Does Yar`Adua Really Have Integrity?

[Robot]

...Read the full article.

[Zanderlex]

...Read the full article.

There is a little information just posted at elendureports.com about Yaradua 's meeting with Condolezza Rice in NewYork. Please check it out.

[datuouwadaberechi]

sir moses,
thanks for such a well-thought-out and well-written article.
the fact is that the standard has FALLEN so low. it is very true now, that, were a story to break out today, that the new speaker of the Fed house or one of the speakers in the federating states has spent anywhere between N10 million and N100 million to renovate his/her own official quarters, we would all regard the culprit as being a semi-hero or at the very least, sustantially less corrupt than other politicians!!!!
we expect so little from our leaders and YET, they are unable to deliver.
if we had human beings as leaders instead of blood-sucking vampires, they would realise that what it would take to be revered by nigerians is just a little committment.

since Ettehgate broke out, we have heard several allegations against the former senate president about renovating his own official quarters at the cost of N400million. he has not bothered to deny it. which means that it may well be true....and yet, the former sp is regarded as one of the heroes of the last administrations!!!!

i have NEVER been that impressed with yaradua. the fact remains that, even though i have never been to katsina, but just like moses wrote, i never heard of any drift toward that end when it was so obvious that the lights were going out all over the country!!!!

we never heard the ever illustrious ibos making a come-back or even build-up there!!! nothing, nada, niets, nichts!!! thats what it all is: a well-scripted and well-managed PR campaign.

this article should be well-circulated by all villagers, please.

[Fjord]

Umar Yar’Adua’s long suit is his vaunted integrity. This public persona of unimpeachable integrity is so well packaged that even his critics often concede it as a premise for their criticism. But is this image of integrity true or a product of careful image management? Is Yar’Adua truly a man of integrity or is this aspect of his political identity a carefully nurtured myth? At the very least, this claim should be scrutinized in light of Yar’Adua’s own conducts that belie or at best trouble such assumptions of personal decency.

!

How could this be??

Umaru Yar'Adua occupies the presidency because of a stolen election; he has admitted to that much in at least one public speech. How could it then be that what he stands for would begin to be confused for integrity?? He's the beneficiary of the criminal act of cheating Nigerian voters. There's no amount of packaging that'll make him a million miles close to anything like integrity. We ought not to make pronouncements that make us out as very forgetful, and of very recent events at that.

[19 guy]

This article speaks to me!

It is also so well articulated it really should be referenced as the standard on NVS.

Like datuouwadaberechi I have not really been that impressed with Yar'Adua either although I don't know one way or the other if he indeed is corrupt. I hope he isn't, naturally.

His achievements as state governor are thin on the ground but as already pointed out here, he is the one eyed dude in the arid land of the blind.

All that aside I have to take issue with miss idatuouwadaberechi on the following quote- if we had human beings as leaders instead of blood-sucking vampires, they would realise that what it would take to be revered by Nigerians is just a little commitment..

You know what, we have blood sucking vampires as human beings in Nigeria and that is the true reason we have such as leaders too. Our value system either collapsed years ago or got damaged irreparably a long time ago. We get the leaders we deserve and they just happen to be typical of the average Nigerian in that they are dishonest, lazy and exceptionally greedy.

When the average Nigerian upgrades to decent and principled the average leader would become that too.

Sad but true.

[datuouwadaberechi]

ok ok ok guy 19, i do concede u may be right!!!
sad indeed, but true.

[Donn]

His reputation for incorruption is similarly debatable. How did a man who declared about N19 million as his total asset in 1999 come about an asset of nearly N1 billion in 2007? And how does he continue to lay claim to incorruption in light of this curious and suspicious turn around in his fortunes.

....You see..., i 've been wondering since that assets declaration.....from 19 million to almost 1 billion.....it's really difficult to understand....and nobody said anything.....

...but i can understand why.......he seems to be the cleanest of all the dirty towels given to us.

[Kabikala]

The article was well written, and the writer brings out his points clearly.
I am also not one of those who believe in the piety or honesty of Yar'Adua as being bandied about by his supporters, he just seems to be a slightly malodorous version of a dirty, stinking Nigerian political class.
Some things still bother me about this new Mr. Rule of Law President though.
Our man saw nothing wrong in supporting third-term, and never for once condemned that diabolical plot. Was that in line with rule of law?
YarAdua's state was the among the earliest to implement the Sharia law, and the first convict was actually from that state. The adulterer was billed to be executed but for the intervention of some women rights activists and other foreign NGOs. Without such intervention, our man would have presided over the first stoning of an adulterer in Nigeria. He never for once defended the poor woman or pleaded her cause.
Yar'Adua never for once condemned any of the excesses of the former president even when they were brazen and against the so-called rule of law which he now espouses. The flagrant disobedience of court orders, extrajudicial killings, election rigging, corruption and nepotism whcih were the hallmarks of the Obasanjo regime. Are we expected to only declare faith in the rule of law when we become President?
An event happened at the early days of this administration which was very significant to me. Yar'Adua's mum went on a visit to Otta, to thank Olusegun Obasanjo for making her son President. She never thanked Nigerians for making her son president. She therefore confirmed what we all knew, that our man is only there because of the ruthless determination of a failed despot to foist his protege (Umoru) on the unfortunate citizens of this country.
When will Yar'Adua give a national award to Maurice Iwu? Don't be surprised if it comes to pass.

My prediction: Yar'Adua's regime will continue in the same tradition that it is well-known for. An era of see-no-evil-hear-no-evil, avoid-stepping-on-major-toes, live-and-let-live and let-sleeping-dogs-lie. He will therefore not be hated for anything he would have done(as he would do nothing), but will end up spending his whole term grappling in the shadows without a clear direction and just end up as one of those other nonentities who came, saw and were consumed.

[Gentle Angel]

Like others have said, generally people do not think of YarAdua as a person of integrity. There is just this consensus and acceptance that he is better than most and that even though he is a product of the corrupt elections, we should all move on.

[MrOneNaija]

BEYOND YAR'ADUA'S ILLEGITIMACY ALBATROSS

I believe there are two ways of looking at the illegitimacy conundrum that the Yar'adua regime represents in the thinking of any decent citizen. The first is that the presidential electoral tribunal should do the right thing and nullify the Yar'adua selection and proceed to either declare another candidate the legitimate winner or order the holding of fresh polls. The second is a situation whereby the status quo is maintained with Yar'Adua remaining at Aso Rock. And if Yar'Adua is allowed by the tribunal to continue wearing the toga of a dubious mandate, then what? That reality of a continuing Yar'Adua presidency should pre-occupy the minds of Nigerians. In the face of a historically complacent national media that generally tends to play second fiddle to the powers that be by indulging in moral sommersaults of every hue, the people must insist that certain things be done differently. By that, I mean, amongst other things, a break with the recent past, that is the misconduct of the worst tyranny the nation has had the misfortune of living under, namely, the medieval and violent kleptocracy of Ali Baba.

We should rejoice in what happened at the House of Representatives a few days ago, that is, the solemn fight by the Integrity Group (IG) there which saw the forced departure of one of the main Obasanjo acolytes called Patricia Etteh. IG is reportedly promising to take that patriotic struggle to the PDP national convention coming up in December this year. Nigerians wish IG good luck!

The commentary at the link below speaks to this and other concerns regarding the Yar'Adua imposition. Happy reading!
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...dua-presi.html
This nugget:

Add to the criminal expropriation of national assets the ill-willed and obnoxious gale of largely nepotistic but strategic appointments the lunatic from Ota did inflict on the nation in the dying days of his misrule. Nigerians must not accept the fait accompli of blackmail by the former roguish dictator and his regime. Yar’Adua should heed popular angst and cancel most if not all of the late appointments made by his predecessor. The primary consideration in these and other matters at all times should be the national interest. Obasanjo’s greed, that of his fellow buccaneers and their selfish ambitions must not be allowed to prevail.
There should be a deliberate policy on the part of Yar’Adua – assuming that he truly wants to make amends to the Nigerian people – to neutralize and clear our national political spaces of the likes of Obasanjo and his pro-third term allies in the National Assembly and within the PDP in particular. It is instructive that the other day, in apparent contradiction of the thinking of some of the people close to Yar’Adua, the speaker of the House of Representatives, herself a supposed Obasanjo adjunct, had the temerity to publicly state that the controversial sale by the Obasanjo regime of the Apo legislators’ quarters would not be revisited. Singly or together, Obasanjo and his associates - veritable vermin of Nigerian politics - have inflicted more damage on our collective unconscious than what the military did to the national psyche in the past three decades of authoritarian rule. The political emasculation of these harmful characters is long overdue. But one has to realize that Yar’Adua will not do it alone. He will need the support of the political class across the ideological divide and critically, that of Nigerians in general.
There is too much at stake to allow petty differences of opinion and rivalry stand in the way of the patriotic duty of cleaning the Augean stables through the weakening of any stranglehold Obasanjo and his fellow looters and miscreants may have on the polity. Getting rid of the putrid odor of Obasanjo and his criminal gang is a task that Nigerians must be prepared to undertake as a matter of priority, with or without the support of Yar’Adua. Only then can we realistically begin to think of laying the basis for genuine democracy in our country.

[126Soldier]

Just headlines!

* He inherited part of his late elder brothers loot originating from Obj's 76-79 regime,
* He is known to have squandered a multi million naira farm entrusted to him by same late eldr brother and in turn defended his action by claiming that his brother looted from the public treasury and lacks the moral ground to question his mismanagement of the farm.
* He stagnated development for 8yrs in Katsina State to prove his prudence,
* He was quick to dump a family freind cum political alli to cash in on Obj's offer of political poridge,
* He is a proud benefactor of a fraudulent electoral process,
* He pretended to abhore corruption while he instructed his lieutenants Hon Matazu and late Hon Safana to stand with Patricia Eteh despite the huge indicting evidence against her on the renovation scam,
* He is known to have a deffective kidney yet he smokes like no tomorrow,

If he cares less about his ailing health, then what is left to worry about?

With this guy on the driver's seat, Nigerians should not expect to go far.

[blondie]

since Ettehgate broke out, we have heard several allegations against the former senate president about renovating his own official quarters at the cost of N400million. he has not bothered to deny it. which means that it may well be true....and yet, the former sp is regarded as one of the heroes of the last administrations!!!!

If you are referring to Ken Nnamani, I advise that you check your facts. The N400m scandal involves the current Senate President and not the former. Moreover Nnamani has expressed his disgust at the Etteh scandal to whoever that cares to listen. He has given interviews telling people that the Senate President's house belongs to FCDA and that the Senate and The House have no business renovating a house that does not belong to them. Check your facts.

[Zanderlex]

[QUOTE=126Soldier;2091817136]Just headlines!

* He is known to have a deffective kidney yet he smokes like no tomorrow"



JJC 126 soldier, are you sure you know what you are talking about as per above?. If it is true, we really have a serious problem at hand.

[Enforcer]

I have cause to ask myself this same question. I often follow that question with another, which is to ask myself if any Nigerian politician knows what integrity means.

Well, time will tell. Hope Nigeria isn't destroyed by then.