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January 24, 2019
Ezekwesili opted to help build a coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 16, 2019 election.
 
 Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili,
The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has announced her withdrawal from the presidential race.
She however, opted to help build a coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 16, 2019 election.
A statement issued on Thursday morning by the spokesperson for Obiageli Ezekwesili Presidential Campaign Organisation, Ozioma Ubabukoh, said she took the decision after “extensive discussions with Nigerians at home and the Diaspora.”
According to her, the action was also prompted by an examination of the country’s electoral environment sequel to the 2019 presidential debate of Saturday, January 19, 2019.
The statement reads, “This decision followed extensive consultations with leaders from various walks of life across the country over the past few days. I deem it necessary for me to focus on helping to build a veritable coalition to ensure a viable alternative to the #APCPDP in the forthcoming elections.
“It is my ardent belief that this broad coalition for a viable alternative has now become more than ever before, an urgent mission for and on behalf of Nigerian citizens. I have therefore chosen to lead the way in demonstrating the much needed patriotic sacrifice for our national revival and redirection.

“I wish to state that over the past three months, I have been in private, but extended talks with other candidates to birth a coalition that would allow Nigerians to exercise their choice without feeling helplessly encumbered by the evil twins of #APCPDP.

“While the deliberations continued, I never hesitated for a moment in my willingness and determination to sacrifice my candidacy in order to facilitate the emergence of the envisaged strong and viable alternative that Nigerians could identify with in our collective search for a new beginning.

“My commitment to this promising political recalibration has been consistent and in consonance with my agreement, at the request of candidates under the Presidential Aspirants Coming Together arrangement in 2018, when I consented to supervise the internal selection process as an outside observer passionate about building an alternative force.
“However, despite resistance from the ACPN on these and other issues, I have decided that it is now necessary to show by action and example my determination on this issue by stepping down my candidacy so as to focus squarely on building the coalition to a logical conclusion.

“We have no right to allow citizens give in to despair. We will #Fight4Naija together and prove to all that the mess, which the political class has now become, should not be allowed to destroy our spirits and nation. We are also determined to ensure that the message keeps resonating that our beloved country deserves better, and that we will get the best that we deserve.

“From last year, when I joined the presidential race, I made it clear to Nigerians that the country has always had a 20-year cycle of change – 1958, 1979, and 1999. As such, 2019 begins another 20-year cycle, and together with all Nigerians of good will, I stand ready to play my part to ensure that we do not miss this golden opportunity to sing a new song. There is no more time to waste. Let’s get to work!”
Ubabukoh thanked Nigerians, including campaign donors and volunteers, who supported Ezekwesili, saying that “every money donated to the campaign and funds spent will be accounted for in the coming days.”
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January 21, 2019
Nigeria's Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Fashola has asked Nigerians to collect bribe offered by politicians.
Babatunde Fashola
 
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has advised Nigerians to collect the bribes offered by politicians during the 2019 general elections.
 
He said the money had been stolen from them and that voters should not reject such offer.
 
NAN reports that Fashola spoke during the continuation of his neighborhood consultations/campaign for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 to two wards in Surulere Local Government of Lagos on Sunday.
 
Speaking on vote buying, he said, “they would want to bribe you, if they bring the money collect it because it is your money that they stashed away, but, don’t sell your conscience.

“You must make a sensible choice in the interest of yourselves and your children.”
 
At his own ward G3, Fashola reeled out the achievements of Buhari which included improved power supply.
 
He said that 108 metering companies have been given licenses to supply meters to address problem of discriminatory and arbitrary billing in the electricity sector.
 
“It is the solution of our government by the President to intervene in the metering gaps, people were licensed as Gencos and Discos.

“Discos have the contract to supply meters and we hear the concerns of citizens now saying that they want meters because their bills are going up.

“So the President and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the proposal for us supported by the law, the Electric Power Sector Reform, with that, we can license new operators within a licensed area.

“So this time, we are going to create new businesses for meter suppliers under a Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme. That policy has been approved.

“Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has made the regulations around which it will work; 108 companies, small businesses that will also create employments because those companies are now going to be the suppliers of meters.

“They are going to employ people to install the meters, they are going to buy meters, they are going to make meters,’’ he said.
 
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January 21, 2019
Turaki Adamawa, there�s hunger in the land. There�s also no water, though we�re in the rainy season. Poverty is second skin. Disease is a playmate. Death is the next-door neighbour.
 
Atiku Abubakar
 
I congratulate you on your triumphal entry into the US after many years of blacklisting induced by plenty corruption allegations. I also wish you success in your fifth shot at the Presidency – having failed in 1993, 2007, 2011 and 2015.
 
Though the son of somebody, I’m a nobody. Somebody, in this context, is ‘Lagbaja’, the faceless Nigerian man on the street. My mother was Tamedo, a name for the anguish of the Nigerian woman. Your Excellency, I bet there’s no way you can ever recall meeting a fry like me because royalty and peasantry don’t mix. But fate crisscrossed our paths a few times when I was hounding news.
 
I was that big-eyed, lanky lad that interviewed you, in company with some colleagues, at the Osun State Government House, Osogbo, during the governorship of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. It’s been a long, long time. I know you can’t possibly recall my first physical encounter with you. And Your Excellency doesn’t need to risk a headache trying to recall meeting a nobody like me; you’ve daily come across an army of my ilk in the past few months while campaigning for votes nationwide. Every four years, you come across my type, the labourers of the scorched earth called Nigeria. Every four years, your bag of promises makes stampede crush a people in want of meaningful existence. Today, you’re one of the two-most-talked-about men in Nigeria, the other being an incumbent failure, whose head the crown doesn’t fit again. I’ll write him a letter soon, too.
 
Turaki Adamawa, there’s hunger in the land. There’s also no water, though we’re in the rainy season. Poverty is second skin. Disease is a playmate. Death is the next-door neighbour.
 
I must state from the outset that this letter isn’t an attempt to diminish your chances in the February 16, 2019 presidential election. Rather, it’s a window to the heart of the common man on the street, whom you intensely seek to govern. This letter will neither praise nor abuse you. It’s merely an intimate outpouring of innermost emotions depicting the tragedy of the Nigerian state, and her leadership, which you represent.
 
Sir, when I say death is next-door neighbour, it’s an understatement. Death daily dangles its club above the skull of every Nigerian, menacingly. Nobody is safe. A fatal blow to the head spurts blood and eyes close eternally in auto accidents, diseases, stray bullets, murder, suicide and sundry other fatalities. I know these are what you’re coming to change if voted into power, but these problems didn’t just grow in the last four years; your party, the Peoples Democratic Party, sowed the seeds of corruption and stacked backwardness, profligacy and pervasion in barns for Nigerian generations yet unborn.
 
You were the deputy to President Olusegun Obasanjo when billions of dollars were pumped into endless tunnels in search of electricity. It was also a time when the US courts found an American congressman, William Jefferson, guilty on 16 charges and handed him a 13-year jail term for a multimillion-dollar scandal in the Halliburton joint-venture with Nigeria, designed to build a Liquefied Natural Gas plant on Bonny Island, Rivers State. The shady deal earned some other Americans various jail terms, but just as the former PDP Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, bestrode Nigeria in saintly cassock before the hammer squished him in faraway England, your name was loudly mentioned in the Halliburton scandal. Another ex-PDP governor, Lucky Igbinedion, of Edo State, didn’t have the luxury of escaping abroad as a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu handed him a six-month jail term over a multi-billion naira fraud just as the late PDP Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, pleaded guilty to allegations of multi-million-dollar corruption charges in December 2005, earning just a two-year jail sentence.
 
Your Excellency, the ridiculous jail terms handed down to corrupt officials during your joint ticket with Baba Obasanjo cemented the foundation of corruption in the judiciary, a cancer which your administration failed to fight. The ongoing lopsided anti-corruption mockery by the Muhammadu Buhari-Yemi Osinbajo presidency is evidence that both your party and the All Progressives Congress are spineless, visionless and self-serving. But you can win some converts to your side by putting to rest the ghost of the Halliburton scandal in a detailed explanation stating your side of the story and why it has taken you this long to visit the US. Sir, I sincerely wish you prove your innocence over the mountain of corruption allegations the APC is levelling against you, not because the ruling party is unblemished, but to highlight the hypocrisy that made the APC prevaricate on horrendous scandals such as the Gan-dollar of Kano, Maina-gate, multi-billion naira Daura-gate, Babachir Lawal’s golden grass cutting, N919m NHIS scandal, herdsmen bloodletting, the immoral pardoning of accused former PDP leaders who defected to the ruling party, etc.
 
Government inertia and corruption since 1999 have worsened socio-economic infrastructure and service delivery such as roads, hospitals, schools, airports, seaports and security. This phenomenon has proliferated deaths on Nigerian roads, produced dunces in Nigerian schools and metamorphosed our general and teaching hospitals into kiosks and mortuaries – all in the land which you superintended for eight years as vice-president before ambition and corruption allegations erupted a volcano of hate between you and your former boss-turned-curse-now-lord. Two dear family friends, Mrs Olufela Ebisemiju, and Mrs Olusola Toyin-Fidudusola, recently died in auto accidents in Abuja and Osun State respectively in circumstances that could largely be prevented. I lost my mother in a similar circumstance in February 2008. A junior colleague, Mrs Bola Ogunboyowa, is still lying critically ill in hospital after sustaining injuries in an auto accident. The Federal Road Safety Corps on Saturday said 393 children were involved in 2018 end-of-the-year crashes even as five persons were killed along the Molete-Ibadan Road a day ago.
 
Your Excellency, you can see that death is cheap and available in the country you crave to govern. I’m sure that during your recent visit to the US, you noticed the sanctity of life and the dignity of living. I’m almost certain you’re driven to the airport in a siren-blasting convoy with immigration officials and the police falling over themselves and breaking protocols to clear you for the vanity trip. But, I would rather you visited the nook and cranny of the country to see the suffering afflicting the masses. I noticed you walking side by side with Senate President Bukola Saraki like ordinary citizens at the Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington, without gun-wielding security agents, convoys, touts, hungry praise singers, and party members shouting themselves hoarse.
 
Personally, I don’t support the American circus which election into Nigeria’s highest office has been turned into, but now that you’ve visited and returned, you might as well take some lessons from the trip. Sir, did you notice the seriousness attached to governance in the US as opposed to the tragicomedy constantly on display in Nigeria? I’m sure you didn’t see any university named after Nigeria in your jiffy visit. Did you notice that no private Nigerian university or nursery/primary or secondary school compares with any public school or university in the US? Did you see any Almajari children roaming the streets?
 
Aren’t you envious of the level of sophistication and courtesy displayed by the American police and military? I’m sure you felt safer in the US than in Nigeria. I’m also sure you noticed that every American pays tax unlike in Nigeria where only the poor pay tax. Did you observe that insurance is a major pillar of the American economy? Did you see dust, let alone sand or stones or refuse or faeces on their roads? I’m sure you’ll agree with me that if funds meant for power were embezzled, light won’t be constant in America.
 
Turaki, I wish you luck.
 
Tunde Odesola

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com

January 21, 2019
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly ordered the prosecution of former SGF, Babachir Lawal over the grass-cutting scandal.
Babachir Lawal
 
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Sunday that Babachir Lawal would be prosecuted for allegedly stealing money earmarked for the displaced victims of Boko Haram insurgency, Premium Times reports.
 
The vice-president said President Muhammadu Buhari had prevailed on anti-corruption agencies to prepare criminal charges against Mr Lawal, who served as cabinet secretary from 2015 until he was disgraced out of office on October 31, 2017, after being indicted of stealing millions of emergency funds.
 
Mr Osinbajo said Ayodele Oke, the former director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) was also recommended for prosecution.
 
Mr Oke was the NIA head when a large vault of money was found in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos in April 2017.
 
“The president has directed that the SGF and former DG of NIA should be prosecuted,” Mr Osinbajo was quoted as saying by the News Agency of Nigeria at a Lagos dialogue organised by Christian youth affiliated to the GRILL, Ikeja Branch.
 
The government has faced criticism for its snail progress in bringing charges against Mr Lawal, who was first found to have stolen millions of IDP funds using firms linked to him in a December 2016 Senate investigation.
 
The president initially argued that there was no substance in the Senate investigation, but ultimately succumbed to public pressure to remove him and ward off any political garbage that the administration could suffer from the scandal.
 
Even though he was removed from office, Mr Lawal continued to associate with Mr Buhari, and there is no indication the president was ever uncomfortable with this.
 
The disgraced former government secretary had also been the president’s point man in Adamawa State, as well as a major player in the reelection campaign team.
 
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited Mr Lawal for questioning at least twice, although it was unclear whether any charges were filed.
 
Still, Mr Osinbajo said, “we are expecting that prosecution will take place.”

“The next of course is that criminal allegations will be filed against them and the prosecution process will be completed,” he added.

January 21, 2019
According to Jimoh Ibrahim, the death is a big loss because she was somebody you won't like to part with.
 
Theresa Jimoh, Jimoh Ibrahim
 
Business mogul and legal practitioner, Jimoh Ibrahim, on Sunday gave an insight into the death of his mother, Theresa Jimoh, describing her as “a mother we will always love to have at all times.”
 
According to him, the death is “a big loss” because she was “somebody you won’t like to part with.”
 
Ibrahim, who spoke with PUNCH Metro from the United Kingdom, said “death must occur; something must cause death.”
 
He stated, “I’m not in Nigeria; I’m at the Cambridge University and not yet home. As a PhD student, I need to get the permission of the university to travel. All I can say is that mama will be given a befitting burial; she is right now in the mortuary.
 
“When the family announces the date for the burial, we will make it known. Her family will have to handle that because in our culture, I am to do nothing. The family takes charge and decides. At this time, I don’t do anything. I will have to wait for family instructions. So, her immediate elder brother is the one in charge.

“But we thank God that we were able to recover her remains from the fire. Her body is right now in the mortuary, but she will be given a befitting burial. She was a great mother; she did her best and was well taken care of too. My mother was once kidnapped.

“She was a lovely mother; one we will always remember and the mother we will always love to have at all times. Her words are left behind; we will take care of the training she imparted in us and what she did to us when she was alive. The death of my mother is a big loss; she was somebody you wouldn’t like to part with.

“But death must occur; something must cause death. You cannot control that; some people die while asleep or in a plane crash. Something must cause death; it doesn’t just happen. Something must cause it. The greatest thing is that we are happy that she left a good legacy.
 
“She usually had her prayers as a Catholic. What I was told was that she was having her prayers. She had an altar where she prayed and she lit a candle at that altar. I think that on this occasion, the candle must have ignited the window blind. She had aides; she has her own house where she stayed with a house boy, house girl and security guard.

“By the time rescue came, the fire had already had a serious impact. My mother was 78 years old; she couldn’t survive much stress because of the impact of carbon monoxide on her. We’ve taken everything like that; but the good thing is that we were able to recover her remains. What if there was fire and we couldn’t see her? That would have been more painful.”
 
Ibrahim’s brother, Dipo, however, said their mother died as a result of family mismanagement.
 
Dipo, who released a brief statement on the incident on Sunday, denied that the deceased was killed by a candle fire.
 
The statement read, “Dipo Jimoh (last born and the closest son to the late mother, Mrs Theresa Jimoh), who recently graduated from the Columbia University, and the MD/CEO of Barama Energy Resources, has denounced the root cause of his mother’s death as candle fire. He also denied that her remains were deposited in a morgue by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.

“Dipo has promised to face any heavy weight individual or group, which plans to misinterpret or confuse the populace about the root cause of his mother’s death. My mother died as a result of family complications and mismanagement.”
 
When a correspondent called him for further explanation, he said he would not make any further comments for now.
 
When PUNCH Metro sought Ibrahim’s reaction to his brother’s statement, he simply said, “Please don’t involve me in that. My mother has just died; I am bereaved. I have no comment.”
 
The septuagenarian was in her house at the Victoria Garden City Estate when she was burnt to death by fire that engulfed her apartment in the early hours of Saturday.
 
An official of the state fire service had said preliminary information revealed that she was praying when she probably dozed off and that a candle she lit started the fire.
 
Her remains were reportedly deposited in a morgue after the intervention of firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service.
 
In 2011, the deceased was kidnapped in Igbotako, Ondo State, and was released in Sapele, Delta State, after the family reportedly paid huge sums of money as ransom.
 
She was then relocated to the VGC in Lagos after she was released by her abductors.
 
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, in a tweet, claimed that the fire was caused by power surge.
 
“Please let’s all endeavour to check all power units in our individual homes regularly,” the agency added.

January 21, 2019
A man has been mauled to death by a lion which pounced on him after he reportedly scaled a zoo wall.
File photo
 
It has been reported that an Indian man has been mauled to death by a lion.
 
Officials revealed on Monday that the man was mauled to death after he scaled the wall of a zoo in northern Punjab state,
 
According to the Agence France Presse, AFP, the man climbed the 20-foot (six-metre) wall of Chhatbir Zoo, home to four lions, on Sunday and entered the restricted area where he was attacked.
 
Hearing his screams, the staff rushed to try and rescue the man.
 
“He was an intruder in the zoo. We took him to the hospital but he succumbed to his injuries,” said Roshan Sunkaria from the state forest department.
 
The animal that attacked the man was an Asiatic lion — a critically endangered species and a major tourist draw.
 
Only around 500 exist in the wild, all in the Gir sanctuary in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
 
The authorities have not yet been able to contact the victim’s family.
 
The zoo has stepped up warnings inside the premises and advised visitors to travel with an escort and keep vehicles locked.
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January 21, 2019
A Nigerian student in Cyprus has reportedly taken his own life after jumping from his apartment.

Tiombe David Afeah
A 21-year-old Nigerian student has died as a result of the head injuries he sustained after jumping from his apartment when his landlord came demanding for his rent.
Tiombe David Afeah, a student of the Cyprus International University, died on Wednesday, five days after he was admitted at the intensive care unit of the Lefkosa State Hospital.
He was said to have been unable to pay his house rent for a long time and was afraid of being evicted. 
However, when the landlord came knocking on Friday, January, 11, Afeah jumped down from his balcony and landed awkwardly.
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January 21, 2019
A woman who embarked on kegogenic diet has shocked many of her followers after losing over 100 pounds.
Suzanne
 
A woman, Suzanne Ryan, 34, from San Francisco, California, who weighed nearly 300lbs has lost more than 100 pounds after embarking on ketogenic diet.
 
The woman shared her photos on social media, according to Dailymail.
 
She revealed that the weight left her unhappy until she was able to find success on the keto diet, which focuses on foods high in fat and low in carbohydrates. 
 
Four years later, mother-of-one Suzanne has lost 120lbs and often shares her advice and recipes to her 260,000 followers on Instagram, revealing to her fans that the main focus for her weight loss was a desire to get healthy for her daughter, Olivia. 

'One of the many reasons I decided to fight and get healthy. After Olivia was born I had a whole new purpose in life. 

'I wanted desperately to be healthy, not only for myself, but for her. I wanted to be a good example, to enjoy life and to have the energy to keep up with her. Today, she graduated from pre-k and as I sat there in a tiny chair meant for 4-5 year olds, I quickly thought about how this day would have felt if I were still 300+ lbs. 

'Those low chairs would have killed my knees, but I likely wouldn’t have sat down at all due to fear of the chair breaking. Sometimes it’s the little things that hit me. These are the times when I see and remember how much anxiety and discomfort I felt in my body and mind. 

'And while life after losing weight is far from perfect, I feel so thankful for my health, my family, and the ability to change.'
 
Now, Suzanne is eager to share that change with others, in the hopes of inspiring them to take control of their own health and happiness. 
 
By following the keto diet Suzanne says she was forced to become more aware of what ingredients she put in her body and how to create meals she would want to eat, a knowledge that helped her to be better and better about understanding what she should be eating and when. 
 
After one year on keto, Suzanne was able to naturally lose 100lbs, a total that has since increased.  
 
See more photos below:
 
 
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January 21, 2019
A university student who survived a suicide attempt after writing the O'Level exams 17 times, has told his story.
Emmanuel Oluwasayomi Ahmadu
According to a report by TheGuardian, a University of Benin (UNIBEN) graduating student, Emmanuel Oluwasayomi Ahmadu, popularly known as Mr. Voiceover, has revealed how he survived a suicide attempt after he had written O’level examinations 17 times, attended 16 primary schools, took the University Matriculation Examination (UME) five times and enrolled into 14 secondary schools before gaining admission into the university.
Ahmadu, who recently got an international award for student brand of the year West Africa, organized by West Africa Citizens Award, said he scaled through his ordeal of attempted suicide after enduring depression and hopelessness.
He said: ”I felt hopeless and desperate, with bleak pessimistic view of the future. It was such a heart-breaking experience for me to see my junior colleagues turned university graduates before my eyes and worse still, to see my self still wearing secondary school uniform and repeatedly rewriting O’level exams until the 17th time.
“All these were happening to me as a result of family crisis, and along the line, I became an orphan. I was haunted continually with low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness. I am today thankful to God that I did not succumb to the pressures to end my life. I am being celebrated today.” Surviving a suicide attempt may be seemingly impossible to victims; however, he revealed his recovering process to The Guardian. “I survived suicide thoughts by distancing myself and shifting attention away from the negative thoughts that could lead to a more devastating situation.

“I tried as much as possible to surround myself with people who care about me and let them know what I was going through. And I often remind myself that recovery is possible, especially from the numerous setbacks. At the weekend, the story came to light about the reported suicide of one Michael Asiwaju, known as Mike Cash, the founder of Asiwaju Royal Furniture. Members of the Twitter community had a week ago accused him of r*pe.
Mike was said to have drank Sniper, a poisonous insecticide in his hotel room on January 13, 2019 in Lagos a day after he threatened to take his life.Two days into the New Year, Lagos-based disc jockey (DJ), Seun Omogaji, popularly known as DJ XGee, committed suicide few hours after posting a cryptic note on his Instagram account. It was gathered that Omogaji allegedly took his life by gulping the insecticide, Sniper after unresolved marital crises.
Last year, one Ifeanyi Ugokwe was arrested and locked up for several weeks. His crime: He tried to take his own life. After weeks of reportedly being hungry and jobless, the 25-year-old claimed he reached breaking point after a security guard pushed him to the ground while he was searching for work at a building site.
“I was tired of walking around that day. And I was determined to work there, I tried to force my way in, then he pushed me, and I fell down flat on the floor,” Ugokwe had told CNN.“I started begging him because I was tired. I really needed that job because I needed to eat.” Humiliated, Ugokwe went to a nearby lagoon and jumped in. After being rescued by fishermen, Ugokwe said he was handed over to police officers who arrested and put him behind bars.
Attempting suicide is a criminal offence in Nigeria, under Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, and carries a penalty of up to one year in prison. The law was abolished in Britain under the Suicide Act of 1961, which happened after Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. Ugokwe said he is speaking out about his attempt to take his own life despite the stigma around the subject in Nigeria because he does not want people to suffer as he did.
Ajayi Yewande Elizabeth, a 400-level Psychology student of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), noted that for every suicide, there are 25 suicide attempts arising from depression, failure or low self-esteem. She advised that sharing of thoughts with someone close or talking to a therapist could best curb suicide thoughts in the society.
Dr. Jubril Abdulmalik, a consultant psychiatrist has advised that inaccurate media depictions of mental health must stop, especially in Nigeria. He said the media must go beyond seeking traction when it comes to reporting on mental health issues and cases.
Citing examples of recent reports on suicide cases in Nigeria, the psychiatrist said the media must approach reports of mental health from a human angle and take leads from positions that do not seek to glorify the ugly side of the tragic events. He said the impact of reporting mental heath issues inaccurately, can be highly devastating.TheGuardian
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January 21, 2019
In as much as he at times tried to evade controversies in 2018, Senator Saraki fought major battles that tested his political strength.
 
Senate President Bukola Saraki
 
The year 2018 could be described as one drama-filled one in the Nigerian Senate under the leadership of Senate President Bukola Saraki.
 
In as much as he at times tried to evade controversies in 2018, the official fought major battles that tested his political strength.
 
Several controversies trailed the lawmaker ranging from his in-and-out of court battles with the Code of Conduct Bureau, to disagreements with President Muhammadu Buhari and some appointees, to faceoff with colleagues and also a heated exchange with the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
 
Below are some major battles that Mr Saraki fought in 2018 in no particular order.
 
 
1. Saraki Vs IGP
 
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had in the past one year, been a thorn in Mr Saraki’s flesh.
 
Besides snubbing the Senate’s invitation three times – which Mr Saraki described as a gross disrespect, the security chief had several times given orders ostensibly to ‘attack’ the Senate.
 
The IGP had invited Mr Saraki for questioning in early June after some Offa robbery suspects allegedly confessed to being sponsored by him.
 
But this approach was later abandoned by the police who asked him to send a written response to the allegations instead. The Senate president subsequently sent a written response to the allegations.
 
Mr Saraki denied all allegations of involvement in the planning or execution of the Offa robbery in April which caused the death of many.
 
The Senate president was summoned again to appear before the police on the day that 14 senators defected. A siege was laid at his residence and that of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu. The lawmaker, however, managed to ‘escape’ and later presided over plenary.
 
The police later frowned at Mr Saraki’s failure to appear as directed and threatened to make him face the consequences. Mr Saraki asked the IGP to send his personnel to question him.
 
Recently, the lawmaker lashed out at the IGP over an attempt to arrest a senator, Dino Melaye, who has also had conflicts with Mr Idris. Mr Saraki described the police chief as Nigeria’s most partisan police IG.
 
Mr Idris last week retired from the police and has been replaced as inspector-general.
 
 
2. Saraki Vs Oshiomhole
 
It was all quiet until Mr Saraki dumped the APC and joined the PDP; it became a game of accusations and counter accusations characterised most times by name calling.
 
Perhaps pricked by his defection – and obviously other lawmakers who followed suit, Mr Oshiomhole, began to verbally attack the Senate president, who did not hesitate to respond.
 
Shortly after Mr Saraki’s defection, Mr Oshiomhole asked the lawmaker to resign or be removed from office.
 
In a swift response, Mr Saraki told the APC chairman that all efforts to remove him from office will fail.
 
He also accused Mr Oshiomhole of behaving like a “rain-beaten chicken” as though he (Mr Saraki) was haunting his life.
 
The brawl did not end there.
 
Upon Mr Saraki’s declaration to run for presidency, as expected, Mr Oshiomhole said his decision had “vindicated him”.
 
He also charged APC members in Kwara State to jettison their personal ambitions and work towards ending the reign of Mr Saraki in Kwara politics.
 
After the Senate president lost in the primary election, the publicity secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, said Mr Saraki’s loss shows PDP delegates “were fed up with his political style”.
 
Mr Saraki replied describing the comment as irresponsible.
 
The war of words between the two dominated part of Nigerian politics between August and November and there seems to be no end in sight yet.
 

3. Saraki Vs Omo-Agege
 
The disagreement between the Delta State senator and Mr Saraki can be traced back to when he was suspended for 90 days for accusing his colleagues of working against President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election plans in 2019.
 
This he said was done by adopting the amendment to section 25 of the electoral act outlining a change in the sequence of elections.
 
One week later, following his suspension, the lawmaker stormed the the chamber during plenary followed by some hoodlums who are believed to have been led by him and carted away the mace.
 
He was, however, quick to deny any wrondoing.
 
The federal high court in Abuja nullified his suspension even though the Senate tried to appeal.
 
Mr Omo-Agege did not relent in his verbal attacks which were directed at his colleagues and especially, Mr Saraki.
 

4. Saraki Vs Ali Ndume
 
After his suspension in 2017, Ali Ndume began to verbally attack the Senate president and express disappointment at his leadership.
 
He had said Mr Saraki betrayed him and other senators who supported him (Mr Saraki) and that he regrets supporting him.
 
In May, he tackled Mr Saraki and accused him of dictatorship.
 
In September, Mr Ndume criticised the Senate President’s presidential ambition as he said Mr Saraki can only win election in Kwara State.
 
Mr Saraki has made efforts not to respond to Mr Ndume’s comments but a few times has ‘ignored’ him on the floor of the Senate.
 
 
5. Saraki Vs Abdullahi Adamu
 
Former governor of Nasarawa State has never failed to hide his undying love and support for the president.
 
He was always willing to tackle anyone whose words or actions are against Mr Buhari in 2018. Although he tackled other colleagues in 2018, his major target was Mr Saraki.
 
The conflict started when the Senate adopted a report by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on the Amendment to the Electoral Act.
 
Mr Adamu and nine other senators accused the Senate president of not allowing them to add their voices to the debate.
 
They eventually left the chamber to address the press while the plenary was still on, insisting that the sequence change was targeted at Mr President.
 
Mr Adamu, who was later removed as chairman Northern Senators’ Forum in February, began to attack Mr Saraki. Mr Adamu called on the Senate President to resign or face the consequences.
 
He also accused Mr Saraki of using his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, to do his dirty work.
 
 
6. Saraki Vs Tinubu
 
At the time when the Senate President was battling Mr Oshiomhole, another cold war erupted between him and the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu.
 
Mr Tinibu, who claimed to know why people like Mr Saraki and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal left the party, said in a statement, that they left because the APC could not give them what they wanted – which was automatic tickets and ”sharing of the national wealth which the governing APC could not guarantee”.
 
According to him, the defectors “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges”.
 
And as expected, Mr Saraki, in a swift response, said the reasons advanced by Mr Tinubu were false and mischievous.
 
He listed the ‘many sins’ of the President Buhari’s administration and the leadership of APC which he said culminated in his defection.
 
On another occasion, the lawmaker in a leaked audio clip, vowed that Kwara State will never take instructions from any political leader in Lagos State, in veiled reference to Mr Tinubu.
 

7. Saraki Vs Lai Mohammed
 
Since Mr Saraki’s exit from the ruling party, it has been a battle for supremacy between him and the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, who is also from Kwara State.
 
The duo struggled to see their anointed candidates win the Kwara State by-election for Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero federal constituency – which was conducted to replace a late princess, Funke Adedoyin.
 
The APC candidate, Tunji Olawuyi polled 21,236 to emerge winner, while his closest rival, Saheed Alatise of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 18,095.
 
Mr Saraki and other members of the PDP alleged that the process was skewed against their party.
In a recent attack, Mr Mohammed accused the Senate President of “dancing on the graves of the innocent souls who died in the April 5, 2018 armed robbery attack in Offa”.
 
He said his comment came after Mr Saraki reportedly said in a radio interview that he donated N10 million when he visited Offa to commiserate with the people in the aftermath of the robbery, ”even when the amount that was stolen from the robbed banks’ vaults was N7 million”.
 
Mr Mohammed said Mr Saraki did not pay a dime to the robbery victims.
 
Mr Saraki has dismissed the minister’s comments as falsehood.
 
 
8. Saraki’s Failed Presidential Ambition
 
Mr Saraki’s presidential ambition can also be considered as a major battle he fought in 2018.
 
He was verbally attacked from the day he made the declaration until the day of the primary election.
 
He officially announced his decision to run at a public dialogue organised by the #NotTooYoungToRun Movement, a youth pressure group. The group later dissociated itself from Mr Saraki’s ambition.
 
Mr Saraki lost the battle when a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar defeated him and other aspirants to emerge presidential candidate of the PDP.
 
Mr Saraki promptly vowed to support Mr Abubakar win the 2019 presidential election. He is currently a prominent member of Mr Abubakar’s campaign team.
 
Source: Premium Times
,

January 21, 2019
Lionel Messi has come off the bench to set another record in the Spanish La Liga during a clash against Leganes.
Lionel Messi
 
Even when not starting games, Lionel Messi makes his impression felt and produces - doing so again on Sunday night as Barcelona beat Leganes 3-1 at the Nou Camp.
 
With one eye on the Copa Del Rey quarter final first leg against Sevilla on Wednesday, Ernesto Valverde rested his talisman and captain for the game but when the visitors equalised through Martin Braithwaite in the 57nd minute, Messi's presence was required.
 
And rather predictably, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner turned the game on its head almost single-handedly after entering the fray just after the hour mark.
 
His curling effort in the 71st minute was too much for Ivan Cuellar to keep hold of and it led to Luis Suarez putting Barcelona ahead again with the rebound.
 
Then, in stoppage time, Messi linked up gloriously with Jordi Alba and finished off the move with an exquisite finish with his right foot to take his tally to 25 for the season, his Barcelona record to 577 and his La Liga goals haul to 401.
 
But the most impressive statistic to emerge from the latest Messi masterclass, is that the 31-year old has scored more goals as a substitute than any other player in La Liga in the 21st century.
 
He's been the first name on the teamsheet for years but has also bagged 22 times off the bench in league games. What's more, he has a total of 34 goals and five assists in 76 appearances as a sub for Barca.
 
Messi seemingly breaks a new record every time he steps foot on the pitch - and it wouldn't be a major surprise if finishes his career with more club goals than Pele - who notched 619 for Santos when you take out all the irrelevant ones he counts.
 
****
, ,

January 21, 2019
Nigerian soldiers have engaged deadly Boko Haram terrorists in a ferocious battle killing many in Baga.
The Boko Haram terrorists killed
 
Combined Special Forces troops of the Nigerian Army, Navy and the Air Force operating under the auspices of Operation LAfiYA DOLE in the ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations in northern Borno have inflicted devastating man and equipment casualty on Boko Haram terrorists in a fresh encounter with the dissidents in the late hours of Saturday 19 January 2018.
 
The terrorists, armed with two Gun trucks, a vehicle laden with Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a suicide bomber met their water loo while frantically fighting to break into the formidable defensive position of the troops. The gallant troops responded swiftly in a fierce counter offensive, unleashing superior and overwhelming firepower on the terrorists and neutralizied five of them, including a driver and a gunner firing from a gun truck, a suicide bomber in a vehicle loaded with IED and two other terrorists.
 
 
In the ferrocious counter attack, the valiant troops destroyed one Gun truck ànd one IED - Carrying vehicle. The troops also recovered one Anti Aircraft Gun and three AK 47 Rifles belonging to the terrorists. The troops are relentless and in high morale as they continue in hot pursuit of some of the terrorists who fled the scene of the encounter when they were overpowered by the troops.
 
It will be recalled, that only recently, the special forces troops resolutely dealt a deadly blow on the terrorists in a battle in which the terrorists attempted to contest the control over Baga town with the Special Forces troops.
 
 
Please disseminate this information to the general public.
 
Thank you for your kind cooperation.
 
ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Colonel
Deputy Director Public Relations
Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE
 
,

January 21, 2019
The state government in a public announcement by the Commissioner of Information, on Sunday declared Monday a work-free day
 
File Photo
 
Borno State has declared Monday a public holiday for the campaign of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.
 
The state government in a public announcement by the Commissioner of Information, Dr. Mohammed Bulama on Sunday declared Monday a work-free day for the President’s re-election campaign.
 
The announcement read: “This is to notify the general public that due to the one day visit of His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to Maiduguri, the state capital, tomorrow Monday, 21st January 2019, is hereby declared a public holiday in the entire state.

“This is to enable all the good people of Borno State, including workers in both the public and private sectors, as well as students to, as usual, troop out in large numbers to welcome Mr. President to the state.”
 
The announcement added: “Insha Allah, work resumes on Tuesday, 22nd January, 2019.”
,

January 21, 2019
A man has been left horrified after he found a huge carpet python hiding inside his toilet.
The huge python hiding inside the toilet
 
A man was given the shock of his life after he found a huge carpet python hiding inside his toilet bowl.
 
He called Stewart Lalor from Brisbane Snake Catchers at about 6.45am on Saturday, who then drove to the man's home in Wynnum west family home in Australia within 20 minutes. 
 
'They gave us a call to have it removed so they could finish their business in peace,' said Mr Lalor.
 
'I just put on a pair of gloves and dunked my hand in to take the snake. Carpet pythons are very common in Queensland,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 
  
Mr Lalor said it wasn't common to find snakes in toilets, with only two or three incidents every season. 
 
'People think pythons always want to be in the sun but they can also overheat and need to find ways to cool down,' he said.
 
Snakes will often slither into homes through open drains and unsecured pipes common in older designed homes such as the family home Mr Lalor attended.
 
Carpet pythons are the most commonly caught non-venomous snaked in Queensland.  
 
However, their bites leave a substantial laceration and will cause a fair bit of bleeding. 
 
The snakes can grow up to more than three metres in length, according to the Queensland Museum. 
 
,

January 21, 2019
A Pastor with the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry has been dragged to court along with her three children.
Joseph Idehen
 
For their alleged involvement in the death of a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Joseph Idehen, the police have arraigned a pastor with the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, Taiwo Idehen, and her three children, Punch Metro reports.
 
Taiwo and her children, Samuel, Michael and Ruth, were arraigned by the Force Criminal and Intelligence Department on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, stealing, use of false documents and forgery.
 
They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
 
The police alleged that the defendants committed the offences at the deceased’s residence at No. 5 Odetola Street, off Merit Road, Alagbado, Lagos, on July 4, 2016.
 
According to the police, Taiwo, who was said to have divorced the deceased over 29 years ago, and her three children, allegedly conspired among themselves to murder the retired senior police officer in suspicious circumstances.
 
They were also alleged to have forged a death certificate from the Ota General Hospital, Ogun State, which was used in conveying the deceased’s corpse to Aragba in Delta State.
 
It was gathered that Michael allegedly withdrew the sum of N286,000 from the deceased’s account domiciled in First Bank of Nigeria Limited, while all the defendants were accused of fraudulently withdrawing the sum of N2.1m from Joseph’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.
 
According to the police prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, the offences are contrary to sections 233, 365 (3) (d), 366 and 287 (5) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.
 
Animashaun told the court that the defendants’ arrest was predicated on a petition dated August 2016, written to the police by the Chambers of Milestone Partners, wherein the alleged role played by each of the defendants in the death of the retired police officer was stated.
 
He added that upon receiving the petition, the defendants were invited for interrogation and they all wrote confessional statements.
 
In view of their not guilty plea, Animashaun urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending the conclusion of the matter.
 
The defendants’ lawyer, Kennedy Osunwa, told the court that he had filed his clients’ bail applications, which had been served on the prosecutor.
 
Following the applications of the defendants’ lawyer, the presiding judge, Justice Adedayo Akintoye, adjourned the matter till January 25, 2019, for the hearing of their bail application.
 
She also ordered that all the defendants be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications.
,

January 21, 2019
Nigerians witnessed imprisonment of the opposition and a vicious self-succession plan by Abacha between 1993 and 1998, when the dictator died.
 
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
 
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, took a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him and “his hatchet men” of running an autocratic government similar to the administration of the late military dictator,  Gen. Sani Abacha.
 
Obasanjo stated this in his 16-page statement titled, “Points for concern and action,” given to journalists in Abeokuta.
 
Nigerians witnessed imprisonment of the opposition and a vicious self-succession plan by Abacha between 1993 and 1998, when the dictator died.
 
Obasanjo said, “It is clear from all indications that Buhari is putting into practice the lessons he learned from Abacha. Buhari has intimidated and harassed the private sector, attacked the National Assembly and now unconstitutionally and recklessly attacked and intimidated the judiciary to cow them to submission.

“I was a victim of Abacha’s atrocities against Nigeria and Nigerians – high and low.  At the height of Abacha’s desperation for perpetual power, he did not brook any criticism because Nigeria was seen as his personal property.

“You must go along with him or be destroyed.  All institutions for ensuring security, welfare and well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians particularly the police, the military and the Department of State Services were abused and misused to deal with critics of Abacha and non-conformists with Abacha.

“Today, another Abacha era is here.  The security institutions are being misused to fight all critics and opponents of Buhari and to derail our fledgling democracy.  The EFCC, the police and the Code of Conduct Tribunal are also being equally misused to deal with those Buhari sees as enemies for criticising him or as those who may not do his bidding in manipulating election results.  Criticism, choice and being different are inherent trademarks of democracy.  If democracy is derailed or aborted, anarchy and authoritarianism will automatically follow.

“Today, as in the day of Abacha, Nigerians must rise up and do what they did in the time of Abacha.  Churches and Mosques prayed.  International community stood by us Nigerians.

“God of Nigeria is a living God and a prayer-answering God.  Nigerians must cry out to God to deliver Nigeria.  Here again, I have been threatened with arrest and extermination but I will not succumb to intimidation or threats.”
 
…says INEC lacks integrity, plotting to rig polls for APC
 
Obasanjo stated that he decided to speak on the state of the nation because he was concerned about the dangerous trend pervading the country.
 
He, however, came hard on the Independent National Electoral Commission describing its officials as people of no integrity.
 
Obasanjo stated, “Democracy becomes a sham if elections are carried out by people, who should be impartial and neutral umpires, but who show no integrity, acting with blatant partiality, duplicity and imbecility.

“For all democrats and those carrying out the process of elections, there must be the red line that must not be crossed in tactics and practices of democracy.

“I personally have serious doubt about the present INEC’s integrity, impartiality and competence to conduct a fair, free and credible election.”
 
The former President scolded INEC on its performance during the governorship election in Osun State last year, describing the rerun election as unnecessary.
 
He said, “The unnecessary rerun, if viewed as a test for general elections, would lead people to expect incidences of deliberately contrived, broken or non-working voting machines or card readers, confusion of voters as to their voting stations, inadequate supply of voting materials to designated places, long line to discourage voters and turning blind eyes to favour the blue-eyed political party of INEC because the commission’s hands will be tied to enable the hatchet men and women to perform their unwholesome assignment.”
 
He urged Nigerians to stop INEC from derailing the democracy through its action.
 
“The track record of the present INEC is fairly sordid and all men and women of goodwill and believers in democracy must be prepared for the worst from INEC and their encouragers and how to get Nigeria out of the electoral morass that the commission is driving us into. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.  A battle long forewarned does not embroil the cripple nor catch him unawares,” he said.
 
The former President also called on the international community to resist Buhari’s alleged plan to rig the coming elections.
 
Obasanjo said, “From available intelligence, we have heard of how Buhari and his party are going about with his own self-succession project.

“They have started recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualise the perpetuation agenda in which the people will not matter and the votes will not count.  It is the sole reason he has blatantly refused to sign the revised Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill into law.

“His henchmen are working round the clock in cahoots with security and election officials to perfect their plan by computing results right from the ward to local government, state and national levels to allot him with what will look like a landslide victory irrespective of the true situation for a candidate who might have carried out by proxy presidential debate and campaigns.”
 
He, however, advised the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakub Mahmood, to stand firm and carry out his duties with competence and unbending neutrality.
 
Speaking on the controversial INEC official,  Amina Zakari, Obasanjo said the woman had become too controversial a figure to be able to give assurance of free, fair and credible elections for INEC.
 
We are studying the essay – INEC
 
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said,  “(Response) not immediately my brother. We are studying the essay and we will respond appropriately at the right time.”
 
Obasanjo, haunted by his past misdeeds – APC
 
But the All Progressives Congress said Obasanjo was being haunted by his past when elections were rigged and government institutions were denied independence.
 
The National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, stated this at a media interaction in Abuja on Sunday.
 
He said, “For eight years of President Obasanjo, all the elections he held…in fact  government policies were determined by whatever mood he found himself. All the institutions of government were heavily influenced by Obasanjo. What he did for those eight years is what is haunting him. He cannot imagine it is possible for a government to allow INEC the statutory independence that it has.”
 
Onilu said elections conducted under the APC government so far were credible. He said the APC should be commended for allowing institutions to perform their duties without interference.
 
Polls were marred by impunity under Obasanjo – Presidency
 
However, the Presidency dismissed  issues raised by Obasanjo, alleging that security crises and impunity were rife under the ex-President’s administration between 1999 and 2007.
 
The Special Adviser to the President Muhammadu on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, while featuring on Sunday Politics, a news and current affairs programme of Channels Television, said thousands of lives were lost under the administration of Obasanjo.
 
Responding to Obasanjo’s allegation that Buhari and the APC planned to rig the general elections,  Adesina said, “Imagine that kind of allegation coming from somebody who told us in 2007 that the election would be a ‘do-or-die affair.  If somebody had said the election would be a ‘do-or- die’ affair and it was ‘do- or- die’ affair and the beneficiary of that election came out to say that the election that brought him to power was marred; now for that person to allege that elections were not going to be free and fair, were they free and fair when he conducted his own?”
 
On the allegation that the security crisis in the country was deteriorating, Adesina said, “Under Obasanjo was when we had the Odi massacre; under him was when we had the Zaki Biam massacre; under him there were lots of clashes involving the OPC and other ethnic groups, there were Shari’ah riots under him, and thousands of lives were lost even under his administration.”
 
Also, in a statement by another media aide to Buhari, Garba Shehu, the Presidency said Obasanjo needed “a good doctor for good treatment and to say to him, “Get well soon.”
 
He added, “This language of his 16-page letter, likening President Buhari to General Sani Abacha, a man he dreaded and the one who jailed him under military laws is most unfitting from a former President of Nigeria.
 
“The claim that President Buhari has put in place rigging machinery is both outlandish and outrageous. We are unable to get the words to describe a 90-year old liar, except to say that by the publication of this tissue of lies against the President, he Obasanjo, not the President will fall from everyone’s esteem.”
 
Probe me, Obasanjo dares Buhari
 
However, in the statement, Obasanjo said those who were using probes as threats should remember that he had been probed four times by the EFCC, the ICPC, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
 
Obasanjo stated, “Buhari has access to reports of these probes. But I have also challenged Buhari and the criminals around him to set up a probe on the same allegations and I will face such a probe in public. But I know that these criminals cannot withstand a police inquiry let alone clinical probe on the past public offices they held.  My fervent prayer is that President Buhari may live to see the will and purpose of God for Nigeria.”
 
He, however, commended the President for yielding to popular outcry “to let the former Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, go.”
 
On electoral violence, Obasanjo recommended stiffer punishments such as withdrawal of culprits’ visas and taking them to the International Criminal Court among others.

Obasanjo chides Osinbajo, says Tradermoni, an absurdity
 
Obasanjo also faulted the Federal Government’s loan scheme, otherwise known as Tradermoni, describing it as a sinister move to buy votes of the people.
 
Obasanjo, who quoted a former  Deputy Chairman, South-West of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olabode George, as saying,  “You cannot give what you don’t have.
 
“The other day, the Vice-President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo – a learned man, an enlightened person in all parameters – was seen at various markets in Lagos State and Abuja distributing N10,000 each to market women.  What an absurdity!”
 
Obasanjo said, “It was indeed an obscene display of executive recklessness and abuse of office.  Pray, where did the money come from?  Was it budgeted for in the appropriation law? In more civilised nations, Osinbajo would have been impeached and prosecuted for gutting our collective treasury.

“What an act by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, number two man in the Executive hierarchy; and what is more, a pastor of one of the Christian movements led by a revered, respected and upright church leader, Pastor E. A. Adeboye.  Osinbajo must have gone for, ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’

“A great pity indeed and which makes people ask the questions, “Any hope?”  Yes, for me, there is hope.  Osinbajo has shown the human weakness and proved the saying that the corruption of the best is the worst form of corruption.

“His explanation that it was their government programme can only be construed to be very shallow and lopsided, if not an outright idiotic programme.”
 
CCT  trial aimed at removing  CJN – OBJ
 
On the alleged corruption charges against the embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, Obasanjo said,  “President Buhari and his hatchet men in the coming elections think that the judiciary must be primed in their favour.

“Hence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, has been harassed and prosecuted for non-declaration of his assets without following the constitution and the law, just to make him to conform or set him aside for a Buhari man to take over or act, as President Buhari and his people believe no stone should be left unturned to rig Buhari in.

“But the Vice-President told us that the President knew of the action on Saturday night for everything that has been prepared for Monday morning.  Haba VP, it doesn’t happen that way.

“Nobody should take such measure against any of the four in hierarchy below the President or any of his ministers without his knowledge and indeed his approval.

“But if that can happen to the CJN, the fifth man in the hierarchy of government, without the knowledge let alone the approval of the President, then it speaks for the type of government we have which means the President is not in charge let alone being in control and no Nigerian must take anything for granted.”
 
Buhari empowered B’Haram through ransom payment – OBJ
 
Obasanjo alleged that the present government had empowered the terrorists with the ransoms it paid which it denied.
 
He said the terrorist group was more brutal than before due to the collaboration with the Islamic State’s West Africa Province.
 
He said “Let me assert that the security situation has deteriorated with kidnapping everywhere and Boko Haram more in action and nobody should deceive Nigerians about this.

“Boko Haram has also been empowered by the Nigerian government through payment of ransom of millions of dollars which each administration disingenuously always denied.”
 
Obasanjo’s concerns vindicated us – PDP
 
However, the PDP said the concerns raised by Obasanjo had vindicated its stand that Buhari was out for a self-succession plot.
 
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement stated that Obasanjo’s submission had also reinforced the PDP’s position that Buhari, and his party, the APC, having realised that there was no way they could win in a free and fair election, were now allegedly besieging all democratic institutions, including the judiciary, the legislature, the INEC, and allegedly engaging in acts that threaten the unity, peace and corporate existence of Nigeria.
 
Source: Punch
,

January 10, 2019
Properties worth millions of naira including documents have been destroyed by fire at the Imo State university.
The scene of the fire incident
 
The Imo State University, Owerri, experienced a fire outbreak in the early hours of Thursday. The fire razed the institution’s Faculty of Humanities.
 
It was learnt that the inferno destroyed documents and academic equipment worth millions of Naira.
 
A student of the university, Justice Okorie, said that the fire started around 3am and it affected almost all the lecturers’ offices in the faculty.
 
Okorie also said that computer offices of various departments in the faculty and libraries were destroyed.
 
 
“A fire outbreak has destroyed the Humanities Faculty Annex of our school. It started by 3am and before help could be rendered, equipment and valuable documents have been destroyed,” Okorie said.
 
“Documents were lost in offices that include those of the Dean of the Faculty. We pray the incident does not affect our academ
,

January 10, 2019
Internet users have been left confused following trending pictures of a young Nigerian lady who reportedly sells fish in the market.
 
The lady in question
 
The beautiful and well-endowed lady was pictured at a shop while selling fish at the market, according to a Facebook user who posted the images and didn't give the exact location where he saw her. 
 
Netizens who have been intrigued by the slay queen - are wondering what prompted her to land in the market, with all her "assets" and beauty. 
 
Some online users also expressed doubts as to whether the lady is really a fish seller. 
 
 
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January 10, 2019

Chocolate City in collaboration with 100 Crowns, Martell and Continued Ent Presents the Official “MARTELL CYPHER 2019” (Martell Cartel) featuring MI Abaga, Loose Kaynon, A-Q and Blaqbonez.
Loose Kaynon, A-Q, MI Abaga and Blaqbonezkick off the new year with the video for the anticipated L.A.M.B Martell Cypher. It follows the campaign which kicked of in August 2018 with albums “Crown” – Loose Kaynon & A-Q, “Yung Denzel” – MI Abaga and “BadBoyBlaq” – Blaqbonez.
This bar heavy, carefully crafted piece of art is more than just a cypher but reinforces the these artists resolve to continue to elevate the culture of hip-hop in Nigeria.
Enjoy – This is the o my cypher that matters!.
Video Shot by Dekunle Aina (@dekunle.aina)
Watch and Enjoy the visuals below
,

January 10, 2019
Popular Nigerian movie star, Ini Edo has spoken out about her career and what fans should expect from her in 2019.
Ini Edo
 
S*xy actress Ini Edo is one of Nollywood’s most sought-after actresses today. With over a hundred movies in the kitty, the screen goddess, who’s currently the Special Assistant on Culture & Tourism to Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, speaks on her latest movie production, Heaven on My Mind, in partnership with fellow actress, Uche Jombo.
 
She also talks about giving back to Nollywood and her plans for the New Year.
 
***
 
How was 2018 for you, any regrets?
 
I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. As a matter of fact, 2018 was a great year for me. I’m thankful and hopeful for a better 2019.
 
Talking about 2019, what should fans expect from you and what are you looking forward to?
 
My fans should expect nothing short of the best. 2019 is going to be another great year. Like I said earlier, I’m looking forward to a better 2019, not just for me as a person or an actress but also for my fans, friends and well wishes, and, of course, our nation, Nigeria.
 
As the 2019 general elections draw closer, what do you have to say to your fans and Nigerians at large?
 
Stay safe and if you must go out to vote, vote right and vote wise. Stay out of trouble. Don’t allow yourself to be used by any politician and avoid anything that can bring you pain and discomfort.
 
You feature more in movies produced by your friends and this has given rise to speculation that producers can’t afford you…
 
Well, I wouldn’t say that. I’ve just been featured in a movie I did not produce. It’s a film produced by Mo’ Abudu. So, I won’t say it’s because they can’t afford me. I decided to slow it down a little and just be selective of what I am part of, for obvious reasons. Most times the worst script comes with lots of money. If a story is not so great, a producer would want to use you because he feels he needs somebody like you to bring it to life and they’d want to pay anything just to have you in it, but at the end of the day, when the film comes out, you feel bad you did it. So for me, it’s not just about the money. If I’m passionate about the story, it really doesn’t matter how much I’m being paid. I don’t use money as a yardstick before going into a project. There’ve been some projects where the money wasn’t that great but because I really loved the script, I did it. So in all, I’m just taking my time and being selective.
 
Why did you choose to go into production?
 
I think I’m one of the first actors who started movie production. I also think I’m one of the first actors who took their films to cinema. I don’t know if you remember when I did I Will Take My Chances with Emem Isong. And that’s also what gave birth to a new actor, Bryan Okwara. That’s the way I give back to the industry. When you’ve been in an industry for a long time and all you did were things that were handed over to you by others, and you think things should be done in a certain way, you would want to be part of that change you want to see. Now, there’s a journey that’s already on and that’s the cinema culture. When I did I Will Take My Chances, we did not have a lot of cinematographers in Nigeria, so we brought in cinematographers from Hollywood and that was because we wanted to do something different and meet up with international standards. But today, we have so many cinematographers in Nigeria. It cost us so much but it was the beginning of something and now everybody is on it. You just don’t sit down and expect things to be done magically; be part of the change you want to see and you’ll get there somehow. See what’s going on today in the industry. I am proud and grateful to God that I was able to play a role. When we did Knocking On Heaven’s Door, what a lot of people don’t know was that the story just fell on my laps. The owners of that project wanted me to produce it and I brought Emem Isong in and they wanted me to play the lead character and we were going to do the entire song miming thing. For sure I can’t sing so I insisted on using a new actor; they actually wanted me and another guy with a known face but I insisted on bringing in a totally new person on board and that’s what gave rise to Adesua Etomi and Blossom Chukwujekwu. That was their first jobs but today see who they are. I just feel very privileged to make such impact even though it may not be so celebrated but it just feels good to know that I’ve been able to do this. The latest one with Uche Jombo, Heaven On My Mind is mind-blowing.
 
Why production? Isn’t it possible for one to stick to acting alone?
 
Why not? It’s very possible. There’s no law that says an actor must produce; it’s a choice. Like I said, if you want change and you want to be part of the bigger picture, you just have to grow and explore. There are some of my colleagues who’ve been there longer than I am but have never produced a film; there’s no law that says you must produce.
 
Looking at where Nollywood is now, is there something that’s not been done that you’d like to do?
 
What I’m looking forward to is that day when we’ll get to a point we’ll be making so much income that we could actually live the big names we are known for. In Hollywood for instance, you don’t need to do 20 movies in a year to make it. If you do two films, you’re good to go; that is good compared to us. I’m hoping to see Nollywood get to a point where you do one job in a year and it takes care of the rest. Right now, our films are acceptable everywhere. Our industry has grown, I just want our pockets to grow to that level as well.
 
And for your pocket to grow to that level, what are the things you think should be done better?
 
I think distribution should be done better because the more people see the film, the more money you make. Hollywood films are watched all over the world. We haven’t gotten there yet, we are still around Africa and some parts of America I think. But by the time we get to a place where countries that don’t understand Nigerian languages subtitle our films to watch, then, I think we’d be better-off and every other thing will follow.
 
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Source: Sun News
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