₦airaland Forum

The kill to be on the right hand of the supposed jesus christ their lord. Fela comes to mind...amen amen amen.

looplat: Religion of 419 jejunle pastors lmao

LMAO! The initial killers are christians, the eventual killers are christians. Why is christianity so bloodthirsty?

What is the religion of these savages?

Welcome guys! However, I would have nominated Beaf : Billiyonnaire and DK

This eko atlantic no go kill person sha.

Luke 19:27
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

Luke 14:26
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 22:36,38
[Jesus] said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one, " The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.

Luke 12:50-53
50 But I have a baptsm to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

John 2:15
[Jesus] made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

Leviticus 26:29
You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.

Deuteronomy 28:53
Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you.

Deuteronomy 28:56-57
The most gentle and sensitive woman among you?so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot?will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.

2 Kings 6:29
So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him."

Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.'

Lamentations 2:20
"Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

Lamentations 4:10
With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

Ezekiel 5:10
Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.

[size=20pt]Over to christians in the house[/size]

“The unfortunate incident of Monday night in the second largest town in Adamawa State, Mubi was an experience you cannot wish even your worst enemy. As a lecturer in one of the many educational institutions in Mubi, the previous three months in Mubi, which were marked with spontaneous shootings and bombings made life difficult.

The situation got to the level that Christians and people of southern extraction started moving from places with more problems to those presumed to have more Christians and vice versa. Wuro Puteji, with its high concentration of churches and many people from the minorities such as Higgi, Marghi, Fali etc, looked a reasonable alternative with its high population of students, making it look neutral and having a balanced mix.

Yours truly moved into this set up which had hitherto history of a share in any of the casualities resulting from all the recent carnages being experienced in this economic nerve centre of Adamawa State. Monday night, I drove back early with my family from Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, where we spent the long weekend with the aim of beating the 3:00pm curfew imposed on the town (not knowing its being dropped to 6:00pm).

We got to Mubi on time and were surprised to note that there were no checkpoints, although Song, Gombi, Hong and Marraraba, these checkpoints were there days earlier when the JTF carried out its massive house to house checks resulting in arrests and discovery of weapons.

Driving into town our confidence in the security of the town was reinforced with the sight of combat- ready mobile policemen and some soldiers. But we also noted a large contingent of military personnel being moved out of town. “By 7:00pm that evening, 1 decided to start the generator only to discover it wont start and needed servicing. We decided to listen to evening version of BBC Hausa news broadcast. I later slept off and woke up at some minutes past 10.00pm to use the bathroom.

I went back to bed at 10:34pm, noting that the neighbors had switched off their generators and in the background a male and female voice were singing on SS85 hymn in either Assemblies of God Church nearby or the Redeemed Church opposite the government secondary school across the road where most of the Federal Polytechnics, Mubi and School of Health students lives.

“In an instant the two voices rehearsing went quiet and within a space of a minute or two we heard the loud bang of gunshots Kpa! Kpa!! Kpa!!! And the barking of the many dogs in the neighbourhood along with Sparky my dog. My wife woke up noting how close the shots were.

We sat up in bed thinking it was the usual shoot one, two and run away thing or soldiers registering their presence especially as there was curfew and no persons were to wander about whether on foot or in vehicles. So, recalling that we heard two or three vehicles drive up on the main street nearby we, concluded it must be the soldiers. But alas! we were in for a long night. Next, the shooting started again this time just about three blocks from my house followed by screams, more shots and dead silence.

“Next two, three minutes later more shots, screams and then silence. I was in a dilemma. My wife moved from the bed to the carpet for fear of things coming through the window (the wall of my house is low.) Against her pleas, I moved to the backyard wondering what will happen next. Across the wall to my right, I heard more shots and turned quickly to see gunfire flashes but nobody except the wailing of children and a woman whom I presume to be their mother.

Next, I docked only to hear more shots in the same place and the solo wailing of the lady whom I presumed to be the mother of the children crying earlier. The next rounds of gunshots moved a bit down from my house and brought me only a moment of relief as I wondered where the security personnel on whom we were so much relying were. “Suddenly, just in the compound next to me I heard people screaming (no gunshots) and instant dead silence.

At this point I was sure my house will be the next. My wife and my little girl now joined me in the backyard. I hurried them back into the house and went into prayers. Surprisingly, even with the cling! cling!! cling!!! coming from my gate, the next sound of shooting and wailing came from a compound two blocks to my left and away from me. The most horrifying aspect of this is looking at the time and noting it was just 11:36pm.

Nobody could come out, scream for help or do anything. It was an outright waiting only on God, knowing you are unarmed and defenceless. “Meanwhile, clouds covered the bright moonlight signaling it was going to rain. The sound of gunshots now moved towards the main road and were accompanied by distant and instant shrill of screams. “We felt a bit relieved when this stopped at around 1:03am. We now heard the sound of reving and screeching tyres and about two or three vehicles moving likely towards the other side of town (outskirts) a village not affected by the curfew.

My wife was now crying. Even my little girl. I observed her crying was not entirely for our situation but for the solo voice of the woman crying two blocks away. Her dirge was so moving I could have wept if not for the anxiety I was in. Slowly, the clock in the bedroom indicated 3:30 a.m. By now, it had rained lightly as if to underscore the unusual nature of this night. I remained agitated and anxious until at about 5:19am. When I woke up to discover I had slept off. “As daylight came slowly, I heard the sounds of neighbors opening their doors, gates and more wailings. I came out to see my neighbors gathered in small circles discussing the incident of the night

. “Bodies were lined up in front of the house a block away. Some of the students with just shorts, boxers or vests on. My one prayer was that the lifting of the curfew the previous day should still be in place. I drove out of the compound with my family and got to the main road. People and security operatives gathered round bodies lined up on the main road. I took a quick glance and with my wife drove quickly into the main road. I was looking ahead at the police patrol van in front of me trying to make sense of what it was carrying and why the policemen had to sit high up on the cabin.

That was when my wife’s wailing became louder. “I observed they were bodies. Bodies of students in T-shirts, jeans and shorts. I drove behind the van making sure blood dripping from its open tail board on to the main road remain between my wheels until it turned into the Mubi General Hospital. Women and passersby could only stare and scream, not knowing what had happened in the Wuro Puteji part of town the night before.”

•The lecturer whose account was published above pleaded to be anonymous. I was lucky to pass through to Marrarraba passing two checkpoints before Makeria to make my way out of Mubi. I arrived Jalingo a few minutes after 3:00p.m only to learn people have been stopped from leaving town. While coming out I observed many students and others already aware of the happening of the previous night were struggling to make their way out.

The once peaceful and prosperous Mubi has become a shadow of itself. While driving out of town, I saw several vehicles with their drivers making u-turns and moving back to Yola or Michika. Along Gombi Song, I saw a retinue of military and police trucks moving rapidly towards Mubi with the cars carrying the top echelons of the police, SSS and Army at the head of the delegation.

I can't wait to meet Sweetnecter and Lagosshia. They are the best brains as far as religion section is concerned. I would have loved Olabowale and Abuzola they aren't so active anymore.

Jarus: Let's have your proof that he is a religious fanatic.

Jarus, I quoted Omiobo while he accuses Maclatunji of Religious fanaticism but he forgot to OAM4J of his tyranical rule. Over to you.

Jarus: Haba. This is unfair. You can accuse him of anything, but never religious or ethnic partiality.

omiobo: Very correct! Religious fanatic no be small.

JARUS! OYA COMMENT ON THE ABOVE

OAM4J is a motherfuckering guy. He reperesents christian crusaders. Christians are known for this.

What is Linda?

free2ryhme: Situations like this is unavoidable because graduates dont wanna take the job leaving Lagos state govt with no options but to recruit touts and street urchins(Agberos) as traffic officials

GBAM! GBAM!! GBAMU!!!

A burial ceremony in honour of the former Cross River State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Raymond Obeten, was disrupted on Saturday in Obubra Local Government Area, when a giant lizard dropped from the rooftop.

Obeten, who was the immediate past commissioner in the ministry, died on August 29 at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital from liver complications.

At the burial ceremony, several people scampered to safety with some screaming on the top of their voices when the lizard fell and dashed towards the crowd.

The incident brought the burial proceedings to a halt as the cleric who was conducting the farewell mass was taken aback and had to step aside to ask what the matter was.

However, one of the villagers, who identified himself as Mr. Obongha, said the crowd which consisted of relatives of the deceased and his kinsmen from Adun and neighbouring villages, were afraid because they read superstitious meaning into the incident.

“For a diabolical society like ours, the death of a person is always attributed, not to an ailment but one person or an amorphous factor. So, people get scared when something strange, no matter how ordinary, occurs during burial,” he said.

Also, the younger brother to the deceased, Mr. Otaba Obeten, alluded to this when he said the demise of his elder brother was “mysterious and its source could not be far from the tussle currently going on in the village.”

But the commotion did not bother the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham, who was already seated and awaiting the arrival of Governor Liyel Imoke.

In his farewell message, Imoke eulogised his former aide, saying he took his job seriously.

Imoke said, “Ray Power, as we called him in the State Executive Council, was close to me. He was one person that had great sense of humour because during debate he would not make his speech without a joke that would send us all laughing, no matter how serious the matter was.”

The governor called on the family and the people of Adun, the deceased immediate community, to remain united no matter what differences that might exist between them.

He consoled the deceased's wife, Helen, and his two children, David and Odam, and asked them to remain humble and focused so that their father's expectation and desire for them would come to pass.

According to an eye witness, LASTMA officials badly assaulted a bus driver at Town Planning, Lagos a few hours ago.

The bus driver's conductor rushed his boss to Gbagada hospital only for the driver to be confirmed dead at the hospital.

Sympathisers almost started a mini riot at the hospital if not for the timely intervention of police.

As at time of this report, sympathisers are heading to Alausa with placards reading "LASTMA, come and carry ur dead body" among others.

Jesus ordered his disciples to buy Sword. It was time for war!

[b]Luke 19:27
"But those mine enemies, which
would not that I should reign over
them, bring hither, and slay them
before me."
Luke 12:49
"I have come to bring fire on the
earth, and how I wish it were
already kindled!
Matthew 10:34
"Do not suppose that I have come
to bring peace to the earth. I did
not come to bring peace, but a
sword."
2 Peter 2:12
"These false teachers are like
unthinking animals, creatures of
instinct, born to be caught and
destroyed. They scoff at things
they do not understand, and like
animals, they will be destroyed."
John 2:15
[Jesus] made a whip out of cords,
and drove all from the temple
area, both sheep and cattle; he
scattered the coins of the money
changers and overturned their
tables.
Psalms 137:8-9
O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.Happy
is the one who takes your babies
and smashes them against the
rocks!
Psalms 139:19-22:
"Surely thou wilt slay the wicked,
O God: Depart from me therefore,
ye bloodthirsty men. For they
speak against thee wickedly, And
thine enemies take (thy name) in
vain. Do not I hate them, O
Jehovah, that hate thee? And am
not I grieved with those that rise
up against thee? I hate them with
perfect hatred: They are become
mine enemies."
Matthew 10:34
"Do not suppose that I have come
to bring peace to the earth. I did
not come to bring peace, but a
sword."
Luke 22:36,38
[Jesus] said to them, "But now if
you have a purse, take it, and
also a bag; and if you don't have
a sword, sell your cloak and buy
one, " The disciples said, "See,
Lord, here are two swords." "That
is enough," he replied.
Matthew 10:35
35 For I have come to turn “‘a man
against his father, a daughter
against her mother, a daughter-in-
law against her mother-in-law—
Luke 12:50-53
50 But I have a baptsm to undergo,
and what constraint I am under
until it is completed! 51 Do you
think I came to bring peace on
earth? No, I tell you, but
division. 52 From now on there
will be five in one family divided
against each other, three against
two and two against three. 53 They
will be divided, father against
son and son against father, mother
against daughter and daughter
against mother, mother-in-law
against daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against mother-in-
law.”

jhydebaba: Songs of Solomon 7:1-9.
1  How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O noble daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.
2  Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
3  Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4  Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
which looks toward Damascus.
5  Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your flowing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.

6  How beautiful and pleasant you are,
O loved one, with all your delights!
7  Your stature is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
8  I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its fruit.

Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,

9  and your mouth like the best wine.

. Chei! Bible don suffer on NL. Could someone translate this to yoruba

Billyonaire: Y'all miss Beaf. I see! Beaf has more pressing issue to handle than come here to educate the leftists with the agility of millipedes in the political landscape. Beaf will be back whenever. Right now, lets just say, senioribus prioribus!!

. Here comes the Nematode. Welcome uncle Beaf. How are u? @ all: One of my proofs is that describing people as bunch of nematodes is common between them. Check their use of English. No difference.

Trust me. That entity called beaf is billiyonnaire. He is a nematode. I tell ya!

centje: yeah. Billyonnaire got close...buh beaf appears more aggressive

Trust me. That entity called beaf is billiyonnaire. He is a flaming nematode. I tell ya!

ilugunboy: Could PointB = Beaf ?

Nope! Beaf = Billyonnaire. He is a sleazy nematode

He has been sacked. He didnt deliver well on NL

[quote author=PROUD-IGBO]^^^Hehehehe . Apparently they couldn't get off that plane fast enough; everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die....not just yet, thankyou very much .[/quote]When things like this happen, I always put myself into the situation. I cannot imagine how I would display when if I were in their shoes. TERRIFIC

Barely 24 hours after the Federal Government lifted the suspension on the licence of Dana Airlines, an Enugu-bound Aero Contractors plane got entangled in another air mess which, thank to God, did not result in another fatal mishap.

At about 4.30 p.m last Thursday, Bede, a lawyer friend called from Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. (Bede broke the sad news of the Dana crash of June 3, 2012, to me. So upon hearing his voice again last week I become greatly alarmed). Anyway, he simply said in a mellowed voice that he and other intending passengers were at Enugu Airport watching a plane unsuccessfully trying to touch down the runway.

After about three minutes, Bede called again but this time he was reassuring. He said that an Aero plane from Lagos trying to land at Enugu Airport could not land because the two tyres could not come out and consequently the plane had been hovering in the air. He concluded that he was heading for a motor park to board a Lagos vehicle. Fear gripped me. I started praying.

But at about 7.30 p.m my phone rang again, this time another lawyer fondly called Ik was calling. He narrated that he was on board the troubled Aero plane, that the plane had finally landed in Lagos after three unsuccessful attempts to land in Enugu. Punctuating his statements intermittently with, “we thank God we are alive”, Ik stated that initially the pilot announced that it was raining in Enugu necessitating his inability to land, but after a time the pilot and the crew members stopped communicating. At that juncture, all the passengers on board started screaming. Many sang church choruses. To cut the long agonizing story short, Ik said that as soon as the plane landed in Lagos, all the passengers quickly alighted and took to their heels.

This is not the first time Aero has been involved in near fatal aviation mishap since the Dana crash of June 3. Recentlya friend who boarded an Aero plane complained that the two tyres failed to come out at the time of landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, that the plane was almost crash-landing when the two tyres eventually came out. Apart from Aero, many passengers complain that other aircraft used for domestic flights in Nigeria are not airworthy. One doesn’t have to be an aviation expert to arrive at this conclusion.

The last time I boarded Dana aircraft, the plane looked no different from a Lagos molue. Besides, power failure at our airports has worsened. In fact two days after the Dana air crash of June 3, Arik, Aero and one international airliner could not land at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja due to power failure on the runway. A friend who boarded the affected Arik aircraft from Port-Harcourt said that when the plane couldn’t land on getting to Abuja the pilot had no option but to start hovering in the air for awhile before heading back to land at Port-Harcourt airport where it had earlier taken off. The international airline, he said, eventually flew out of Nigeria to land in Equatorial Guinea.

The most painful aspect is the Aviation Minister Ms. Stella Oduah, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and other Aviation authorities are not in control of the worsening situation. It is a big scandal that Ms. Oduah, AIB and NCAA have turned round to absolve Dana Air of wrongdoing even before the official release of the report of the crash. I am particularly scandalized by the following utterances credited to Stella Oduah, “rather than indict it (Dana), the result clearly showed that the airline is one of the best in the country today. Dana’s manuals, log book and administrative policies are all in compliance with the NCAA rules and regulations… The accident was not due to NCAA’s lack of responsibility and it was not due to Dana not doing what they ought to do.”

Is Ms. Oduah holding brief for Dana Airlines? Is the Aviation Minister now a High Court judge discharging and acquitting institutions of wrongdoing? For me, let Dana Airlines be reopened. Let the gates of Dana Airlines be flung open and let Ms Stella Odua and her family be the first to board a Dana plane from Abuja to Lagos. Welcome on board!

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-stuff-of-nightmares/124701/

The National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, hosted the World Festival of Arts and Culture, popularly known as Festac 77 nearly 35 years ago. But that breathtaking edifice may pale into insignificance if something is not done about the shrubs, bushes and the wetland that surround it. It now serves as a dumping ground for all manner of wastes, as well as an abode for nefarious persons, reports SAMUEL AWOYINFA

Driving on Carter Bridge provides one with an eyeful. And when one is headed towards the Lagos Island, one cannot miss the imposing structure that sits pretty, as one looks to the right from the top of the bridge. That imposing structure is the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

The cultural edifice played host to the World Festival of Arts and Culture, popularly known as Festac 77, almost 35 years ago.

Another thing that one cannot miss is the wetland, which borders the edifice when one moves towards the Ijora end. Looking darkish, it absorbs all manner of water from the drains, streams and other sources. It is stagnant and it never dries, because even the rain water finds a ready reservoir here.

But the wetland now harbours all manner of objects, including used tyres.

On closer observation, the stinking pool, sorry wetland, is also surrounded by wild vegetation, a lorry park, and not less than two mechanic workshops.

In the park are articulated vehicles like trailers and trucks of different sizes. While some use it as a parking lot, others see it as a graveyard to abandon rickety trucks, buses and three-wheelers popularly known as Keke Marwa.

What used to be a walkway that linked the National Theatre from the Ijora end has caved in, with a portion submerged in the pool of water and covered by shrubs.

Though the walkways that lead to the Costain area and the miniature version of the National Theatre situated about 400 metres away are still intact, it requires real courage to use them when it is getting dark.

One could also see some people inside the shrubs and bushes, occupied with different activities. All manner of characters lounge and roam around this zone, among which are wild-looking young men puffing away on marijuana. Some have turned the surrounding bushes to their toilet, which they invade whenever they are pressed.

Even in broad daylight, some characters take a nap under the trees at the back of the cultural edifice. SUNDAY PUNCH had it on authoritative sources that people are attacked at random by hoodlums on that axis. And behind the National Theatre is the Lagos office of the News Agency of Nigeria.

A member of staff of the Agency, who does not want her name in print, tells our correspondent some members of staff have been attacked and dispossessed of their valuables while on their way home in the evening after the close of work.

Apart from the attack, she says, whenever there is any festivity, a lot of characters throng to the cinema halls, restaurants and fun spots in and around the area. In the process, some of them engage in unwholesome behaviour that leaves much to be desired, even in broad day light.

She recounts a sad experience some of their staff had suffered: “That place is very dangerous at night. Some hoodlums had used the cover of darkness to attack some members of our staff and other innocent people.

“Our organisation had written many articles on their nefarious activities, but it has yet to abate.

“Besides, I could still remember an episode on the last Valentine’s Day. I was on my way home in the evening, and on the open field, I saw a man and a woman who were probably in their late 40s doing their thing without bothering about whoever was passing by. It was a disgusting sight.”

But the management of the National Theatre is not folding their arms in despair in the face of these ugly occurrences. Currently, efforts are being made to secure the cultural edifice and its surroundings. Two gates are being erected — one to secure the Ijora end, while the other is to secure the entrance from the Iganmu end.

Again, work on the perimeter fencing of the entire landed mass has commenced. Furthermore, private security men and the police were seen, mostly in the building, at the popular abe igi where there are kiosks for those who want to unwind. Foods and drinks, including alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages are in abundant stock for customers who troop in, in large number from 4:00pm.

A security guard with a private security firm was sighted inside the uncompleted entrance gate at the Iganmu end, but none was seen at the Ijora end when our correspondent visited on Tuesday and penultimate Tuesday respectively.

Also, on these two occasions, the General Manager of the National Theatre was said to have travelled to Abuja on official assignment.

Penultimate Tuesday, his personal assistant who did not give his name said, “I cannot provide answers to your questions, except the General Manager, who has travelled to Abuja. We are expecting him back in Lagos on Thursday.”

Again on Tuesday, our correspondent made another visit and this time, met with the Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Toyin Mohammed, who also said the GM had travelled to Abuja.

He however said the mugging by hoodlums who roamed and lounged around the National Theatre had reduced drastically. He explained that the cultural edifice now has a full-fledged police station, as opposed to police post which was hitherto there.

“The cases of people being attacked around here have reduced drastically, because we now have a full-fledged police station. It is situated very close to those kiosks outside. Apart from the policemen, a private security firm has also been engaged to complement the policemen. You can see, they are all over the place.”

Mohammed also said the area where the wetland was located did not belong to the National Theatre, and that whatever was found there should not be linked to them.

Reacting to a photograph of the wetland area published in THE PUNCH on its back page of Wednesday, February 1 edition, and linked to the National Theatre, he said: “That place does not belong to us; it is called Ijora-Causeway, and not National Theatre.

“It is the vulcaniser working around that place who dumped used tyres in the wetland. The National Theatre management spends a lot of money to keep our surrounding clean.”

But when reminded that the entrance gate on the Ijora-Causeway end was being constructed by the National Theatre management, he stated where the gate was located was immaterial.

When contacted on the issue of the wetland, the Director, Public Relations, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, said the pool was called a wetland, because it absorbs water from the rains, drainage and other sources.

HERE IS NATIONAL THEATER STORY

The Saturday, July 28 visit by the minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, has again resurrected the once-heated controversy over the status of the iconic edifice, which sits in Iganmu area of Lagos; Nigeria’s National Theatre Complex.

Commissioned in 1977 by then military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo having being started by his predecessor late General Murtala Mohammed, the structure was conceived as tribute of sorts to the first-ever Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC) hosted in the country that same year.

35 years into its existence, the National Theatre has remained a hot point in major arts and culture discourse revolving around its maintenance, ownership and commercial or artistic value, issues which came to verbval and physical exchanges when stakeholders clashed as the civilian administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had in 2007 handed over the edifice to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) for onward transfer to private ownership by way of concession or even outright sale.

The move was based on recommendations by the National Council on Privatization (NCP) that the complex be privatized to save government from the huge costs annually incurred on maintenance on the complex.

The decision to privatize the National Theatre in 2007 under the tenure of Dr Ahmed Yerima as director general of the then combined National Theatre and National Troupe of Nigeria did not sink in well with the arts and culture practitioners whose violent agitations as some point appeared to have calmed down only with the Obasanjo administration seeming having settled for what appeared to be a partial commercialization of the complex.

The resolution tended to have appeased the artists community who still enjoyed accessibility to the facilities at the complex while allowing the management to commercialize some other facilities by partnering with the private sector by way of leasing, build, operate and transfer arrangements.

That arrangement seemingly restored normalcy up until the late Musa Yar’Adua administration which decided on the splitting of the National Theatre and National Troupe of Nigeria following the retirement of Yerima and assumption of office of Mr Kabir Yusuf under the new designation of General Manager.

Many observed in the sector believed this move by government was preparatory to the eventual privatization of the complex since the National troupe was no longer a drawback on that action plan, thus expressing the suspicion that it would only be a matter of time for the inevitable to take effect.

By subsequently appointing a general manager for the National Theatre, with a mandate to achieve an appreciable level of self-sustainability for the complex, Yusuf went about his business to the letter; hiking fees for some of services and facilities hitherto enjoyed for next to nothing by the artists’ community. In the thinking of Yusuf and his employers, the National Theatre was back in business.

The mandate to run the complex as a purely business entity may not have gone down well with the arts and culture sub sector private practitioners, who had ostracized Yusuf from the artists groups, as it may well have been forced down the throats of the artists who represent till date the complex’s biggest patrons, however, the thought of having the edifice entirely in private hands could also have calmed their frayed nerves after all.

Nonetheless,, the facility tour by Duke to the complex and the negatives unearthed by the visit have served to either indict government’s role in handling and subsequently adopting the partial privatization policy on one hand just as it even validates government’s claim that the facility is best run by a private investor, on the other.

While it could be rightly argued that the protests that greeted the 2007 move to concession or privatize the complex was based mostly on sentiments by those who felt aggrieved that government to a large extent has not even fulfilled its obligations to cater for the creative needs of the people, the sense in those protests was mostly informed by fears that the complex might end up in the wrong hands.

However, government’s position that it can no longer fund the maintenance of the edifice which budget was mounting and competing with lean resources to some extent held strong among objective views.

To describe the National Theatre complex as iconic would be stating the rather obvious. It is the face of Nigeria tourism and the last building standing, of sorts. With a Mainbowl that can sit an audience in excess of 5, 000 in addition to three cinema halls and a conference/banquet hall, there is no other facility in the country that ordinarily can match the National Theatre.

With half a decade gone so far since the commercialization process began and with billions of naira expended or rather sunk in on repairs and maintenance, and with no apparent or clear returns on investment, the federal government may have realised that the many years of policy summersaults by succeeding presidents and their serving ministers over the correct of action to pursue on the National Theatre is about to come back full circle and hit it in the face.

As much as the billions of naira channelled into the complex first in full scale under the Yerima tenure and then partially under the Yusuf tenure, in addition to the change of nomenclature, the visit by Duke revealed that all was not well still for the pride of Nigeria tourism.

Yusuf, to his credit may have returned the complex to 60 or even 70 per cent self sustainability, as well as recovery of the main complex itself, Duke’s visit still exposed the intolerable extent of decay and neglect at the facility, which again raised the controversial question of privatization.

The tour by Duke had officials of the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Ministry of Works, Lagos, National Theatre as well as Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, and members of the media.

With dilapidated structures still dotting most corners of the National Theatre, hoodlums and miscreants vandalizing installations, acquiring and subsequently annexing properties of the national Theatre in full glare of the Yusuf and his management and inflicting regular damages the perimeter fencing, invasion of the complex’s land, it was no surprise that many in the entourage had expressed concern in wondering if the theatre’s management have too much on their hands for anyone to even demand from them the extra job of policing the complex.

“The environment of the National Theatre has been compromised. It has become a habitat for hoodlums and other social miscreants,” Duke said.

Indeed, the National Theatre is not just home to artistes housing the famous artistes village, the edifice has also become to a sizeable population of domestic pigs who roam the premises with reckless abandon being farmed by an illegal occupant and who in turn has converted portions of the complex into a pigsty.

The complex is also a refuge to hoodlums who constantly break down the perimeter fencing erected by the theatre management to hide from the law after their nefarious activities in the area and who, according to Yusuf, are responsible for much of the criminal activities in the theatre and its suburbs.

“The situation is even better now. Before now when you come here, you’ll see dead bodies everyday of the week. Died somewhere else and dumped here. We’ve tried to erect a barricade along with the perimeter fence but each time we do that they break it open to sneak in and hide after they have committed their crimes,” Yusuf lamented.

Added to that is the dilapidated state of the structures housed within the theatre complex itself which drew condemnations from the Ministry of Works officials on the tour. Some of these include the national gallery of Art archives, the artistes village, library, theatre and many others.

In the view of many, the theatre should not remain in the state it is in already considering also that the Lagos State government’s soon to be commissioned Blue Line project which when completed as part of the light rail projects by the CCECC that terminates at Okokomaiko, would position the National Theatre as a drop/pick station for the rail services using its second gate at Ijora end of the complex.

Secondly, according to Duke, with 24 months ahead of Nigeria’s centenary celebrations, the edifice which represents much more to the country than just a structure has to be in shape for that milestone event, and also against the backdrop of the government’s recent directive to its various agencies and parastatals to address the decay and dilapidation of public structures.

“Government is not happy that most of its public buildings are in a state of decay and dilapidation and as such has directed all the agencies and parastatals in all ministries to forthwith embark on measures geared towards rescuing these structures and restoring the pride of the nation which these structures represent. The state of the national theatre is not acceptable to it. I doubt if any sound mind would even accept it. We have to explore ways of funding and returning its seemingly lost glory.

“The government is not happy and it would do no one any good if this structure collapses. The management of the National Theatre has done its best and it is still doing it best, but when you consider the budget the management is only enough to buy stationery or is even the budget for stationery in some other agencies and parastatals, you’ll appreciate the efforts they’ve put in so far,” Duke said.

Thereafter, inputs were canvassed by Duke on the way forward during which suggestions like revisiting the moribund cultural policy document with a view to implementing it as it caters for the adequate funding of the National Theatre.

Others also advised the management of the theatre to fully partner with the private sector by ways of leasing out lands on the premises to private investors, and returning to the masterplan of the complex, just as some were of the opinion that it has become imperative for government to separate the National Theatre from the National Theatre complex itself.

“This would be an option that should go down well with every stakeholder and which when implemented allows the theatre to be funded by interest groups in the arts sector in such a way as to keep the edifice as an art and cultural centre as well as a tourist’s attraction. Also, the National Theatre as a complex would see the engagement of private sector participation with a view to developing sections of the property and in turn generate revenue for government and remain self sustaining,” opined Mr. Tope Ogbeni-Awe, a travel and media consultant.

It should be noted that this is not the first time since the National Theatre status controversy began that government representatives had gathered interest groups to seek input from them on an acceptable and viable option for the edifice, hence, the apathy with which many took the session.

Nonetheless, government’s admission that it may not have taken the right decision is worthy of note going by the hordes of interesting suggestions put up during previous parleys with interest groups on an acceptable policy to engage in running the National Theatre but which regrettably were not adopted.

It would also be recalled that last July, last year, Duke on assumption of office and during a facility tour to the premises of the national Theatre, had described as ‘deplorable’ the state and condition of the National Theatre Complex, Iganmu, Lagos, just as he also reaffirmed the belief that the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan will begin with the culture sector.

Duke on the event of his maiden official facility tour of Lagos-based culture parastatals in his ministry, noted that the state of the National Theatre was unacceptable and did not represent a true image of a national icon on the country’s landscape which it should be.

That July, 2011 tour took the minister to the offices of the National Theatre (NT) management and the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), all located at the theatre complex, as well as to the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) in Broad Street, Lagos Island.

However, many are of the opinion that government’s move to reopen the old wounds inflicted by many months of battle for the soul of the National Theatre with a view to charting a viable and generally acceptable option for maintaining the iconic structure this time around comes with a well intentioned tag having perhaps realised the shortcomings of previous policies.

All redeem members trying to oust the pastor must know that:

1. Ousting an MOG is contrary to "don't touch my anointing!".

2. It is not easy to deprive the pastor from all the worshiping from other members because he is a demigod.

3. Do you want to collect his private jet?

4. How do you want him to cope?

5. Juju in church might be allowed.

The plot to remove the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye is gaining momentum by the day and the crisis the unholy intention is generating is also on the increase by the day. Recently at the church’s 60th Annual Convention tagged “Come Up Higher”, the crowd of Yoruba-speaking worshippers of the church missed the spice of the language interpretation which was conspicuously missing each time the G. O. mounted the altar for sermons.
Global News, however, gathered that the absence of interpreters is not unconnected with the current retirement and succession crisis that is currently rocking the church. Earlier this year a faction of the church’s pastors had approached the G. O., popularly called Daddy G. O. by the congregation and asked him to retire from the post after he celebrated his 70th birthday, stating that he has reached the retirement age for pastors in the church.
This has been going on for sometime now and the succession tussle we gathered was the reason the revered man of God decided to cancel interpretation in the church as one of the interpreters (name withheld) was a couple of weeks back alleged to have been caught with substances which said to be charms to harm the man of God. This incident will be the second time in the last couple of years that attempt has been made on Pastor Adeboye using fetish substances; the first was the incident that happened some years back, when charms were discovered in his office, a situation he narrated then in a sermon, when he said he thought it is time for him to be called into heaven before he was miraculously healed by God.
The interpreter, who was formerly a pastor in Province 8, Ogun State was alleged to have been coerced into harming the G. O. by those who want the man of God out at all cost to enable them seize control of the church. The pastor who has since been sacked was caught in possession of the substances, and sources close to the man regarded as the most influential man of God in Nigeria, informed that the interpreter named some pastors of the church who coerced him into the act, but the whole process was kept from church members to avoid panic and violent reaction from the church youths towards the pastor.
There has been underground tussle for power with the man who rose from an interpreter to becoming the G. O. of the church as some pastors of the church are not too comfortable with him remaining the head of the church and the church pastors in the Diaspora are said to have been playing an important role in the camp of those who will want Pastor Adeboye out at all cost and this, sources revealed, is because the presence of the man many Nigerian pastors refer to as Daddy Adeboye is incapacitating them from breaking away the parishes under them as their members will not follow due to their love for the G.O.
In another development the general overseer recently survived a food poisoning. It beats many people’s imagination how why anybody would take another person’s life simply because of position.
Meanwhile the revered man of God has said no matter the level of opposition he would not retire from the vineyard of God. In one of the articles written by the man of God, it was discovered that he has already written about the kind of retirement he wants. In the article culled from the Open Heavens, an annual publication of Monday October 3rd, 2011, Daddy Adeboye, as he’s fondly called wrote about ‘The True Face of Retirement.’ He said God has so much to give to man, and the spirit man has so much space to be filled by God… “Sometimes, when I see some of our elders retiring, I shake my head because contrary to what they think, it is only the beginning for them. Retirement actually means more time to pray all night since you are not going to the office in the morning.
“The greatest literally work done by John the Beloved was Book of Revelation – a revelation he got while banished on the Island of Patmos. If God allows me to retire, I would sit at His feet daily and learn from Him, receive revelations and pour these into books for generations unborn. This way, by His grace, I could produce a book every month until he calls me home.” Obviously, this should tell those who clamour for his retirement that the respected man of God whose regime as the G.O brought goodness to the church cannot be retired by any man but God.
It is so evident that even when God has permitted him to retire; he will still be involved in the work of God, publishing revelations from God to the members of the church and other denominations. “ I will sit at His feet’; of course, the only place a man can sit at the feet of Christ is in the vineyard, so, it should be understood that until God says come home, Pa Adeboye remains the General Overseer of one of the biggest congregation churches in the world.
To corroborate this, one of the aides of the G. O., a senior pastor of the church, advised the congregation to be mindful of their statements, saying that the emergence of Pastor Adeboye as the general overseer of the church was divine.
The special assistant to the general overseer of RCCG, Pastor D. A. Ilori cleared the air by telling the congregation that Pastor Adeboye could not retire from the position of the general overseer of the church yet, as the position was not political but a divine one.

[quote author=Maria-G]If only[/quote]if only what?

Here is the US president lowering himself to the governed. This is as a result of humility and respect to the masses. This behaviour is contraty to "I DONT GIVE A DAMN!" being exhibited on the national screen.