Saturday, January 2, 2016

Why Kanu Apologised To Buhari, Others –Lawyer


A lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, Mr. Vincent Obetta, has said “there is nothing irregular” about the apology tendered by his client to President Muahammadu Buhari, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for his “uncomplimentary” comments against them.
Obetta was earlier quoted in online reports as denying that his client tendered such apology as exclusively reported by The PUNCH.
But the lawyer, in a statement which he sent to our correspondent on Thursday, explained that what he denied on behalf of his client was speculation that Kanu had written letters of apology to Buhari, Jonathan and Igbo elders.

Can Buhari confront the anti-corruption industry?


The term industry is normally used in respect of manufacturing or at least to refer to a specific branch of business (e.g. the entertainment industry, the oil and gas industry). So, how come I am now using it for corruption, something negative? This is because the level of corruption in the country is flourishing rather than reducing. Various anti-corruption programmes of doubtful impact enable what I refer to as an anti-corruption industry to coexist along the `corruption it ostensibly ought to combat. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars have been spent on many so-called reform projects. Instead of the trend of the problem to reduce, it continues to increase. For more than 16 years now, the fight against corruption in the country has been reduced to mere sloganeering.

Stella Oduah Splashes N300 Million On Abuja Mansion While Owing Workers 7 Months Salary


This report exposes how former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah despite owing her staffers spent a whopping N300 million on an Abuja mansion. Read the complete details below unedited… They say once beaten twice shy but former Aviation Minister , Senator Stella Oduah, seems to have not learnt her lessons. A woman who lost her juicy throne as the Minister of Aviation because of her corrupt practices at the expense of the common man has just done the same thing all over again. Senator Stella Oduah rumour has it is owing her workers at Sea Petroleum and Gas Company about 7 months salary.

Tunnel Rats: Syrian Army Deals Another heavy Blow to Daesh Infrastructure

The Syrian Arab Army has destroyed a tunnel used by Daesh to covertly supply and move its forces in Aleppo province.


Syrian government forces have managed to destroy a tunnel in Aleppo province, which was used by Daesh militants for covert troop movements, the Iranian news agency FARS reports.
According to sources in the Syrian Army cited by FARS, the tunnel was dug seven meters below the ground and connected the villages of Sherba and Aisheh, to the north of Kuweires Airbase, which lies to the east of the city of Aleppo. The government forces have also managed to seize a substantial quantity of weapons and ammunition belonging to Daesh when they captured the tunnel, FARS adds.

Sea Ghost: Meet The New Russian Submarine, A Surprise package for U.S Armed Forces

Russia’s newest silent submarine is even stealthier than its sneaky predecessor.

The stealth capabilities of Russia’s new Lada-class diesel-electric submarines far exceed those of their predecessors, Admiraty Shipyard’s CEO Alexander Buzakov told the Russian press.
According to Buzakov, the new vessels are even stealthier than Russian Kilo-class submarines, thought to be one of the quietest diesel-electric submarine classes in the world and dubbed "black holes" for their ability to "disappear” from sonars.

The new submarines are able to maintain such a low profile thanks to a clever implementation of a next-generation anti-reflective acoustic coating and a new improved hydro-acoustic system, Buzakov said.

US Hawks Upset Over Iraqi Army's Successes Against Daesh (ISIS)

Late last month, the Iraqi army entered Ramadi, the capital of western Iraq's Anbar province and one of Daesh's key strongholds in the country. However, as The National Interest contributor Christopher Preble explains, not everyone is happy about Iraq's success.

The last weeks of 2015 witnessed an important turning point in the Iraqi army's struggle against Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) terrorists in western Iraq, with officials announcing late last month that they were on course to completely liberate Ramadi, a city in central Iraq which had been occupied by Daesh militants since May.

But paradoxically, the joyous victory against the terrorist group and its self-declared caliphate, which has brought misery to millions and condemnation from around the globe, wasn't as joyously met by some commentators and policy experts in Washington, who treated the victory as if it was a lump of Christmas coal.


In his recent article for Washington-based foreign affairs magazine The National Interest, Cato Institute expert Christopher Preble wrote that "the recapture of Ramadi is certainly good news, and may signal a shift on the ground that will allow the Iraqi government to press on against other [Daesh] strongholds, including Fallujah and Mosul."
This is certainly what the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi intends to see happen, recently vowing that "2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh's presence in Iraq will be terminated."

Unfortunately, Preble notes, "if you listen closely, however, you might notice a tinge of disappointment among some here in Washington."

"Few will be as blunt as James Poulos in The Week, who focused on 'The Bad News about ISIS's Defeat in Ramadi,' but the Iraqi government's apparent success challenges some of the hawks' most deeply held beliefs about US foreign policy."

The heart of the matter, the journalist argues, is that US interventionists' "worldview hinges on the argument that Iraqis and others in the region can't be trusted to take ownership of their security. Thus, the need for more US troops in both Iraq and Syria. According to some, many more US troops are required." Now, "the Iraqi government's clear progress over the past few months seriously challenges the claim that the US military is the only force capable of containing and ultimately defeating [Daesh]."


America's presence in Iraq, ostensibly aimed at ensuring security, hasn't been without an element of coercion, the journalist admits. Moreover, "unsurprisingly, relations between Washington and Baghdad have been consistently rocky," from US pressures to restructure the country's political system and the economy, to Washington's vain and unconvincing attempts to promote a Sunni-Shia reconciliation, to its effort to secure an agreement allowing US troops to remain in the country after 2011.
"The pattern of resistance, confrontation and defiance," Preble suggests, "calls into question the many claims that an extended US military presence would have altered Iraqi politics and forestalled the rise of [Daesh] in the first place."

Therefore, the journalist suggests, "it's well past time" for Iraq to prove that it is capable of defending itself. Moreover, "officials in the Obama administration, much as they might like to push back against their many critics, should not make this out as an American victory. While US support helped, it is the Iraqis who deserve the credit for the hard fighting on the ground. And it is the Iraqis who will likewise be chiefly responsible for removing the rest of the [Daesh] cancer from their territory."