'Stay at home' for #LekkiMassacre protest is not a sign of weakness. The likes of Odanz -or is it Odense? - have called attention to this and they are not pacifists. They are strategist-realists.
Activism is the art of war. Pounce when the enemy is at its weakest [Thread]

As a young activist in 1991 and NANS President, I knew activism was and still the art of war; and also knew that in war you pounce when your enemy is at its weakest.

What I didn't realize is the strength of the "pouncer"
NANS Senate - the highest organ of NANS- met in Ilorin in March 1991 and issued 13 points 30-day ultimatum to IBB, chief of which was to scrap the political transition programme, resign and handover to the Government of National Unity.
As NANS Chief I was saddled with the duty of moving around Nigeria mobilizing for a showdown with the junta beginning from 1 May 1991. Negotiations between NANS and FGN led by Prof Babs Fafunwa and Alex Akinyele broke down before the expiration of ultimatum on 30 April 1991
At the joint press conference addressed by Fafunwa and Akinyele on 27 April 1991, Akinyele threatened that "students leaders will be picked like snails" and asked parents to advise their wards. Traditional rulers joined in the blackmail.
30 April 1991, five national student leaders including yours sincerely were declared wanted by the federal government. That day, Yabatech moved. LASU followed next day. Across Nigeria, the Big 8 moved: UNN, Ife, Ibadan, Benin, Calabar, PH, ABU, Jos moved 1 May 1991
Then, the massive military, police and SSS onslaughts began. 2 students were killed in Yabatech. DELSU broke out from Abraka and seized Radio Warri. Nigerians were killed on the streets by soldiers. Over 20 students leaders were arrested, including the central leaders of NANS
Mass expulsions of student leaders began across campuses. NANS leadership was in prison - Kirikiri and Ikoyi Prisons - and the students movement was in disarray.

Peace activists like Papa Chris of Unilag took over!
One lesson we learned too late was that we underestimated the strength of our enemy and overestimated our strengths. The truth we glossed over was this: NANS was at its weakest in 1991, having just recovered two months earlier from internal factionalization;
and having fought the military in 1986, 1988, and 1989, the Association had weakened internally from each fight. We were overzealous as youths and wanted to taste battles on the streets.

But, we learned in 1993 after many of the generation had become battlers for democracy
When IBB annuled June 12 polls and the army resolved to kill peaceful protesters on the streets, we ensured that Stay at home became the star strategy of the Campaign for Democracy (CD): stay at home and hold on to your streets.
The enforcers of the stay at home were the very thugs the government would have used against us, particularly in Lagos.

We worked with them because we sufficiently educated them.

And our campaigns were successful.
Stay safe, folks.

Morning comes.

Good afternoon from the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.

More from Society

So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/
The Nashville Operation - A Battle in the War

A thread exploring the Nashville bombing in the context of the 2020 Digital War (via SolarWinds) against the United States perpetrated by our enemies, likely China, Iran and/or Russia.


SolarWinds Hack

A digital "Pearl Harbor" moment for the United States, whoever was responsible had access to the keys to the kingdom for months during 2020, including sensitive military infrastructure. This is war!

SunGard + SolarWinds

SolarWinds software company is owned by same company that owns SunGard, which essentially provides data center services. A secure place to host internet servers with redundant power and "big pipe" data connections.

https://t.co/U3P3SrrkM1


SunGard Data Center

In Nashville, around the corner from their "big pipe" connection, AT&T. Like any data center, highly secure. Only authorized personnel can enter, and even fewer can access the actual server rooms. Backup generators are available in case of power failure.


If the SunGard hardware was being used to "host" critical command and control software related to SolarWinds, the US powers would be very interested in gaining special access keys that are stored on the hard-drives of specific servers.

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I’m torn on how to approach the idea of luck. I’m the first to admit that I am one of the luckiest people on the planet. To be born into a prosperous American family in 1960 with smart parents is to start life on third base. The odds against my very existence are astronomical.


I’ve always felt that the luckiest people I know had a talent for recognizing circumstances, not of their own making, that were conducive to a favorable outcome and their ability to quickly take advantage of them.

In other words, dumb luck was just that, it required no awareness on the person’s part, whereas “smart” luck involved awareness followed by action before the circumstances changed.

So, was I “lucky” to be born when I was—nothing I had any control over—and that I came of age just as huge databases and computers were advancing to the point where I could use those tools to write “What Works on Wall Street?” Absolutely.

Was I lucky to start my stock market investments near the peak of interest rates which allowed me to spend the majority of my adult life in a falling rate environment? Yup.