Gists in Nigeria

Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa's victory in Kaduna State gubernatorial election brings with it much relief,not just for me alone.
One,for the first time,Southern Kaduna-dominated by christians-would have an elected governor from their area.Two,the people who killed and maimed innocent people would be paid back by defeat,even if it can't be enough punishment.Three,my beloved 'siblings' and friends from Southern Kaduna would at least afford a smile.
On a personal level,it's a welcome relief.I predicted three governors would lose their seats,but they all won.I had earlier predicted Yakowa's victory.Had he lost,may be I would have been so bad at predictions.So thank goodness he won.At least,I could boast(oh...I also got Alao-Akala prediction right).
On a serious note,Yakowa's victory is a just reward for humility and loyalty.Nobody deserves it better.I wish him the very best.

As one who constantly did the opposite of everything commonsensical,it was good and also bad he did anything on the contrary.Good,because a human being has finally changed for the better.Bad,because it wouldn't afford people like us,who thrive on the negative,a chance to expose any of his misgivings.
But Alao-Akala's acceptance of defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship,and his subsequent explanation that his constant bickerings were political,but never personal.
Whether or not he meant what he said,the fact he said them must have given a clue to his other side.Akala could actually be considerate.We never knew before.
Tunde Ajimobi now has a chance to do well.And Gov.Rauf Aregbesola of Osun must be the happiest.Remember the LAUTECH dispute between Oyo and Osun.If nothing,at least he has a man who follows due process in anything,unlike Akala,or so it seems.

The proofs are there for all to see.Arsenal suffered it,Manchester United did,Inter Milan did,Chelsea did.Real Madrid did many times,and now have suffered it again.
Pepe's sending off during the champions' league semi final was as harsh as they came.It has now potentially denied them what they crave.
As they face Manchester United in Wembley,as I expect,let the best referee be there.
Talking about United,they were so rampant against Schalke 04.They have finally peaked,and Sir Alex Ferguson knows.There is no better chance to win the champions league than this season.It might be his last chance.

What is going on?Why are they delaying the announcement of the Imo gubernatorial election results?
Imo people have spoken.They are sick and tired of bad leadership in the state,and want a change.Any attempt to rig the election would be met by strict and obdurate resistance.Let the people's mandate count,the way it did in Oyo and Ogun.

Maiduguri now seems to have become a haven of terror.Bombs after bombs are released with reckless abandon at the detriment of the people.
Insecurity has become the problem in Maiduguri,if not Nigeria.The most irritating part of it is that Boko Haram,that terrorist group,claims responsibility for every idiotic bombings,and the government seem powerless.
There are surely lots of lunatics in this country.May God help us.I pray they(the lunatics) get touched.

Pep Guardiola has finally been riled by Jose 'special one' Mourinho.Not that we never expected it,once it became clear Barcelona and Real Madrid would meet each other four times in eighteen days.
Mourinho plays mind games on opponents to good effect,just like Alex Ferguson.In Portugal,Jesualdo Ferreira never had peace.In England,Rafa Benitez and Arsene Wenger had torrid time.In Italy,Carlo Ancelotti,Claudio Ranieri and Luciano Spaletti were given trouble.But in Spain,nobody gave him the chance.Unai Emery and Quique Sanchez Flores were expected to talk.They didn't.Pep Guardiola never fell to his trap.Everything he(Mourinho) said was never replied...until they(Barcelona) lost the Spanish cup and were set for the Champions' league semis.
After Guardiola made a harmless comment about the referee in the last Spanish cup,and suggested Mourinho would want his fellow Portuguese to referee the Champions' league,Mourinho didn't waste time in responding.
''...we have had two types of coaches'',he said, ''a very small group who never speak to referees''
He continued,''there's a bigger group,of which I am one of,who criticize the referees when they make huge errors,but also praise them when they do good.
''With Pep,we have a third group now,which includes only him,who criticise the correct decisions of the referees.''
Guardiola didn't just get mad,but also used the 'F' word.He has cracked.
Mourinho has won the war off the pitch.Let's see whether he does the same on it.

And finally,as expected,the cycle was completed...well,not really.
ACN,like a tsunami,swept away the South-West.Ogun and Oyo states have joined Ekiti,Osun,Lagos and Edo,even if Labour Party won't let Ondo State go.
ACN in Yoruba land is reaping the reward of Bola Tinubu,and now Babatunde Fashola's, good works.The level of performance in Lagos has convinced other states that the same could be done in theirs.So far,they are yet to be disappointed.Ekiti State would never regret the day Fayemi took over as governor,while Osun State continue to rejoice over their choice of Rauf Aregbesola(he doesn't use the siren,doesn't dress extravagant,stays in the traffic and even talks with people in public).Even Edo State can't thank Adams Oshiomole enough.
On evidence of these,interesting times await Ogun and Oyo States...and the people would deserve it if they are not disappointed.
Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo has paid the price for his failure to work for the state.And his position,let another take...
I'm not ashamed of saying this.South-West politics would easily rank miles ahead of the rest in this country.

If it would be possible,then why not?With all that we witnessed after the presidential elections,I envisage more in the gubernatorial.
With the way those clowns and murderers are going,more problems could come up.So maybe,a state of emergency would be a good idea.

Abia State governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji is coasting to victory in the election.Not a surprise,even if it were not wanted.
All the people who shouted against him,rightly for a lot and wrongly for just a few,would have nothing to say.
I have nothing to say.I would not express disappointment.I would not berate Abians for being the proverbial 'hand of Esau but voice of Jacob'. I would not express anger over his success.No,I would not.
All I would do is wish him and the long-suffering Abians good luck.Now,he has a chance to redeem himself.As a 'liberator' he claims to be,nothing else would be acceptable.

In spite of all the underhand tactics used to ensure Dora Akunyili of APGA claimed the senatorial seat in Anambra central,the people's mandate still held strong.Indeed,nobody had it as rough as Chris Ngige of ACN.From cancelled elections to confusing details,Ngige suffered.Yet he remained steadfast.
There is nothing as good as people loving you.The people wanted Ngige,and now they've got him.And he would have to do better than fail them.
With this,APGA is dying a slow death in the state and only the bold would argue they would lose the gubernatorial seat,come March 2014.There have been much tales about Gov.Peter Obi's non-performance,and APGA losing elections because of the hatred people have for him.That is a great disappointment because I expected much from him.
Well,let the people enjoy Ngige while he lasts and let them condone Obi while they count the time for him.

The time is here.Finally,the last day of the general election has come.And the time for change has come.
Indeed,the gubernatorial election is the last,even if it would be the most difficult.And we do not expect what happened last saturday to repeat itself.No more deaths.No more fights.No more sorrows.
Personally,I trust Attahiru Jega,the INEC chief,to do the right thing.Any governor who fails,should be certified so.
The likes of Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State,Ikedi Ohakim(Imo),Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa(Kaduna),Babangida Aliyu(Niger),Theodore Orji(Abia),and a lot more governors,would have a lot to worry about.That,on its own,is a success.At least,it takes us away from the time of 'Incumbent-Must-Win'.
Nigeria would be great.

The Ogun State gubernatorial election promises to be one of the most tightly contested in Nigeria.Three candidates,Senator Ibikunle Amosun of ACN,Tunji Olurin of PDP and Gboyega Isiaka of PPN are the chief contestants.Remember governor Gbenga Daniel is supporting Isiaka of PPN,after his anointed candidate was removed by the PDP.
On evidence of the National Assembly results,ACN look better placed to clinch it,as it would in Oyo state.Even Baba Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo now knows.No wonder he took time out to call Amosun ''my blood brother'' and even declared he had all it took to move Ogun forward.So where does that leave Olurin,his candidate?
Something tells me OBJ's problem is not how to stop ACN winning Ogun,but how to clip the wings of Gbenga Daniel(with so much emotion,he told the people how much Gbenga had insulted him).And it would be clipped.Nobody sees PPN winning,even if 12 political parties endorse them,as is the case.
All our questions are set to be answered in some hours.But we already know where Baba stands,and that is 'Gbenga must go...'

After the presidential election,Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared there was 'no victor,no vanquish'. While we could argue it was said in the euphoria of the moment,we could also say it was just sportsmanlike.But then,depending on context he was looking at it,he may have been right.Surely that context never considered pastor Tunde Bakare.
Right from the moment he was chosen as Gen.Mohammadu Buhari's running mate at CPC until the elections were conducted,I had wondered what was going through his mind.Would he finally succumb to pressure of 'dirty' politics,considering his background?To his credit,he didn't.
But then,after the elections,he has been called all sorts of names,rightly or wrongly,for his role.Some say he was actually selfish,and considered personal gain.Else,why wouldn't he accept to step down for an ACN vice-president during the ACN-CPC merger talk that broke down?But then,I ask,who would?
Whatever one must say,he had his own vision while accepting Buhari's offer as a running mate.And who says men of God can't mix it up politically?It even makes it better,as they would join hands to rid the nation of politics of rancour.
I think Bakare's reputation would never remain the same,however.For one,the deaths in the north after the elections would live long with him.Afterall,it was his CPC,directly or indirectly,that erupted the riots.
Well,he of all would realise he has a lot of work to do in order to command such audience again,without politics being an issue.Difficult,if not impossible.

Governor T.A Orji's match towards re-election in Abia State received a knock,with just about 24 hours to the election.The Aba Traders' Union(A.T.U) rose together against him...and advised Abians to stay away from him on the election day.This was disclosed by a certain Chief Adolphus Nkemdilim,the A.T.U leader.
While this may not actually affect Orji,in fact it wouldn't,it is however instructive.The voice of A.T.U seems to be the voice of the entire state.
On my own,I've gone spiritual.I challenged God lately.If Orji wins,then I would accept him as God's anointed,stop slating him and also advise other critics I know(a lot of them,really)to stop.That way,I wouldn't blame anyone if he starts doing wrong again...well,only God would tell.
Personally,I reiterate I may not vote for him.Let my conscience judge that.
Well,in less than 26 hours...

Kaduna,the state I always took as mine after Abia,where I stayed for a long time,where I had lots of friends,where I boasted of,has disappointed me.
I remember the Jos crisis.While I was relaxing in Kaduna,a lot of friends and family advised me to leave the that place before the crisis reached me.I never left.My confidence was that Kaduna would never experience any crisis.And I was sure about it.Well,maybe I was hasty to conclude.
The killings after the presidential election have embarrassed me.Those I boasted to are laughing at me.And I have beaten the dust.Why would the citizens,the stupid ones,want to change the way I feel about this wonderful state?
The action of a few touts would never make me disown the brothers,sisters and friends I have there.We have a chance to redeem ourselves on thursday's gubernatorial elections,to tell people how sorry we are and turn a new leaf.That would happen,I believe.