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May
30
Yar’Adua’s Inaugural Speech
Filed Under News | 14 Comments
This is the inaugural speech of our new president. If the deliverer of the speech is the writer, and he is as smart as the speech, we might just be surprised! I got the speech from NVS
The Challenge is Great; The Goal is Clear
Inaugural Address of Umaru Musa Yar’adua, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-In-Chief of The Armed Forces, May 29, 2007.
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This is a historic day for our nation, for it marks an important milestone in our march towards a maturing democracy. For the first time since we cast off the shackles of colonialism almost a half-century ago, we have at last managed an orderly transition from one elected government to another.
We acknowledge that our elections had some shortcomings. Thankfully, we have well-established legal avenues of redress, and I urge anyone aggrieved to pursue them. I also believe that our experiences represent an opportunity to learn from our mistakes. Accordingly, I will set up a panel to examine the entire electoral process with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections, and thereby deepen our democracy.
This occasion is historic also because it marks another kind of transitional generational shift when the children of independence assume the adult responsibility of running the country at the heart of Africa.
My fellow citizens, I am humbled and honored that you have elected me and Vice President Jonathan to represent that generation in the task of building a just and humane nation, where its people have a fair chance to attain their fullest potential.
Luckily we are not starting from scratch. We are fortunate to have been led the past eight years by one of our nation’s greatest patriots, President Obasanjo. On behalf of all our people, I salute you, Mr. President, for your vision, your courage and your boundless energy in creating the roadmap toward that united and economically thriving Nigeria that we seek.
Many of us may find it hard to believe now, but before you assumed the presidency eight years ago, the national conversation was about whether Nigeria deserved to remain one country at all. Today we are talking about Nigeria’s potential, to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year2O2O. That isa measure of howfarwe have come. And we thank you.
The administration of President Obasanjo has laid the foundation upon which we can build our future prosperity. Over the past eight years Nigerians have reached a national consensus in at least four areas: to deepen democracy and the rule of law; build an economy driven primarily by the private sector, not government; display zero tolerance for corruption in all its forms, and, finally, restructure and staff our government to ensure efficiency and good governance. I commit myself to these tasks.
Our goal now is to build on the greatest accomplishments of the past few years. Relying on the 7-point agenda that formed the basis of our compact with voters during the recent campaigns, we will concentrate on rebuilding our physical infrastructure and human capital in order to take our country forward. We will focus on accelerating economic and other reforms in a way that makes a concrete and visible difference to ordinary people.
Our economy already has been set on the path of growth. Now we must continue to do the necessary work to create more jobs, lower interest rates, reduce inflation, and maintain a stable exchange rate. All this will increase our chances for rapid growth and development. Central to this is rebuilding our basic infrastructure. We already have comprehensive plans for mass transportation, especially railroad development. We will make these plans a reality.
Equally important, we must devote our best efforts to overcoming the energy challenge. Over the next four years we will see dramatic improvements in power generation, transmission and distribution. These plans will mean little if we do not respect the rule of law.
Our government is determined to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies, especially the police. The state must fulfill its constitutional responsibility of protecting life and property.
The crisis in the Niger Delta commands our urgent attention. Ending it is a matter of strategic importance to our country. I will use every resource available to me, with your help, to address this crisis in a spirit of fairness, justice, and cooperation.
We have a good starting point because our predecessor already launched a master plan that can serve as a basis for a comprehensive examination of all the issues. We will involve all stakeholders in working out a solution.
As part of this effort, we will move quickly to ensure security of life and property, and to make investments safe. In the meantime, I appeal to all aggrieved communities, groups and individuals to immediately suspend all violent activities, and respect the law. Let us allow the impending dialogue to take place in a conducive atmosphere. We are all in this together, and we will find a way to achieve peace and justice.
As we work to resolve the challenges of the Niger Delta, so must we also tackle poverty throughout the country. By fighting poverty, we fight disease. We will make advances in public health, to control the scourge of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases that hold back our population and limit our progress.
We are determined to intensify the war against corruption, more so because corruption is itself central to the spread of poverty. Its corrosive effect is all too visible in all aspects of our national life. This is an area where we have made significant progress in recent years, and we will maintain the momentum.
We also are committed to rebuilding our human capital, if we are to support a modern economy. We must revive education in order to create more equality, and citizens who can function more productively in today’s world.
To our larger African family, you have our commitment to the goal of African integration. We will continue to collaborate with fellow African states to reduce conflict and free our people from the leg chains of poverty. To all our friends in the international community, we pledge our continuing fidelity to the goals of progress in Africa and peace in the world.
Fellow citizens, I ask you all to march with me into the age of restoration. Let us work together to restore our time-honored values of honesty, decency, generosity, modesty, selflessness, transparency, and accountability. These fundamental values determine societies that succeed or fail. We must choose to succeed.
I will set a worthy personal example as your president.
No matter what obstacles confront us, I have confidence and faith in our ability to overcome them. After all, we are Nigerians! We are a resourceful and enterprising people, and we have it within us to make our country a better place. To that end I offer myself as a servant-leader. I will be a listener and doer, and serve with humility.
To fulfill our ambitions, all our leaders at all levels whether a local government councilor or state governor, senator or cabinet minister must change our style and our attitude. We must act at all times with humility, courage, and forthrightness. I ask you, fellow citizens, to join me in rebuilding our Nigerian family, one that defines the success of one by the happiness of many.
I ask you to set aside negative attitudes, and concentrate all our energies on getting to our common destination. All hands must be on deck.
Let us join together to ease the pains of today while working for the gains of tomorrow. Let us set aside cynicism and strive for the good society that we know is within our reach. Let us discard the habit of low expectations of ourselves as well as of our leaders.
Let us stop justifying every shortcoming with that unacceptable phrase ‘the Nigerian Factor’ as if to be a Nigerian is to settle for less. Let us recapture the mood of optimism that defined us at the dawn of independence, that legendary can-do spirit that marked our Nigerianess. Let us join together, now, to build a society worthy of our children. We have the talent. We have the intelligence. We have the ability.
The challenge is great. The goal is clear. The time is now.
May
28
Nudist Beach
Filed Under Experiences | 7 Comments
I was in Leipzig with some colleagues yesterday. One of my colleagues stays, with her kids, in Leipzig. Since there wasn’t much to do here on Sunday we decided to go visit them. We got to her house, had a brunch and later headed for the beach. I had already been told that there was a part of the beach where people didn’t put on any clothing. The beach is basically divided into two sides. At one side, where we stayed, were people who were in bikini and other swimming stuffs, and at the other side were people who were basically naked. Some lay down on the sand, face-up, soaking in the sun; some others were swimming. I don’t see anything wrong in them doing that, but something inside me simply couldn’t get over the fact that nakedness is a private thing, that when we are outside we are ’supposed’ to be clothed. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that nakedness was not something you exactly paraded in my family when I was growing up. No, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there is something to be ashamed of in nakedness; I can rationalise it, tell myself that people have the right to be clothed or not, at least in such places, but that doesn’t help me shake off the feeling that it might be better to keep the naked body private.
What do you guys think?
May
25
Out of Circulation
Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Alright, got to get back to reading Bruno Latour. Will blog as soon as I can.
May
18
African Queen
Filed Under Music | 5 Comments
May
12
Of Zwertboek, Germans and the War
Filed Under Experiences, Reviews | 4 Comments
We went to see the cinema at the suggestion of the Dutch guy (of course, Paul Verhoeven is Dutch), with promises that we would see a great movie. We really didn’t know that it was about the war until we got there. The first objection was raised by the other German lady, who has given me permission to call her Status, just after we bought the ticket. We got into the cinema hall and found that it was almost empty. That was another suggestion of the popularity of the movie. I was able to follow the movie in my not-yet-good German, and in all, it was a good movie, nothing great. The Dutch guy said it was a great movie, his girlfriend said it was a billiger Film (cheap film) that drew from a time in history that was a ready pool to elicit the kinds of feelings the producer wanted it to. Status called it a ‘very boring movie’. The little I have written would show how much Germans do not want to be reminded of the war. Status said that sometime ago when she was a student in China the class was given an assignment to write about why they were proud of their country. Others did but she couldn’t; she wrote about why it was difficult to be proud of her country.
This whole story reminded me of a day I was watching Schindler’s List and a German friend called me. I asked if I could call her back after watching the movie. Immediately the movie ended I called her and the first thing she said, jokingly, of course, was ‘do you hate me now?’ These stories show hard it must be for them to live with the history, something I can only imagine.
May
12
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and
then — to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another,
and soon I was more than just a social thinker.
I began to think alone — “to relax,” I told myself –but I knew it
wasn’t true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally
I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home.
One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning
of life. She spent that night at her mother’s.
I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don’t
mix, but I couldn’t stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime
so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied
and confused, asking, “What is it exactly we are doing here?”
One day the boss called me in. He said, “Listen, I like you, and it
hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If
you don’t stop thinking on the job, you’ll have to find another job.”
This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my
conversation with the boss.
“Honey,” I confessed, “I’ve been thinking…”
“I know you’ve been thinking,” she said, “and if it doesn’t stop, I’ll
file for divorce!”
“But Honey, surely it’s not that serious.”
“It is serious,” she said, lower lip aquiver. “You think as much as
college professors, and college professors don’t make any money, so if
you keep on thinking, we won’t have any money!”
“That’s a faulty syllogism,” I said impatiently. She exploded in tears
of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional
drama.
“I’m going to the library,” I snarled as I stomped out the door. I
headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into
the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass
doors…They didn’t open. The library was closed.
To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that
night.
Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster
caught my eye. “Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?” it asked.
You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker’s
Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering
thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a
non-educational video; last week it was “Porky’s.”
Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last
meeting.
I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just
seemed…easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the
road to recovery is nearly complete for me.
Today, I registered to vote Republican…
May
11
Why God never got a PhD
Filed Under Humour | 2 Comments
1. He had only one major publication.
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. It wasn’t published in a refereed journal.
5. Some even doubt he wrote it by himself.
6. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
9. He never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects.
10. When one experiment went awry he tried to cover it by drowning his subjects.
11. When subjects didn’t behave as predicted, he deleted them from the sample.
12. He rarely came to class, just told students to read the book.
13. Some say he had his son teach the class.
14. He expelled his first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only 10 requirements, most of his students failed his tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.
May
8
May 07, 2007 — By William J. Kole, Associated Press
VIENNA, Australia — In some ways, Hiasl is like any other Viennese: He indulges a weakness for pastry, likes to paint and enjoys chilling out watching TV. But he doesn’t care for coffee, and he isn’t actually a person — at least not yet.
In a case that could set a global legal precedent for granting basic rights to apes, animal rights advocates are seeking to get the 26-year-old male chimpanzee legally declared a “person.”
Hiasl’s supporters argue he needs that status to become a legal entity that can receive donations and get a guardian to look out for his interests.
“Our main argument is that Hiasl is a person and has basic legal rights,” said Eberhart Theuer, a lawyer leading the challenge on behalf of the Association Against Animal Factories, a Vienna animal rights group.
“We mean the right to life, the right to not be tortured, the right to freedom under certain conditions,” Theuer said.
“We’re not talking about the right to vote here.”
The campaign began after the animal sanctuary where Hiasl (pronounced HEE-zul) and another chimp, Rosi, have lived for 25 years went bankrupt.
Activists want to ensure the apes don’t wind up homeless if the shelter closes. Both have already suffered: They were captured as babies in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled in a crate to Austria for use in pharmaceutical experiments. Customs officers intercepted the shipment and turned the chimps over to the shelter.
Their food and veterinary bills run about $6,800 a month. Donors have offered to help, but there’s a catch: Under Austrian law, only a person can receive personal donations.
Organizers could set up a foundation to collect cash for Hiasl, whose life expectancy in captivity is about 60 years. But without basic rights, they contend, he could be sold to someone outside Austria, where the chimp is protected by strict animal cruelty laws.
“If we can get Hiasl declared a person, he would have the right to own property. Then, if people wanted to donate something to him, he’d have the right to receive it,” said Theuer, who has vowed to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
Austria isn’t the only country where primate rights are being debated. Spain’s parliament is considering a bill that would endorse the Great Ape Project, a Seattle-based international initiative to extend “fundamental moral and legal protections” to apes.
If Hiasl gets a guardian, “it will be the first time the species barrier will have been crossed for legal ‘personhood,’” said Jan Creamer, chief executive of Animal Defenders International, which is working to end the use of primates in research.
Paula Stibbe, a Briton who teaches English in Vienna, petitioned a district court to be Hiasl’s legal trustee. On April 24, Judge Barbara Bart rejected her request, ruling Hiasl didn’t meet two key tests: He is neither mentally impaired nor in an emergency.
Although Bart expressed concern that awarding Hiasl a guardian could create the impression that animals enjoy the same legal status as humans, she didn’t rule that he could never be considered a person.
Martin Balluch, who heads the Association Against Animal Factories, has asked a federal court for a ruling on the guardianship issue.
“Chimps share 99.4 percent of their DNA with humans,” he said. “OK, they’re not homo sapiens. But they’re obviously also not things — the only other option the law provides.”
Not all Austrian animal rights activists back the legal challenge. Michael Antolini, president of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said he thinks it’s absurd.
“I’m not about to make myself look like a fool” by getting involved, said Antolini, who worries that chimpanzees could gain broader rights, such as copyright protections on their photographs.
But Stibbe, who brings Hiasl sweets and yogurt and watches him draw and clown around by dressing up in knee-high rubber boots, insists he deserves more legal rights “than bricks or apples or potatoes.”
“He can be very playful but also thoughtful,” she said. “Being with him is like playing with someone who can’t talk.”
A date for the appeal hasn’t been set, but Hiasl’s legal team has lined up expert witnesses, including Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost observer of chimpanzee behavior.
“When you see Hiasl, he really comes across as a person,” Theuer said.
“He has a real personality. It strikes you immediately: This is an individual. You just have to look him in the eye to see that.”
——
Great Ape Project, http://www.greatapeproject.org
Animal Defenders International, http://www.ad-international.org
Source: Associated Press
May
7
Ruining Bikes and Feeling like S**t
Filed Under Experiences | 1 Comment
We were a couple of kilometres from Bitterfeld when we took a wrong turn. One of the guys stopped to ask some pedestrians about the way, and One, who was in front of me turned his bike around. I, who was pretty close to him, still biking, turned back at just about the same time to see what the guy who was getting the direction was doing. The moment that One turned his bike around was the moment that I looked back. And I ran into his rear wheel. His wheel got bent in, there was no way we could fix it and he had to go to the nearest train station to go back to Halle. I don’t think that I need to add that the rest of the day was totally off for me. I had not just ruined One’s bike I had also ruined his day.
I just left One’s office and he stilled looked pretty hurt. I said I was sorry but said he could have done with that yesterday. Of course I said sorry yesterday, but maybe in the moment he didn’t hear me say it. I really feel bad that he must have gone through yesterday thinking that I didn’t feel sorry. Well, what can I do? Try to make him know that I feel sorry, and that at the point that it happened I felt sorry…. Yea, thought I would feel better after this but it is not really happening. 
May
3
AllAfrica News: Trade- Southern Africa: Will Zim Fully Enjoy FTA Benefits?
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- Southern Africa: SADC Free Trade Area Scraps Tariffs
- Botswana: Competition Policy Crucial for SADC-Ps
- Kenya: Oil From Sudan Next Month
- Zimbabwe: Beef Rakes in Over U.S.$35 Million Annually
- Uganda: Go Slow on Buvuma District, Mukwaya
- Kenya: Export of Raw Cashewnuts Banned
- Kenya: Sugar Import Rules to Be Gazetted
- Nigeria: Country Missing in N50.4 Trillion Global Textile Trade
