I woke up this morning with numbing thoughts. How and why, I still don’t know but on my mind is the plethora of Pentecostal churches and their platitudes of prophecies and unsolicited visions for the nation when it is least needed but serves their self-serving agenda.

The country has been gripped in an unprecedented crisis the likes of which analyst claims is worst than the avoidable civil war that plunged the nation into darkness for 3 years. We have heard accusations and counter accusations from all groups. All plausible and possible reasons have been advanced as the root causes of the Boko Haram crisis. Citizens have cried out loud to whatever God they believe in, so loud that the rest of the world has joined in the effort to save the country from itself.

What, however, is numbing my mind is the dearth of specific prophecies or the failure of prophecies from the much touted Men and Women of God that have invaded our space with loud speakers and vein glorious materialistic prophetic pneumatics. Forgive my ignorance of the mystery of the God of the Born Again Christians, but it seems to me that this God of theirs answer prayers only when all the constellations are aligned and all that is needed is to give it a name. Otherwise, how does one explain the deafening silence from the pulpit in the face of blatant criminal disaster that seems to have defied our earthly government and military operatives? This is when we need prophecies from our Men and Women of God. As usual they seem to be found wanting! There is still time though.

The voice of the people, the say is the voice of God, is there anyone out there besides Boko Haram and its sympathizers that are not crying out to God for help? Of course, Boko Haram are also praying to god for help to win their “jihad”! Seemingly, their god seems to be having a field day, however, Permit me to say that their god cannot have the last laugh; I know that for a fact, but while they are having the upper hand, you cannot fault me for expecting clairvoyance from the Nigeria self-styled men and women of God! Interestingly, the only religious success recorded so far seems to be the one where some women were said to have repelled Boko Haram through traditional means! Is it time then to revisit the ways of our forbears? Just asking, though.

I saw Tunde Bakare video where he was ranting like a Bull and louder than an empty drum without Godlike substance to what he rants about on social media recently. He blames everybody for Boko Haram misnomer, including the people and government of the USA! While I have no prove to counter his position, as a Man of God, one would have expected him to give us a clearer information on the solution to our problem since he speaks on behalf of the all knowing God.

Pastor Bakare prayer for all countries sponsoring terror in Nigeria to suffer failed economy, to say the least, is a terrible thing for someone who represents God to advocate for. I mean even if there is a country that sponsors terror, am sure we have Nigerians benefiting in such countries and not everyone in such a country would be guilty! So, praying for their economy to fail is equivalent to throwing away the baby and the bathe water.  Prayer should be more targeted if we want God to act. His prayer for such countries to suffer multiple terrors and for their young men and women to rise against them in Jesus name seems to be happening in Nigeria. Assuming God had answered Mr. Bakare’s prayer, it would mean that Boko Haram does not have any outside sponsors and that it is home grown evil. In effect, need I remind Bakare and his group that it is better to keep mum rather that pray, if you don’t know or you are not sure of what you are praying for! Your prayer may turn around and destroy you. We have since heard of how Nigerian Army is implicated in the sale of military hardware to Boko Haram.

In any case, all his prophecies and prayers could be classified as safe prophecies because there is nothing direct and specific. If the economy of the suspected nations fails for any reason or there is a major terror attack in such country, Mr. Bkare would claim that it was because of his prayer, if the economy grow stronger and there is no terror attack, he would then say that the countries had no hand in the Boko Haram saga and so his God spared them! This prophecy is left to chance. This is not good at all. 

 

Other pastors have not done better by their God either. “Pastor Oritsejafor, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called on Christians to defend themselves against the attacks of Boko Haram members to save their lives and properties. This simply means that he is advocating for Christians to take over the role of the Nigerian government as the ultimate provider of security and a negation of the Biblical injunction to turn the other cheeks!

Interestingly, apart from Pastors W.F. Kumuyi and T.B. Joshua who disagreed with Oritsejafor publicly, every other notable pastor in the business of Pentecostal Christianity that has spoken publicly on the matter supports Oritsejafor. Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the biggest Pentecostal church in Nigeria agreed with the advice of Pastor Oritsejafor. Evangelist Uma Ukpai, a prominent Man of God in the Pentecostal genre also agree with Oritsejafor, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, former President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria also towed the line of self-defense which would leave Kumuyi and Joshua in the minority.

 

Pastor Kumuyi, a respected conservative Pentecostal pastor is one of the pioneers of modern day Pentecostal Christian church. He is the Founder and General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry. He did not mince words in his public repudiation of Oritsejafor’s idea of self-defense. Mr. Kumuyi publicly rejected the idea of self-defense. He seems to be advocating the principle of turning the other cheek by asking of Christians not to defend themselves or retaliate against the members of Boko Haram, rather, he want Christians to pray to God to touch the hearts of the members of the Boko Haram so that they would stop killing Christians. Mr. Kumuyi went on to ask for a national conference where stakeholders in the conflict prone Nigerian project can deliberate on the problems confronting the nation and to find solution. I can only add that GEJ took the thunder out of his position.

Pastor T.B. Joshua, the other dissenting voice cited the Book of Daniel 3:16 and admonished Christians to take it to God in prayer rather than follow Oritsejafor’s precepts. I doubt if Nigeria is going to see the miracle of Daniel, Shedrack and Abednigo.

 My question is, who would the God of the Pentecostals Christian support since it seems as if the house is divided against itself? And I cannot help but

see the crisis that would engulf the nation if all Christians follow Oritsejafor’s theology.

Another prominent Pentecostal Pastor that seemed to have been gaffed is Bishop David Oyedepo. According to eyewitness account, he, like Bakare, went after the sponsors of the Boko Haram bandits.

2 March 2014, Mr. Oyedepo is quoted to have declared 7 days fasting during the Liberation night at the 33^rd anniversary of the Night Vigil of Winners Chapel meeting at the Faith Tabernacle located at Canaan Land, Ota, Nigeria. Papa, as his followers fondly calls Mr. Oyedepo, is reported to have said, “I curse the menace of Boko Haram in Nigeria. I decree death to all their sponsors hiding under the office of politics. I stand as an apostle of this end time, except God has not sent me, within 7 days, you are declared dead!” Of course this prophetic position by Papa received an earth shaking thunderous amen from his followers. Our source added that David Oyedepo went on to say unequivocally, “Within 7 days, we shall hear news in the camp of the wicked”. Of course we have been hearing news from North East of Nigeria since then that Boko Haram and its sponsors are not dead and it is two months since Bishop David Oyedepo declared a two weeks fasting that would lead to the death of Boko Haram and its sponsors!

I have a feeling that believers would tell me that 7 days as prophesied by the self styled man of God is spiritual and not the carnal 7 days!  I put it to such persons that any attempt to use that argument would amount to self deception and the most banal excuse any one can give in this trying times. Beyond that is the fact that, I would like to put it on record that when all this is over, as I know it would be, let none of this so-called men and Women of God come out and start laying claims to the efficacy of their prayers and prophecies in resolving or leading to the capture and decimation of Boko Haram.

God bless Nigeria

 Inaju

I woke up this morning with numbing thoughts. How and why, I still don’t know but on my mind is the plethora of Pentecostal churches and their platitudes of prophecies and unsolicited visions for the nation when it is least needed but serves their self-serving agenda.

The country has been gripped in an unprecedented crisis the likes of which analyst claims is worst than the avoidable civil war that plunged the nation into darkness for 3 years. We have heard accusations and counter accusations from all groups. All plausible and possible reasons have been advanced as the root causes of the Boko Haram crisis. Citizens have cried out loud to whatever God they believe in, so loud that the rest of the world has joined in the effort to save the country from itself.

What, however, is numbing my mind is the dearth of specific prophecies or the failure of prophecies from the much touted Men and Women of God that have invaded our space with loud speakers and vein glorious materialistic prophetic pneumatics. Forgive my ignorance of the mystery of the God of the Born Again Christians, but it seems to me that this God of theirs answer prayers only when all the constellations are aligned and all that is needed is to give it a name. Otherwise, how does one explain the deafening silence from the pulpit in the face of blatant criminal disaster that seems to have defied our earthly government and military operatives? This is when we need prophecies from our Men and Women of God. As usual they seem to be found wanting! There is still time though.

The voice of the people, the say is the voice of God, is there anyone out there besides Boko Haram and its sympathizers that are not crying out to God for help? Of course, Boko Haram are also praying to god for help to win their “jihad”! Seemingly, their god seems to be having a field day, however, Permit me to say that their god cannot have the last laugh; I know that for a fact, but while they are having the upper hand, you cannot fault me for expecting clairvoyance from the Nigeria self-styled men and women of God! Interestingly, the only religious success recorded so far seems to be the one where some women were said to have repelled Boko Haram through traditional means! Is it time then to revisit the ways of our forbears? Just asking, though.

I saw Tunde Bakare video where he was ranting like a Bull and louder than an empty drum without Godlike substance to what he rants about on social media recently. He blames everybody for Boko Haram misnomer, including the people and government of the USA! While I have no prove to counter his position, as a Man of God, one would have expected him to give us a clearer information on the solution to our problem since he speaks on behalf of the all knowing God.

Pastor Bakare prayer for all countries sponsoring terror in Nigeria to suffer failed economy, to say the least, is a terrible thing for someone who represents God to advocate for. I mean even if there is a country that sponsors terror, am sure we have Nigerians benefiting in such countries and not everyone in such a country would be guilty! So, praying for their economy to fail is equivalent to throwing away the baby and the bathe water.  Prayer should be more targeted if we want God to act. His prayer for such countries to suffer multiple terrors and for their young men and women to rise against them in Jesus name seems to be happening in Nigeria. Assuming God had answered Mr. Bakare’s prayer, it would mean that Boko Haram does not have any outside sponsors and that it is home grown evil. In effect, need I remind Bakare and his group that it is better to keep mum rather that pray, if you don’t know or you are not sure of what you are praying for! Your prayer may turn around and destroy you. We have since heard of how Nigerian Army is implicated in the sale of military hardware to Boko Haram.

In any case, all his prophecies and prayers could be classified as safe prophecies because there is nothing direct and specific. If the economy of the suspected nations fails for any reason or there is a major terror attack in such country, Mr. Bkare would claim that it was because of his prayer, if the economy grow stronger and there is no terror attack, he would then say that the countries had no hand in the Boko Haram saga and so his God spared them! This prophecy is left to chance. This is not good at all. 

 

Other pastors have not done better by their God either. “Pastor Oritsejafor, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called on Christians to defend themselves against the attacks of Boko Haram members to save their lives and properties. This simply means that he is advocating for Christians to take over the role of the Nigerian government as the ultimate provider of security and a negation of the Biblical injunction to turn the other cheeks!

Interestingly, apart from Pastors W.F. Kumuyi and T.B. Joshua who disagreed with Oritsejafor publicly, every other notable pastor in the business of Pentecostal Christianity that has spoken publicly on the matter supports Oritsejafor. Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the biggest Pentecostal church in Nigeria agreed with the advice of Pastor Oritsejafor. Evangelist Uma Ukpai, a prominent Man of God in the Pentecostal genre also agree with Oritsejafor, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, former President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria also towed the line of self-defense which would leave Kumuyi and Joshua in the minority.

 

Pastor Kumuyi, a respected conservative Pentecostal pastor is one of the pioneers of modern day Pentecostal Christian church. He is the Founder and General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry. He did not mince words in his public repudiation of Oritsejafor’s idea of self-defense. Mr. Kumuyi publicly rejected the idea of self-defense. He seems to be advocating the principle of turning the other cheek by asking of Christians not to defend themselves or retaliate against the members of Boko Haram, rather, he want Christians to pray to God to touch the hearts of the members of the Boko Haram so that they would stop killing Christians. Mr. Kumuyi went on to ask for a national conference where stakeholders in the conflict prone Nigerian project can deliberate on the problems confronting the nation and to find solution. I can only add that GEJ took the thunder out of his position.

Pastor T.B. Joshua, the other dissenting voice cited the Book of Daniel 3:16 and admonished Christians to take it to God in prayer rather than follow Oritsejafor’s precepts. I doubt if Nigeria is going to see the miracle of Daniel, Shedrack and Abednigo.

 My question is, who would the God of the Pentecostals Christian support since it seems as if the house is divided against itself? And I cannot help but

see the crisis that would engulf the nation if all Christians follow Oritsejafor’s theology.

Another prominent Pentecostal Pastor that seemed to have been gaffed is Bishop David Oyedepo. According to eyewitness account, he, like Bakare, went after the sponsors of the Boko Haram bandits.

2 March 2014, Mr. Oyedepo is quoted to have declared 7 days fasting during the Liberation night at the 33^rd anniversary of the Night Vigil of Winners Chapel meeting at the Faith Tabernacle located at Canaan Land, Ota, Nigeria. Papa, as his followers fondly calls Mr. Oyedepo, is reported to have said, “I curse the menace of Boko Haram in Nigeria. I decree death to all their sponsors hiding under the office of politics. I stand as an apostle of this end time, except God has not sent me, within 7 days, you are declared dead!” Of course this prophetic position by Papa received an earth shaking thunderous amen from his followers. Our source added that David Oyedepo went on to say unequivocally, “Within 7 days, we shall hear news in the camp of the wicked”. Of course we have been hearing news from North East of Nigeria since then that Boko Haram and its sponsors are not dead and it is two months since Bishop David Oyedepo declared a two weeks fasting that would lead to the death of Boko Haram and its sponsors!

I have a feeling that believers would tell me that 7 days as prophesied by the self styled man of God is spiritual and not the carnal 7 days!  I put it to such persons that any attempt to use that argument would amount to self deception and the most banal excuse any one can give in this trying times. Beyond that is the fact that, I would like to put it on record that when all this is over, as I know it would be, let none of this so-called men and Women of God come out and start laying claims to the efficacy of their prayers and prophecies in resolving or leading to the capture and decimation of Boko Haram.

God bless Nigeria

 Inaju

I woke up this morning with numbing thoughts. How and why, I still don’t know but on my mind is the plethora of Pentecostal churches and their platitudes of prophecies and unsolicited visions for the nation when it is least needed but serves their self-serving agenda.

The country has been gripped in an unprecedented crisis the likes of which analyst claims is worst than the avoidable civil war that plunged the nation into darkness for 3 years. We have heard accusations and counter accusations from all groups. All plausible and possible reasons have been advanced as the root causes of the Boko Haram crisis. Citizens have cried out loud to whatever God they believe in, so loud that the rest of the world has joined in the effort to save the country from itself.

What, however, is numbing my mind is the dearth of specific prophecies or the failure of prophecies from the much touted Men and Women of God that have invaded our space with loud speakers and vein glorious materialistic prophetic pneumatics. Forgive my ignorance of the mystery of the God of the Born Again Christians, but it seems to me that this God of theirs answer prayers only when all the constellations are aligned and all that is needed is to give it a name. Otherwise, how does one explain the deafening silence from the pulpit in the face of blatant criminal disaster that seems to have defied our earthly government and military operatives? This is when we need prophecies from our Men and Women of God. As usual they seem to be found wanting! There is still time though.

The voice of the people, the say is the voice of God, is there anyone out there besides Boko Haram and its sympathizers that are not crying out to God for help? Of course, Boko Haram are also praying to god for help to win their “jihad”! Seemingly, their god seems to be having a field day, however, Permit me to say that their god cannot have the last laugh; I know that for a fact, but while they are having the upper hand, you cannot fault me for expecting clairvoyance from the Nigeria self-styled men and women of God! Interestingly, the only religious success recorded so far seems to be the one where some women were said to have repelled Boko Haram through traditional means! Is it time then to revisit the ways of our forbears? Just asking, though.

I saw Tunde Bakare video where he was ranting like a Bull and louder than an empty drum without Godlike substance to what he rants about on social media recently. He blames everybody for Boko Haram misnomer, including the people and government of the USA! While I have no prove to counter his position, as a Man of God, one would have expected him to give us a clearer information on the solution to our problem since he speaks on behalf of the all knowing God.

Pastor Bakare prayer for all countries sponsoring terror in Nigeria to suffer failed economy, to say the least, is a terrible thing for someone who represents God to advocate for. I mean even if there is a country that sponsors terror, am sure we have Nigerians benefiting in such countries and not everyone in such a country would be guilty! So, praying for their economy to fail is equivalent to throwing away the baby and the bathe water.  Prayer should be more targeted if we want God to act. His prayer for such countries to suffer multiple terrors and for their young men and women to rise against them in Jesus name seems to be happening in Nigeria. Assuming God had answered Mr. Bakare’s prayer, it would mean that Boko Haram does not have any outside sponsors and that it is home grown evil. In effect, need I remind Bakare and his group that it is better to keep mum rather that pray, if you don’t know or you are not sure of what you are praying for! Your prayer may turn around and destroy you. We have since heard of how Nigerian Army is implicated in the sale of military hardware to Boko Haram.

In any case, all his prophecies and prayers could be classified as safe prophecies because there is nothing direct and specific. If the economy of the suspected nations fails for any reason or there is a major terror attack in such country, Mr. Bkare would claim that it was because of his prayer, if the economy grow stronger and there is no terror attack, he would then say that the countries had no hand in the Boko Haram saga and so his God spared them! This prophecy is left to chance. This is not good at all. 

 

Other pastors have not done better by their God either. “Pastor Oritsejafor, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called on Christians to defend themselves against the attacks of Boko Haram members to save their lives and properties. This simply means that he is advocating for Christians to take over the role of the Nigerian government as the ultimate provider of security and a negation of the Biblical injunction to turn the other cheeks!

Interestingly, apart from Pastors W.F. Kumuyi and T.B. Joshua who disagreed with Oritsejafor publicly, every other notable pastor in the business of Pentecostal Christianity that has spoken publicly on the matter supports Oritsejafor. Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the biggest Pentecostal church in Nigeria agreed with the advice of Pastor Oritsejafor. Evangelist Uma Ukpai, a prominent Man of God in the Pentecostal genre also agree with Oritsejafor, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, former President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria also towed the line of self-defense which would leave Kumuyi and Joshua in the minority.

 

Pastor Kumuyi, a respected conservative Pentecostal pastor is one of the pioneers of modern day Pentecostal Christian church. He is the Founder and General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry. He did not mince words in his public repudiation of Oritsejafor’s idea of self-defense. Mr. Kumuyi publicly rejected the idea of self-defense. He seems to be advocating the principle of turning the other cheek by asking of Christians not to defend themselves or retaliate against the members of Boko Haram, rather, he want Christians to pray to God to touch the hearts of the members of the Boko Haram so that they would stop killing Christians. Mr. Kumuyi went on to ask for a national conference where stakeholders in the conflict prone Nigerian project can deliberate on the problems confronting the nation and to find solution. I can only add that GEJ took the thunder out of his position.

Pastor T.B. Joshua, the other dissenting voice cited the Book of Daniel 3:16 and admonished Christians to take it to God in prayer rather than follow Oritsejafor’s precepts. I doubt if Nigeria is going to see the miracle of Daniel, Shedrack and Abednigo.

 My question is, who would the God of the Pentecostals Christian support since it seems as if the house is divided against itself? And I cannot help but

see the crisis that would engulf the nation if all Christians follow Oritsejafor’s theology.

Another prominent Pentecostal Pastor that seemed to have been gaffed is Bishop David Oyedepo. According to eyewitness account, he, like Bakare, went after the sponsors of the Boko Haram bandits.

2 March 2014, Mr. Oyedepo is quoted to have declared 7 days fasting during the Liberation night at the 33^rd anniversary of the Night Vigil of Winners Chapel meeting at the Faith Tabernacle located at Canaan Land, Ota, Nigeria. Papa, as his followers fondly calls Mr. Oyedepo, is reported to have said, “I curse the menace of Boko Haram in Nigeria. I decree death to all their sponsors hiding under the office of politics. I stand as an apostle of this end time, except God has not sent me, within 7 days, you are declared dead!” Of course this prophetic position by Papa received an earth shaking thunderous amen from his followers. Our source added that David Oyedepo went on to say unequivocally, “Within 7 days, we shall hear news in the camp of the wicked”. Of course we have been hearing news from North East of Nigeria since then that Boko Haram and its sponsors are not dead and it is two months since Bishop David Oyedepo declared a two weeks fasting that would lead to the death of Boko Haram and its sponsors!

I have a feeling that believers would tell me that 7 days as prophesied by the self styled man of God is spiritual and not the carnal 7 days!  I put it to such persons that any attempt to use that argument would amount to self deception and the most banal excuse any one can give in this trying times. Beyond that is the fact that, I would like to put it on record that when all this is over, as I know it would be, let none of this so-called men and Women of God come out and start laying claims to the efficacy of their prayers and prophecies in resolving or leading to the capture and decimation of Boko Haram.

God bless Nigeria

 Inaju

Transform-Nigeria#: Comparism of the Salaries of Politicians vis-à-vis other Professions in the US and Nigeria

Effective from January 1, 2001, the annual salary of the president of the United States was doubled to $400,000 (N60m) per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance making the president the highest paid public servant. The $400,000 includes everything and $350,000 out of it is taxable.
Below is a table of the earnings of some politicians in the US:
Public Officers Earning per year ($) Earning per year Naira (million)
President 400000.00 60.0
V. President 227300.00 34.1
Speaker of the House 223500.00 33.5
Majority Leader (Senate) $193,400 29.1
Minority Leader (Senate) $193,400 29.1
Other Senators 174000.00 26.1
Majority Leader (Representative) $193,400 29.1
Minority Leader (Representative) $193,400 29.1
Cabinet Secretary $193,400 29.1
* Exchange rate is set at $1.00 = N150.00
*Please note that US Vice President is also the Senate president.
Below is a table showing some of the items in the new (reduced) package for the members of the Nigeria National Assembly:
Items Senator (N) Representative( N)
Basic salary/Regular allowances 11,145,200 9,926,062
Furniture 3,039,600 2,744,454
Motor Vehicle Loan 5,066,000 4,963,031
Duty Tour Allowance per day 23,000 21,000
Severance Gratuity 6,079,200 5,955,637
Estacodes $600 $550
Other allowances expressed as percentages of basic salaries are:
Hardship Allowance @ 50%
Constituency allowance @ 200%
Newspaper allowance @ 50%
Wardrobe allowance @ 25%
Recess Allowance @ 10%
Accommodation @ 200%
Utilities @ 30%
Domestic Staff @ 75%
Entertainment @ 30%
Personal Assistance @ 25%
Vehicle Maintenance Allowance @ 75%
Leave Allowance @10%
Analysis
This analyses translate to the fact that in addition to the regular and legitimate salaries and allowances of N17 million ($113,333) and N14.99 million ($99,933) which senators and reps were collecting yearly and the irregular allowance of estacodes, duty tours etc, they were also collecting N192m ($1.28m) and N140m ($0.93m) respectively in illicit quarterly allocation which is not provided for by RMAFC.
Effectively, a Nigerian senator was taking home at least $1.40m ($1.28m quarterly allocations + $0.113m regular salaries and allowances) as against the $0.174m an American senator takes home hence a Nigeria senator earns at least 8 times as much as an American senator and more than 3 times the American president.
Whereas a Senator in the U.S earns N21, 146,000, the same as a member of the House of Representatives; a UK Member of Parliament earn £64,766 (N14, 896,180)
In other words, a Federal Legislator in Nigeria is paid more than double what a Member of British Parliament earns per annum.
Senate President David Mark alone takes N250 million quarterly or N83.33 million per month. Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu gets N150 million per quarter or N50 million a month.
Mark and Ekweremadu earns in 4 months, six times what the UK Prime Minister earns in a year. David Cameron goes home with £190,000 per anum (N43, 700,000)
In a Next newspaper news article entitled ‘An Assembly for looting’ written by Musikilu Mojeed with Elor Nkereuwem, the authors rightly claimed that each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives were getting N35 million in cash money in quarterly allocation while each of the 109 Senators pockets N48 million each. These allocations have however been slashed by 20% to N27 million ($180,000) and N38 million ($253,333) respectively due to the 20% reduction requested by the late president.
The cut has been a source of a major controversy in the House of Representatives in the past few days where members are agitating to jerk up the sum to N42m quarterly at a time when the government is lamenting being broke and when the already signed 2010 budget is being cut by as much as 40%. What a bunch of greedy inhuman lots! The discordance has caused members of the House to force the speaker, Dimeji Bankole to reduce his quarterly allowance from N140m ($933,333) to N100m ($666,667) or from an annual allowance of N560m ($3.73m) to N400m ($2.67m).
According to data obtained from CIA World Factbook, Nigeria has an estimated per capital income (purchasing power parity) of $2,400 in 2009 as against USA’s $46,400. This means that the average earning in the US is 19.33 times as much as in Nigerian.
With the reduced salary package, a Nigeria senator still get paid N11 million ($73,333) in regular salaries and allowances annually and N152m ($1.03m) in four (quarterly) allocation making a total of $1.11m plus irregular allowances like estacodes and duty tour allowances.
The Senate has allocated N1, 024,000,000 as quarterly allowance to its 10 principal officers, known collectively as the Senate leadership - Each of the eight other principal officers take home N78 million every three months or N26 million per month.
Besides, for this year, the Senate has voted N2.6 billion for local travel, N2.45 billion (foreign travel), N1.25 million (security), N2.28 billion (contingency) , N750 million (guest houses for Mark and Ekweremadu), and N500 million (establishment of radio and television stations).
The Executive Branch of government
A Nigerian Minister is paid N31,915,800 (32 million) per year, comprising salary (2,026,400), and benefits plus allowances (N29,889,400) ...American secretary (N23,488,000) ; British Secretary (N29,736,000) German Minister (N30,287,667. 20)."
A Nigeria Minister of State gets N30, 538,248 (salary N1, 957,580; allowances N28, 580,666) higher than those of a South African Minister (N7, 704,558);
Compare again to American secretary (N23, 488,000); British Secretary (N29, 736,000) German Minister (N30, 287,667.20)
A local government councillor in Nigeria earn over N1 million per month while a university professor, or a director in a ministry is paid peanuts as take home.
The salary review of political office holders till date revealed that 17,474 officials earned N1.12 trillion yearly of the N1.12 trillion about N94, 959,545,401. 20 billion is spent on salaries and N1, 031,654,689, 033.18 trillion goes to allowances annually.
While 16,540 out of the political officeholders, as revealed from the document emanating from the Presidency to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are expected to undergo a pay cut in line with former President Yar’adua’s proposal earlier in the year, this is yet to take effect.
The officers are: Federal Executive (472); Federal Legislature (1,152); Local Government Executive (3,096) and local government legislature (8,692).
According to the document, officers taken this large lump sum evidently, approximately 17,500 officials only constitute 0.014 per cent (less than a quarter of a percent) of Nigeria’s estimated 140 million people.
Again, it is common knowledge that the salaries of these officers amount to nothing compared to the juicy fringe benefits that accrue to them.
It could be recalled that ministers, advisers, legislators salaries were all jerked up in 2007 and 2008. While the members of National Assembly got 100% pay rise which would cost Nigerian tax payers N52.4 billion every year, and an additional N15.02 billion as multi-purpose allowances given to the lawmakers on quarterly basis, the package accruing to the federal executives had jumped by over 1,000 percent to N98 billion due to their allowances as compared N65.5 billion paid the federal executives during the last regime.
The last time Nigerian workers ever had an enhanced salary package was in 2000 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo announced the N5, 500 and N7, 500 minimum wages both for state and federal workers respectively.
Comparison of the Salaries of Politicians vis-a-vis other professions in USA and Nigeria
The politicians’ salaries listed above might look big to you but if you look at what is obtainable in the society, you’ll surely get the drift. I’d like to compare the earning of these top political positions with those of surgeons in America.
According to ehow.com, several factors such as experience, employer, location, gender and degrees may affect the earnings of a heart surgeon. Salaries discussed here are median earnings from 2009.
• Degree: A cardiac surgeon with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree will earn an average yearly salary of $292,774. If he has completed a Ph.D., however, the annual salary may rise to $400,000 on average.
It can be inferred from this that a surgeon earn as much as the president or even more. And in nearly all cases a surgeon earns more than the VP and other public office holders.
In the US, top attorneys in a top legal firm earn as much as $500,000 annually, a top journalist (like Christiane Amanpour) earns over a $1m, Wall street guys and top business executives earn $ millions in salaries, benefit, stock options etc. Top Sportsmen and Entertainers earn tens of $ million in salaries, endorsements, advertisements, profit sharing etc. Top CEOs also earn tens and in exceptional cases, hundreds of $ million in salaries, benefit, stock options and profit sharing.
If you consider the fact that many top politicians were also top earners before joining politics, you’d be able to understand the sacrifice intended.
The annual salary of the Surgeon General is about $190,000.
It’s a known fact Michelle Obama, the US first lady was earning much more as a hospital administrator in Chicago than her husband, President Barack Obama was earning as a US senator. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals as Vice President for Community and External Affairs, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate.
In Nigeria, political offices are often seen as a get-rich-quick avenue because the legitimate salaries and benefits are enormous and are probably unobtainable elsewhere in the system. Another reason is that politicians can also meddle with the public funds with impunity. Candidly, public officers do not differentiate between public and private funds and this is probably the main cause of the do-or-die politics. All arms of government collaborate in the looting causing no checks and balances.
After the late former president Umaru Yar’Adua complained about the nation's dwindling revenues and that politicians were being overpaid and causing his government a financial stress, there was an approved reduced remunerative package for the politicians. Based on the this, each of the 107 senators (excluding the Senate President and his deputy) would be collecting N11 million ($73,333) in basic salaries and regular allowances every year while a member of the House of Representatives would get N9.9 million ($66,000). Previously, a senator was getting N17 million ($113,333) while a House member was collecting N14.99 million ($99,933).
The regular allowances are accommodation, car maintenance, domestic staff, personal assistant, entertainment, leave, utilities, newspaper/periodica ls and constituency. These figures do not include non-regular allowances-- vehicle loan, furniture allowance, estacodes, and duty tour allowance and severance gratuity--which are paid separately to each legislator as they become due.
From a previous salary of about N10,000, a police constable now earns between N22,000 and N27,000 depending on his length of service and accommodation plan, while a sergeant’s pay has gone up from N15,000 to about N30,000. And from a pay slip of about N22,000, a Police inspector now earns at least N50,000 monthly.
Let me give an insight of the monthly salary of Nigerian police officers:
Constable = N22, 000 (£98) - N27, 000 (£120.27)
Corporal = N27, 000 (£120.27) - N28, 000 (£124.73)
Sergeant = N31, 000 (£138.09)
Inspector = N50, 000 (£222.72) - N52, 000 (£231.63)
Assistant Superintendent of Police = N80, 000 (£ 356.36) - N83, 000(£369.72) depending on whether he is a one-star ASP or two-star ASP.
A deputy Superintendent of Police = N90, 000 (£400.90)
A full superintendent = N100, 000 (£445.45)
In some states, while the state government claims not to have money to pay workers, it finds it convenient to pay politicians hundreds of thousands as monthly salary for doing practically nothing than looting the state blind. How can a state government justify the over N300, 000 salary paid to a ward councilor (and over N60, 000 to a councilor’s wife) while the highest paid teachers collects less than 30 percent and the least paid teacher collects less than 4 percent of a councilor’s pay. The total annual salaries of councilors in a state like Osun State (running to over N1.4 billion) are enough to employ 2240 workers on N50, 000 monthly salaries. This is pure robbery!
Yet, they reject the payment of N52, 200 minimum wages that the national leadership of NLC and TUC are fighting for.
Other Illegalities
Of all these allowances, the most intriguing is the constituency allowance. What is constituency allowance? You may ask. It is an allowance approved by Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The constituency allowance as approved by RMAFC is supposed to be 200% of the basic salary for politician but in reality, they are paid far more than that. The major flaw of this allowance is that the law does not require the politicians to file reports of how the money is spent.
The executives are not left behind, infact, the legislative plunder is like a child’s play compared to what the executives are illegally taking away from the system.
In addition to their constituency allowances, It is no longer a news that governors collect billions of naira as security votes which are unaccounted for and which makes everyone wonder which security are they providing with the money.
According to Davidson Iriekpen in an article titled, Security Vote - for Whose Security? “Every year, billions of naira is allegedly squandered under the guise of security votes. The funds suspected to be illegal, are purportedly being used to provide security for the president, governors and their domains, whereas they are being transferred into personal bank accounts. In spite of these huge sums of money, killings, kidnappings, cultism and other security threats are on the increase across the states. At the federal level, funds are allocated to the Ministry of Defense for the upkeep and welfare of the armed forces and the police, yet billions are still voted for the President as security votes whose impact is unknown.”
Many of the governors appropriate the sum ranging from several hundreds of millions of naira to billions monthly as security vote. And also according to human rights lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, security vote is an illegality and irresponsibility on the part of the country's leaders. He condemned the governors for appropriating security votes to them even when they know that it is unconstitutional. He also argued that the governors who indulge in security votes rob the society of essential resources.
In a report by RMAFC chairman, Hamman Tukur to the presidency, "He said the Federal, State and Local Governments flout the remuneration provisions made by the commission through frivolous foreign trips, arbitrary appointment of aides and use of excessively large motorcades.
He further said “based on the constitution, RMAFC has the final say on the remuneration package of National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly members, while a law need to be enacted based on the commission's proposals regarding the pay packages of executive and judicial office holders.”
Notwithstanding this warning, this illegality thrives from the presidency to the council. As the president takes billions of naira in monthly security vote, he also takes several millions in constituency allowance.
Conclusion
Past surveys of salaries and benefits of public office holders from the Baltic to the Bahamas, the Americas and the Far East and everywhere else, has showed that Ministers and Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in the world, despite the country being among the poorest in terms of per capita income, security, social provision and living standards. On the other hand, Nigerian workers are one of the lowest paid in the world.
The Nigerian Minister earns more than his American, British or German counterpart, and of course enjoys pecks of office those ones cannot even dare dream of - for doing next to NOTHING!!!
Likewise a Senator and his House of Representatives counterpart in Nigeria receive much more than their contemporaries elsewhere.
Do you know even any local government Chairman in Nigeria who does not own houses and fleet of cars?
Nigeria is a relatively poor country and there is no justification for a Nigerian politician earning much more than his American counterpart while others in other callings earn a fraction of what is obtainable in the US.
I think it’s about time we work out a ceiling system for the remunerations of public servants and tie them to what is obtainable in certain professions. And until we get this right, our politics will continue to be a do-or-die affair with the greedy lots dominating the air as their only attractions are the perks of the offices

Lessons for Nigerian Pastors from Rick Warren

Interesting interview. But it will be useful to always provide a time frame for such interviews so that one can put it in context. Warren is someone I respect and admire. What was not said in the interview is that he keeps 10% of his earnings from the book and give away 90% because he just does not want wealth and power to control him or intoxicate him. Journalist investigated and verified this.

The lesson here is for some in this forum attending some churches in Nigeria to draw ethical lessons here and use it to interrogate the social ethics of your ministers. With all the Christianity spreading in Africa, you find too much talk about wealth or signs and wonders. Warren will not see sign and wonders in the sense of the healing of his wife but he remains faithful. He has not allowed wealth to be the measure of God working in his life as is the case with some of the ministers in Nigeria who are overly concerned about structures and buying private jets. There is so much distortion of the Bible. For them, wealth is an indication of God working. They do things in excess but they give it a different packaging. Yet, pagan philosophers like Plato have discussed the importance of temperance as a virtue since BC period. In Christianity, some people call it contentment or moderation. Not that you should not live a good life, but what is the role of moderation?

If Jesus had the power to do everything to glorify himself, why did he walk as an ordinary peasant across Galilee? He lived like ordinary people. There is a whole problem with the way many Christians are reading the Bible. There is an anomaly in how Churches are mushrooming in Africa but corruption and wickedness of human beings against human beings is increasing. Obviously, if you look at the most Christian state in Nigeria and count the number of churches built and the number of people attending churches now compared to thirty or forty years ago, you will say there are more now than before. Then look at the social indicators in the society that are supposed to be directly impacted by Christian social ethics and evaluate whether there is any systematic change. Actually the social indicators have worsened.

I will argue that this is true with the Islamic religion in Nigeria. Shariah is supposed to mean a move closer to God, but corruption continuous. Do not be misled that all these Muslim elites who believe in Shariah are truly governing in the interest of the ordinary citizen. Northern Nigeria will continue in poverty with Shariah while many societies without shariah who do the right thing will get out of poverty faster. Most of the Islamic elites at the helm of affairs do not even recognize the simple Islamic concept of "AMANAH." Who would read the life of Caliph Umar and still think that these Muslim elites who espouse Islamic values are trying be more pious. Caliph Umar was a very simple man. If they would govern like Umar, things would change. I am sick and tired of the hypocrisy. Anyone can claim to be religious but the question of what is the social consequences of his or her religious beliefs are on culture, society, human interaction, ethics, etc, is an empirical question that anyone with sufficient training can evaluate. Just tell me your beliefs and once we agree what they are, I can evaluate the extent they have consequences on your life. So Rick Warren is a lesson to all those ministers in Nigeria that are more difficult to reach and it will be easier to reach Jesus if he was around given what we have read about how even poor sick women can be close to him and touch him without being chased away. Most Nigerian ministers in some of those denominations are drunk with power in the name of anointing. They start in humble ways and preach humility but their modus-operandi does not suggest humility. And most Nigerians study the Bible or are Christians without appreciating what its true history is.

But I have other observations:

a) On the question of the future of humanity. Christianity came out of Judaism and in this case there is a significant difference between how Judaism and Christianity in terms of their view of the meaning of life here and hereafter. The interesting thing here is Christians took the scriptures of Judaism and then claim that they know better than the believers of Judaism. Will Christians today be happy if someone took their religion and then told them that they got it wrong. Judaism believes that life here should be lived to the fullest meaning and not just be treated as unimportant because of heaven; it should not just be treated as an anomaly. If heaven is better than here as one person said, we should all go and hung ourselves to rush there. Moreover, certain positions on eschatology (e.g., dispensationalism) affects the commitment of Christians to fighting for social justice here, because they expect things to get worse here before Christ returns.

b) The question of life after death is not unique to Christianity. Just read Plato's APOLOGY and see how Socrates after his trial and before his death was contemplating on that. It is truly amazing to read that and this was in the BC period. Often we think that only Christianity prepares people about this. I am a Christian and a member of a Pentecostal Church (a different kind of Pentecostal than the one that is anti-intellectual like fundamentalist), but I think it is naive to think that way. Human beings have tried to answer the question of the divine in different ways and given the diversity of the world, it is going to be impossible for all of us to answer it in the same way. Even when we are Christians or Muslims, the social-historical context and our existential realities shape how we practice our faith. Travel across the world and you will see great variation in Islam and Christianity. My profound encounter with this was when I did my fieldwork research in Malaysia. Unfortunately some people practice their faith without capacity or the courage for reflexivity i.e., reflect on themselves as mortal human beings living in time and space.

c) IN the past, human beings could live for hundreds of years and it was alright. But it is impossible for us today to have most people live up to one hundred years because we have become so greedy and consume too much. WE will spend more money on maintaining the elderly unless if you discover through stem cell research how to make humans eternal. But who would like to live forever? I do not thing the current generation are willing to make the necessary sacrifices so that things will go round for everyone. If we will prolong people's lives, we will have to change our idea of property ownership and consumption. If prayers by religious people in Nigeria prolong people's life, but the religious elites continue to extract resources from the public but never focus on liberating the poor spiritually and materially, it will be a nightmare. Think about that. If people behave like Warren, that would be a different thing.

d) Many religious people believe in God but for a religious studies scholar, that is just a starting point. The meaning of what God really is vary among people even attending the same church. Often most Christians embrace capitalism but capitalism sort people out based on social classes and your social class affects your existential experience and how you read the Bible. No one reads his or her holy book in social vacuum. You cannot live in Appalachia in the U.S. and read the Bible the same way that someone in the Kennedy families would because your existential experience s are different. The people of Israel at one point thought Yahweh was in Jerusalem in the Holy of Holies. In Egypt they thought they had their own and Egyptians had their own God. Monotheism had not developed solidly then. It was when they were in captivity and a new understanding of God came that their God was not just their God but he is also controlling Babylonians. Human existential experience change their understanding of God. It is the same thing with us today. I myself, feel that if Nigerians have a deeper understanding of God, we cannot have the kind dehumanization of people because of their ethnicity, religion, or social class. I grew up in that culture but I now feel like going back to apologize to many of my classmates for ethnic jokes that were disrespectful. It is something I deeply regret. I also regret how I treated some of my female friends. I want to apologize to them too.

e) Heaven. Most religious people tend to think that God is up in the sky. But this contradicts their affirmation that God is Spirit and so he is not in one place but everywhere. He is not a physical being because that would mean he has a race, he has a gender, or is limited in space and time. God is spirit so that is why you cannot confine him him to a place or time. If this is the case, then no one knows exactly where heaven is, assuming this is where God lives. It is not like when people die, their soul goes up and crosses the sky to meet God. That treats God, as someone living a heavenly "White House" or paradise that is physically limited. This is a mystery as far as I know. I have seen scholars interviewed on camera on this. To this day, humans try to describe heaven in language that is just a reflection of their own existence here because they have no other way as human beings to talk about heaven. And often we describe heaven in terms of things here that we want and desire or consider perfect but cannot afford. Some think they will have golden streets there, they will have women with great breasts, or they can have sex. There will be no death, no pain etc. But these are all things that human desire here but cannot afford for so many reasons. Moreover, if people are going to resurrect, in what form are they going to do so? Will I resurrect in my youthful person which was part of me, my middle age person, or elderly person? Human beings have no one living experience in their life course. No one has a clear answer to these question.

f) Some say we will have our memory in heaven. This needs to be examined. If I can remember how I had to suffer in the past, I will still have the pain. So exactly what does it mean to have that memory.

Warren is a very humble person and I wish Nigerian ministers learn from him and give 90% of everything they own and keep the 10%.

Samuel
Department of Anthropology, Sociology & Reconciliation Studies
Bethel University,
________________________________

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS

Does prayer change things? The answer is YES! This may come as a surprise to those who know me and have followed my arguments on religion and the follies therein! Without an iota of doubt in my mind, I know too well the power of prayer, be it a prayer for evil or a prayer for good. Prayer changes people and when people change, they affect the things around them and cause changes by physically acting on the prayer and not by hoping that some supernatural powers will take action on ones behalf. Prayer changes the supplicants’ mentality towards what is prayed for and give them the zeal or motivation to go after what is prayed for decisively and with singleness of purpose. By the foregoing I am saying that depending on what one accept as true, if one honestly and earnestly yearn for what is prayed for, invest the needed amount of work answer is guaranteed. Prayer then becomes a motivator or if you like a therapy that weans one of lethargy; spun one to action and action beget result. Prayer is the verbal confirmation of our need to our self in serious ways. It is the periscope through which our inner eyes visualize our needs in a reflective mode, the engine oil that lubricates inertia and boost our faith and believes in our ability to do that which we need by articulating either verbal or silently such needs! It has nothing to do with some natural forces or benevolent spirits somewhere going to work on ones behalf. When we take physical action to actualize our prayers we affect changes in our life, around us and elsewhere in our favor by remote.
The power of prayer is not found in the emotional ejaculations of wishes as espoused by business men who claim to be God spokespersons on earth; rather it stems from a mental conversations with the self that crystallizes our need for us. It is a meditative process that does not need any sort of esoteric and bogus believes in any religion.
A good prayer is like a good motivational speech that spurs one to action. If at the end of your supplication you are not moved to act then you do not understand the essence of prayer. Prayer should be a quiet conversation with the self or your assumed god; to ensure the efficacy and fidelity of whatever god you pray to, you must put your prayer to action. The beauty of a well articulated prayer is that it moves the supplicant forward with the zeal of a warrior believing that your “god’ won’t let you down. By taking that bold step of faith, you move the spirit and forces at play to intercede for you. This has nothing to do with Christian or Islam or any other form of religion, rather, it is you who must move after crystallizing your need through prayer. Don’t forget that we all have our spiritual side! Prayer is a situation or condition that put things in perspective more clearly in your quiet time. Prayer is a conversation between man and his perceived god,(the god in this case being your inner will or resolve to act) if the supplicant can’t articulate his need clearly before his/her god then it will be difficult for such prayer to change him/her and by extension anything. You become what you ask through your prayer. A well articulated prayer is like well written instructional manual; the supplicant can follow it to bring his/her prayer to action.
The failure of prayer is not the failure of man perceived God; (we are, sometimes, our own god) rather it is the failure of man to persevere and follow the extrapolated demand of the road to success.
The much talked about universal God deal with universal problem and cannot be reduced to working for one person or one group or one nation. That is why it is funny to see footballers praying before starting a game. The only good that can come out of such prayer is if it motivates the players to play at their best. That is why all the prayers offered in Nigerian churches and mosques will never be answered. We pray and expect miracle without doing anything. The miracle can only come when we understand the import of prayer and act on it. Prayer should serve as a motivator for action. Period! The best side always wins in football tournament because that is the side that acts on their prayer. God is not a footballer and cannot take side and that goes for everything in life.
I do not find anything wrong with the concept of praying to or through one deity or the other. This is how society has programmed our inner mechanics and it helps those who are not strong enough to go it alone. We are what we are because of what we have learnt and how society has programmed us. We are forever doing battle with our mental concept of good and evil as learnt from our social interactions, cultural and natural environments. Some people have been able to break away from some of these societal norms and can see things more clearly than others, such people progress faster. There are those who are tied down by their programming and find it hard to see beyond their programming. Such people will never rise to their full potential until they can divorce themselves of perceived forces and ingrained dogmas.
There are those who believe that their inability to progress in life is tied to some family cause. Such people go for spiritual cleansing. The only good that come out of such cleansing is that it re-engineers the mechanics of your thought process and redirects your thought process. It imbues you with a belief in some imaginary power only because that is the only way by which you can take control of your situation and act in a new positive light. You are made to believe that the chain of the perceived family cause has been broken! Therein lies the power of prayer and belief! Once that perceived illusion is dispelled, you become a new person and you begin to affect things around you for the better.
If you do your home work well, things start happening naturally; even people that you don’t know or least expect to raise a finger for you will go the extra miles to help you because they know you will pull through and you will certainly come through because you have prayed and you are acting on your prayer! That is what is meant by one affecting changes remotely. It has nothing to do with religion rather it has to do with your understanding of the dynamics of life, your place in it and your track record or pedigree and how society perceive it.
For those of us who do not pray and do not worship anything, it is called self motivation! If you can stop for a minute and think about what you really need in life. Spend some time to try and visualize what it is you really need. Work diligently towards it, focus continually on it and believe that it will be yours. It must surely come to pass. The best form of prayer is hard work and believing in your own ability. Be willing to take risk knowing that failure is only a call to a new beginning, a temporary obstacles that will be beaten by doggedness, fastidiousness, I am writing from experience; the changes that you expect from prayer would never happen if you pray and sleep.
The saying that God help those who help themselves simply means that God will move the spirits when you move and God will move failure into your life when you seat and wait for him to do the work. God is not our servant neither is He our master. He is our friend and will help to do what we want if only we can help our self. It is said that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom but I say the fear of Devil will drive you to God but the fear of God will drive you to the Devil. So the fear of evil is the beginning of Wisdom. The love of good is the beginning of peace of mind and the fear of God is the end of Wisdom.

Scores held in US corruption probe

Scores held in US corruption probe


The arrests came as part of a 10-year investigation dubbed 'Operation Bid Rig' [AFP]

More than 40 people, including politicians, officials and prominent rabbis, have been arrested in connection with corruption, money laundering and organ trafficking in the US state of New Jersey.
The sweeping investigation, which saw 44 people arrested in raids on Thursday, is believed to be one of the biggest such actions in a state long associated with corruption.
Authorities said the arrests were part of a two-pronged 10-year investigation called "Operation Bid Rig".
Five rabbis were among suspects arrested, along with the mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield, prosecutors said.
Ed Kahrer, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's white collar crime and public corruption programme in New Jersey, called corruption "a cancer that is destroying the core values of this state".
"New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation," Kahrer, who has worked on the investigation since it began in July 1999, said.
"It has become ingrained in New Jersey's political culture."
Organ trading
Investigators used an informant, a real estate developer charged with bank fraud three years ago, to uncover a money laundering ring and organ trafficking, as well as corruption by politicians who exploited loopholes in state law to disguise bribes as campaign contributions.
Among those arrested
Peter Cammarano III, mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, accused of accepting $25,000 in cash bribes

Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, New Jersey, charged with taking $10,000

Anthony Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield, charged with agreeing to accept an illegal $10,000

Leona Beldini, deputy mayor of Jersey City, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion by taking $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions

Daniel Van Pelt and L Harvey Smith, both state assemblymen, accused of taking payoffs
The politicians arrested in the investigation were not accused of any involvement in the money laundering or the trading in human organs.
The money laundering network is alleged to have laundered tens of millions of dollars through Jewish charities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey.
They laundered some $3m for the undercover witness between June 2007 and July 2009, authorities said.
Investigators raided several synagogues and among those arrested was Saul Kassin, the chief rabbi of Syrian Jews in the US.
Those arrested also included Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, a Brooklyn rabbi, who was charged with conspiring to arrange the sale of an Israeli citizen's kidney for $160,000 for a transplant for the informant's fictitious uncle.
Rosenbaum was quoted as saying he had been arranging the sale of kidneys for 10 years.
'Public corruption'
Ralph Marra, the acting US attorney, told a press conference that the sweep demonstrated "the pervasive nature of public corruption in this state".
"The politicians willingly put themselves up for sale," he said, while "clergymen cloak their extensive criminal activity behind a facade of rectitude".
US television footage showed FBI and tax agents bringing a stream of handcuffed suspects, including the rabbis wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish garb, into custody in the city of Newark.
Most of the defendants facing corruption charges were released on bail.
The money laundering defendants faced bail between $300,000 and $3m, and most were ordered to submit to electronic monitoring.
New Jersey has long been notorious for official corruption and organised crime and is best known as the setting for the popular television show "The Sopranos".