The organization tagged ‘Village Boys Movement’ was launched as a rival platform to counter the ‘City Boys Movement’ organized by President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, for the President’s re-election.
Convener of the Village Boys Movement, Maazị Tochukwu Ezeoke, who addressed supporters in Abuja on Thursday, named himself a ‘Village Headmaster’.
According to him, the movement “represents a Nigeria that works before it earns and earns before it spends”.
He, however, clarified that the initiative was “not hostility toward cities”, stating that it is rather a “moral contrast”.
The issue is not geography but the source of wealth, the ethics of leadership, and the structure of accountability,” he added.
The former governor will be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
DAILY POST reports that on February 18, the DSS briefly took El-Rufai into custody after he spent two nights with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
El-Rufai had said that someone wiretapped the phone of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, allowing him to listen to the NSA directing security operatives to effect his arrest.
The DSS had on Monday filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
In count one, El Rufai was alleged to have, on February 13, while appearing as a guest on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme in Abuja, admitted that he and his cohorts unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA, Ribadu.
The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
In count two, the ex-governor was alleged to have, on February 13, while appearing as a guest on Arise Television, stated that he knew and related with certain individual, who unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of NSA, without reporting the said individual to relevant security agencies.
The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 27 (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
Count three alleged that El Rufai and others still at large, sometime in 2026, in Abuja, did use technical equipment or systems which compromised public safety, national security and instilled reasonable apprehension of insecurity among Nigerians, to unlawfully intercept the NSA’s phone communications.
The DSS said the alleged offence contravened the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
Recall that El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, over alleged corruption during his stint as Kaduna governor.
On Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 5:35 AM, Chukwuemeka Okala<reu...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Sahara Reporters
According to court papers, from 2011 to 2015, businessmen Aluko and Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Diezani who at the time oversaw the nation’s state-owned oil company.
The corruption trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, took a dramatic turn this week, revealing the intimate details of a relationship between former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and suspected money launderer and billionaire businessman Kola Aluko that prosecutors say extended well beyond professional oil dealings.
Central to the case are a series of audio recordings found on a Samsung phone belonging to the defendant, Alison-Madueke, which purportedly capture emotional and romantic exchanges with billionaire businessman Kola Aluko.
The ‘Playboy’ Lecture
A May 2014 recording, referred to in court as the "Playboy Lecture," captured the defendant berating Aluko for his public extravagance.
Speaking with sharp concern for their shared future, she told him, "As far as everybody's concerned, you're a playboy."
She also criticised his appearances with supermodels like Naomi Campbell, warning that such "parading" could attract the attention of "intelligencer", a reference prosecutors suggest meant intelligence agencies monitoring their dealings.
The Yacht Dispute
The defendant also questioned Aluko's high-profile purchase of the $80 million Galactica Star yacht. She reportedly advised him to lease rather than buy, arguing it would help keep their financial dealings more discreet.
The intensity of the duo’s bond was perhaps most starkly revealed in a viral recording where the defendant issued a chilling ultimatum, saying, "I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself... let us see who survives, me or you."
Prosecutors contend this was not merely a threat between business partners, but a "suicide pact" between two people whose lives and hearts had become dangerously intertwined within a billion-dollar web of corruption.
While Alison-Madueke denies all charges of bribery, the court continues to scrutinise whether these recordings demonstrate a romantic conspiracy that fuelled one of Africa’s largest financial scandals.
Alison-Madueke, a former President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is currently standing trial at Southwark Crown Court on five counts of accepting bribes and an additional count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery.
Alison-Madueke, alongside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, an ally of President Bola Tinubu, and her brother, 69-year-old Doye Agama, are facing bribery charges connected to the same case.
The 65-year-old former minister served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Background
SaharaReporters previously reported that in 2017, prosecutors from the U.S. Justice Department’s kleptocracy unit filed a case in Houston seeking to seize nearly $145 million in assets, including the 215-foot, $80 million yacht Galactica Star, a $50 million apartment on New York’s Billionaire’s Row, and multiple homes in California, alleging they were purchased using embezzled funds for the benefit of Alison-Madueke.
Alison-Madueke, alongside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, an ally of President Bola Tinubu, and her brother, 69-year-old Doye Agama, are facing bribery charges connected to the same case.
The 65-year-old former minister served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Background
SaharaReporters previously reported that in 2017, prosecutors from the U.S. Justice Department’s kleptocracy unit filed a case in Houston seeking to seize nearly $145 million in assets, including the 215-foot, $80 million yacht Galactica Star, a $50 million apartment on New York’s Billionaire’s Row, and multiple homes in California, alleging they were purchased using embezzled funds for the benefit of Alison-Madueke.
In March 2023, the US Department of Justice announced the final resolution of two civil cases seeking the forfeiture of the luxury assets that were laundered in and through the country in a case involving Alison-Madueke and her associates.
Her associates named in the forfeiture case include Aluko and Jide Omokore, the Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited.
The U.S. Justice department said this in a statement on its website.
It said it recovered roughly $53.1 million in cash, constituting the net liquidated value of the defendant’s assets, plus a promissory note with a principal value of $16 million.
According to court papers, from 2011 to 2015, businessmen Aluko and Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Diezani who at the time oversaw the nation’s state-owned oil company.
In return, Diezani used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned by Aluko and Omokore.
“In return, Alison-Madueke used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned by Aluko and Omokore,” the department’s statement read.
“The proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts totaling more than $100 million were then laundered in and through the United States and used to purchase various assets through shell companies, including luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-meter superyacht.”
“The real estate was also used as collateral for loans to Aluko and shell companies he controlled. As part of the forfeiture process, those lien holders were paid,” it added. “The real estate was also used as collateral for loans to Aluko and shell companies he controlled. As part of the forfeiture process, those lien holders were paid.”
Aluko, a close associate of Alison-Madueke, has long stood at the center of international corruption investigations.
In 2015, British authorities sought his arrest through Switzerland as part of a money laundering probe linked to Nigeria’s oil revenues.
By 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice filed civil forfeiture proceedings, alleging that Aluko and fellow oil magnate Omokore conspired to bribe Alison-Madueke.
Prosecutors claimed the pair used proceeds from questionable oil contracts to purchase multimillion-dollar properties in London, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as luxury cars and yachts.
Nigerian authorities also indicted Aluko in 2017 in connection with a multi-million-naira oil fraud case, accusing him of benefiting from Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts’ controversial oil deals.
Despite these indictments and asset seizures, Aluko has never been criminally convicted. His name, however, continues to surface in corruption trials, including the ongoing London proceedings against Alison-Madueke, where witnesses describe him as a key player in cash deliveries and lavish spending.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Wednesday, Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Kassim Afegbua, said Obi’s political history reflects a pattern of internal party crises.
Afegbua made the remarks while responding to discussions surrounding an alleged assassination attempt on the life of Peter Obi.
According to him, Obi’s previous visits to Edo State were followed by political unrest.
He further alleged that the crisis within the Labour Party during Obi’s membership was not resolved before his reported alignment with the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Afegbua argued that Obi exited the Labour Party amid factional disputes without demonstrating leadership capacity to resolve internal conflicts.
Afegbua warned that Edo State should not be drawn into what he characterised as internal party conflicts, stressing that any fallout arising from political activities should not be attributed to the state.
He said: “Don’t forget that Peter Obi came the first time to Edo and there was crisis. He came second time, there was crisis.
And Don’t also forget that within the Labor Party, they are a party of crisis, and he has exited from the Labor Party crisis without being able to resolve the crisis, which will have defined his leadership credentials.
“And now he has come to ADC, a party of disgruntled elements looking for a safe platform to express their political aspiration.
“Please don’t come and pollute the atmosphere of Edo in such a manner that whatever happens within your party, you will not want to wear us the crown.
“Peter Obi is a problem to the politics of Edo because any party he belongs is crisis. Olumide Apata just alluded to it just now.
“You see, you cannot be in a party, Labor Party, you created factions and all that. You couldn’t resolve this crisis, and you have exported the crisis to another party, ADC, members of which are essentially from PDP, and Labor Party.”
Abraham Goofy Madu:
Was that you again? You let a robot beat you in Isiewu Cooking Competition. You wonder why your white trash trailer park wife left you when she asked you to make her Isiewu dish and you couldn't.
Watch: Robot vs Abraham Goofy Madu In Isiewu Cooking Competition:
https://youtu.be/5bevi_0v6wU?si=Fugl7TZVaqnLeGbw
On Sun, Mar 1, 2026 at 12:21 PM, Kayode Adebayo<kayu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Fellow Nigerians:
Differences Between Igbo People And Ikwerre People Of Nigeria:1. The Igbo People Are Belligerent And Cantankerous People. The Ikwerre People Are Peaceful And Peace Loving People.2. The Igbo People Are Nomadic People. They Rarely Live In Igboland. They Wander Around From Place To Place All Over The World Like The Fulani People. The Ikwerre People Live In Ikwerreland.3. The Igbo People Speak Igbo Language. The Ikwerre People Speak Iwhuruọha Language aka Ikwerre Language.4. The Igbo People Tie Wrapper Around Their Waists Like The Fulani. The Ikwerre People Dress In Traditional Ikwerre Dresses Called Etibo.5. The Igbo People Wear Red Hats aka Okpu Ododo Caps. The Ikwerre People Wear The Okpu-Kpu Caps aka Leopard Caps.6. The Igbo People Have No Kings Or Queens. The Ikwerre People Have Paramount Rulers.7. The Igbo People Are Separatists. They Want To Secede From Nigeria. The Ikwerre People Are Contented With Nigeria.8. The Igbo People Are Landlocked. The Ikwerre People Have Access To The Sea.
9. The Igbo People Are Terrorists. They Terrorize And Kill Their Own Igbo People. The Ikwerre People Are Not Terrorists.
On Mon, Mar 2, 2026 at 12:59 PM, Kayode Adebayo<kayu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Tajudeen Raji:Trump doesn't understand international economics and global politics. Iran hold sway over global economic lifeline. The attack will disrupt oil flow and global supply line leading to global economic crisis. Furthermore, calling for regime change in Iran is like calling for end of monarchy in Britain. It's impossible. There are millions of Ayatollahs in waiting in succession if one is killed or removed. It's a waste of time and American resources.
I said it yesterday that the Global Economy will tumble with the attack on Iran and it has started happening. Trump and his cohorts are clueless about Iran, Middle East, International Economy and World Politics. Iran is like a pandora box that nobody should open. It's a cankerworm. It's hydraheaded. If you open it, hell will broke and it has started happening like I said it would.
May God have mercy on the world.
A global market sell-off intensified on Tuesday, as Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks around the Persian Gulf region while American and Israeli officials signaled that strikes on Iran could continue for weeks. Stocks and bonds slipped and oil and gas prices surged. Investors sought havens like the dollar to protect their money from the uncertain and unpredictable effects of the fighting on the world economy.
“In a prolonged conflict, the combination of higher energy costs, disrupted logistics, and a generalized confidence shock would constitute a meaningful drag on global trade volumes at precisely the moment the world economy was still digesting the inflationary and growth consequences of the tariff shock,” noted analysts at ING, a bank. “The mother of all bad timings.”
Fears of disruption to shipping on the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway on Iran’s southern border through which a large share of the world’s oil and gas passes, upended energy markets. Oil prices continued to surge, with Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, rising more than 6 percent, to $83 a barrel, the highest level since mid-2024.
Natural gas prices soared. European natural gas futures jumped for a second day; prices have roughly doubled over the past two days. A measure of gas cargoes in Asia rose 45 percent on Tuesday. Qatar, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to buyers in Asia and Europe, halted L.N.G. production after attacks on its facilities on Monday. On Tuesday, Qatar’s state-owned energy company said it would also pause the production of “some downstream products” like polymers and aluminum.
Stock markets in Asia and Europe recorded a second day of steep declines. The main index in South Korea dropped 7 percent on Tuesday, while stocks in Japan fell 3 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 3 percent in early trading, with every market across the continent in the red.
Bonds around the world sold off, as investors assessed the prospect of a potentially prolonged war worsening inflation and spurring higher interest rates. Rising oil and gas prices could result in increased prices at the pump for consumers and add costs to a wide range of component parts for businesses. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which moves inversely to prices, rose by 0.4 percentage points, to 4.1 percent. Yields on government bonds in Britain, Germany and Japan jumped even more.
The dollar has emerged as the haven of choice for investors seeking a safe place to park their money. A gauge of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies rose 0.8 percent on Tuesday, a similar increase to the day before. Gold, another traditional haven during times of turmoil, traded flat, at around $5,300 per ounce.
On Mar 3, 2026, at 7:34 AM, Kayode Adebayo <kayu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
The state government had in January announced that it would begin a pro-rata payment system, with deductions from salaries of civil servants who failed to come to work on Mondays.
DAILY POST reports that many Anambra civil servants on Tuesday lamented huge deductions from their February salaries after they received bank alerts of their wages.
At Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka, the state capital, some workers lamented that the deductions did not tally with the number of Mondays they failed to show up for work.
One of the workers, who pleaded anonymity, said a colleague in his office only received N100 as payment for February, after deductions.
The worker, who is a staff of the Ministry of Information, lamented that out of his over N80,000 salary, he received just N3,500.
He said: “One of my colleagues said that she received her salary with N10,000 cut off from it. The cuts are irregular, but I think there were mistakes in the computing because some people who missed work only once or twice had huge deductions from their salaries.”
When contacted, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, confirmed to journalists that the deductions were punishment for failure to come to work on Mondays.
He said: “The salary cut is a punishment for failure to come to work on Mondays. The instruction was that when you come to work on Mondays, you clock in, and, at the close of work, you clock out. That is to show that you came to work.
“But, if you came to work on Mondays but you didn’t clock in, and, didn’t clock out, it means that you didn’t come to work because there is no evidence to show that you came to work.”
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) has disclosed the 15 electronic devices it recovered after searching the Abuja residence of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The agency disclosed this in its filings it submitted at the FCT High Court in Abuja to oppose the fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by Mr El-Rufai, who is still detained and being interrogated over corruption allegations.
The filings include a counter-affidavit dated 26 February, sworn by David Efuk, the litigation officer at the ICPC Legal Service Department.
Also included are two documents titled “Device Documentation Form 001.” The documents appear to be completed by Mr El-Rufai, who is still being detained by the ICPC, denying the agency’s operatives consent to access the devices.
This newspaper reported that the embattled former governor filed a N1 billion suit against ICPC and others at the Federal High Court in Abuja, praying that the court declare the search on his home as invalid, null and void.
On 4 February, a magistrate’s court in Abuja issued a search warrant authorising ICPC and police personnel to search Mr El-Rufai’s residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja. Describing the warrant as lacking particularity and containing drafting errors, the former governor argued it is unconstitutional and in breach of Section 37 of the Nigerian constitution which guarantees the right to privacy.
Mohammed Shaba, a principal secretary to the former governor who swore an affidavit filed in support of the suit, stated that the raid amounted to a gross violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under the Nigerian constitution.
Mr Shaba argued that the action violated the former governor’s right to dignity of the human person (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36); and privacy (Section 37).
The declarations in the form attached to the ICPC affidavit comprise 15 devices.
However, the ICPC said in its counter-affidavit that its agents found “electronic magnetic equipment capable of tapping conversations” during the search on Mr El-Rufai’s home.
The search, according to the commission, was witnessed by his wife, Hadiza and son, Mohammed. A document containing the list of items recovered during the raid was signed by the duo.
A consent form marked as Exhibit ICPC 5 and attached to the counter affidavit shows that 15 electronic devices including laptops and phones were found in Mr El-Rufai’s home. This was in addition to other “sensitive security documents” which the commission said could compromise national security.
The commission noted that Mr El-Rufai refused to give the commission access to the device. It added that Mr El-Rufai refused to respond to questions after he was confronted with the documents retrieved from his home.
The former governor appended to the Exhibit 5, noting that he did not grant consent for “any access to the devices listed as found in my home.”
The search on his home came after Mr El-Rufai made a claim on a live interview on Arise TV that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu’s phone conversation was tapped, and that he heard the NSA directing security operatives to detain him.
He made the claim a day after security operatives attempted to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Barely three days after making this claim, the State Security Services (SSS) filed a cybercrime charge against Mr El-Rufai, arguing that the alleged interception of the NSA’s phone contravened Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
On Monday, Bello El-Rufai, Mr El-Rufai’s son and a member of the House of Representatives, denied ICPC’s claim of recovering a phone-tapping device during a search of the former governor’s residence in Abuja.
The statement said only personal effects were taken from the searched home.
“WE WERE PRESENT WHEN THESE ITEMS WERE SEIZED. No equipment other than old discarded personal mobile phones… storage devices like flash drives and laptops… were seized from the property,” the younger El-Rufai said.
According to them, the alleged “sophisticated tapping equipment” exists only “in the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team.”
The former governor has been in detention since 16 February when he honored an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure. The EFCC invitation, initially issued in December 2025, is part of ongoing investigations into allegations that Mr El-Rufai misappropriated approximately N432 billion in public funds.
Although the EFCC released him on 18 February, he was immediately re-arrested by security operatives with ICPC confirming that it had taken him into custody.
In the counter-affidavit, the ICPC explained that the EFCC released the former governor to SSS which later handed him over to the commission.
The commission said it subsequently obtained a remand order to keep Mr El-Rufai for 14 days. The order which it said was obtained on 19 February will elapse on 5 March.
The ICPC stated that, contrary to the claims made by the former governor in his supporting affidavit, he is being lawfully detained in the commission’s custody and that none of his fundamental rights has been violated as alleged.
1. Sony / HD- EG5 (Storage)
2. 1 TB Transcend (Storage)
3. A storage device with serial number WX31AA2V2721
4. Toshiba (storage)
5. Samsung (phone)
6 . Nokia N95 8GB (phone)
7. Blackberry (phone)
8. Google IDEOS (phone)
9. Samsung /SP0802N
10. Remarkable tablet (tablet)
11. Remarkable tablet (tablet)
12. Apple Macbook Pro (black)
13. Apple Macbook Pro (black) (laptop)
14. Seagate Freeagent Desk External DRWE (1) (1000 GB) (storage)
15. ZTE mobile phone (phone)
On Tue, Mar 3, 2026 at 1:28 PM, Kayode Adebayo<kayu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
This criminal called El-Rufai doesn't know anything about law. Privacy my foot. All the ICPC required to search your house were a Search Warrant, Person present at home acknowledging the search (your wife was at home when the search was conducted), a documented list of properties/documents seized at the house, your signature acknowledging the items seized which you voluntarily declined. That's on you, not ICPC. The job of the ICPC is to present the document to you to sign. ICPC satisfied all the required. If you refuse to sign it, it's your own problem. Once all those are are obtained, you have no right to privacy, because you're suspect. Your house can be searched and suspected properties/devices/documents can be seized.This criminal called El-Rufai is in deep shit. He also bribed some government agents including the SSS ar the airport the day he arrived in order to have access to an area he is not legally allowed to access and those agents have been arrested. That's bribery of government officials and will be included in his charges. This fool will become DSS property once he leaves the ICPC. He is never going to be released. The fool also sued the ICPC for N1 billion that he will never get, because ICPC satisfied all requirements by law.
By the way, I'm interested in knowing the device with the Serial Number WX31AA2V2721 that was seized at his house.
Kayode
I said it yesterday that the Global Economy will tumble with the attack on Iran and it has started happening. Trump and his cohorts are clueless about Iran, Middle East, International Economy and World Politics. Iran is like a pandora box that nobody should open. It's a cankerworm. It's hydraheaded. If you open it, hell will break loose and it has started happening like I said it would.
May God have mercy on the world.
Global Markets Tumble as Iran War Intensifies
New York Times
A global market sell-off intensified on Tuesday, as Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks around the Persian Gulf region while American and Israeli officials signaled that strikes on Iran could continue for weeks. Stocks and bonds slipped and oil and gas prices surged. Investors sought havens like the dollar to protect their money from the uncertain and unpredictable effects of the fighting on the world economy.
“In a prolonged conflict, the combination of higher energy costs, disrupted logistics, and a generalized confidence shock would constitute a meaningful drag on global trade volumes at precisely the moment the world economy was still digesting the inflationary and growth consequences of the tariff shock,” noted analysts at ING, a bank. “The mother of all bad timings.”
Fears of disruption to shipping on the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway on Iran’s southern border through which a large share of the world’s oil and gas passes, upended energy markets. Oil prices continued to surge, with Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, rising more than 6 percent, to $83 a barrel, the highest level since mid-2024.
Natural gas prices soared. European natural gas futures jumped for a second day; prices have roughly doubled over the past two days. A measure of gas cargoes in Asia rose 45 percent on Tuesday. Qatar, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to buyers in Asia and Europe, halted L.N.G. production after attacks on its facilities on Monday. On Tuesday, Qatar’s state-owned energy company said it would also pause the production of “some downstream products” like polymers and aluminum.
Stock markets in Asia and Europe recorded a second day of steep declines. The main index in South Korea dropped 7 percent on Tuesday, while stocks in Japan fell 3 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 3 percent in early trading, with every market across the continent in the red.
Bonds around the world sold off, as investors assessed the prospect of a potentially prolonged war worsening inflation and spurring higher interest rates. Rising oil and gas prices could result in increased prices at the pump for consumers and add costs to a wide range of component parts for businesses. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which moves inversely to prices, rose by 0.4 percentage points, to 4.1 percent. Yields on government bonds in Britain, Germany and Japan jumped even more.
The dollar has emerged as the haven of choice for investors seeking a safe place to park their money. A gauge of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies rose 0.8 percent on Tuesday, a similar increase to the day before. Gold, another traditional haven during times of turmoil, traded flat, at around $5,300 per ounce.
On Tue, Mar 3, 2026 at 5:35 PM, Cyril Anyanwu<lash...@hotmail.com> wrote:
You are seeing the litmus test but not reading it correctly.
America’s objective in Iran is not actually regime change. That’s Israel’s objective.
America does not care who rules Iran if the following happens:
“An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American,” the president said in his first public remarks from Washington on Monday. “We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons.”
Trump has also described broader wartime objectives, including eliminating threats posed by Iran’s regional proxy forces. He has not set out a clear timeline for achieving his various goals.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, offered a slightly different explanation, saying that the White House was compelled to launch strikes on Iran because its close ally Israel was determined to act.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters gathered at the Capitol.
“There absolutely was an imminent threat,” Rubio said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/trump-administration-illegal-war-iran-experts
America is ready to work with anyone towards those objectives. If Ali Khamenei had agreed to those objectives, he would be alive today. Israel has already warned his son that he would be eliminated like his father if he dares to threaten Israel like his father.
America does not care about regime change. That’s cosmetic! The objectives/Interests are what matters. Look at Venezuela and Syria. If Trump wanted, he could have handed Venezuela to the opposition, but that would have been a mess, leading to a civil war. Syria is Trump’s apt example of the art of the deal. The convicted ISIS terrorist, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, is on a leash to implement USA/Isreal agenda, that’s all that matters.
It does not matter to USA if ayatollahs and mullahs rule Iran, for as long as the forgoing objectives are met. That was the essence of the negotiation, but Khamenei was too arrogant and consumed by hatred/extremism to reason properly.
USA did not really want to attack Iran. Trump only did it to allow Israel to eliminate Khamenei and his belligerent Generals. If Israel had attacked first without USA, that would have been an unmitigated disaster, galvanizing all Arabs/Muslim countries against Israel and USA. Trumps attack is an alibi for Israel. The attack was necessary for Iran to fire/deplete their best shots. Now we know what they have.
This is a chess game, and we need new players on board.
Regards,
Political Amateur Called Cyril Anyanwu:
Whenever I talk always listen and learn. Trump publicly declared the reason for his war on Iran is Regime Change on the first day and the whole world knows except you.
Listen and learn whenever I talk.
Kayode
In attacking Iran and killing the regime's supreme leader, US President Donald Trump has made an enormous bet: that he can succeed where past presidents have failed by using American military force to reshape the Middle East.
Trump will claim a generational victory if the US succeeds in fully destroying Iran's nuclear programme and bringing about regime change in Tehran using air power alone, even if there seems to be no clear plan from Washington for what would come after the Islamic Republic.
But if the military strike, called Operation Epic Fury by the Pentagon, fails, or sparks a wider regional conflagration that demands ongoing US involvement, Trump could hurt his legacy as well as Republicans' chances to retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
The president signalled how much is at stake in remarks early on Saturday when he announced the start of a military campaign in Iran.
"American heroes may be lost", Trump said. He argued this would be a necessary price to pay to inflict damage on a regime he said has sown chaos across the Middle East since seizing power in 1979.
"For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America," Trump said. He added later: "We're not going to put up with it any longer."
But as the world waits to see what the Iranian regime will do after the death of its supreme leader, it remains to be seen whether Trump will manage to avoid a prolonged military campaign.
It's also an open question whether he can convince the American public - and especially his MAGA base who largely oppose US interventions abroad - to support another incursion in the Middle East.
It's a pivotal moment for Trump, who returned to office little over a year ago with a promise to end so-called "forever wars" like those the US fought in Afghanistan and Iraq but has launched military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Syria, among other countries.
The US and Israeli bombing came after the White House warned of an attack if the regime did not agree to a deal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, stop producing ballistic missiles and drop its support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
After amassing enormous military force in the region, Trump spent Friday night monitoring the attack as it unfolded with top advisers at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago.
In Washington, Vice-President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other senior administration officials gathered in the Situation Room at the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter, and dialled into a conference line with Trump to follow the bombing in real-time.
Khamenei's killing signifies a major escalation, but analysts warn it could spiral out of Trump's control.
"The die is cast and the US has to go all the way now to effect regime change. The problem is, you can't do that without boots on the ground," said Mohammed Hafez, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Iran's retaliatory strikes on a host of US allies in the region - Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and elsewhere - signalled the regime plans to fight back more aggressively than it did after the US strike on the country last year, he added
"The Iranian regime's strategy is [going to be] to create a regional conflict that affects the global economy, and the US economy, and that would not be a good thing for Trump," said Hafez, an expert on Islamist political violence and Middle East politics. "This could lead to a quagmire."
A protracted conflict in the Middle East could impact Trump's other priorities in the region, such as rebuilding Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war and strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia.
It could also alienate supporters back home at a time when his presidential approval ratings have taken a hammering over voter frustration with the cost of living and other domestic issues.
In recent weeks, several senior administration officials voiced concerns about a major military operation in Iran, according to a former senior administration official in Trump's first term who remains close to his team and has knowledge of internal policy deliberations.
The divisions are said to have played out in private as Trump publicly threatened to attack Iran and ordered the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Trump projected confidence about the mission on Saturday after choosing to launch the attack and end weeks of speculation about a possible strike. But he also sent mixed signals that raised new questions about what the US war aims are.
"I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days" and keep the threat of further strikes on the table, Trump told Axios.
He later said on social media that "the heavy and pinpoint bombing… will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary".
The remarks underscored what critics say is Trump's free-wheeling approach to foreign policy, and his disinterest in laying the groundwork to bring lawmakers and the public on board before launching military attacks.
It's that same unconventional approach that the president's allies and supporters say has allowed him to notch up successes, including an agreed ceasefire in Gaza and an increased European financial commitment to Nato.
Trump did little ahead of time to make a detailed case to the American public about why it's in their best interest to start a war with Iran. The president could have used his State of the Union address last week to present his arguments, but chose not to.
The president launched the military campaign without first seeking congressional approval. But most Republicans came out in support of the action on Saturday.
"Iran is facing the severe consequences of its evil actions," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. "President Trump and the Administration have made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime's sustained nuclear ambitions and development, terrorism, and the murder of Americans - and even their own people."
But the lack of coordination with Congress has angered Democrats and some in Trump's party who oppose US strikes.
"Donald Trump is dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want," former Vice President and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris said in a statement. She added, "our troops are being put in harm's way for the sake of Trump's war of choice".
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the administration did not provide "critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat" to Congress and the American people. "President Trump's fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy," he said
The fierce backlash from Democrats on Saturday suggested Trump may be forced to wage a political battle at home while presiding over the new war in the Middle East, just as primary elections begin ahead of November's crucial midterms.
House Democrats are holding a meeting on Sunday evening to discuss their response to the military campaign, according to two sources who spoke on background to discuss the plans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would resume their push to hold a vote on a resolution reining in Trump's war powers in Iran next week.
"It's easy to arrest the leader of another country, like in Venezuela, but what do you do in the days that follow?" a senior House Democratic aide said. The administration "hasn't articulated a strategy or goal".
Trump, meanwhile, told NBC earlier on Saturday of Iran: "At some point they'll be calling me to ask who I'd like (as leader). I'm only being a little sarcastic when I say that."
And while those midterm elections in November will be critical in defining what Trump can achieve during the remainder of his term, as past presidents have found, his decision to launch extraordinary military action in the Middle East may prove even more consequential when it comes to shaping his legacy.
On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 12:13 PM, Cyril Anyanwu<lash...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Political Amateur Called Cyril Anyanwu:
The whole world knows what Trump said is the reason, but you don’t.
Always listen and learn.
Kayode
Early on Saturday, the United States and Israel began a military campaign to overthrow the governing regime in Iran. The strikes have already killed an unknown number of Iranian leaders and civilians; Iran has retaliated by striking American allies in the Middle East and an American naval base in Bahrain.
Hours after the war began, I spoke by phone with Matt Duss, an executive vice-president at the Center for International Policy and a former foreign-policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed why the U.S. has decided to embark on another conflict in the Middle East, how Trump fooled voters when he declared himself the peace candidate in the 2024 Presidential election, and whether the leadership of the Democratic Party is equipped to stand up to Trump on Iran.
It was clear pretty quickly that those claims of obliterating Iran’s nuclear program were false. There was even leaked information from a U.S. intelligence report that pushed back on that, and made clear that Iran’s program had been clearly set back, but not destroyed. And now, of course, one of the justifications it has given for today’s attack is that the Iranian nuclear program has become dangerous again, and that is why we’re doing what we are doing. But it’s offered multiple other justifications, which is one of the ways this is reminiscent of the lead-up to Iraq in 2002 and 2003: it’s just offered this buffet of reasons, and everyone can kind of pick the one they think tastes best. But none of these things really add up to anything close to Iran posing an imminent threat to the United States. I think the urgency here, if there is any, is that Iran has been reconstituting its missile capacity much faster than many people expected.
I heard this from Israeli analysts back in October. One thing that had really surprised them was how Iran was rebuilding its missile capacity much more quickly than expected. These missiles are defensive, and thus far have been used as retaliatory measures. You don’t have to like the Iranian regime—I don’t—to acknowledge that countries do have the right to defend themselves. Iran has used those missiles, again, in a horrible way, firing them into cities and civilian centers in Israel. That’s indefensible. But it seems like Israel’s regional security doctrine, now backed by the United States, is not just that Israel has the right to defend itself but that only Israel has the right to defend itself in the region. And now those missiles pose an unacceptable constraint on Israel’s ability to strike anywhere it wants at any time, an approach to regional security that is clearly backed by the Trump Administration.
You said the missiles were defensive, but they were also used to bomb civilian areas in Israel. So they were in response to Israel’s actions against Iran?
Right. They were retaliatory. Again, it’s indefensible the way they were used, but let’s just acknowledge that it was a response to Israeli and U.S. attacks.
You mentioned the Iraq War and the justifications given. But recalling that debate, there was an effort to make the case for regime change along several different axes, no pun intended. The human-rights violations, fears about the development of weapons of mass destruction, and even the connections between Iraq and Al Qaeda, which were obviously very overblown, were utilized extensively. In this case, a bunch of justifications are occasionally being offered, but there seems to be no consistent case at all, nor is it believable that they care about these non-nuclear missiles or human rights.
That is what is amazing about this: it makes the Bush Administration’s run-up to the Iraq War look better in comparison. The Trump Administration has barely made any attempt to make a coherent case to the American public, let alone to Congress or the United Nations, which the Bush Administration did. There’s not really even an acknowledgment that Trump should need congressional authorization to take the U.S. into another war. Certainly, there is no acknowledgment that the U.S. would need any international or multilateral support to do this. So, yeah, I would say that the differences between the lead-up to the Iraq War and this are very important.
Over the past several months, there has been incredible repression by the Iranian regime against Iranians. We don’t know how many people have been killed, but it’s in the many thousands. The Trump Administration has occasionally threatened Iran, saying that it can’t kill protesters, and has occasionally made noises about caring about the welfare of the Iranian people, but the Administration has obviously allowed the regime to continue killing protesters. What do you think would be a sane posture for America to take toward Iran, and does the repression that we’ve seen over the past few months change how you think about it?
Clearly, this is a bad regime. It’s a repressive regime. It uses enormous violence against its own people, which we’ve seen horrific examples of over the past few weeks. I think the approach to Iran that makes the most sense was the one that President Barack Obama had, which was to acknowledge that Iran poses a challenge on a number of fronts, the most important of which was the possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. That’s why he pursued diplomacy to deal with that challenge aggressively. He did so with close international partners, and got what, I think, was clearly a pretty strong nonproliferation agreement that established heavy inspections and surveillance of Iran’s nuclear program. That dealt with that one challenge, but it also created the opportunity to begin to deal with the other challenges Iran posed.
At the end of Obama’s Presidency, right before Trump took office, there were a number of American sailors seized by Iran in the Gulf, creating a situation that could have escalated easily and ended very badly. But because there was a line of communication that had been built up between the U.S. and Iran over the course of negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, that situation was de-escalated and ended without real incident. The nuclear deal was an opportunity to begin to deal with issues like Iran’s support for regional extremist groups and questions of Iran’s internal repression. That opportunity was squandered when Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term. It showed Iran, and frankly showed the world, that you cannot trust the United States. And I have to say, Joe Biden squandered an opportunity to rejoin that agreement and to re-start that channel. I would add this: historically, Iran’s internal repression has gotten worse when it feels threatened externally. I’ve heard this from Iranian activists. And when you dial down tension between the U.S. and Iran, space for reform begins to open up.
Now I think given the level of the Iranian government’s violence against protesters, my understanding, again, from talking to Iranian colleagues, is that we are in a different situation. There’s much less hope now, if any hope, that the current government could be reasonably reformed, but, still, the idea that we can change the Iranian government for the better through a violent regime-change operation, like the one we’re witnessing right now, has a very bad historical track record.
On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 10:06 AM, Kayode Adebayo<kayu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
You are seeing the litmus test but not reading it correctly.
America’s objective in Iran is not actually regime change. That’s Israel’s objective.
America does not care who rules Iran if the following happens:
“An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American,” the president said in his first public remarks from Washington on Monday. “We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons.”
Trump has also described broader wartime objectives, including eliminating threats posed by Iran’s regional proxy forces. He has not set out a clear timeline for achieving his various goals.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, offered a slightly different explanation, saying that the White House was compelled to launch strikes on Iran because its close ally Israel was determined to act.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters gathered at the Capitol.
“There absolutely was an imminent threat,” Rubio said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/trump-administration-illegal-war-iran-experts
America is ready to work with anyone towards those objectives. If Ali Khamenei had agreed to those objectives, he would be alive today. Israel has already warned his son that he would be eliminated like his father if he dares to threaten Israel like his father.
America does not care about regime change. That’s cosmetic! The objectives/Interests are what matters. Look at Venezuela and Syria. If Trump wanted, he could have handed Venezuela to the opposition, but that would have been a mess, leading to a civil war. Syria is Trump’s apt example of the art of the deal. The convicted ISIS terrorist, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, is on a leash to implement USA/Isreal agenda, that’s all that matters.
It does not matter to USA if ayatollahs and mullahs rule Iran, for as long as the forgoing objectives are met. That was the essence of the negotiation, but Khamenei was too arrogant and consumed by hatred/extremism to reason properly.
USA did not really want to attack Iran. Trump only did it to allow Israel to eliminate Khamenei and his belligerent Generals. If Israel had attacked first without USA, that would have been an unmitigated disaster, galvanizing all Arabs/Muslim countries against Israel and USA. Trumps attack is an alibi for Israel. The attack was necessary for Iran to fire/deplete their best shots. Now we know what they have.
This is a chess game, and we need new players on board.
Regards,
Smell the tea leaf!
If it was regime change, why was he negotiating with Khamenei?
Cyril Anyanwu
From: Kayode Adebayo <kayu...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Global Markets Tumble as Iran War Intensifies
Cyril Anyanwu:
The objective of the war in Iran has not been achieved and cannot be achieved, because Trump doesn't understand Iran’s political system and its complexity. His stated objective is regime change, but that cannot be achieved in Iran. Iran’s regime is Ayatollahism and that's a continuum. It's like a monarchical system. Eliminating one or many Ayatollahs is not a regime change. There are millions of Ayatollahs waiting in succession in Iran, if one is eliminated. What he is hoping for is for the people of Iran to take over in Iran and that's a wishful thinking and America cannot afford a ground war in Iran, because it would lead to more American casualities which will reverberate in America among the American puplic quickly. Iran is the master of drones in the world and it can produce several thousands of cheap drones on demand within a short time and those drones are small and mobile and can reach Iran's Gulf neighbors to continue escalation of the war for a long time which can destabilize the region. Yet, Iran can fight a war of attrition which will prolonged the war and make the American public to begin to question their government involvement in Iran. Furthermore, America risks the involvement of countries like China and Russia which can lead to a world war. The best thing for America is to quit the war in Iran and leave them to solve their problems, if it doesn't want to be bogged down in an eternal war like in Afghanistan. America's debts have already reached $39 trillion a few days ago, and America's continued war in Iran will lead to more debt and more inflation and a destabilized American and world economy without achieving its stated objective.
On Tue, Mar 3, 2026 at 5:35 PM, Cyril Anyanwu<lash...@hotmail.com> wrote:This could degenerate into a very messy war.- Iran doesn't have much to lose, hence will fight to finish.- This is a proxy war.China & Russia will discreetly support/bolster Iran.- President Trump should negotiate a ceasefire with Iran because the objective of the war has already been accomplished.
Cyril Anyanwu
You are seeing the litmus test but not reading it correctly.
America’s objective in Iran is not actually regime change. That’s Israel’s objective.
America does not care who rules Iran if the following happens:
“An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American,” the president said in his first public remarks from Washington on Monday. “We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons.”
Trump has also described broader wartime objectives, including eliminating threats posed by Iran’s regional proxy forces. He has not set out a clear timeline for achieving his various goals.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, offered a slightly different explanation, saying that the White House was compelled to launch strikes on Iran because its close ally Israel was determined to act.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters gathered at the Capitol.
“There absolutely was an imminent threat,” Rubio said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/trump-administration-illegal-war-iran-experts
America is ready to work with anyone towards those objectives. If Ali Khamenei had agreed to those objectives, he would be alive today. Israel has already warned his son that he would be eliminated like his father if he dares to threaten Israel like his father.
America does not care about regime change. That’s cosmetic! The objectives/Interests are what matters. Look at Venezuela and Syria. If Trump wanted, he could have handed Venezuela to the opposition, but that would have been a mess, leading to a civil war. Syria is Trump’s apt example of the art of the deal. The convicted ISIS terrorist, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, is on a leash to implement USA/Isreal agenda, that’s all that matters.
It does not matter to USA if ayatollahs and mullahs rule Iran, for as long as the forgoing objectives are met. That was the essence of the negotiation, but Khamenei was too arrogant and consumed by hatred/extremism to reason properly.
USA did not really want to attack Iran. Trump only did it to allow Israel to eliminate Khamenei and his belligerent Generals. If Israel had attacked first without USA, that would have been an unmitigated disaster, galvanizing all Arabs/Muslim countries against Israel and USA. Trumps attack is an alibi for Israel. The attack was necessary for Iran to fire/deplete their best shots. Now we know what they have.
This is a chess game, and we need new players on board.
Regards,
From: Kayode Adebayo <kayu...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Global Markets Tumble as Iran War Intensifies
Cyril Anyanwu:
The objective of the war in Iran has not been achieved and cannot be achieved, because Trump doesn't understand Iran’s political system and its complexity. His stated objective is regime change, but that cannot be achieved in Iran. Iran’s regime is Ayatollahism and that's a continuum. It's like a monarchical system. Eliminating one or many Ayatollahs is not a regime change. There are millions of Ayatollahs waiting in succession in Iran, if one is eliminated. What he is hoping for is for the people of Iran to take over in Iran and that's a wishful thinking and America cannot afford a ground war in Iran, because it would lead to more American casualities which will reverberate in America among the American puplic quickly. Iran is the master of drones in the world and it can produce several thousands of cheap drones on demand within a short time and those drones are small and mobile and can reach Iran's Gulf neighbors to continue escalation of the war for a long time which can destabilize the region. Yet, Iran can fight a war of attrition which will prolonged the war and make the American public to begin to question their government involvement in Iran. Furthermore, America risks the involvement of countries like China and Russia which can lead to a world war. The best thing for America is to quit the war in Iran and leave them to solve their problems, if it doesn't want to be bogged down in an eternal war like in Afghanistan. America's debts have already reached $39 trillion a few days ago, and America's continued war in Iran will lead to more debt and more inflation and a destabilized American and world economy without achieving its stated objective.
On Tue, Mar 3, 2026 at 5:35 PM, Cyril Anyanwu<lash...@hotmail.com> wrote:
This could degenerate into a very messy war.- Iran doesn't have much to lose, hence will fight to finish.- This is a proxy war.China & Russia will discreetly support/bolster Iran.- President Trump should negotiate a ceasefire with Iran because the objective of the war has already been accomplished.
Cyril Anyanwu
From: 'TAJUDEEN RAJI' via ||NaijaObserver|| <naijao...@googlegroups.com>
On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 12:57 PM, Cyril Anyanwu<lash...@hotmail.com> wrote: