
Lagos, Nigeria
Height
5 ft 3 in (1.59 m)
Position(s)
Forward
Club information
Current team
Angel City FC (sporting director)
Youth career
Leafield Athletic
Senior career*
Years
Team
Apps
(Gls)
2001–2004
Birmingham City
2004–2007
Charlton Athletic
2007–2009
Chelsea
28
(15)
2009–2010
Saint Louis Athletica
25
(10)
2010
Atlanta Beat
14
(5)
2011
Sky Blue FC
15
(4)
2012
Birmingham City
13
(4)
2012–2018
Chelsea
73
(32)
2018–2019
Juventus
27
(15)
National team‡
2004–2016
England
102
(33)
2012
Great Britain
5
(0)
Honours
Women's football
Representing England
FIFA Women's World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Canada
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:54, 11 December 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:48, 25 February 2018 (UTC)
Aluko made 102 appearances for the England national team from 2004–2016 and competed at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China, 2009 UEFA Women's Euro, 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, 2013 UEFA Women's Euro, and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she represented Great Britain.

Aluko previously played for Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, and Chelsea in England's FA Women's Premier League. She played for Saint Louis Athletica, Atlanta Beat, and Sky Blue FC in the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) from 2009–2011. After a short stint with Birmingham City in England's new top-division league, FA WSL, she signed with Chelsea where she played from 2012 to 2018.

Early life Edit
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, to Gbenga and Sileola, Aluko moved with her family to Birmingham in the West Midlands region of England at the age of six months.[2][3][4] She grew up playing football with her brother Sone Aluko and his friends. She also played other sports, including tennis.[5] Growing up, Aluko supported Manchester United.[6]

Aluko started her career at Leafield Athletic Ladies[7] and subsequently played for Birmingham City Ladies' youth team under manager Marcus Bignot with future England teammate, Karen Carney.[8] She scored on her Birmingham team debut against Leeds United, aged 14.[9]

Club career Edit
Birmingham City, 2001–2004 Edit
On 7 April 2002, 15-year-old Aluko played for Birmingham in the FA Women's Premier League Cup Final at Adams Park, as the young Birmingham team lost 7–1 to professional Fulham.[10] City did win promotion as Northern Division champions to the Premier League National Division in 2001–02.[11][12] Her goalscoring during the following 2002–03 Premier League season led Bignot to declare her "the Wayne Rooney of women's football".[13]

Aluko was named Young Player of the Year at The FA Women's Football Awards in 2003.[14][15]

Charlton Athletic, 2004–2007 Edit
Aluko left Birmingham to join Charlton Athletic in January 2004.[16] She helped Charlton defeat Fulham 1–0 to win the FA Women's Premier League Cup at Underhill Stadium in March 2004.[17][18]

During the 2003–04 season, Aluko appeared as a second-half substitute when Charlton lost the FA Women's Cup final to Arsenal, 3–0 at Loftus Road in May.[19] Charlton also lost the Premier League National Division title to Arsenal on the last day of the season,[20] having led the way for most of the season.[21]

Aluko lifted the FA Women's Community Shield with Charlton in August 2004 after helping the team win. Her 41st minute set-up for Ann-Marie Heatherson provided the winner in a 1–0 victory over Arsenal at Broadhall Way.[22]

Pace was considered one of her attributes and this was evident when she sprinted onto a through ball from Emma Coss to score the winning goal in the 2005 FA Women's Cup Final at Upton Park.[23] Charlton beat Everton 1–0 in the Final.[24] Aluko scored two goals in the first half of Charlton's 2–1 victory over Arsenal in the 2006 FA Women's Premier League Cup Final at Adams Park.[25]

Aluko also played in the 2005 FA Women's Community Shield (4–0 defeat at the National Hockey Stadium),[26] the 2005 FA Women's Premier League Cup Final (3–0 defeat at Griffin Park),[27] and the 2007 FA Women's Cup Final (4–1 defeat at the City Ground),[28] All three defeats were inflicted by Arsenal. Her assist to Katie Holtham in the second minute of the match gave Charlton the lead in the 2007 FA Women's Cup Final.[29] She also won the London FA Women's Cup with Charlton twice, in 2005 and 2006.

Chelsea, 2007–2009 Edit
Following the withdrawal of support for the Charlton women's team by the parent club,[30] Aluko joined Chelsea Ladies in July 2007.[31]

WPS, 2009–2011 Edit

Eniola Aluko against the Boston Breakers
In October 2008, Aluko's playing rights were obtained by St. Louis Athletica who named her as a post-draft discovery player. She was the team's leading goal scorer during the league's inaugural season with six goals, and also led in assists with four, making her one of the main reasons Athletica was able to climb from a last place in the first two months of the season to a commanding second by the end. She missed the playoffs and the All-Star match due to national team duty.

When Saint Louis Athletica folded part way through the 2010 season, Aluko signed with Atlanta Beat.[32] She was later traded to Sky Blue FC in December 2010.[33]

Birmingham City, 2012 Edit

Aluko with Birmingham City in October 2012
When the WPS went into abeyance for the 2012 season, Aluko had already decided to return to England. She signed for Birmingham City, describing them as "more stable".[34]

In 2012, Aluko registered five goals and two assists in 17 FA WSL League and Cup appearances, as Birmingham City finished runners up to Arsenal in both competitions.[35][36] City lost the 2012 FA WSL Cup Final to Arsenal 1–0 at Underhill Stadium on 10 October 2012.[37] Birmingham did defeat Chelsea 3–2 on penalties, after it was 2–2 at the end of extra time, in the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final on 26 May 2012 at Ashton Gate to win the club's first major honour in its 44-year history. Aluko was introduced as a 63rd-minute substitute.[38][39]

Chelsea, 2012–2018 Edit
After a single season at Birmingham, she re-signed for Chelsea in December 2012.[40] In her first season with the club, Aluko contributed six goals and three assists in 17 FA WSL League and Cup matches.[41][42] Having had a poor season domestically,[12] Chelsea reached the final of the invitational 2013 International Women's Club Championship, but lost 4–2 to INAC Kobe Leonessa. Aluko registered an assist in the Final and scored in the semi-final win against Sydney FC.[43]

In 2014, Aluko scored seven times and provided one assist in 20 FA WSL League and Cup appearances.[44][45] Aluko's Chelsea began the last day of the 2014 FA WSL season top of the league, two points ahead of Birmingham City and three points ahead of Liverpool, but a 2–1 defeat at Manchester City cost Chelsea the Super League title on goal difference.[46]

Aluko was one of six nominations for the 2014–15 PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year,[47][48] but lost out to her Chelsea teammate Ji So-yun.[49] She did win Chelsea Ladies' Player of the Year for 2014–15[50][51] and was selected in the 2015 PFA WSL Team of the Year.[52][53]

In 2015, Aluko played in the first FA Women's Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium on 1 August 2015 in front of a record attendance of 30,710. Her Chelsea team defeated Notts County 1–0 to win the club's first major trophy in its history. Individually, Aluko was at the heart of Chelsea's win as she put in a Player-of-the-Match performance and provided the assist for Ji So-yun's 39th-minute winner.[54][55]

After Chelsea signed Fran Kirby and Ramona Bachmann, Aluko's role in the team diminished. It was announced on 16 May 2018 that Aluko would receive a free transfer from Chelsea when the 2017–18 season ended four days later. She marked her final appearance by scoring and had made occasional appearances, predominantly as a late substitute, in the side which remained unbeaten throughout the whole league season.[56][57]

Juventus, 2018–2019 Edit
Aluko signed for Serie A club Juventus on 6 June 2018.[58] However, in 2019 she spoke about negative experiences in the city, calling it "decades behind" and saying she had been made to feel like Pablo Escobar on occasions at Turin airport.[59]

In November 2019, Aluko announced that she would be leaving Juventus after 18 months at the club,[60] stating her time at the club had been one of "great success and lots of learning."[61] She returned to Britain in December having won Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, as well as being Juventus' top scorer for last season. On 15 January 2020, Aluko announced her retirement from professional football.

International career of Eniola Aluko
England Edit

Aluko in 2014
Aluko was called into the England set-up as a 14-year-old. She chose to remain loyal to the English coaches who had given her the opportunity to play international football, but said: "The main thing for me is for people to understand that choosing to play for England doesn't mean that I don't support Nigeria. I'm as much Nigerian as I'm British. Of course Nigeria means a lot to me, it's part of me, but I've been brought up by English coaches."[64]

Having represented England at Under-17 level,[65] Aluko scored on her debut at Under-19 level and appeared in the UEFA Under-19 European Championship Finals in Germany in July 2003 while aged only 16 years.[66] She later played at Under-21 level, before making her senior debut, aged 17, against the Netherlands in September 2004.[67] Her first senior goal came against the Czech Republic at Walsall in May 2005,[68] and she added two more in the 13–0 away win against Hungary that October.[69]

Aluko played in UEFA Women's Euro 2005, despite a clash with her A-Level studies.[70] She sat a history exam on the morning of England's 2–1 defeat to Denmark.[71] In the final group game against Sweden Aluko almost scored a bizarre equaliser, but was left disappointed as hosts England lost 1–0 and exited the competition.[72]

At the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007, Aluko featured in group matches against Japan and Argentina, as well as the 3–0 quarter-final defeat by the United States.[73] After the tournament, she was critical of The Football Association and the level of financial support provided to England's top female players.[74] Aluko featured much more prominently at UEFA Women's Euro 2009, scoring in the group match win over Russia[75] and adding two more in the quarter-final victory over hosts Finland.[76] She also provided an assist for Kelly Smith's opening goal in the semi-final against the Netherlands.[77] In the final Aluko played the left-wing as England were mauled 6–2 by Germany in Helsinki.[78]

Aluko netted against Switzerland in September 2010 as England qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011.[79] During the final tournament, Aluko responded angrily to public criticism of her performance in the 1–1 draw with Mexico, in which she wasted multiple goalscoring opportunities.[80] She was substituted at half–time in the following group match against New Zealand,[81] and dropped to the bench for the final group match with Japan, playing the last half an hour of England's 2–0 win.[82] Aluko was an unused substitute as England were eliminated by France at the quarter final stage.[83]

Aluko of England during a match against Montenegro, April 2014
As England qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Aluko finished as the joint-top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, which included her first hat-trick in a 10–0 thumping of Montenegro,[84] and braces against Turkey[85] and Ukraine.[86] At the Finals tournament, Aluko started both of England's first two group matches, a 1–0 defeat by France and a 2–1 win over Mexico. Having missed the last group match and the knockout stages,[12] Aluko reappeared as a 61st-minute substitute in the third-place play-off with Germany.[87] England defeated Germany for the very first time, 1–0 after extra time to win bronze medals.[88]

Aluko was not called up to the national team after May 2016.[89] She was paid around £80,000 by the Football Association despite a barrister stating there was not sufficient evidence to Aluko's claims of racism and bullying by head coach Mark Sampson and other staff. The Football Association later publicly apologised to Aluko at the select committee hearing of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (with some DCMS MPs calling for relevant FA officials to resign over their handling of the case)[90] after the same barrister found racist remarks were made to her and teammate Drew Spence, following a third investigation.[91][92] At UEFA Women's Euro 2017, Aluko worked as a pundit for Channel 4.

When England's entire team—led by black forward Nikita Parris—pointedly ran to celebrate with coach Sampson after scoring in their next match against Russia, Aluko publicly criticised her former team-mates, accusing them of selfishness, lacking respect and requiring diversity training.[93] Parris later apologised to Aluko in an open letter in June 2020 admitting that the celebration with coach Sampson was a "thoughtless action" that showed a lack of empathy, understanding and ignorance.[94]

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, England right-back Lucy Bronze questioned whether Aluko was now good enough to be in England's squad.[95] Aluko remained surprised and disappointed at a perceived lack of support for her position from England's current players.[96] The FA investigation had received evidence of Aluko's own "negative" behaviour, which included an alleged assault on an unnamed team-mate.[97] Sampson's successor as England coach, Phil Neville, did not select Aluko either.[98]

Czech Republic
4–1
Friendly 1
3 27 October 2005 Tapolcia Stadium, Tapolca Hungary
13–0
2007 FIFA World Cup Qualifying 2
4 8 March 2007 National Hockey Stadium, Milton Keynes Russia
6–0
Friendly 1
5 27 October 2007 Bescot Stadium, Walsall Belarus
4–0
2009 UEFA Championship Qualifying
6 10 March 2009 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca Scotland
3–0
2009 Cyprus Cup
7 28 August 2009 Finnair Stadium, Helsinki Russia
3–2
2009 UEFA Championship
9 3 September 2009 Veritas Stadion, Turku Finland
3–2
2009 UEFA Championship 2
10 22 March 2010 Loftus Road, London Austria
3–0
2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 1
11 16 September 2010 Stadion Niedermatten, Wohlen Switzerland
3–2
2011 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
12 19 September 2012 Bescot Stadium, Walsall Croatia
3–0
UEFA Euro 2013 Qual.
13 11 March 2013 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca New Zealand
3–1
2013 Cyprus Cup
14 26 June 2013 Pirelli Stadium, Burton Japan
1–1
Friendly
15 12 July 2013 Arena Linköping, Linköping Spain
2–3
Euro 2013
16 21 September 2013 Dean Court, Bournemouth Belarus
6–0
2015 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
18 26 September 2013 Fratton Park, Portsmouth Turkey
8–0
2
19 31 October 2013 5 Ocak Stadium, Adana Turkey
4–0
1
20 17 January 2014 La Manga Stadium, La Manga Club Norway
1–1
Friendly
21 2 March 2014 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca Finland
3–0
2014 Cyprus Cup
22 5 April 2014 Falmer Stadium, Brighton and Hove Montenegro
9–0
2015 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
24 8 May 2014 Greenhous Meadow, Shrewsbury Ukraine
4–0
2
25 14 June 2014 Traktar Stadium, Minsk Belarus
3–0
1
26 19 June 2014 Arena Lviv, Lviv Ukraine
2–1
27 21 August 2014 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff Wales
4–0
30 17 September 2014 Stadion Pod Malim Brdom, Petrovac Montenegro
10–0
3
31 4 March 2015 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca Finland
3–1
2015 Cyprus Cup 1
32 9 March 2015 GSP Stadium, Nicosia Netherlands
1–1
2015 Cyprus Cup
33 23 October 2015 Yongchuan Sports Center, Chongqing China PR
1–2
Dewellbon Cup
Great Britain Edit

Great Britain Edit
2012 Olympics Edit
In June 2012, Aluko was named in the 18-player Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.[100] She made her Great Britain debut, in its first ever official fixture, in a friendly goalless draw with Sweden at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough on 20 July 2012, starting and playing the entire match.[101][102]

At the Olympic football tournament, Aluko started all three groups matches, which included wins over New Zealand,[103][104] Cameroon[105][106] and in front of over 70,000 at Wembley, twice Olympic silver-medalists Brazil.[107] Aluko won a penalty in the Brazil match, which Kelly Smith missed.[108] Britain advanced to the quarter-finals as group winners. Aluko also started as Britain lost 2–0 to Canada in the quarter-finals, courtesy of two early goals, and ended hopes of at least reaching a match for an opportunity at a medal.[109] Aluko had a strong appeal for a second-half penalty dismissed.[110]

2016 Olympics Edit
Despite England's third-place finish at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, which Aluko was a part of, earning Great Britain one of the three available European slots for the 2016 Rio Olympics,[111] it was already decided Great Britain would not send a women's team to the event.[112] It meant Aluko did not add to her tally of five Great Britain caps, with participation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the next earliest available opportunity.[113]

Executive career Edit
A week after retiring from professional football, Aluko was announced as the director of women's football at Aston Villa in January 2020.[114]

In May 2021, Aluko became the sporting director of Los Angeles-based Angel City FC ahead of their inaugural season in the American National Women's Soccer League

Personal life Edit
While playing for England during Women's Euro 2005, Aluko took her A levels at Cadbury College, Birmingham.[115] She subsequently went to study law at Brunel University, where she graduated with a first class degree in 2008.[116] In July 2009 it was announced that Aluko would spend the 2009–10 US off-season studying for the New York bar exam before taking a similar exam in England, her aim being to have an entertainment law practice in both England and the United States.[2]

While completing an accelerated Legal Practice Course at the University of Law,[117] Aluko had traineeships at Lee & Thompson LLP and Onside Law.[118] She announced her intention to "step back" from her legal career in March 2015 to focus on playing professional football.[119] In 2016 The Football Association informed Aluko that her paid consultancy role with a sports agency breached their rules and was under investigation by the Association's integrity unit.[120] She began working as an associate consultant for Slaughter and May, before resigning when she moved to Italy with Juventus.[117]

Her younger brother Sone plays for Ipswich Town and was an England youth international, but in May 2009 accepted a call-up to represent Nigeria.[121] Aluko helped her brother during the financial problems experienced by Rangers in 2012.[122] Her father is a former MP in Nigeria,[14] while Bolaji Aluko, a chemical engineering professor, is her uncle.[123]

Aluko voted for the Conservative Party in the 2019 general elections.[124] Her Christianity was strengthened under the influence of born again former journeyman footballer Linvoy Primus.[125] Aluko was also listed in the 2020 Powerlist, recognition as being one of the 100 most influential Black Britons.[126]

In May 2020, Aluko published a series of tweets that appeared to criticise people placed on the UK government's furlough scheme introduced in response to the pandemic of COVID-19, subsequently deleting most of the messages, apologising and stating her support for the furlough scheme.[127]

In popular culture Edit
In September 2014, Aluko appeared on the BBC's football programme Match of the Day, the first woman to appear as a pundit on the show.[128] She provided commentary for ITV's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup[129] and for Fox Sports' coverage of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[130]

She was featured along with her national teammates in the EA Sports' FIFA video game series starting in FIFA 16, the first time women players were included in the game.[131][132]

In August 2016, she signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Under Armour, the first UK woman athlete to do so.[133] In January 2020 Aluko became an Adidas ambassador.[134]

Honours Edit
Birmingham City[136]

FA WPL Cup runner-up: 2001–02[citation needed]
FA WPL Northern Division: 2001–02[citation needed]
FA Women's Young Player of the Year: 2002–03[137]
FA Women's Cup: 2011–12
Charlton Athletic

FA WPL National Division runner-up: 2003–04, 2004–05[138]
FA Women's Cup: 2004–05[138]
FA WPL Cup: 2005–06[138]
FA Women's Community Shield: 2004[139]
Saint Louis Athletica

Women's Professional Soccer regular season runner-up: 2009[citation needed]
Chelsea[136]

FA WSL: 2015, 2017, 2017–18
FA Women's Cup: 2014–15, 2017–18[140][141]
International Women's Club Championship runner-up: 2013[citation needed]
Juventus[136]

Serie A: 2018–19
Coppa Italia: 2018–19
Supercoppa Italiana: 2019
England

UEFA Women's Championship runner-up: 2009[142]
Cyprus Cup: 2009, 2013, 2015[citation needed]
FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2015[143]
Individual

Chelsea Ladies Player of the Year: 2014–15[141]
PFA WSL Team of the Year 2015, 2017

LISTING
All-time Saint Louis Athletica roster
List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
List of England women's international footballers
List of sportswomen
List of association football families

03/08/2021

THE SENATE ANTI-RESTRUCTURING VOTE, BIAFRA AGITATION AND THE REST OF US.

By Charles Ogbu

This is certainly not the best of time for Nigeria. And most certainly not for the advocates of as Tuesday's "No Devolution Of Power" vote at the floor of the Senate appears to have finally given a very serious form of institutional credence to the assertion by the Nnamdi kanu led Biafran movement that the Nigeria state is unsalvageable.

But beyond the rhetorics and verbal gymnastics, there are some wildly held opinions which the Senate vote has simply elevated to the status of fact. Here are some of them:

1: It is not the Senate as an institution that doesn't want a restructured Nigeria. It is the North as a region. Sadly, long years of military rule and the demonic 1999 Constitution championed by mostly northern military officers have succeded in skewing the political equation of Nigeria in favour of the North. As it stands now, the North is in a default position to hold the rest of the country to ransom and that is exactly what is happening. She gets whatever she wants no matter how scandalous such a want might seem and she ensures that what the other region wants doesn't see the light of day no matter how fair and just such a want might be. Even with the combination of the numerical strength of southern lawmakers, the North still has the veto power.

North East Development Commission bill was passed into law almost before it was even presented on the floor of the parliament. But, a bill to "gift" Lagos state with special status was killed. A bill to set up a development commission for the southeast was equally shut down. Before the adulterated version of PIB was allowed to pass 2nd reading, northern lawmakers made sure that Kano and Kaduna were included as beneficiaries of the Host Community fund even when those two northern states do not produce even one litre of oil.

2:No form of re-organization of the political and economic structure of the Nigerian state a.k.a restructuring, can be effected through the existing constitutional structure. The status-quo is terribly skewed in favour of the only region (North) currently benefiting from it.

The Yorubas want true federalism. The south south want to be in charge of their resources. Igbo elders want a well restructured Nigeria where every region will be able to harness her full potentials and develop at her own pace. Igbo youths, under Nnamdi kanu, is agitating for a total separation from Nigeria because they believe the North which holds the numerical advantage in every facets of state institution here would never allow for restructuring.

Under close examination, the aspirations by the aforementioned peoples/groups are not mutually exclusive but the bitter truth is that no amount of sophistry and beautiful poetry robed in flawless grammar will give us restructuring.

It was the height of naivity in the first place to assume that our Northern neighbours will willingly relinquish the undue advantage their military heads of state gifted them with, via the fraudulent Apertheid manual that is the 1999 Constitution, without a fight.

The North will never allow for a restructured Nigeria UNLESS she is confronted with an alternative such as a determined quest for a referendum by the other component units.

It is at this point that we must all admit that the leader of Indigenous People Of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been right all along. The action of the Northern Senate caucus has further legitimised the Biafra struggle. Above all, it has buried the argument that the Biafra strong man, Kanu, should use institutionalized politics to push his quest for a referendum.

Contrary to a very popular Igbo saying, what the young man, Nnamdi Kanu, saw while lying down, the elders have failed to see even while comfortably perched ontop of iroko tree.

Our biggest mistake was antagonizing the IPOB leader rather than seizing the momentous occasion his Biafra agitation gifted us with to demand in practical terms, an end to the grave injustices and institutionalized daylight roquery in the Nigerian system.

How can it be that an "Emeka" from Akpugo-Nkanu in Enugu state must score not less than 120 to get admitted into federal govt unity college while an "Ibrahim" from Daura in Katsina state only needs to score 10 to be admitted into the same unity college......in the same country? And paradoxically funny enough, this same Ibrahim will most likely end up as the president of Nigeria even if he decides not to finish his secondary school education while the more intellectually endowed Emeka has less than 1% chance of even getting a job at the end of his academic sojourn??

Why should a state like Kano have the right to operate a parallel system of govt with sharia court (judiciary), sharia police known as the Hisbah working under the office of the governor (Executive) plus another very powerful body known as the Sharia commission (legislature) in the same country where Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, was almost crucified for setting up a security outfit to confront the marauding fulani herdsmen??

Institutionalized injustices such as these should be unacceptable even by the lowest moral standard of natural justice.

The enemies of Nigeria are not those pushing for her balkanization due to entrenched injustices in the system. The real enemies are the beneficiaries of the unjust system who have sworn to allow neither restructuring nor a referendum for us to determine our future. It is very important that we always remember this fact.

The fact that the advocates of restructuring are yet to hit the street in protest over the Senate action is a grave indictment on their seriousness and collective resolve as a group.

One thing is certain, the maintainability of the status-quo IS NOT an option.

Eventually, something must give.

The position of not just the Igbos but every southerner today DOES NOT call for political correctness.

By making a comprehensive restructuring of the system impossible, the North is only making the complete balkanization of the country inevitable.

16/07/2021

15/07/2021

*No region in Southern Nigeria needs One Nigeria to survive.*
(A must read pls.)

*Buhari’s government is a necessary evil. Necessary in the sense that each region that makes up the contraption called Nigeria has come to see the union as an open-faced lie that it is, and is weighing its options. While the South West, which became the backbone of the Northern dominance over the South for the past 6 years tries to pull back from the alliance, the South East and South-South which have been waiting for South West to get ready to crash the fraud, sit back and watch.* South West has managed to corner the economic power of the country while the North keeps the political power through the unverified population claims.

While the South West negotiates with economic and media power, the core North negotiates with unverified population political power.
The South-South, especially the Ijaw areas negotiates with cutting off the mainstay of the nation’s economy. This implies that if the gas trunk line from Escravos is cut off, half of Lagos and Ogun will be out of power till it is restored, so they're listened to.
But South-South lost so many economic potentials due to years of inter-tribal wars and militancy. Lagos was able to gain what South-South lost by promoting itself as safe and peaceful; again with the power of media.
The Ijaw-Itsekiri war forced many multinationals to relocate to Lagos from Warri.
Years of militancy further stripped Port Harcourt of its garden city status, removed most of the benefits of oil the region had to the gain of Lagos while it became an ecological wasteland.

*However, the South-East has nothing to negotiate with, because it has failed to build a local economy with its huge human capital, natural resources and individual financial war chest.*
Building an economy entails full industrialisation of the region.
The governors have not thought beyond the monthly allocation from the federal government, and their innate quest to fritter away the commonwealth of the people of the region to set up a system that taps from the ingenuity of their people.
Setting up this system means that there will be a direction and objectives to be achieved in say, 10,20, 30 years time.
*This system will build a market that is interconnected and becomes a go-to for entire West Africa. Instead, the economy of the region is scattered in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and only returns to either build filling stations or hotels.*
*But the "hotel and filling stations" economy does not offer sustainability or keep the money in the East as no raw materials and labour are sought.*
The inability of the leaders to think beyond their stomachs is why Aba has no good internal roads, let alone the ones that connect her to Akwa Ibom to facilitate the movement of goods from Nigeria to Cameroon.

Nigeria is dominantly a gas nation and has the highest proven gas reserve in the whole of Africa with over 202 trillion cubic feet of gas reserve.
*A greater proportion of Nigeria's gas reserve is in the south East. None of the Igbo leaders licking the a**l hole of Abuja men has thought it wise investing in electricity, using their Abuja connections to add value to the economy of the region except one.* Investment in electricity is a good starting point for industrialisation. The totality of Imo, Anambra and Abia are sitting on huge NAG reserves.
While Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) supplies 2.2 Million standard cubic feet per day, the Assa North-Ohaji South project which holds more than 4.3 trillion cubic feet of NAG is the largest greenfield gas condensate development projects being undertaken in Nigeria and expected to supply 600 million cubic feet of gas daily. This will translate to 2.4 GW of electricity that can power more than 5 million homes. But the shocker is that it will not be used for electricity in the South East.
Imagine 2.2 GW of electricity in Onitsha and Nnewi and Emene industrial areas.
*The first conceptualised domestic gas supply project was the Aba-Owerri-Nnewi-Onitsha Pipeline Project but it was abandoned for the Ajaokuta - Kaduna - Kano project.*
There is also no domestic gas project covering the entire Niger Delta, despite the fact that the region supplies to Lagos and Ajaokuta. So what have the leaders in these areas been doing?

Another reason why these gas reserves in the East are not being developed is because of the so-called "competitive market and infrastructure to harness them".
*Oil Serve is deep into gas development in Ukwa and Asa and built the supply base for the 188 MW Geometrics gas-powered plant. But Igbo leaders sat down and watched as Prof Bat Nnaji and Emeka Offor's Interstate electricity battled for nearly 8 years, depriving Aba of the needed power that will restore its industrial potentials.* The funny part is that it took Vice President Osibanjo to wade into the dispute to settle it while Ohanaeze drank champagne from house to house. Taunting yourself as holding over 60 per cent of the country's capital while there is no back up local economy will backfire as it did in the 60s when push comes to shove.

Igbo leaders over the years missed the lecture.
*Their inability to invest in youths like Zik, MI Okpara and Sam Mbakwe did, by setting up critical infrastructures like electricity and good transport systems pushed the youth to the wall.*
Their complicity and reliance on Abuja meant that their people no longer take them seriously.

Instead of Arthur Eze using police to harass Abba people, he could have teamed up with Seplat and Oil Serve for a gas pipeline to Onitsha and Nnewi. They can source $3 billion for the project. With Arthur Eze's connect in Abuja, nothing will stop it. But what do we get? People who just want us to clap for them for driving Rolls Royce on tattered roads. Now the youths are fighting back, choosing death than to back down. Currently, there is a struggle for the control of the soul of the East, between the youths and the traditional politicians. Instead of using dialogue to settle the disagreement, the politicians rely on the same Abuja which understands nothing but brute force to crush the resistance. *However, the consistent militarization of the East has not scared these youths but has emboldened them. From flying flags to now wielding AK 47 assault rifles, the next phase is already known.*
They have failed to understand that this generation won't tolerate what their fathers tolerated.

*Moving on, Nigeria breaking up, violently, is a matter of when and no longer that of 'if'.*
*We have all come to the brutal reality that each region needs an armed group that will speak for it in times like these.*
Even the central government with its clear lack of direction is beginning to prepare grounds for eventual break up of the union, through the appointment of people of Buhari’s ethnic group in juicy positions to steal as much as they could and using the wealth from the south to build an economically irrelevant railway to the Niger Republic. Despite all the noise, they would find out that all they contribute to the union are onions, cabbage, tomatoes and meat.

*It is funny that Nigeria has not found a way to connect its economic clusters of Lagos, Aba, Onicha and Port Harcourt with rail but has all of a sudden found a way to connect an economically arid Niger Republic whose GDP is not up to that of Anambra.*
The significance of this is profound. The North West has more affinity with the Niger Republic, Chad and Mali than the rest of the country.
That is why under Buhari, railway, refinery etc will get to Maradi. It is also why governors from the Niger Republic attend political campaigns in places like kano and Katsina.
*It is why herders are imported from Niger down to Chad and the Central African Republic to cause mayhem all over Nigeria while Abuja turns the other way.*
*It is why Gas is channelled from Obrikom/Obiafu to Kaduna, Kano while Bayelsa has no stable electricity.*

*Nigeria is the biggest fraud to ever exist and it took the docile South just six years of Buhari to finally see what has been going on for about 60 years.*

*It was within these 6 years that the people who criminalised Kanu and his IPOB for only flying flags and demanding their own country began actively negotiating with terrorists, resettling them and publicly demanding amnesty for them.* When they moved against Igboho, the South West resisted. The core North was handicapped and couldn't sustain its propaganda in the Sasa incident because the South West plugged off its media power from their mouth. Outdone, they sent Kadiari Ahmed to appeal to journalists not to blow up the country while failing to put the blame squarely at Buhari’s nepotist feet. Nobody threatened to burn down their shops in order to cow them, a common threat issued to our people from the South East.

*Will the bandits get the amnesty?*
*I bet you they will. If you doubt it, then you are not paying attention enough.*
If the politicians whose actions led to the insurgency in North East, found a way to create a North East development commission, banditry is also geared towards a North West development commission which will sap more money from the South to the North while the wait for the D-day continues.
*Those shouting that the "Unity of Nigeria is not negotiable" are only waiting to steal enough.*
With the way the union is tearing apart, there will be little to no time to even negotiate.

Those who tell you that South East is landlocked do not see how wide and deep River Niger and Imo River are.
The Port of Hamburg which is the 15th busiest port in the world and the busiest in Germany is along the Elbe River which is not as wide as the Imo River or Niger River.
Google is your friend.
They tell you that these rivers pass through other states to get to the ocean.
But if Nigeria breaks up, those rivers will be bound by international water treaties or might be decided through other unconventional means.
If you go to St Petersburg in Russia, you notice several motorised bridges that open at night for cargo ships to pass and close in the day for vehicles.
While the biggest vessel to ever berth in Nigeria is 10,000 TEU, the Elbe River carries vessels above 24,000 TEUs.

If Hamburg is Nigeria, you know how the story will turn out.
The government is not thinking.
You should also not stop thinking. Those who make peaceful coexistence impossible make violent balkanisation possible.
Sadly, they're in power.

*Dr Dennis U. Ekumankama, MFR.*