The Honourable Commissioner for Education, Lagos State Mrs Folasade Adefisayo has announced the plans for both Public and Private Schools resumption in the State after the lockdown of schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also wish to congratulate SS 3 students who have successfully completed their WASSCE exams and urge them to stay safe even as they await their results.
The plans for reopening for a new 2020/2021 academic session are as follows:
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Ministry is adopting a phased approach to opening public schools . This phased approach to opening will enable public schools meet COVID-19 social distance rules and safety protocols and will help us watch the behaviour of the pandemic as we gradually open up our schools.
The present JS 3 and SS 2 students in public schools in the State are to resume classes from Monday, 21st of September, 2020.
The resumption will permit the present JS 3 students who are already in an exit class to revise and get adequately prepared for their forthcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) organized by the Lagos State Examination Board and scheduled between Tuesday, 6th and Monday, 12th of October, 2020. The resumption will also afford the present SS 2 students an opportunity to prepare effectively for their transition to SS 3. The scheduled dates and venues for Entrance Examination into Lagos State Model Colleges will soon be announced by the State Examination Board.
We assure parents that announcements for opening the other classes will occur as soon as we are certain of their safety. In the meantime, the unopened classes in public schools will continue their lessons on our various distance learning platforms (Online platform, radio, television and WhatsApp) while the next phase for physical resumption will be announced in due course.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Private Primary and Secondary Schools in the State are permitted to resume from Monday, 21st of September, 2020 and the State Government strongly recommends and encourages school owners to put safety first and open in phases similar to the plans for public schools. Phased opening also include strategies for staggered resumption in the mornings, classes on alternate days during the week and teaching through various distance learning methods. Schools must also comply with safety protocols and hygiene guidelines as instructed by the State Government through the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA). The Office of Education Quality Assurance will continue to monitor and evaluate Schools’ preparedness.
Please note that pre-primary classes and schools in both public and private schools will remain closed until further announcements are made.
The State Government wishes to remind schools that the pandemic is still with us and we must in all situations, make the safety of our children, teachers and parents and our community as a whole our first priority.
A private jet owned by the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein now lies abandoned and covered in dust on a Georgia runway, racking up thousands of dollars in storage fees.
Prosecutors alleged that the abandoned Boeing 747 jet – dubbed the ‘Lolita Express’ was used by Epstein to transport his sex trafficking young victims between his sprawling homes in New York, New Mexico, Paris, the US Virgin Islands, and Palm Beach.
Recall the billionaire financier committed suicide at the Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center last august while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The 66-year-old was accused of having sex with girls as young as age 14 in the early 2000s at Epstein’s residences in Manhattan and Florida, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to Daily Mail, the 1969-built plane whisked prominent guests including Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actor Kevin Spacey to exotic locations across the globe.
The report said the jet took off for its final flight on July 11, 2016, from Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport at 11.39am, arriving at its current location at Georgia’s Brunswick Golden Isles Airport 51 minutes later.
Since then it has been abandoned, costing around $1,000 a month in storage.
When Daily Mail boarded the plane, they found the once-plush interior, including deep-pile carpets, throw blankets, and fluffy pillows, infested with mold and mildew.
They also found monogrammed tissues and a bottle of baby lotion stored in Epstein’s private wood-panelled bathroom. Wet wipes, tissues with Epstein’s tail number on them, baby power and other toiletries were seen in a cabinet in the plane’s bathroom.
Federal aviation records reveal the aircraft has been unregistered since 2019, meaning it cannot be legally flown.
The luxury commercial jet is currently parked up on a ramp belonging to Stambaugh Aviation, an independent jet maintenance firm.
The firm’s joint owner Mark Stambaugh said he was initially happy to store the aircraft for free, but later started charging around $1,000 a month when it became clear nothing was happening.
As a father of two daughters, I’m not real thrilled with having it here. But I guess an airplane is just an airplane,’ Stambaugh told DailyMail.com.
‘Somebody needs to come and do something with it or it needs to be scrapped because it’s just going to sit here and keep deteriorating.’
According to Stambaugh, he’s owed $11,000 in unpaid storage.
‘The paint is chalking because it’s been sitting in the sun for so long. Until it gets to the point where the paint bubbles out you won’t see it, but trust me, there’s a lot of corrosion on that airplane,’ he added.
‘Internally, in the belly, when you open that up you’re going to find corrosion and other issues as well.
‘As far as the interior, given that it’s been sitting in this heat for years it’s not in bad shape but I don’t know that it has any real value.
‘There’s a lot of mold and mildew. That just happens, it’s the southeast.’
Since Jeffrey Epstein’s death, his alleged co-conspirators, including British socialite Ghisilaine Maxwell, has been and charged with sex trafficking offences.
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a notorious wanted criminal, Honest Digbara popularly known as Bobrisky accused of terrorizing some parts of Ogoni axis and being behind series of criminal activities in the area.
Spokesman of the Command, SP Nnamdi Omoni disclosed this on Saturday morning, September 12, while showing the wounded suspect and that of his alleged second in command said to be his younger brother, at the command headquarters.
According to SP Omoni, the suspect was arrested alive in the early hours of today, in a joint security operation with a local security outfit at Koro community in Tai local government area of the state.
Recall that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike had earlier placed a N30 million bounty on the kingpin.
The Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Christian Centre, Paul Eneche has slammed Daddy Freeze over his comment about the founder of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo.
Eneche who was reacting to a trending video in which Daddy Freeze described Bishop David Oyedepo as a “bald-headed fowl”, stated that the media personality has no moral values and respect.
The Dunamis Pastor also told the media personality who he described as a “mad dog who is suffering from bipolar disease”, that he risks the wrath of God if he continues attacking pastors in the country.
Eneche said;
“At this moment, it is imperative for us to address certain issues for the sake of upcoming generations. Otherwise, when evil is allowed to persist, it would be viewed as good.
“The culture of respect is a well-rooted scriptural bible culture.
“In Act 23:5, when Paul the Apostle spoke in a careless way, regarding the high Priest Ananias and his attention was drawn, he immediately withdrew his word and apologised.
“The culture of respect is also a deeply-rooted African culture. So strong that in parts of this country, in the west, children prostrate to greet fathers and elders.
“Yesterday, a man drew my attention from America, regarding a video that was mimicking God’s servant, Bishop David Oyedepo, posted by the MAD DOG called Freeze. MAD DOG emphasized. Someone said, Pastor, why are you calling someone a mad dog, Jesus did that first; he called Herod a wild dog – a fox.
“I said MAD DOG because that is spot diagnoses. Spot diagnoses is a situation whereby you know a sickness by just looking at the patient without even asking any questions. What he is exhibiting a is mad behavior.
“That is schizophrenia, schizophreniform behavior. That is mania. That is bipolar disorder. That is attention seeking psychopathic disorder. A man looking for attention by all means, trying to pull down people who have built values over the years.”
Eneche further backed Pastor David Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries for calling Daddy Freeze a bastard. He averred that the media personality deserves to be called a bastard “because he behaves like one.”
The pastor added;
“Someone said they called him a bastard. I believe that the title is not less than what it is, because if that is not the title to be called, when last did you behave like someone who grew in a home? When last did you behave like someone whose father gave him any morals or value? When last did you behave like somebody who knows culture? What did your father teach you growing up? What did you learn as a child? And here you are, wifeless, houseless, jobless. You can’t keep a wife, can’t keep a job. Can’t keep nothing and you are speaking about someone who is married for close to 40 solid years.
“When last did a tailor advise a surgeon how to operate? When last did a carpenter tell a Senior Advocate of Nigeria how to stand before the court to defend a case? What do you know about marriage when you can’t keep a home. What do you know about life, success and destiny? Who is a baggage of moral bankruptcy. A baggage of emptiness of character, talking about people who you are a never up to and will never be up to even if they gave you a thousand lifetimes. If you are in the same class of architecture with Bishop David Oyedepo, ask yourself, where will your position be?
“That is if you are able to study such a course. Or you are in mathematics class with Pastor EA Adeboye, ask yourself, where will you be found in a mathematics class where he did a first degree in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics in Masters. Where will you be? In his PhD in hydro-dynamics with stokes equation – specialty. Have you heard of that before? Or where will you be in our anatomy class, in pharmacology, pharmaco-dynamics, pharmaco kinetics? What do you know about etiopathogenesis of diseases? Have you ever heard of such before? What will be your rating in such classes?
“They are people who would have defeated you from the scratch if you were their age mate. And they will defeat you till tomorrow. Ask yourself this question, how many life times will you need, to be able to employ 35,000 people in your organization? That is what Bishop Oyedepo has done successfully and beyond that. How many life times will you need to be able to run two universities world class? Covenant University is among top 500 universities in the world, it’s number 4 in Africa and number 1 in Nigeria.
“What value have you added? What do you have you to offer, other than to stay on the pulpit and speak of what you know nothing about? I advise you, you are already a cursed man, a cursed man by virtue of bankruptcy of everything around you. But you better repent now, otherwise, Jehovah, whom you have stood against will deal with you and your lineage.
“Let me give you a final counsel, before you talk about married people and people in ministry, go ahead and get yourself a wife, get a family, succeed in the marriage then you have any audacity, temerity or any effrontery to speak further on marriage or on any issue bordering on life and success, otherwise you are a colossal monumental generational waste of existence.”
Enenche also advised Daddy Freeze to start a church and work towards its success since he is so interested in pastoring.
He said;
“Secondly, since you are so interested in pastoring and in pastors, get yourself a church started from the scratch, gather a 100 people physically, gather them up to 1,000 and up to 10,000 and when you are through with that, pray for the sick, deliver the oppressed, help their widows and orphans, and then run it successfully, then you have an advice to give to anybody who is in the ministry, otherwise close your irresponsible mouth forever and never to be heard.
“And for everyone who follows gullibly, irresponsible personalities such as this, valueless entities, worthless entities, adding nothing to society, offering nothing. Just don’t waste your life, go face your front and do what you need to do to make a mark in your generation.
“What you attack, you can’t attract, what you hate, you can’t have, what you don’t like, you must lack, don’t waste your life following a vehicle going nowhere. Don’t waste your life listening to a man, who is speaking on something he has no experience about, don’t waste your life. A caution to you. When the young men spoke against Elisha and called him baldheaded man of God, the curse of the Lord overran them. Don’t waste your life. Retrace your step and make amend. In the name of Jesus Christ.”
Ogun State Government has commenced the third phase of the Broiler Project, aimed at empowering youths to be gainfully employed in poultry business.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, while speaking at Eweje Farm Institute, Odeda, noted that the Broiler Project, which was a pilot project had recorded huge success in the first and second cycles, hence the commencement of the third phase.
He noted that the Broiler Project was an idea of the state government, where 54 young farmers had been empowered with 1,000 day-old broilers each, having raised them for six weeks, after which the off-takers purchased the chickens.
Odedina, while appreciating the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun for creating job opportunities for youths through the Poultry Value-Chain, commended the participants for taking advantage of the training, saying they had successfully exhibited strong will to succeed, having made an average of N150,000 profit in each cycle.
The Commissioner disclosed that Governor Abiodun had approved the replication of the Broiler Project in each of the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, assuring the beneficiaries of government’s support by establishing them as commercial poultry farmers after the launch of the third cycle of the Project.
“We are here to launch the third cycle of Ogun Broiler Project, you will recall, we were here to launch the first and second cycles where each participant within the space of six weeks, made an average profit of about N150,000 raising 1,000 birds. We were also here to monitor the second cycle which incidentallyhappened during the pandemic, thank God, we were able to manage it,” he said.
The Chairman, Transition Committee, Odeda Local Government, Bola Lawal, lauded the state government for the initiative and successes recorded so far, promising more supports to the programme as he pleaded that more indigenes be absorbed in future.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr. Femi Oguntayo from Abeokuta South Local Government, said being trained as a poultry farmer had been a wonderful opportunity as they have been exposed to the act of raising broilers from day old to six weeks old.
The gun men who stormed Tungan-Maje, a community situated between Giri and Zuba in Abuja last Wednesday, carried out their operation within Unguwar Joka, a small neighbourhood at the western end of the town.
Unguwar Joka or New-poultry, which has moderate number of houses, is bordered by undeveloped vast land comprising of farm lands and a forest from where the attackers came and operated from 12 to 2am.
Residents of the area were still receiving sympathisers when Daily Trust visited the community on Friday.
Five of the abductees were released by the gunmen after a journey of about an hour while they proceeded with the able-bodied ones comprising three young girls, a 13-year-old boy and a 50-year-old welder popularly called pastor.
Mrs. Helen Ezora one of the five people released by the kidnappers
Mr. Frank Usas, whose wife Grace and two sons made it back home, said it was a terrible experience which he would not even pray for his worst enemy. The middle-aged man who fled his home on the arrival of the gunmen, said to be numbering about 20, was still in a bad mood during the visit, as his 13-year-old son was still held by the kidnappers.
He said his wife woke him up when the assailants started hitting on their gate. “I looked through the window and saw about 4 persons who I initially mistook for vigilante. Their constant demand for us to open the gate made me realise that they were attackers. When I did not succumb to their demand, one of them jumped over my fence and forced the padlock open. At that point, I ran out through the back door.”
Usas said he sustained injuries on one of his hands and leg in the process as they trailed him for a while, before he escaped, only to discover that the gunmen were operating in other houses within the area.
“I reported the matter to the police outpost located close to the highway. The only policeman I met on duty contacted the vigilante who also passed the information to the Zuba Police division.
“The police team from Zuba arrived later on and asked me to join them in their van and lead them to our area. The first thing I did was to search my house, but unfortunately none of my family members was present. The kidnappers had taken them away,” Usas said.
Malam Salisu Abubakar lives about 10 meters away from the other home where the first 4 persons were abducted. He said the gunmen got to his house around 12.07am.
Elder David Olesegun Ajibola one of those abducted by the kidnappers.
They first broke part of the burglary proof attached to his living room before they changed their mind and broke one of the windows through which they gained access into the house. “I quickly fled, so they met my wife and two children aged 7 and 11, who were sleeping on same mattress. They asked my wife about me, and one of them suggested that one of my children should be killed but another one advised that the 11-year-old be abducted. And that was what they opted for,” Abubakar said.
Opposite the house was another building owned by Elder David Olusegun Ajibola, a welder who is popularly called pastor in the community. His wife, a teacher, and 13-year-old son, who is writing his junior WAEC, were not at home during the visit, as they were said to have left for school, respectively.
However, one of the sympathizers, Mrs. Blessing Andrew, said the attackers forced themselves into the premises through the fence. “They collected some money and later took away Elder David.”
It was gathered that the attackers, who also looted a provision store in the area, were careful in selecting houses that they attacked. Most the houses were fenced with gates, with some having security wires.
Mrs. Grace Usas was taken alongside her three children before she was released with two, while the third one – a 13-year-old boy, is still with them.
She said after they were taken separately from their houses, they were all led to a particular spot close to a path that led into a nearby forest. “After about two hours of operation, gun shoots from the direction of the centre of the town made them to quickly move away with us through the bush.
“We trekked for about one hour before a stopover where they sorted the younger and able-bodied ones and proceeded with them. Five of us – a pregnant woman, an elderly man, two of my youngest children and I, were made to remain there for some minutes under guard. They later ordered us to go back home while they quickly joined the others. It was on our way back that we sighted some people with flashlights in the bush who happened to be policemen.”
Also speaking, Mrs Helen Ezora, the pregnant woman, said her husband had sneaked out of their home on their arrival, but left behind the sum of N8000 with her. “They asked of him first, and later for phones and money which I handed over to them. Two of the kidnappers left immediately, while the last one remained in the house and later asked me to move out and join other abducted neighbours outside.”
Another person who regained freedom is Mr. Usman Augustine, the oldest among the victims. He said his wife was the first person to be released having fainted along the road.
“Four other persons and myself were released by the abductors while my granddaughter, Patience, is still being held alongside five others.”
The victims still in the kidnappers’ den include Elder David Olusegun Ajibola, 50; 13-year-old Daniel Usas and 11-year-old Faruk Salisu. Others are Maryam Muktar, 17, Onyinyechi Judith Eze, 16, and Patience James, 13.
Deputy commander of the vigilante in the area, Yunusa Zakari Akoshi, said he was among the vigilante members that went in search of the victims alongside the policemen. He said they located a place where the attackers made a stopover during the day, and proceeded in looking for them but were not able to trace them.
Zakari said plans are underway to collaborate with vigilante members across some other villages to launch a joint manhunt against the kidnappers and possibly rescue the victims.
There is tension in the hometown of the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, following the dethronement of two suspended monarchs and installation of their replacements.
The dethroned monarchs are Igwe Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando and Igwe Peter Ikegbunem Udoji of Eziagulu Out, while the installed monarchs are Igwe Johnson Onyeaka-Mbanefo and Igwe Lawrence Anakpulu Nwofia of Aguleri in Anambra East Local Government Area of the state.
Igwe Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando’s problem was said to have started in 2019 when the community accused him, alongside the town union’s executives, of conspiring to sell their land.
The accusations created a lot of tension which led to the stopping of the traditional ruler from performing the annual ritual of the new yam festival.
New monarch of Eziagulu otu, Igwe Anakpulu-Nwofia
After stopping the festival, the governor set up a panel of enquiry to look into the allegations of selling of the community land, but after investigation, the panel absolved the monarch of complicity.
However, some people who were not satisfied with the panel’s recommendations opted for the dissolution of the town union’s executives and imposed a caretaker committee.
This generated a lot of problems which led to some members of the community protesting to the government house; alleging that some powerful individuals were bent on creating problems in the town.
Incidentally, Igwe Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando and Igwe Peter Ikegbunem Udoji of Eziagulu Out were among the 13 monarchs that were suspended from office following their visit to Abuja to see President Muhammadu Buhari without getting approval from the state government.
Their problems began when some of the monarchs in the state, particularly those from Anambra Central, started hobnobbing with the billionaire oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, at the time he was having a frosty relationship with the governor over an issue bordering on the location of the newly created Zone 13 of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the state.
Daily Trust learnt that the governor and the oil magnate allegedly dragged the issue of where the zonal headquarters would be located. While the governor was said to have suggested Aguleri, his home town, Prince Eze worked hard to convince the police hierarchy to site it at his home town, Ukpo, in Dunukofia Local Government Area. Eventually, the police chose Ukpo and the zone has since commenced operations.
During the inauguration of the zone, the 13 traditional rulers featured prominently.
Shortly after the inauguration of the Zone 13, Prince Eze gathered them and told them that the governor was short-changing them by not conducting local government elections in the state.
He told them that due to non-conduct of the LGA elections, they were not getting their five per cent allocation from the local government account.
He also promised to take the traditional rulers to Abuja to the president on a thank you visit for all the president had been doing in the South East, particularly in Anambra State.
Shortly after, one of the traditional rulers, Igwe Peter Uyanwa of Ukwulu, who is the Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council for Anambra Central, was suspended by the state government for one year, with the government citing a petition from his community, and the suspension of the 12 others followed few weeks later.
Their suspension took effect from August 11, 2020, and the monarchs were warned not to parade themselves as traditional rulers or discharge the functions of their offices in their communities or anywhere within the state and beyond.
In the suspension letter, the state government revoked their membership of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council and cancelled any appointment they were holding in government committees until the suspension is lifted.
According to the state government, the suspension may be lifted at the expiration of one year, renewed or upgraded thereafter depending on its review of their conducts.
The government said the suspension followed the recommendation of their colleagues in the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council headed by the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, after a meeting in Awka.
Few days after the suspension, events took a new twist as some members of Eziaguleri-Otu and Mkpunando communities in Aguleri claimed to have dethroned their suspended traditional rulers.
Youths and elders from Aguleri, during a peaceful protest, urged the state government to formally revoke the traditional rulership certificates of Alex Edozieuno and Ikegunam Udoji for their participation in the trip to Abuja.
The crowd of youths, elders and women from the communities convened at the Aguleri junction, Otuocha, before they headed to the Obu Gad to consult “Ndi oji ani Aguleri” where the fates of the embattled monarchs were said to have been sealed.
A House of Representatives member on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon. Chinedu Obigwe, in a statement, said, “The protesters moved straight to Obu Gad where major decisions are taken in Aguleri, and after lodging their complaints to Ndi Ichie and Ojiana Aguleri, it was resolved that Igwe Udorji Okike of Eziagulu Otu Aguleri and Igwe Alex Edoziuno of Mkpunando Aguleri had been dethroned as traditional rulers and that they should not parade themselves again as traditional rulers.”
Barley three weeks after the pronouncement of the dethronement of the two Aguleri monarchs, two monarchs: Igwe Johnson Onyeaka-Mbanefo and Igwe Lawrence Anakpulu Nwofia, were crowned to replace them.
The enthronement of the new traditional rulers took place at the Ukwuana-Isiokwe Square, Mkpunando Aguleri amid celebrations.
Daily Trust gathered that the community, made up of four quarters: Ugwuoba, Umuagu na Obeke, Ivite Enu and Igboezunu, unanimously agreed to install the new kings.
One of the oldest men in the community, Ichie Melionwu Udalor, who expressed happiness that a leader who God had raised had been sent to them, prayed for their ancestors to give the new traditional rulers more wisdom throughout their reigns.
One of the new monarchs, Igwe Onyeka Mbanefo, in his acceptance speech, thanked the community for finding him worthy to mount the throne, and promised not to disappoint them.
Also, Eziagulu-Otu Aguleri crowned Lawrence Anakpulu Nwofia as their new traditional ruler to replace the suspended Igwe Peter Ikegbunem Udoji.
Daily Trust gathered that Nwofia’s coronation, which took place on Saturday, September 5, 2020, at Eziagulu Otu Village Square, was carried out by the elders of the community led by the second eldest man in the community, Ogbuanyinya Obuora Atuanya, of Umunriabo village.
The President of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), Chief Alex Onukwue, who is also the President General of Eziagulu Otu, said the community had witnessed a new dawn with the smooth and speedy change of community leadership.
On his part, the Chairman of Aguleri Royal Cabinet, Chief Dominic Ndife, maintained that the new monarch was chosen by the entire community, having contributed to the development and progress of the town.
The Secretary General of Eziagulu Otu, Aguleri, Chief Mike Enemuo, assured that the elevation of the new traditional ruler was done in line with the constitution and due process, calling on the people to come together to work for the good of the community and support their new traditional ruler.
Responding, the new monarch promised to be a servant leader, even as he called on all to come together and join hands in developing their community.
However, during the coronation, there was a fracas resulting from some people opposing the coronation, saying it was against the norms. Many people sustained injuries.
Mr. Uche Okafor, a social commentator, condemned the purported crowning of new monarchs when government had not reviewed their earlier suspension to expulsion.
Mr. Okafor said it was wrong for the community to wake up from their sleep and say an elected traditional ruler had been dethroned without following laid down procedures.
He also stated that in the suspension to the traditional rulers, government said it was for a year, and that since they had not completed the one year and government had not reviewed the suspension, those behind the dethronement were only bent on creating problems in the community.
When contacted, an elder, Edoziuno, who confirmed the development, described as it as funny.
According to him, “The story is true, but it is funny. Some people said they have crowned the serving president general of the community as traditional ruler. That is funny. It is funny because when a traditional ruler is alive, you do not go ahead to crown another traditional ruler in the same community.”
In Eziagulu Otu of Aguleri, it was gathered that the traditional ruler had approached a court to seek for determination of the validity of enthroning a new king when the existing one is not dead or dethroned by government.
It was further gathered that in the coming days more people may approach the courts for determination of the legality of crowning other kings when there were kings already.
Meanwhile, there are insinuations that a politician in the community who is very close to the governor is behind the dethronement and enthronement of the new traditional rulers.
Atop official at the Presidency took a swipe at a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, over his recent comments on the state of affairs under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a “yesterday man”.
Though the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, did not respond to a message sent to him on the subject, the top official who did not want to be named said: “Obasanjo is yesterday’s man. After he had come against President Buhari and lost the election, you don’t expect anything positive from him.”
Chief Obasanjo had said Thursday that Nigeria was fast drifting into a failed and badly divided state under President Muhammadu Buhari.
This, he said, were the products of recent mismanagement of the diversity and socio-economic development of the country.
“Old fault lines that were disappearing have opened up in greater fissures and with drums of hatred, disintegration and separation and accompanying choruses being heard loud and clear almost everywhere,” Obasanjo said.
He was delivering a paper titled; “Moving Nigeria Away From Tipping Over’ at a consultative dialogue in Abuja.
The dialogue was held behind closed doors between September 9 and 10, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered.
He, however, called for concerted efforts of all stakeholders towards “moving Nigeria from tipping over.”
The former president also called for a national dialogue, saying it would save Nigeria from disintegration.
He expressed concern that some Nigerians had been obsessed with the 2023 general elections, despite the challenges of debt, death, destruction and disease across the country.
You are not a prefect to supervise other leaders – Audu Ogbeh
Reacting to the comment, the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust on Sunday that “Advertising us as a failed state is not mature. Let me in all fairness say something to Obasanjo: There is a tendency for him to always think that if he were there, there would be perfection. He had his own challenges. What about Zaki Biam and Odi? Were those democratic expeditions? You are not a prefect appointed by anybody to supervise the conduct of other heads of state.”
Reminding Obasanjo that he (Ogbeh) was chairman of the then ruling party (PDP) when he was president, he said: “I think if Gowon, Abdulsalami and Shagari (before he died) continued lashing out at incumbents the way Obasanjo does, people would have tagged them irresponsible.
“I think he enjoys this policy of mischief, going around and looking for audience that would applaud him saying nasty things about those who came after him.”
Admitting that Nigeria has problems and has to deal with them, Ogbeh said: “I respect him (Obasanjo) as a former president, he is a very intelligent man, but he should also avoid mischief.”
Indices of failed state apparent in Nigeria – Afenifere
The spokesman of the pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, agreed with Obasanjo that Nigeria is drifting towards a failed state, saying, “All the indices of a failed state are very apparent in Nigeria.”
He said this was made worse because of the leadership of the country which he noted is not “unifying” and “treats some sections of the country as if they don’t matter.”
“There is a clear and present danger in the country now which we must address,” he said.
He said the president had in the past five years failed to fulfill his promises anchored on three cardinal programmes to Nigerians, wondering how he would achieve the nine-point programme he recently unveiled in the about two years left for him in office.
He said the government must set its priorities right, adding that the president must bequeath in the country a “proper constitution that will make every part of the country productive.”
“Remember in 2015, he campaigned on three key areas which he has failed to deliver in five years. Now that he has two years to go, he said he wants to address nine. We must get clear priority areas,” he said.
You’re as guilty as Buhari – Kari
An associate professor of Political Sociology in the University of Abuja, Dr Abubakar Umar Kari, said Obasanjo was as much a cause as those he was accusing.
Reacting, the varsity don said Obasanjo was not the first person to make such a claim.
“It is common these days to hear and read about Nigeria being a failed state. It is a pretty weighty claim made often in frustration or outrage or by opposition elements and those with an axe to grind with the powers that be,” he told our correspondent on Saturday.
According to him, a proper interrogation of the concept of a failed state would reveal that it is very controversial, subjective and even confusing.
He said based on some definitions and measurement criteria, countries like South Africa and Brazil also fit into the failed state bill.
“Serious scholars and analysts have abandoned the concept because it is problematic. What is not in doubt, however, is that all is not well with Nigeria, and that is putting it mildly.
“It is also true that Nigerians are sharply and deeply divided along all sort of cleavages, but in this, Obasanjo is as much a cause as those he was accusing.
“I have a problem with Obasanjo playing the social critic and concerned statesman, because it does not add up. He can hardly mask his bitterness towards Buhari.
“His utterances on the present administration had of recent lacked the requisite objectivity and constructiveness and sometimes border on the pathological. And remember, he was addressing a meeting of ethnic and regional leaders with a well-known antagonistic disposition towards Buhari and his government,” he said.
But a political scientist, Dr. Kayode Esuola, agreed with Obasanjo that Nigeria is drifting towards a failed state, saying the Buhari administration’s “lack of ideological and policy directions will fast track the failure of the Nigerian State.”
He said: “Nigeria started drifting towards a failed state immediately she was created in 1960, but the drift merely inconsistently galloped till 2015 due to a plethora of policy efforts – some appropriate but mal-applied, some inappropriate but appropriately applied- made by different administrations.
“Buhari’s emergence in 2015 has consistently shut upward the drift, and the country is much closer and clearer to a failed state than it ever was. The last one year had been particularly scary for anyone who understands what it means for a state to fail.
“Division is a major symptom of state failure. It destroys social order and causes crisis of hegemony (we witness both at present).
“So, Obasanjo’s observations are correct in social context. However, the same Obasanjo cannot claim to be unconnected to all the crises,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr. Gbade Ojo, an Associate Professor of Political Science, said Obasanjo’s concerns were valid. However, he said Nigeria’s federal arrangement since 1960 had been convoluted.
According to him, Nigerians are more divided today than they were in 1967 before the civil war. He said if a referendum was to be conducted today, most Nigerians would prefer to go their separate ways.
“Today, it is the federal might that is still holding us together, not nationhood,” he said.
The political scientist said if care is not taken, Buhari might be the last president of the country and Nigeria could break into five, stressing that Nigeria is running “a bastardized federal arrangement and the federal character principles are being observed in breach.”
He said Obasanjo being a civil war hero was pained that the unity he fought for is severely threatened.
He advised the president to implement the recommendations of previous national confabs
IgbereTV reports that a party celebrant identified as Omeika Josiah at Amini Awo village in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun state was stabbed to death by his guest, identified as Sunday Philip.
The suspect, Sunday Philip said to be an apprentice mechanic, arrived the party uninvited and was served a bottle of beer and a plate of spiced spaghetti.
In the course of the party, Philip got into an argument with a guest which resulted to a fight. The celebrant walked in on both men fighting and took sides with the guest identified as Jonah, and this got Philip angry. The suspect ran into a nearby house and returned with a knife which he used to stab Philip.
“One of the guests named Jonah sent a boy to move the sound system away from the scene when he noticed that food and drinks were pouring on the floor. But Sunday (Philip), an apprentice mechanic, prevented the boy sent by Jonah from taking the jukebox away and seized the sound gadget. Jonah tried to take the sound system from Sunday and a fight broke out between them,” the source explained.
“When Sunday realised that he could not overpower Jonah, he rushed to a nearby house and brought out a knife to attack Jonah. Unfortunately, on his way back to Jonah, he met the celebrator, Josiah, who warned him not to disrupt his party. But Sunday then became angry that Josiah had taken sides with Jonah, so he stabbed him to death.”
A community leader who confirmed the incident said he was not aware of the plan to hold a birthday party in the village and had the deceased celebrator told him, he would have informed the village head, Chief Kunle Aromokun, to put in place adequate security.
“It is sad that the life of the celebrator was cut short by an uninvited guest at his own party. If the late Josiah had told me that he was going to organise a party to celebrate his birthday, I would have told the Baale (village head), who would have in turn invited members of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) to provide security and prevent a breakdown of law and order at the event.” he said.
One of the guests at the party identified simply as Oladele said that the suspect lived on the same street as Josiah, but he was not invited to the party.
“Sunday (Philip) had left home for work very early in the morning. He had no idea that Josiah was going to throw a birthday party in the neighbourhood,” said Oladele.
“He however came to the party when he got wind that it was Josiah’s birthday celebration. Only God knows what came over him when he launched into a fight with another guest and close friend of the celebrator. If not for the timely intervention of the community leaders and other residents, he would have been mobbed to death when he was nabbed after he tried to escape from the scene where he stabbed Josiah to death.”
The All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Saturday, said that the blood that runs through his veins is the same blood that runs in every Nigerian veins.
Tinubu who paid a condolence visit to Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC- Sokoto) on the demise of his daughter, Sadiya Aliyu, called for unity, noting that the country could achieve nothing without unity.
Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had said that Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and divided country, noting that mismanagement of diversity and socio-economic development is one of the major reasons behind the country’s ordeal.
His words: “Today, Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state, economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country.
“And these manifestations are the products of recent mismanagement of diversity and socio-economic development of our country.
“Old fault lines that were disappearing have opened up in greater fissures and with drums of hatred, disintegration and separation and accompanying choruses being heard loud and clear almost everywhere.
“It would appear that anybody not dancing to the drum beat nor joining in chorus singing would be earmarked as ethnically unpatriotic or enemy of its tribe or geographical area. In short, the country is fast moving to the precipice. But happily, I observed that the five socio-cultural political groups gathered here have been getting together to find common ground, areas of agreement or accord for moving Nigeria away from tipping over.
“Before continuing, let me say that we must remind those who are beating the drums of disintegration and singing choruses of bitterness, anger and separation that if even Nigeria is broken up, the separated parts will still be neighbours. And they will have to find accommodation as neighbours or they will be ever at war. And those who prevent justice to be done invite violence to reign.”
Harping on unity, former Lagos state governor opined: “We have to unite to develop our country. The blood that runs in my veins is the same blood that runs in every Nigerian veins.
“Whether I am Yoruba and you are Fulani, Hausa or Igbo, the essence of our life is that we are Nigerians.
“Therefore, we should always dwell and take Nigeria first in everything we do for the good of our country,” he said.
THE Federal Government yesterday said that it had to reschedule the meeting planned to hold yesterday with the organized labour because the leadership of the two labour centers had engagement outside Abuja. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, announced that the meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday. A statement issued by the Minister through the Deputy Director, Press in the Ministry, Charles Akpan, read, “The meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, 15th Sept at 10am.
Venue is Banquet Hall of Presidential Villa. This is to accommodate all President Muhammadu Buhari had, on Friday, after meeting with Ngige, gave the approval for the relevant government agencies in charge of finance to meet with the labour to present the book on the nation’s economy.
Trade Union Congress, TUC, had condemned the recent increase in the petroleum pump price occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the electricity tarrif hike and had called for a reversal with immediate effect. It was reliably gathered that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, was making consultations with its relevant organs over the increases.
ABOUT 200 trained members of the Gana-led terror group remain in the forests of Benue North East and parts of neighbouring Taraba State, according to a leader of the gang.
Aondehemba, as he identified himself to The Nation during an encounter in Keffi, Nasarawa State yesterday evening, said Gana had instructed his second in command to take over in the event that he (Gana) got killed during his trip from Katsina Ala to Makurdi.
Aondehemba a.k.a. “Major’ said Gana, whose real name is Terwase Akwaza, seemed to have a premonition of his death before venturing out of the forest on Tuesday to accept the offer of amnesty from the state government.
‘Major’ spoke on his way to Abuja to commiserate with one of the widows of Gana.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State said yesterday that he would not take issues with the military on the circumstance of Gana’s death.
Speaking in Tiv, ‘Major’ said: “We warmed him not to come out. We told him that the said amnesty was a ploy to get him.
“He agreed with us but said he had made up his mind to surrender and that he was tired of staying in the bush.
“He told us that he was coming out from the bush to honour the Bishop of Gboko William Aveyam and Senator Gabriel Suswam, both of whom he said had been mounting pressure on him in the last three months to come out and embrace peace, and that he had made up his mind to embrace peace.”
Aondehemba said Gana had a structured ’empire’ in place in the forest with over 200 well trained armed men spread across Benue North East and parts of Taraba State.
“It is a battalion. We are many and have a very strong network. Gana was a leader that cared so much about us.
“On that very day, he assembled us in the morning in the bush and addressed us. He directed us on what to do if he did not return alive.
“He told us that if his coming out was a setup, the battle should continue, but if it was with genuine intention, he would want us to lay down our arms.”
Aondehemba recalled that Bishop Aveyam was always calling Gana on the phone, preaching the gospel to him to change his ways and embrace peace.
He added: “I can tell you that Gana accepted Christ before his death. He had planned to be baptized by the Bishop after the amnesty. He had even discussed wedding one of his wives in the church. He was actually tired of what he was doing.
“I was among the five gang members that disappeared in the convoy when the army stopped us in Gboko. Our vehicle was behind the official car of the local government chairman that was conveying Gana to Makurdi.
“Gana could not disappear because he had already handed over his power to the second commander before embarking on that ill-fated journey to Makurdi.
“His intention was to come back from Makurdi and make sure that peace returned permanently in Sankera (Logo, Ukum, Katsina Ala LGAs), and Suswam had assured him of full support.
“He had told us that one of the things he intended to do in Makurdi was to plead with Governor Ortom to forgive him and reassure him of peace in Benue.”
He claimed that Gana had super natural powers derived from burying his 12-year-old daughter alive 11 years ago in his Gbitse village.
“That was why he was very powerful. And those powers are still intact, because he gave them to someone very close to him.
“The military got Gana easily because he came out of the forest.
“Gana was in his village in Gbitse when he was declared wanted some years back, and each time the military went there to arrest him they were unable to identify him.
“Now Gana is no more but his spirit is still very much alive. He gave us a directive on what to do in case he died.
“At the moment, we are mourning him.”
‘I’ll not take issues with military on Gana’s death’ – Ortom
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, who was waiting in Makurdi on Tuesday for what was planned to be a historic meeting with Gana only to be informed of his death, said yesterday that he would not take issues with the military on the circumstances of the terrorist’s death.
The military had claimed that Gana was shot dead during an exchange of gun fire with soldiers while government officials in the same convoy with the deceased said he was dragged out of the car that was taking him to Makurdi, bundled into a security vehicle and later shot.
Speaking to reporters after an expanded meeting of the state Security Council, Ortom said his administration had decided to move ahead with the amnesty programme as Gana is dead and will not come back to life.
He however said he was waiting for explanation from the military on what went wrong.
Ortom said the people of Sankera had expressed deep concerns over the circumstances and stories surrounding the arrest and killing of Gana, noting however that government would continue to interface with the army for amicable resolution of the impasse.
He stated that Council also resolved that the amnesty programme be extended to other parts of the state, saying that a committee had been constituted to ensure the training and reintegration of the repentant youths into the society.
Officer of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority popularly known as LASTMA, has been caught on camera, doing what is totally wrong to a passenger in a vehicle.
In the viral video posted on social media, the female LASTMA officer can be seeing trying to force a male passenger out of a car while her male colleague, was trying to persuade her to leave the man. The onlookers who were close to her were equally trying to drag her away from her "prey" but it seems she was determined to achieve an aim only known to her.
Although we don't know the genesis of the issue but by all indications, the LASTMA officer was wrong in her action and approach to whatever might have been the issue. As a trained officer in uniform, there are things she shouldn't be caught doing. The onlookers conversation and the reaction of her colleague while she carried on with the show of shame, is an indication that the woman was wrong.
We still have a long way to go in this country as majority of people we expect to see some high level of maturity in their dealings with masses are always found wanting. Just imagine what would have happened to that man should this officer have a gun with her?
She looks frustrated and lacks the ability to control her emotion as her job demands. This is a shame on the entire LASTMA and the authority must as a matter of urgency, do something to address this.
This woman must be punished for this public display of shame.
Controversial On-Air Personality, Daddy Freeze, has apologized to the founder of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, over an old clip where he called the cleric baldheaded old fowl.
Freeze took to his social media pages, to upload a video of him saying sorry.
“My attention was been drawn to a video I released circa two years and seven months ago, while addressing some pertinent issues that arose back then.
“I apologize for the delivery of my message and for any insult to Bishop David Oyedepo.
“I did not intend to in any way dishonour, disrespect or disregard the person of the Bishop.
“My method of addressing doctrinal issues, has long since evolved to a more scriptural and less confrontational method,” he said.
The resurfaced video had caused so much controversy, leading to Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Centre and David Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries tongue lashing Daddy Freeze.
I’m passionately committed to the aphorism of the Free Nation In Christ, but I believe a lot more can be achieved through love. ~FRZ
◄ John 2:17 ►
New Living Translation
Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
