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Will Barra Keep Killing Mexicans with Chariots of Death? Will Trump Stop the Carnage?
GM is more of a Danger to Hispanics than President Trump
Investigative Report Exposes GM's Deadly and Dishonest Conduct
Video: GM CEO Mary Barra Will NOT Speak Up for Safety
Barra's Congressional Testimony about Safety was Full of Starch
HISPANIC LIVES MATTER
A Project of the Consejo de Latinos Unidos
La Mentira Report
Barra's Congressional Testimony about Safety was Full of Starch
March 28, 2016 March 28, 2016 kbforbes
Days after Mary Barra's testimony to Congress in April of 2014, GM announced a new "Speak Up for Safety Program" and Barra stated it was established "to make sure everyone knows how serious we are about speaking up and about safety….to make our vehicles safer, to make our whole company a safer organization, and focused on the customer's safety."
Barra declared, "We need to drive cultural change to make sure people are going to go that extra mile in this area." In September of 2014, speaking to readers of Consumer Reports, Barra declared, "If we identify an issue that could possibly affect your safety, we will act quickly."
In our investigative report La Mentira, we show that GM and Mary Barra have deceived us about their concerns about safety and continue to sell deadly cars without airbags in Mexico and elsewhere. To say it politely, Barra was a lying sack of potatoes, full of starch.
For the record. here are more details from her fluff, her spin from 2014 before Congress.
Link to source document for the below.
• "…if it is a safety issue, there should not be a business case calculated." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "I believe, as we find problems, large or small, we will do the right thing. And if it requires a recall, we will do a recall." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "[cost-benefit] analysis on a safety issue or a safety defect is not acceptable, it is not the way we are going to do business, and that is not the culture—we will make sure that that is not the culture we have going forward" — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "If there is a safety issue on the vehicle—and we made sure on these vehicles that they are grounded…" — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "once there is a safety issue, it should never have a business case that goes against it in making any part of decisionmaking. And as we go forward now, there isn't any." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "Where GM has identified safety issues as part of its review, cost has not been a factor in determining whether to conduct a recall." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "if there is a safety issue, if there is a defect identified, we go fix the vehicle, fix the part, fix the system. It is not acceptable to have a cost put on a safety issue." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "…I think we in the past had more of a cost culture, and we are going to a customer culture that focuses on safety and quality." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "If there is a safety defect, the cost is not the issue that we look at. We look at what is going to take the fix the problem and make the vehicle safe." — GM CEO Mary Barra
• "if we are making a decision on safety, we don't even look at costs. We make the change." — GM CEO Mary Barra
Then there is an exchange between U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Mary Barra.
Senator RUBIO: "…what we never want to do is live in a country where companies can decide that, as a business model, we will decide not to make fixes to things despite the fact that they are dangerous because it would cost too much money to fix it. That is a dangerous precedent….will you also look for evidence in that investigation that, in fact, people knew that this was a problem but decided that the costs weren't worth it? Are you also in search of that, to see if, in fact, there were individuals or a culture in the company created by a group of individuals that encouraged employees to make these sorts of cost-benefit analyses based on economics and not on customer safety?"
Ms. BARRA. "As I have said, that type of analysis on a safety issue or a safety defect is not acceptable, it is not the way we are going to do business, and that is not the culture—we will make sure that that is not the culture we have going forward."
And then this exchange with Sen. Barbara Boxer and Mary Barra.
Senator BOXER. "…do you know if GM ever used this kind of cost-benefit analysis in its history? Do you know?"
Ms. BARRA. "If it was used for a safety item, it would be unacceptable."
GM's Barra Continues Selling Unsafe and Deadly Cars in Mexico
What We Are Seeking
We want GM to sell all their vehicles with life-saving airbags as a standard feature in Mexico and around the world.
We want Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, to apologize to the public for lying about acting quickly on safety. She decieved us.
The Consejo de Latinos Unidos (CDLU) is a national nonprofit organization and consumer advocacy group which educates and assists Latinos and others.
Founded in 2001, the CDLU's has been a leader in defending and assisting the public from abuses by irresponsible businesses and inept government agencies.
The investigative reports and efforts of the CDLU have provoked several U.S. congressional probes including hearings by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
Staff of the CDLU have been interviewed by numerous leading media outlets and testified or provided documentation to several governmental bodies and agencies including the California Legislature, the Pennsylvania Civil Rights Enforcement Division, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Chicago City Council, and the Florida Legislature.
The Wall Street Journal declared CDLU's successful efforts against overcharging hospitals "a big win."
The Washington Post called the CDLU "the lead agitator" against aggressive collectors.
El Nuevo Dia praised the CDLU as "Heroes of Our Time" for CDLU's Medical Aid Program.
People Magazine highlighted how the CDLU "deployed all the hardball tactics" to help the poor.
Email us directly or call +1-323-264-5889.
Copyright 2016 © All rights reserved Consejo de Latinos Unidos, Inc.


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PLM Makes Design Anywhere a Reality
eWEEK EDITORS
"Design anywhere, manufacture anywhere" may be the motto for many global manufacturers. But for Entegris, the maxim has fast become a mission as the company beefs up its strategy to better compete in the fast-paced world of semiconductors and high technology.
The $650 million Entegris—which sells products and services for wafer handling, electronics packaging and liquid microcontamination to the semiconductor and chemical processing industries—had to do some serious organizational and IT legwork to pull off that mission. The company has a highly global and diverse infrastructure, with manufacturing and research centers sprinkled across a dozen or more sites, which are spread even farther still throughout nine countries.
Getting those sites to share current manufacturing and product design data was no easy feat, according to John Peters, manager of engineering applications for Entegris, in Chaska, Mich. In fact, Entegris methods were cumbersome, requiring a dedicated professional to oversee all the back-and-forth FTP of documents and CAD models, he explained.
To boot, the time-consuming data-sharing process wasnt 100 percent accurate. Engineers on one side of the globe didnt always have access to the data reflecting the current state of the product—hardly ideal conditions, Peters said, for Entegris ambitious design anywhere, manufacture anywhere plan.
"This is such a competitive industry—its all about the cost of getting product manufactured and out the door," Peters said. "Products made in some countries could be turned around in a day, while it would take us five days at a much greater cost. We had to overcome that situation."
Entegris is well on its way to changing that course, thanks to a lot of hard work and a huge assist from longtime VAR partner EAC Design. Over the course of 18 months, Entegris embarked on a journey to overhaul its existing data-sharing infrastructure and create a more collaborative, global environment. The company brought in the Windchill PLM (product lifecycle management) platform from PTC, of Needham, Mass., upon which it began to build a global data repository for all its engineering and manufacturing data.
It also formulated new business processes to encourage information sharing among dispersed teams.
The result, Peters said, is that Entegris is now better able to more efficiently build or design product at any of its sites around the globe. And that, Peters said, is instrumental to its long-term goal of cutting costs and boosting time to market.
/zimages/2/28571.gifMicrosoft and UGS plan a PLM alliance. Click here to read more.
Like most manufacturers in the high-tech industry, Entegris far-flung environment was born out of necessity. The highly competitive nature of the market has led companies to outsource engineering or manufacturing work to less-expensive areas such as Asia. Entegris, for example—as a result of acquisitions, partnerships and establishing sites in various countries—has service, manufacturing and research facilities in nine countries, including China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and France, Peters said.
While much of the design work is still performed at its home base in the Chaska facility, Entegris has increasingly outsourced its tooling and mold work—now accounting for approximately 85 percent of that effort—to overseas facilities, both internal to the company and with outside partners, he explained.
"We outsource globally because its less expensive," Peters said. "Weve got to keep our product costs down and bring product to market faster, and [these partners] can turn around mold designs much faster than back in the United States."
The way this global set of partners collaborated in the old style of working was to send documents and CAD files related to product design and specifications back and forth over FTP.
Because of the sheer load of communication and data sharing necessary between the parties, Peters said his team had to dedicate a professional to oversee all the FTP exchanges. Moreover, he said, the process was time-consuming and cumbersome, and, oftentimes, the mere act of exchange would denigrate the integrity of some of the CAD models, requiring someone to spend up to three days to replicate the necessary associativity for successful design.
"Moving data around via FTP for the amount of internal collaboration required by Entegris was not a long-term solution," said Thane Hathaway, president of EAC Design, in Minneapolis. "While it was working for them, they needed a process that would help drive costs out and eliminate waste."
Peters said Entegris management team was well aware they needed to make over their collaboration routines, replacing the FTP process with a more accurate and faster way of sharing critical information. They also knew their existing PDM system—used to store all product-related documents and information—worked fine on a local level within the Chaska facility but did not perform well once Entegris factored the global sites into the mix, he explained.
With guidance by EAC, Entegris embarked on a search for an enterprise platform to create a global data repository for all product knowledge. After months of evaluation and testing, the company selected Windchill, from PTC, which also happened to be Entegris CAD solution provider. Having two systems that are so intertwined come from the same vendor was a logical choice, Peters said, yet it wasnt a slam-dunk. Entegris was committed to pursuing a lengthy and involved testing and validation period to ensure Windchill, and PLM in general, was the right fit, he added.
Given that his group at Entegris was limited in terms of manpower, Peters said the EAC team played an active role in formulating the business plan and rollout strategy necessary to winning executive sponsorship for the deployment.
"We needed their expertise and know-how," Peters said. "They had worked with Windchill before, while, for us, it was a new application to implement, especially on a global or enterprise basis."
So far, Entegris has encountered none of those hurdles, Peters said. Beyond sticking to the business plan, he said he credits EACs knowledge of Entegris industry and his groups own, very formalized user training initiatives as some of the more tangible reasons for their success so far.
While EAC had been working on engineering and manufacturing initiatives around CAD with Entegris for some time, Peters said Hathaways personal knowledge of the semiconductor space was what set the VAR apart from other potential partners for the project.
"He had knowledge of the semiconductor business, and he had a strong ProE [CAD background]," Peters explained. "Its a great benefit when a VAR truly understands your business because you dont have to go through the whole education process on this is how we work."
Having a VAR partner on a project of this scope also afforded Entegris some other benefits. EAC had great connections within PTC, Peters said, so it was always assured a quick answer to questions when it was stuck. In addition, while Peters Entegris team did most of the actual day-to-day implementation work on the Windchill project, the EAC group performed the data migration effort. This ensured that all the existing product data from within its former PDM system and housed in all the various systems at the different global sites was merged into a single global repository accessible by all, he said.
While Peters said there are plans under way to open up access to the system and to add new capabilities such as engineering change order control and configuration management, he said hes got all he can do to keep up with the mounting requests.
"They want to grow the system faster than I can manage, and were struggling with that today. It just shows true design collaboration is Entegris big push," Peters said.
Beth Stackpole is a freelance writer in Newbury, Mass. Contact her at [email protected]
Customer: Entegris, Chaska, Mich.
Organizational snapshot: Entegris sells products and services to companies in the high-tech, semiconductor and chemical processing industries in the areas of wafer handling, electronics packaging and liquid microcontamination
Business need: Entegris is pursuing a "Design anywhere, manufacture anywhere" strategy; it needed a seamless way to allow dispersed teams to share information more readily
The solution: With help from longtime VAR partner EAC Design, Entegris began to overhaul its existing data-sharing infrastructure and create a more collaborative, global environment; the company brought in the Windchill PLM (product lifecycle management) platform from PTC, of Needham, Mass., upon which it began to build a global data repository for all its engineering and manufacturing data
/zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, views and analysis on technologys impact on manufacturing.
eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today's technology decision makers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


steadily increasing customer base across India.
boodmo has so far attracted Rs 20 crore in FDI, of which Rs 5 crore was raised in July 2018. With these fresh funds, the organisation aims to strengthen its distribution channel by opening more sorting hubs. Locations are currently being explored in Maharashtra, particularly in Pune and Mumbai, for its next sorting hub. Bangalore is another city that the company would be exploring in order to cater to its extensive customer base in South India and improve the delivery process there.


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Penn State Health Physician Recruitment
Hospital Medicine (MD)
NOCTURNIST opportunity in scenic Central Pennsylvania Community Hospital settings
Full Time Nocturnist position opportunity at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center and our brand new facility opening Summer 2021, Penn State Health Hamden Medical Center. This brand new facility located in Enola, PA will host a 108-inpatient beds that include intensive and intermediate care, Radiology, Labor and Delivery, 25 Emergency Medicine treatment spaces, 10 Observation beds, 6 Operating Rooms, and 2 Cath Labs. This is an excellent opportunity for physicians who wish to enjoy a high-quality of life while providing care within a community setting employed by the Penn State Health system.
What we're offering:
7pm 7am shifts; 7-on/7-off schedule
Experienced colleagues and collaborative leadership
NP assistance for floor calls
Imbedded moonlighting opportunities
Competitive compensation plan
Comprehensive benefits with PTO and retirement package
What we're seeking:
D., D.O., or foreign equivalent
Completion of accredited training program
Ability to acquire a license to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
BC/BE in internal medicine
Must be able to obtain valid federal and state narcotics certificates
About Penn State Health:
Penn State Health is a multi-hospital system serving patients and communities across central Pennsylvania. The system includes Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pa., Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Children's Hospital, Penn State Cancer Institute, and Penn State health Rehabilitation Hospital (jointly owned), based in Hershey, Pa., as well as more than 1,300 physicians and direct care providers at 78 medical office locations. The system also has jointly owned health care providers, including Hershey Outpatient Surgery Center, Hershey Endoscopy Center, Horizon Home Healthcare and the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. Penn State Health shares an integrated strategic plan and operations with Penn State College of Medicine, the University's medical school.
Please contact Physician Recruiter Heather Peffley at hpeffley@pennstatehealth.psu.edu for additional information.
Penn State Health is fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is unapologetically expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.
Apply for Nocturnist
Your covering message for Nocturnist Required
Hospital Medicine (MD) Full Time Permanent jobs in Camp Hill


This is prime grazing property on 2 titles, and would be perfect for horses, stud beef cattle and cropping. It has a seasonal creek, ample water, power and excellent views from the high points.
The property is close to the Albert River and located on Nindooninbah Estate Road.
Ideal in size and located close to all facilities, this is a rare find in the very popular Beaudesert area. The region is rapidly growing with subdivisions and rural developments. This beautiful piece of land has great potential and an excellent position, and would make a superb lifestyle/stud/grazing property.


French prog-metal veterans Gojira blend vivid, sinister images in their video for "Low Lands," a track from the band's acclaimed sixth LP, Magma. The clip, directed by Alain Duplantier, cousin of singer-guitarist Joe Duplantier and drummer Mario Duplantier, features the brothers' childhood home in Ondres, France, near a stormy ocean.
"You're invisible/ You're in everything," Joe sings over droning guitars and marching snares. "Tell me what you see/ When you're everywhere." The shapeshifting track climaxes with a foreboding blast and fades out with a gentle acoustic guitar.
Magma, the quartet's hyped follow-up to 2012's L'Enfant Sauvage, was inspired by the death of the Duplantiers' mother.


Kent Scouts Theme Park Camp is back for 2018!
Fancy a fun action packed weekend camp at Chessington World of Adventures?
Arrive on Saturday at 8.00am, set up the tents and then spend the rest of the day in the park (packed lunch will be required for Saturday). After the park closes we gather near the Explorer Gate ready to go for dinner at the park restaurant for an all you can eat meal at the pasta and pizza place. We will then have evening entertainment. After that we return to site and camp overnight. Up bright and early on Sunday, a continental breakfast will be provided by the park then into the park with early passes before any of the public arrive! You will need to supply your own lunch and finish at 3.00pm then return to camp pack up your kit and leave by 4.00pm.
New for 2018: Go Ape is included in the camp!
A fun filled weekend not to be missed! Limited spaces available so don't delay book today!
ANNUAL PASS FOR CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES CAN NOT BE USED FOR THIS EVENT WITH KENT SCOUTS!
There are no places currently available on this event. Places may have already been filled or may not have been made available yet. Sometimes additional places will become available.
If you enter your email address below we will inform you if places become available.


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Articles about BBC
Part Ten: Keith Waterhouse of the Daily Mirror looks into the future of British television
Part Eight: Keith Waterhouse of the Daily Mirror looks into the future of British television
The future of television: Divine Right
Part Seven: Keith Waterhouse of the Daily Mirror looks into the future of British television
Goodbye to Savoy Hill
As the BBC gets ready to move from Savoy Hill to Broadcasting House in 1932, the staff look back at the old headquarters
Cat-swinging out in Queen Street
BBC Scotland's staff newsletter on the cramped conditions in Edinburgh
A look at what was on BBC radio on Friday 31 July 1964
Broadcasting in the West
It's 1949 and regional radio from the BBC Home Service is at its height. Our new special site reprints a BBC West of England booklet going behind the scenes of radio in the west and south west
Tonight's BBC Home Service… in 1939
A look at what was on the BBC on Tuesday 12 September 1939
The Guardian mourns the closure of the BBC Albanian Service in 1967
The 'girls' who keep the BBC's four northern local radio stations on air in 1968
Inside the hit BBC National Programme series 'In Town To-night', from 1935
The BBC since 1958
Sir Hugh Carleton Greene's valedictory message to the BBC and the audience after he was pushed out as Director-General in late 1968
The mike and I at Wembley
Ice hockey on the radio propels Stewart MacPherson from the press office at the Wembley Pool into a career with the BBC
Remembering Radio 1's first morning
Audience Research
A look at what's popular and how popularity is measured from the BBC in 1961
The BBC at War – 3
Broadcaster Freddy Grisewood's story of the BBC at war – part 3
TV, the child, and the critic
A report wonders if children's television is good for 1959's children
"Sound On; Vision On"
By-ways of the BBC: exploring Ally Pally in 1938 [9/9]
By-ways of Engineering
By-ways of the BBC: making it all happen in 1938 [8/9]
Why didn't the government take over the running of the BBC in 1940?
More By-ways of the Programmes
By-ways of the BBC: the output of Maida Vale, St George's Hall and beyond in 1938 [7/9]
By-ways of the Programmes
By-ways of the BBC: the output of Broadcasting House in 1938 [6/9]
How to receive BBC-2
BBC-2 is on its way to the north of England. This 1965 leaflet tells you all you need to know about receiving it
More By-ways of Administration
By-ways of the BBC: the school in Broadcasting House in 1938 [5/9]
► Ray Moore does Eurovision
Ray Moore opens and closes the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest for BBC Radio 2
By-ways of Administration
By-ways of the BBC: the first floor of Broadcasting House in 1938 [4/9]
By-ways Below Ground
By-ways of the BBC: the basements of Broadcasting House in 1938 [3/9]
Across the Threshold
By-ways of the BBC: walking into Broadcasting House in 1938 [2/9]
The Face of Broadcasting House
By-ways of the BBC: an introduction to Broadcasting House in 1938 [1/9]
The 1945 BBC Yearbook looks back at a quiet success of the war: Music While You Work
► The Peacock Committee reports back
BBC Newsnight on the Peacock Report in 1986, which recommends ITV franchises go to the highest bidder and BBC Radios 1 and 2 are sold
The old BBC: the press, the Crawford Committee and the end
Part seven of our series remembering the British Broadcasting Company
The old BBC: entering the last year
Part six of our series remembering the British Broadcasting Company
The old BBC: material changes and programme developments
Part five of our series remembering the British Broadcasting Company
Public service broadcasting – in 1949
The former editor of the Daily Herald decides what is public service broadcasting and whether the BBC manages to produce it
Liverpool, Wednesday 19 January 2022


According to the Pantone Color Institute, 2019 will be all about coral hue with a golden undertone. Living Coral color is optimistic and playful – features that are very welcome nowadays! Technically the hue is warm and vibrant mix of pale pink and soft red. Pantone acknowledges that their choice also highlights an environmental treasure under threat: »Living Coral is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of color.« As the name indicates, this color is prominent in nature and evokes an energy of the living world.
The same as we like the chosen color of the coral, we like the environment in which the corals live. When designing and equipping interior or exterior spaces, be brave! Combine colors … Living Coral with Ocean Blue, Gold and Petrol Green. Combine fabrics … plush with jacquard, linen with printed, velvet with leather, quilted with plain.


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Yahaya Bello and his proxy quest for Nigerian presidency
Nigeria's next presidential election is in 2023, which means there are still two years before the poll.
Though the election is still some miles away, politicians interested in the presidential seat have started building alliances, reviving old political catchphrases like the perennial call for restructuring, power shift and the unending quest for ethno-religious consideration in power distribution, among others.
Aside chorusing old sentiments that seem to resonate with the populace whenever elections are nigh, potential aspirants have started testing the waters by sending out their foot soldiers, shadowy groups and emissaries to start mobilising support for them across board.
One of such early birds is the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, a graduate of accounting from Northern Nigeria's premier university, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Not counting the politically undiscerning, only a few Nigerians were shocked recently when his posters bearing different jocular inscriptions written in popular Nigerian lingos snaked into the public space, depicting his interest in becoming President Muhammadu Buhari's successor in 2023.
For his initial introduction into the presidential ring via the posters, Mr Bello was largely a butt of ridiculous jokes and sarcasm by netizens of the country's ubiquitous social media.
By the way, Mr Bello, 45, had denied it flatly last year when Kingsley Fanwo, his commissioner for information, said the governor was under pressure to vie for the number one political seat in the country.
Of course, as history has shown, most Nigerian leaders always initially denied their political ambitions until much later when the coast was clear. Moreover, they always say they are under pressure from their associates, friends and communities to run for elective offices.
Despite Mr Bello's initial denial, his quest to be president in 2023 is beginning to gather momentum, courtesy of the activities of some of his political associates essentially from Kogi State, both online and offline.
Associates drumming support for Bello
In the interim, the most notable group of people working for the 'Bello for President Project' are the state's lawmakers elected on the platform of the governor's party, APC.
Shortly after the governor presented his budget 2021 proposal to the lawmakers last year, they passed a resolution, urging him to run for president.
True to their vow to mobilise support for the governor, early January, the lawmakers were in Plateau State to seek the support of their counterparts in the state for Mr Bello, in his latest political preoccupation.
Last week, the lawmakers, again, led by their speaker, Mathew Kolawole, met their counterparts in Kwara State and also interfaced with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on the need to support Mr Bello to become Nigeria's president, come 2023.
The lawmakers' message was unambiguous: it is the turn of the North-central to produce the president in 2023. In addition, they said Mr Bello is qualified in every ramification, going by the quality of leadership he is offering in his state, as well as his unifying roles in the APC at the national level.
Whether out of courtesy or sincerity, Mr AbdulRazaq praised Mr Bello's efforts in bringing development to Kogi State while also emphasising that the North-central has long been denied its due in the Nigerian federation.
Mr AbdulRazaq said contrary to social media criticisms of Mr Bello, his visits to Kogi State show that the governor is bringing physical development to Kogi and making giant strides in maintaining security in the state that was once a haven of daredevil criminals.
READ ALSO: 2023 Presidency: Kogi speaker canvases legislators' support for Yahaya Bello
Although the Kwara helmsman did not give an outright endorsement to Mr Bello's ambition, he nevertheless offered a clue that his counterpart from Kogi State can always rely on him.
READ ALSO: Three drown as bridge collapses in Ilorin
Besides the lawmakers who are doing a yeoman's job to sell Mr Bello's political credentials for the country's plum job, he has a legion of online warriors, most of them based in Kogi, who continually tout his qualifications and suitability for the job.
Like the state legislators, these cyber campaigners, mostly in their 30s and early 40s, argue that it is the turn of the North-central zone to produce the president and that Mr Bello, by all metrics of assessment, is shoulders above every other person in the zone to become one.
As the country inches towards 2023, so is the call growing louder for presidential power to shift back to the south.
Although power rotation between the north and south is not enshrined in the 1999 Constitution or expressly stated in the constitutions of the two main political parties – PDP and APC – there is an understanding among the political elite that power should always swing between the two regions in order to avoid one lording it over the other.
Against the foregoing, therefore, if the common understanding of power shift between the two blocs is to be sustained, the next president has to come from the south because the incumbent, Mr Buhari, from the north, will complete his two-term tenure of eight years in 2023.
That said, there is a latent conundrum about the call for power shift to the south: where exactly among the three geopolitical zones in the region? Each of the zones is interested and has a compelling argument as to why it is more deserving of the seat.
Nigeria has six geopolitical zones with the two regions having three each. The north has North-east, North-west and North-central while the south has South-west South-east and South-south.
Since the country returned to constitutional democracy in 1999, only the North-central and South-east have not produced a president or vice-president.
That fact about the North-central is one of the best tools the 'Bello for President' canvassers are deploying to advance the interest of their principal.
It remains to be seen how the power shift game will pan out eventually as it is too early to make a definitive call on where the pendulum will swing.
His strengths:
Youthfulness.
Those rooting for Mr Bello say he is young, vibrant and agile and as such will be able to steer the ship of the country with all the vigour and energy it deserves, unlike the incumbent, who once acknowledged that age has weakened his ability to discharge his constitutional responsibilities.
They said Mr Bello becoming the president will align with the silent agitation of the Nigerian youth who want one of them to become president.
A youth group has even declared it would force Mr Bello to declare his interest to be the next occupant of Aso Rock, while another, North Central Coalition for Leadership (NCCL), promised to buy the APC expression of intent and nomination forms for the governor.
His supporters say he has already demonstrated what he can do at the national level through his cabinet picks in Kogi, which is significantly populated by young men and women.
Be that as it may, it is uncertain if Nigerians are ready to elect a president younger than 50 years in 2023. The two leading candidates in the 2019 election were men in their 70s.
Before Mr Bello's coming to power in 2016, Kogi was a haven for violent criminals, especially high-grade kidnappers.
A year or two into his administration, the volume of crimes and criminalities in the state was said to have reduced, even if marginally, although those in the opposition and his critics say otherwise.
READ ALSO: Facebook launches climate science info centres in Nigeria, South Africa
The governor's supporters said he has shown kidnappers and cultists hell in the state.
For his commitment to stem the tide of insecurity in the state, Ibrahim Idris, a former inspector-general of police, named him the Best Governor of the Year on Security in 2016, an award the PDP described as undeserving.
Similarly, his supporters recalled that the Northern Governors' Forum chose him to head the forum's security committee because of his achievements in the sector in Kogi.
Gender sensitivity.
Among the 36 state governors, Mr Bello is said to be one of the most gender-sensitive in terms of distribution of appointments and political offices.
It was during his term in office that a woman was appointed for the first time ever in the state as Secretary to the State Government, in the person of Folashade Ayoade. The state's Head of Service is also a woman.
Mr Bello is also the first governor in the state to appoint a female chief press secretary during his first term in office. His current Aide-de-Camp is a woman too.
The vice-chairpersons in all the 21 local governments in the state are female, also a first-time occurrence in the state. Some local commentators said the governor deliberately persuaded his party to pick women as deputies to the chairpersons.
A United Nations body, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, recently commended Mr Bello for facilitating the election of women as deputy chairpersons of all the local councils in the state.
In a commendation letter dated January 26 sent to the governor, UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Comfort Lamptey, described the appointment as a "bold effort" on the part of the state government.
Ms Lamptey, in her letter, asked the governor for a meeting with him on how the body could help Kogi State in promoting issues that have to do with the female gender.
Interestingly, however, a group, Emerge Women Leaders in Nigeria, criticised the commendation letter, urging the UN to withdraw it with immediate effect based on what the group described as an act of illegality on the part of the governor.
The group said rather than allow the women to run for elective offices, the governor decided to shunt their participation by choosing them as deputies.
Also, the group said the reelection of the governor in 2019 took the life of a woman, Salome Acheju Abuh, a PDP woman leader, who was burnt to death in her house after the election. It also cited the malicious attack on Natasha Akpoti, the gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the election.
Before the UN commendation letter to Mr Bello, a non-governmental organisation, the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), had also conferred an award on him for promoting gender inclusiveness in his cabinet, though the PDP condemned the award saying Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike was more deserving of it, going by the number of women, elected and appointed, holding different positions in the state.
Questionable performance
While Mr Bello and his supporters say has done well as governor in terms of improved security, infrastructural development, among others, his critics say he is the worst governor the state has produced.
They said Mr Bello has squandered the enormous goodwill that heralded his coming to power by failing to leverage on the momentum through quality performance in office.
One major dark spot of his administration, especially during his first term in office, was the endless staff verification exercise his government embarked upon.
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The exercise left many civil servants unpaid for months to the extent that some died because they could not take care of their health.
But things have changed in that area. A lecturer in one of the state-owned institutions who did not want his name mentioned told this newspaper that the state government has improved in salary payment in recent times.
Negative perception.
Both online and offline, except for his associates and supporters alike, many Nigerians do not appear to take Mr Bello seriously. In fact, some see him as a comedian just passing time in office and not ready for the real business of organic governance.
Unfortunately for Mr Bello, this negative perception is beginning to assume a life of its own as it is often said that in politics, perception is reality.
'Rigged' re-election.
Although Mr Bello won the 2019 governorship election in the state according to INEC, which was also judicially affirmed by the courts, many reports by local and international observers decried the way he achieved reelection.
The election was characterised by violence and claimed a couple of lives, including that of the PDP woman leader in Igalaland in Kogi East senatorial district.
The PDP and the SDP said Mr Bello would not have won the November 2019 election but for the violence he allegedly unleashed on the opposition and electoral manipulation.
Mr Bello is also believed to be one of those slammed with visa restrictions by the U.S. because of his roles in the 2019 general election in the state where members of the opposition were gagged, harassed and assaulted by non-state actors believed to be loyal to him.
Northern-ness.
Regardless of whether the North-central has never produced the president or even the VP since 1999 or not, the zone is still considered a part of the north where power would have stayed for eight years by 2023. This ordinarily implies that power should shift to the south in the next presidential contest, other things being equal.
The question then will be: if power is shifting to the south, will Mr Bello qualify to vie for the seat of the president, given that he is a northerner?
Presidential quest a ruse?
Some analysts say Mr Bello's real desire may be to become the running mate to whoever his party picks from the south, having realised it is only fair for power to return to the south in 2023 in the spirit of equity.
If Mr Bello's real quest is to become VP, then some commentators say he stands a good chance. As a Muslim, he can run with a Christian candidate from the south as there is also the need for religious balancing in picking candidates for the country's two topmost political positions.
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