Finally, Jack Straw sees sense:

Liverpool fan Michael Shields, who was jailed for 15 years in Bulgaria for the attempted murder of a barman, has been pardoned.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw issued the royal pardon, saying that Mr Shields was “morally and technically innocent”.

Link to BBC coverage

Statement by Liverpool Football club

Shields, 22, was convicted after a disturbance following Liverpool’s European Cup victory in Turkey in 2005.

He was later transferred to a prison in the UK.

His pardon follows a campaign by his family, MPs, clergymen, Liverpool players and many others, who believe he is innocent.

In 2005 another man, Graham Sankey, originally admitted involvement in the attack on the barman, but subsequently withdrew his statement and now denies any involvement in the attack. However, it has since been reported that at the time of the attack, Michael was asleep in his hotel room.

This man spent 4 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. I’m just glad that he is finally free.

Michael Shields, You’ll Never Walk Alone…..

November 4th 2008. The day a black man was elected to the most powerful politcal office in the world. A day will talk about to our children, and our children’s children.

The image above will stick with me for life. Rev. Jesse Jackson reduced to tears, what he couldn’t do, Obama has done.

YES WE CAN !!

Saw this here.

Politics. It’s always been said to be a dangerous game. A group of human beings who claim to work for the people, but most of the time, have nothing but their own self interests at heart. Give them power, and then it’s a recipe for chaos. And most of the time, it’s the innocent followers/citizens that end up paying for their mishaps.

Let’s take a look at some stories from the last few days:

1. Pakistan: Sadly, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated yesterday, and has been laid to rest in the last few hours. Her killing has left her country, Pakistan in political turmoil, and as I type this, the country is erupting in violence. The military dictator, Pervez Musharraf is now in a difficult situation. Some accuse him of having her killed, as she was set to become prime minister after next month’s elections. The obvious suspects are the Muslim extremists, who disliked her liberal stance. However, what happens now? Who will clamp down on the extremists?  Pakistan is crucial in the West’s ‘war on terror’, and the stability of that country is essential. The next few days will be interesting. What will the West do, sit back and hope things work out, or interfere? Sadly, the Bhutto’s have seen this before, her father was executed after a military coup, and both her brothers died violently.

2. Nigeria: The EFCC has been doing a stellar job in tackling corruption. While some might say that they have been a tool in the hand of the government, oppressing the opposition, what cannot be denied is that Nigerians believe that you can no longer steal money when you are in power, and get away with in. At the moment, seven ex-governors whose terms ended this year are being prosecuted, and three of them are in jail, including the ‘all-powerful’ James Ibori. So what does the government do? Sideline the head of the organization by sending him on study leave. Nuhu Ribadu has done a wonderful job heading the EFCC, but has stepped on several toes. Now, it seems that politicians have had their way, and this will be a major blow to Nigerian president, Umaru Yar’adua’s credibility. Again, what happens over the next few days will be very interesting…….

3. UK: The government has been talking about immigration for a while now, as British citizens believed that it is out of control. Sadly, immigrants like myself are those that suffer the backlash, as the government squeezes out out of existence. I currently have the right to apply for British citizenship, but let me add up how much it has cost for me to get there:

• £500 – Priority application for 2 years resident’s permit in 2005
• £35 – Life in the UK test (Does not include cost of study materials and a day off work to take the test)
• £950 – Priority application for indefinite leave to remain November 2007
• £710 – Citizenship application + Nationality checking service

Total : £2160 in the last 2 years. That’s a lot of money, and that’s only because I’m the only person in my household applying. I met a man at the Home Office applying for indefinite leave to remain for his family of five.

If it costs so much to be a legal migrant, no wonder people are going down the illegal immigrant route.

The government has been talking about ‘the biggest shake up of the immigration system ever’ which is about to happen, and at the heart of this is a points based system for non-EU migrants. But this my friends, is just politics. The UK has had a points based system for migrants since 2002 called the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme. And for all the government’s huffing and puffing, the ‘new’ points based system is identical to the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme. So nothing new there, just a massive announcement about nothing. They are also talking about banning non-skilled non-EU people from coming to the UK. Again, nothing new there. There is currently no visa or scheme for a non-skilled migrant to settle in the UK. What programme are they canceling? Which visa have they announced they will get rid of? None. Because again, it’s just a massive announcement about….nothing. A new clampdown on forced/sham marriages? These measures have been in place for a few years, a foreigner cannot get married without applying for permission to marry from the home office, despite the high court saying this was illegal and a breach of human rights. Another announcement without substance.

The only new things in all the proposals? Shortening standard visitor visas to 3 months from 6, which to be honest is not a bad idea, but for family visas, the government is ‘considering’ making UK based people pay a cash bond of up to £1000 when they invite people to visit the UK, and this will be forfeited if the visitor does not return home. What? this year alone, my wife and I have invited almost 10 people to visit, all of whom have returned home, but this measure would mean that we might have to think twice about it. And a lot of people agree that this is just a bad idea and that innocent people would be the victims.

So what do the conservatives come up with. Well, for them, a £1000 bond is not even good enough. No sir. Under a conservative government, if you invite someone to the UK, and they don’t go back home, you could go to jail. So the government lies through it’s teeth, and the opposition gives us a completely senseless alternative. Nothing new there then.

This is what happens when you put politicians in charge. You get a whole lot of hot air, no real decisions made, and a bunch of men in suits, just looking after themselves, ready to do anything to prolong their tenure. Or in the case of Benazior Bhutto, senseless, unnecessary death.

May her soul rest in peace.

Early this month, after a corruption scandal , the leader of the House of Representatives in Nigeria, Patricia Etteh, resigned after several weeks of pressure. She was replaced by Dimeji Bankole, a graduate with Masters degrees from both Oxford University and Havard. Patricia was a ‘professional Hairdresser and beautician’ .

The Representatives were keen to choose an educated person to lead them. A look at the following quotes below will explain why.

1. On the day the National Assembly was inaugurated, Mrs Etteh reminded House of Representatives members of the need to register their names, warning that any person who failed to do so would have their name “striking out“. Slip of tongue?
   Perish the thought. The following day she repeated the phrase “striking out” several times.
2. When a motion was tabled, she asked the member who was speaking,”are you in support of favour?”
   
3. Any time the ayes have carried the day on the floor, she wastes no time in announcing, “the hayes has it“.
4. Giving her defence before the David Idoko panel, Etteh informed the nation that she spoke to the management of the national assembly if due process was followed and each person “answered in the affirmation action”.
5. When the German ambassador in Abuja visited her, the speaker enthusiastically announced that the first place “I visited as a young parliamentarian was a German“
6. When the Spanish ambassador paid her a courtesy visit with a fairly large delegation, an impressed Etteh spared no effort to “welcome the strangers“.
7. When officials of FERMA visited the House, speaker Etteh urged them to urgently “make our roads habitable“.
8. To demonstrate the urgency of fixing major roads nationwide, she did not fail to make the point of the”deploration state of our roads“
9. When a House member tabled a motion on the unenviable condition of Kaduna Airport, Etteh called attention to the “two run-aways of our airport“.
10. Concerned about the increasing wave of vices, such as occultism on university campuses, excessive drinking, smoking and womanising by our youth, she has set for herself the task of reducing, if not, eradicating these social vices, which she colourfully calls “social devices“.
11. In far-away South Africa, at a meeting of the African Parliamentary Union, speaker Etteh stated that Nigeria has vast land where agriculture could thrive so much, that it could serve as an alternative source of foreign exchange, or in her own words, ” Nigeria has fast land where agriculture is alternate“
12. To Etteh, the community of nations can sometimes be referred to as “international countries“.
13. The office of the speaker has regained its aura as, not just an exalted place, but an “exotic office“.
14. The House has become respected as”a hollow chamber“,rather than just a hallowed chamber.

Let’s just say that I’m glad she’s no longer the fourth most powerful person in the country.

Following the murder of Rhys Jones in Liverpool, politicians have gone into ’soul searching’ mode, and everyone has come up with their own solutions to the perceived epidemic of gun and knife crime in the UK. And as usual, one of the usual suspects is in everyone’s firing line, video games.

Last week, opposition leader, David Cameron decided that it was time to clamp down on video games. Some excerpts from his speech are below:

“We are never going to deal with crime unless we look at the broader context and say, ‘Yes, tough laws, strong action on the police, but also action to strengthen our society’.

“And that includes, I think, video games and things like that where we do need to think of the context in which people are growing up.”

 Then today, the Prime Minister himself has decided to jump on the bandwagon. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Brown said he was “aware of growing concern about the effect of screen violence on youngsters”, adding that he wants to draw up new legislation for the promotion and sale of video games.

“Parents are concerned about whether children are exposed to harmful violence and sexual imagery in games and on the internet.”

Ok, whenever I hear these arguments, it really ticks me off. And one thing is blindingly obvious. Neither David Cameron or Gordon Brown have played a video game in their lives. I don’t blame them. My generation grew up playing games, and most of us are now in our thirties now at most. Our so called leaders are of a generation that grew up thinking that video games are for children.

Well, one thing needs to be said. While we grew up, video games grew up with us. I remember a long time ago playing ‘Midnight Resistance‘ on the Commodore 64 all those years ago. You ran around shooting people with a gun. It was a classic shoot-em-up, like many others at the time like Super Contra. This was the age of innocence, when you shot people in the game, they just turned to dust.

Then in 1992, along came Mortal Kombat. Unlike it’s rival at the time, Streetfighter 2, Mortal Kombat brought something to video games that changed the entire industry. Blood and wanton violence. When you beat people up, blood splashed everywhere, and after winning you could execute a ‘finishing move’ like tearing their heart out of their chest, or chopping of their heads. I might be wrong, but for me, that was when video games grew up.

So today, violence, foul language and sometimes, sex are commonplace in video games. And politicians, who remember the age of innocence have decided that enough is enough, and it’s time to clean things up.

My argument is that what is needed is not new legislation, or censorship, but EDUCATION. Let’s look at one of the games that comes up whenever anyone wants to talk about how video games are poisoning the minds of the youth, Grand Theft Auto. In the most recent release of this game, you can among other things, kill policemen, have sex with prostitutes and then kill them afterwards to get your money back. You steal cars to get around. It’s violent, and I agree, kids should never play such things. But let’s look at the game cases.

I’ve included the covers of both the UK and US versions of the games. Now, look at the bottom left hand corners.

UK – (18) The game is rated 18

US – (M) Mature 17+

Just like movies, video games have been self regulating for years. In theory, you cannot buy this game in the UK if you’re under 18. And to be honest, most of the time that works, most retailers won’t sell a game to you if you’re under the limit. However, there is one problem that is often overlooked. Parents.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve seen parents buy games for their kids that are completely inappropriate. And they have the same problem both David Cameron and Gordon Brown have, they have never played video games before, and as far as they are concerned, it’s ‘kids stuff’ and there can’t possibly be anything in the video game that can corrupt the minds of their young ones.

So once again, I put it to you that the solution to this problem is EDUCATION, not of the kids, but of the parents. Just like the Internet, parents need to take an interest in what their children are doing, and make sure that their children do not view or use material that is inappropriate.

There is most definitely no need for new legislation, all that is needed is to enforce what we already have in place. Make sure parents know that just like they wouldn’t knowingly let their children watch a porn flick, they have to knowingly keep their children away from inappropriate video games for their age.

The government can do nothing about it. It is in the hands of parents.

From today’s Punch

“I have always told young Nigerians that they should not make money alone here in Nigeria; that they should spend it here. They asked how they could spend it here and I told them, ‘If you have married one wife, marry another.”
OBJ’s answer on how to invest money in the country, has this man heard about family planning?

“You see, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, once called me after I left office to ask what I had been doing since I left office. I just told him that I’ve been learning to become lazy.”
Two retiree’s exchange notes

“Lecturers are powerful. If they scold me, I don’t have a choice but to take their scolding. Were you not scolded when you were in school? Did you refuse the scolding? If you had, I don’t think you would have graduated. So, now that I’m back in school, I want to graduate too. So, I won’t take their instructions lightly. I don’t want to fail. When they scold me, I’ll take it like a normal student.”
OBJ enrolls in the National Open University of Nigeria. I want to meet the lecturer with the guts to fail him. Anyway, let’s hope he doesn’t become to lazy to study !!

Four Nigerian governors are now officially MIA. Following the end of their tenure, and the expiration of their immunity from prosecution, these four men were not available to hand over to their successors, and are believed to have left the country.

1. Plateau State’s Joshua Dariye (pictured) - Also a wanted man in the UK, where he skipped bail.
2. Adamawa State’s Boni Haruna – Atiku Abubakar’s self proclaimed political godson
3. Enugu State’s Chimaroke Nnamani
4. Jigawa State’s Saminu Turaki

Also, the vice President, Atiku Abubakar is said to have fled the country.

I suspect in the next few days, more governors will disappear, Lagos State’s Bola Tinubu is also reportedly under investigation, as well as several other governors.

It will be interesting to see how the new President chooses to tackle this problem, and what the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) does next will be very interesting.

Yesterday’s blogger’s protest was covered by the BBC News website.

In recent history, Nigerians have been overwhelmingly betrayed by those charged with addressing their needs. Instead of serving the people, public servants have served themselves to the detriment of the masses. The result is a nation lacking adequate infrastructure, organisation and security.

The ineffectiveness of Nigerian leaders indicates a lack of accountability to their constituents. Nigerians are no longer relevant to their leaders, thus, leaders do not feel responsible to them.

The recent failure to conduct a free and fair electoral process was yet another illustration that the needs of the many are secondary to the wants of the important few.

From this day, all Nigerians are responsible for the future of this great & powerful country. Consequently, all Nigerians must commit themselves to the following:

1. We must demand that elected officials be held accountable for their actions and in-actions.
2. We must expect democratic principles to be honoured, respected and maintained.
3. We must believe that all Nigerians are equal under the law and should be treated as such.
4. We must apply ourselves to improving the lot of every individual Nigerian regardless of gender, religion, tribe or social status.
5. We must strive to maintain a united republic despite our differences.

Only upon achieving these principles can we as a people fully live up to our potential as a land of greatness. For ours is a country renowned for its illustrious people, ample resources and sheer physical beauty.