VP denies taking directive from Turai
By Our Correspondent, Published: Sunday, 17 Jan 2010



Hajiya Turai Yar‘Adua


The Vice -President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has denied media reports that he took directive from the wife of the president, Hajia Turai Yar‘Adua, saying the report was false.

The Vice-President who spoke through his media spokesman, Mr Ima Niboro, on Saturday said the last time he spoke with the President‘s wife was on January 5, 2010.

Part of the statement reads, ”This morning, a national newspaper published a report claiming that the Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has so far refused to act upon the Justice Dan Abutu ruling of Wednesday, 13th January, 2010, to the effect that he can assume the duties of Mr. President in his absence in line with section 5(1) of the 1999 constitution, because he is awaiting a directive from the First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar‘ Adua.

”This report is entirely false. The VP wants to state clearly that the last time he spoke with the First Lady was on Tuesday, January 5th, after he spoke with the president.

Indeed, it was the First Lady that called back shortly after to exchange warm pleasantries with the Vice-President.

”There is no doubt that those who packaged the report are only attempting to paint non-existent pictures to the Nigerian public in the effort to create mischievous scenarios of indecisivesness on the part of the VP.”

But in a statement on Saturday, the management of Punch Nigeria Limited says it stands by its story. Part of the statement reads,

SATURDAY PUNCH is standing by its story, which it sourced from two sources close to the Vice-President: a minister of the Federal Republic and a senior special assistant in the Presidency, who cannot be named because of the sensitive nature of the report and the confidentiality that governs such journalistic endeavours.

Before going to press on Friday, SATURDAY PUNCH correspondents in Abuja and in the South-South made repeated efforts to speak to Mr. Niboro, but to no avail. One of our reporters called Mr. Niboro‘s lines on Thursday between 3pm and 4pm. Another repeated the calls on Friday, and got no responses.

This, however, did not surprise our correspondents as Mr Niboro has been in the habit of not taking our correspondents‘ calls for a while.

The claim by the VP‘s spokesperson that our newspaper only attempted to “paint non-existent pictures to the Nigerian public in the effort to create mischievous scenarios of indecisiveness on the part of the VP” is false.

Saturday Punch has consistently stood on the side of truth publishing balanced and fair stories since the departure of the President on a medical trip to Saudi Arabia.

None of its stories, especially, those involving the delicate issues surrounding the President‘s absence and calls from several quarters that the Vice-President should be empowered to act in his stead has shown bias.

The newspaper‘s consistency has been acknowledged by Nigerians including at least one of the Vice-President‘s closest associates who called our editor on the telephone on Wednesday to acknowledge our professionalism and to express his admiration of our editors‘ conduct in words. He also said that he had heard that we do not leverage any of our stories or privileged information for gratification from anyone.

During our investigations, we learnt that an adviser to the VP on Legal Matters acting under the instructions of the VP, worked with lawyers outside government during the Vice-Presidency‘s efforts to properly interpret the implications of the Abuja High Court judgement and decide on a way forward.

Impeccable sources also informed us that the Vice-President spoke to the President‘s ADC during his attempts to speak with the President, but he was routed to Turai, who said the President wasn‘t available, and that she would get back to him.

We acknowledge that the Vice-President as noted by the statement that ”the VP led the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Federation and the service chiefs, to take the salute at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day” a purely presidential function.

However, we see this as a corroboration of our story. Reliable sources told our editors on Saturday that the VP only performed this function after receiving clearance from Saudi Arabia, to exercise presidential powers.

It is no secret that the Vice-President, personally, has chosen to play safe since the crisis occasioned by the President‘s departure started, even while his closest aides and associates work behind the scene to ensure that their principal is thus empowered. He has also done little to confront the President‘s powerful kitchen cabinet that has consistently striven to subvert the constitution.

Those who claim to understand this approach have defined it as a form of loyalty. We do not have a problem with the Vice-President‘s understanding of loyalty, even though we acknowledge that many Nigerians have variously interpreted this as vacillation. Our duty is only to publish news devoid of sentiments and based on facts, which is what we have done.

Could the refutal be because, as one of the Vice-President‘s aides who contacted our editors said, ”the report portrayed the Vice-President as a weakling?”

SATURDAY PUNCH has only published what is widely known in official circles in Abuja and it is standing by its story.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201001171114681

Marking one year of Susanne Wenger's death
January 16, 2010 11:04PM


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5511512-146/story.csp


Tuesday, January 12 was the first anniversary of the death of the high priestess of the Osun grove, Suzanne Wenger known as Adunni Olorisa.

In confirmation of the Yoruba proverb, ‘bi onirese ba ko ti o fin igba mo, eyi to ti fin sile koni parun lailai' meaning ‘if the master carver no longer produces exquisite calabashes, the ones s/he has produced will never perish,' Adunni's legacy remain.

A daughter and other associates spoke with NEXT on life without the Austrian and efforts to immortalise her.

Doyin Faniyi, Adunni's adopted daughter

[January 12] made it a year that Mama left us but we just marked the occasion spiritually. The family observed the rites that we were supposed to observe; members of the public were not involved. What the committee agreed on was that the first anniversary should be held in April when we did her burial ceremony. The committee has not agreed on the form the anniversary will take so I can't say anything on it now.

We are fine because we know she has not abandoned us. We miss her but that is life. She used to say death is part of nature; that's a reality of life she had always stressed to us. We are all doing well, her works are intact and we are using the workshop in the house. Members of the New Sacred Art Movement are fine too, we had an exhibition in Lagos last October.

Jimoh Buraimoh, artist and chief of Osogbo

They held prayers for her and served akara (bean cakes). It was also decided that the anniversary should be moved to the month we had the burial ceremony. [The] affair was a private one, it involved only the inner circle, we are going to invite the public in April.

We are yet to conclude on what we are going to do because we are planning many things. Work is in progress in the Artist Village in the Osun Grove while members of Mama's Sacred Art group are working in the grove. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) has set up an implementation committee maintaining the grove. They tell the committee about any restoration or construction work they want to do in the grove and the Museum and the Adunni Olorisa Trust (AOT) make money available to members of the group to restore decaying works which they are doing now.

Turning Adunni's grave to a tourist site

That's part of what the committee is deliberating on. Though it will be sacred, it will be a place people can visit. We are still deliberating, we have not decided if we will let people know the place. We have discussed it but have not concluded on the modality to adopt for people to visit the grave if we are going to mark it. Will it be by invitation or will it be open? There should be a guard who will watch over it like there are people taking care of Ile Osun.

Muraina Oyelami, artist and Eesa of Iragbiji

Work has commenced on the restoration of damaged works in the grove, people are there as we speak. Sangodare and Doyin are also taking good care of the house. The group of sacred artists that worked with Mama led by Adebisi Akanji are the ones restoring sculptures that need attention in the grove.

There is no specific ceremony so far but traditionalists, dancers, musicians and actors in Osogbo and its environment are marking the first anniversary informally. I don't miss her too much because her works that I see don't make me feel that she is no longer with us.

John Adeleke, president, Adunni Olorisa Trust

As a Non-Governmental Organisation or foundation, if you like, we are not doing anything officially. We have plans to do many things over the year, we have started already. We started about three weeks ago with repairing a number of the statues in the grove. We managed to raise some funds for that; we are also doing some repairs of the house.

Back in October, we did an exhibition for the New Sacred Art Movement at Quintessence in Lagos and there are other initiatives that we hope to take in the coming months and years to justify the effort that Mama made and to maintain her legacy. We have been looking at reprinting one or two of her books. There is interest in shows, films and documentary works and so on. There is a lot happening. We can work with the local community to also ensure that the legacies remain.

One of the things that I find exciting is that these days, you don't really have to fight for the preservation of the grove. The people of Osogbo, the international authorities and others are as keen as anybody else to ensure that the legacies are maintained. And I think one of the things that I find most exciting was being in the grove about six months ago around 5 and 6 in the evening and seeing the amount of wildlife from monkeys and others that was just roaming within the grove so that effectively, it has become its own conservation area which I think is really impressive.

In the days gone by, there was a real need to protect the grove from encroachment and poachers but these days, even the farmers on their way back from the farms in the evenings, often they bring part of their harvest for the monkeys and other primates in the grove. So, it really shows that the Mama instilled in the whole community the significance of the grove and I think that is impressive.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5511512-146/story.csp

Mosun Filani In Face Off With Seyi Ariyo And Lizzy Anjorin Over Seniority Issue
Posted To The Web: Friday, January 15, 2010 - Posted By OnlineNigeria.com




Lizzy Anjorin





Mosun Filani




Seniority issue has become the order of the day in the Yoruba Movie Industry. It is no more news that actresses fight on a daily basis on this issue, and in as much as elders in the association have tried to address this unbecoming trend, the lists of actresses who still keep fighting or keep grudges based on this issue keeps increasing day by day.

The latest fight based on this issue is between Mosun Filani against Lizzy Anjorin and She Baby. City People gathered that Mosun Filani and Lizzy Anjorin had a face off based on who is older and who should call who, Aunty, at a location in Ikorodu some few days ago. [/b]According to our source, Mosun Filani has made it clear to her colleagues in the industry and whoever cares to listen, that though she is quite young,[b] she will never allow anybody impose any thing on her in the industry, so instead of making friends with her colleagues that will later ask her to call them Aunty in the industry, she will rather keep to herself in the industry. This is the main reason most of her colleagues in the industry have tagged her a very rude and saucy person.

Movies Gists learnt that Lizzy Anjorin and Mosun Filani were both invited to Tunde Olasebikan location at Ikorodu for his new movie titled, Aya Alaya, which parades other stars like Funsho Adeolu, Doris Simeon and others. Lizzy Anjorin got to the location greeted everybody present at the location and it was only Mosun Filani who didn’t respond, so Lizzy got angry. When Mosun was asked why she didn’t respond, she was of the opinion that she cannot call Lizzy Anjorin, Aunty and the only way she can avoid that is not to be on talking terms with her. When Lizzy heard, she flared up and this led into a big misunderstanding between them and it took the intervention of older colleagues and the producer of the movie to settle their dispute because they had lots of scenes to shot together, and that might affect their delivery.

According to our source, Lizzy was able to put what happened behind her and moved on, while Mosun still remained unfriendly to Lizzy throughout their stay on location. We equally gathered that during the just completed Yomafa Awards, Mosun Filani and She Baby passed each other without saying hello to each other. She Baby later confided in a friend that she can not allow Mosun to call her by her name, so she prefers they don’t talk with each other at all. Mosun on her own part, came with her encourage who were making jests of She Baby throughout the event, and they made it so obvious that a lot of people noticed them. Mosun’s friend made She Baby an object of ridicule, as they kept talking and laughing at She Baby, but the talented musician ignored Mosun and her friends as she was busy selling her CD herself at the venue of the award at N100 each.

http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=13252&z=12

Why I tried to murder my mother
Posted To The Web: Saturday, January 16, 2010 - Seun Joseph

Strong indications have emerged from medical doctors and pastors on the proper mental health of a 27-year-old jobless graduate who attempted to slash open the throat of his 50-year-old mother on the allegation that she possessed witchcraft. There is a consensus that the man may be mentally ill due to stress and other social factors.

It will be recalled that the young man simply identified as Nnamdi Mokoye made frantic efforts to murder his mother based on the prophecy and revelation of his church pastor that his mother who divorced his father 21 years ago is the evil architect of all the unexplainable series of woes and calamities that his family has been experiencing for years, which had hitherto defied remedy till date.

However, a few hours to the New Year, he reasoned within himself that it would be suicidal to start the year 2010 in the same harrowing condition he had been facing. Hence, he set out from the house of one of his friends whom he had been staying with to Ajangbadi-Sibiri, Okokomaiko, an outskirt of Ojo Local Government of Lagos State to confirm from his mother why she intentionally bewitched all her children including him to the point that all her seven children are wallowing in peculiar calamities, six out of her seven children are jobless while the only one who is gainfully employed has no settled home as her husband threw her out of his house without any known cause despite all entreaties from family members.

One thing led to the other, and before neighbours could get wind of what was happening, Mrs Abigail Nwaje, Nnamdi’s mother, had already been brutally butchered having been mercilessly lacerated on the throat with all her teeth pulled out with a hammer. The suspect who has been charged to court for attempted murder revealed to reporters at the information unit of the Lagos State police command why he was bent on murdering his mother a few hours to 2010.

Nnamdi, who was finding it difficult to utter words, stated that having experienced frustration, agony and unexplainable ill-luck for almost three decades, he started going to ‘churches for deliverance’ and it was in the process that he and his older sister who was sent packing out of her matrimonial home by her husband for no just cause were told that their mother was the brain behind their suffering and hardship.

Reacting to the strange behaviour of the young man, Dr Kalu Isaiah of the Department of Psychiatry, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) maintained that there is a big probability that Nnamdi is suffering from mental illness.

According to Kalu, “Merely raising hands to beat one’s mother is bad enough, and for one to have taken a knife and slashed one’s mother’s throat shows that the person is mentally ill or was mentally ill at the time he committed the offence. There is something we call delusion in psychiatry, which is a false fixed belief.

“The young man would have been convinced beyond reasonable doubt that his mother was behind his retarded progress and that of his siblings too. That act in essence defies logic and reality. It is beyond the boundary of normal behaviour. There is likelihood that the young man is suffering from paranoid delusion. “Believing strongly that somebody is against him and wants to harm him. It happens, but people don’t do such things. Ordinarily, what happens is that people may not talk to the person again or abandon the person,” he said.

On factors that might have generated into mental illness for the jobless graduate, Kalu revealed that there are a lot of things that could have resulted into mental illness for a jobless graduate. He also opined that it could be hereditary. “There could be a form of genetic disposition transferred from parents to the offspring. That does not mean that anyone whose parents have that must compulsorily also have it,” he said.

Speaking on the danger signals to look out for in mental illnesses, Kalu who also doubles as a registrar stated that, “The problem must have been going on for long without anybody doing anything about it”. The psychiatric doctor who has been dealing with mental cases for years also said that, “There is a limit to what people can cope with. Anything beyond that level could be suicidal. A lot have mental illnesses and they don’t know while some others may know that something unusual is going on with them; when you have stressors, when you are overburdened by situations, the person may lose touch with reality. He or she may be hearing things that are not audible to other people and some may be saying things that are incoherent.

Pastor Oluwasegun of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, Igando branch, speaking on the ugly development, corroborated what Dr Kalu said that no pastor would have told the young man to go and kill his mother for any reason. According to him, witchcraft is an evil spirit which one can be delivered from.

“It is very unbelievable in this age to hear such a thing, especially from a well-educated young man. Nnamdi Mokoye’s revelation that he was told severally by his pastor that his mother is the evil architect of all the unexplainable series of woes and calamities that his family has been experiencing for years which had defied remedy till date is highly questionable,” he said.

Speaking out their minds on the prevalent economic conditions of the Nigerian society whereby many graduates are walking the streets jobless, Pastor Oluwasegun and Dr Kalu advised Nigerians to always believe that there is hope as long as someone is still alive. “For people in the larger society, it is not good to think that there is no more hope. You should always have hope and believe that your condition will change. Personally, I don’t believe the boy was brainwashed to do such a thing, but it is possible that he was under the influence of alcohol or hard drugs.

“According to the jobless graduate who has not been able to get a decent job offer as a certified accountant since he left the university in 1996 despite all human and spiritual undertakings, he was pushed by forces beyond his control. So it is not enough to just say that he was brainwashed by his pastor to commit such a devilish act,” Pastor Oluwasegun said without mincing words.

Furthermore, the Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Frank Mba, revealed that the suspect has already been charged to court for attempted murder and that his mother is responding well to treatment at the hospital.

Mokoye’s is the second case of attempted murder bordering on witchcraft allegation since last year in Lagos. One Olubukola in a similar vein murdered her mother mid-last year because she alleged that the latter was a witch who was behind all her woes in the United States of America.

http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=13255&z=10

The first step towards developing Nigeria is through banning of all political parties, pan ethnic groups like Ohananze, odenigbo, MEND, arewa, Nze na ozo, Yoruba council of crooks, Afenifere, OPC etc. Nigerian should utilize the web and proffer solution on how to elect leaders who are interested in pursuing Nigerian dream instead of ethnic dream. Let there be no major and minor tribes but institute equality among every Nigerian citizen. Until we learn to respect and judge each other by our individual characters and not by the gender, religion, tribe or ethnic group we belong to, we are going nowhere.

tpia.:



there's another older north African map which I cant locate, also showing Benin, if my memory serves me right. Benin probably either supplied slaves back then or was a source of slaves- nothing sentimental.

You are plain evil. Stop using sneaky ways to brandish Edos as slave suppliers albeit calling them ashewo suppliers and backstabbers last time.  Last time I checked, you were not being sentimental then. There were no Yoruba who supplied slaves that time?. What do you hate other ethnic groups so much. You are inherently evil.

MUNEER2:


. . .Your prayers are really working . . .
[size=8pt]Thank you![/size]
. . . since you said you needed a big one

Don't relent in your changing names jawe , 'cos I'd expected to see Muhsin, and others too

I already know and believed in Jesus,  you don't need to tell me who he is. . .

. . . , fold of christianity , LMAO
But, if I were you, I'll wisely choose between worshiping the father or the son or the spirit before telling people to join my fold in religious belief, believe me, no one is ready to worship a trinity god

. . . . . . .

LWKMD 
www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

TRINITY IS THE ACRONYM FOR TRI-UNE God. Three persons in one God and not three Gods in one God. Do you guys lack comprehension?.  God manifests in 3 forms  as The father, the son and the holy spirit. The holy spirit being His active force.


Mumu-neer, I will pray to God today to at least take out the mumu in you. Hopefully, i will see some changes in you and will also expect you to change your name to Smart-neer or Clever-neer.

babapupa:

@ least, read your own garbage article before running your mouth,

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

The fact remains that Tinubu refused to attend because he is afraid of the likes of you.

MUNEER2:

Yeahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
I don die. . . 4.6 what
Wey people never collect salary
Na wa ooo
I beg, wetin EFCC dey do sef this days. . .?

For renovation. Who told you that people in Oyo are being owed salary?. We need renovation in order to meet the desired standards. 4.6Bn is not out of place to renovate 4 hospitals as long they are not planning to repaint and change the light bulbs only.

I know he will be visiting one babalawo or another in an effort to protect himself. Shoot, he will not trust even his wife now. The same thing that happened to Abiola. I just pity him and sometimes you ask yourself, is it worth it?. Living in fear is as good as being in jail because your freedom to life is denied.

sjeezy8:

Yoruba culturally are great from west Nigeria to togo into east ghana. NO doubt

All these talks about yoruba nationalist can do great harm to yorubas, just as biafran people are doing to igbos on the political scene.
AC didnt show up because its the main opposition party and its not a good image for Tinubu, Fashola and co . . . (I wouldnt have attended either)

while Nigeria exist and yorubas are apart of it - SW politicians shouldnt be seen in yoruba only functions. Yorubas in general need to be seen as  Soyinkas, Ganis, Felas, Fasholas, Herbert macauleys, Ajayi crowthers etc . .

Fashola was there. Tinubu didn't show up probably because his emerging power as the king of o'dua  politics could be threatened by some of those sons of beeches who attend the meeting. He has his own game plan on how to loot the nation and does not need anybody's directive on how to achieve that besides, 2011 is around the corner and assassins may use that opportunity to waylay and massacre him. Political assassination in the south west is advanced and such meetings may give them a good blueprint of your whereabout. Why wasn't Obasanjo there? Why didn't they invite real Yoruba sons who cuts across ethnic groups and even nations?. Wole Soyinka is an African icon who stands for justice irrespective of whether its Haiti, Nigeria, Zimbabwe etc but they wouldn't invite such a person because he is "too good" for their agenda.

When they tell you that Tinubu and Fashola is at war, believe it and he is not leaving any stone unturned before Fasholatas like babapupa waylay him along the road to Awo's house with a machete. Tinubu is a smart mo'fucker.

MT:

Akala is such a fool. People are free to see the shoddy "renovation" he did at Adeoyo Yemetu Ibadan. It's a disaster and billions were flushe the drain.

Akala is looking for cheap money to run his second term campaign big time, and so there will be many more contracts to be awarded.

Ogbeni Akala, stop deceiving us with "fake" contract, just dip your bleached hands into the treasury and loot as you are noted for. slowpoke! 

Why not give him time and see what he will achieve with it instead of calling him a fool before hand. I don't know why we are complaining now when all we did here about this governor was to whine and whine. He seems to be getting it together now and all you guys do is continue cursing him. Some governors will allocate that money towards hajj or pilgrimage  but he chose to use it for the benefit of the people.

nex:

Yoruba leaders are always floating this and floating that, but when poo hits the fan, they're the first to turn tail and betray.

[b]
They remember to cut across religion, social and political strata, but they refuse to cut across tribe. [/b]Rubbish! They should stop using that poor old woman for their selfish agenda.

Thank you very much.

Katsumoto:

The same one that created you but like they say, 'all fingers are not equal'. I am sorry that you are mentally disadvantaged. Your fixation with Yoruba is really worrisome but it is too late to change your tribe.

You remind me of a program on NTA Benin in the 80s about a ghost called wilywily. Are you that character?

LWKMD

babapupa:

Like I said, find something better to do with your time and quit spamming the board with your nonsensical tribal paranoia. What's wrong with regional groups with similar interests and commonality getting together to share Ideas and express unity and solidarity? Tribalism and regional affiliations have different meanings and if I might add, Yoruba is not a tribe, even a day old baby sabi these basic facts talk less a grown a!ss man like you.

Even here in the US, they have regional groups and affiliations like western states governors association, Commonwealth states association, Southern states governors association, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, Congressional black caucus, Blue dogs, Hispanic caucus. 

Besides, it's a free country and people are free to associate wherever, whenever as they wish. Unfortunately, ethnic jingoists like you insinuates and scribes useless meanings to any and everything.

Yoruba people getting together really should be the least of your worries, you obviously have serious personal issues to iron out within
your form,

I will not dignify this trash you wrote here with a response because it's obvious you don't have any idea of what modern civilization is. What are you again, Mungo park or Robinson Crusoe?

Who are you? Kosovo or Kovoso?

Is there any law in our constitution that says that if a president or any other elected leader gets sick, he must be unseated with immediate effect?. Shouldn't Nigerians give this Yaradua at least 100 days to recuperate?. If Nigeria is a country where things work well, Jonathan should be able to assume duties as the acting commander in chief pending yaradua's return to sound health.

They need to get themselves a job. Yaradua is not missing, he is in a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Bokoharam:

What do u mean Mama-gee, dont u pay tax abroad? We r talking as if d tax will b N1m! Mayb a paltry N500 or so. However, they shld use it to work.

Yes it's a paltry N500 but it may surprise you that some parents cannot afford it. What nonsense tax collection are they doing in Nigeria where only the civil servants who receive meager salary pays taxes.  Does Iwuayawu pay taxes on his income?. Will his children be turned back from the school if they do not provide their parents tax documents?.

Also, many undergraduates in Nigeria are over 18, why should the government hold them responsible for their parent's tax evasive crimes?. If Ohakim wants to charge students who do not work taxes, let him say so so we know how to tackle him. Sons of beeches.

Negro_Ntns:

Glad to know your 'light bulb'  came on!

Glad to know your stupidity fueled by tribal jingoism will follow you to your grave. The brain is a terrible thing to waste.

Ok; will you please come and take away the curse so they can join you in achieving the glory your people and you have achieved?.

Negro_Ntns:

Yoruba cause is multifold and for the purpose of relevance here, it seeks to advance the collective interests of the children of O'dua.
Here is what it is not, . . .it is not a  caretaker for the children of Ijaw, Fulani or Igbo.

If the children of those tribal groups should ever need a surrogate care, Yorubas will embrace that responsibility with diligence and pride. Until then, they should be navigated to their respectve designated milk unmentionables. 

I can see the smiling faces of the joyous and ebullient Yoruba race taken care of by the supercilious Yoruba leadership. Do children of odua carry different passports from children of other ethnic groups?. Are these children of oodua not Nigerians?. There are many pan Yoruba groups formed every now and then and we have seen that Yoruba children fair better than children from other ethnic groups in Nigeria because of their leadership. I can see progress and prosperity raining upon all oduduwa children because of their astute leadership. I can see job abundance, good roads, food, prosperity and wealth multiply among oduduwa children while others who have no such leaderships  wail and drench in penury. I can see abundant love among these children of Awolowo while other ethnic groups assassinate and murder one another. Knowledge is power[Tai Solarin] Mschhhhhhewww

You see how black people reason?. That is why there is no successful black nation on earth because their reasoning is so shallow. Why are you getting defensive instead of accepting that the meeting is another agenda to propagate sectarianism and I do not see how that will benefit Nigerians. Of course your antenna is up because Fashola was in attendance. How many unifying bodies do we have in Yorubaland before this new one? . There were elegies, praises on how YCE will take Yoruba to another level last time it was formed and where are Yorubas today? Where is Nigeria today?. The same cycle of criminals convening to appropriate themselves on how to maintain the leadership without any intruder taking them by surprise. Why did Tinubu snob them?. Awolowo represents tribalism and that is why that old witch is fighting so hard to maintain her husband's legacy. She will soon join him in hell fire. You also wonder why you can't see men like Soyinka or Falana in such meetings?. If Gani and Fela were alive, you think they will attend such meeting?. The moment fish heads like you learn to think deeper and look into the future, the better for Nigeria.

What happened to people standing up and saying NO to tribalism, no to nepotism, no to bad government, no to embezzlement, no to rigging etc. Rather, they prefer Ohaneze this, arewa that and afenifere ewooo. What happened to respect for every Nigerian irrespective of race, ethnic group, gender and religion?.

Martin Luther King is great today because he did not fight for only black people, he fought for freedom to the oppressed. Awolowo's wife is only alive to promote hatred and nepotism. May thunder fire her yansh, amen.

The sitting also held that Yoruba politicians, irrespective of party leanings, must come together to fight the Yoruba cause.

Tell me wtf is Yoruba cause?. So, they will not fight for a hungry Ijaw or Fulani or Igbo child?. That is how you hope to achieve something in this nation?

Newly-wed, 61, jumped to her death from church tower after hiding £25,000 debt from husband
Posted To The Web: Friday, January 15, 2010 - Daily Mail Reporter

A newly-wed jumped to her death from a church tower after running up bank and credit card debts of £25,000, an inquest heard yesterday.

Patricia Stoute, 61, did not tell her husband about her spending on 14 credit cards or what she owed the bank.

Mrs Stoute, who had been married to her new husband for less than a year, left a suicide note in which she said all the debts were hers and nothing to do with her husband.



Patricia Stoute with husband Kenneth on their wedding day in 2008. In her suicide note she said all the debts were hers and nothing to do with her husband


She plunged to her death from the Carfax Tower in the centre of Oxford, narrowly missing shoppers and passers-by below.

After the inquest, her husband Kenneth, 69, urged those in similar difficulties to talk to their partners.

He said: 'If you've got a problem, confide in your husband, let him know what's going on. The Government has all these schemes to help but the best person to help is the person living beside you.'

Jacqueline Martin, who works for Oxford City Council, told how she had been on her lunchbreak in her first-floor office, overlooking Carfax Tower, at 12.30pm on June 22 last year.

'I looked over and saw a female in the process of climbing over the top,' she said.

'I then saw the female lower herself down onto a ledge, then further down until she had both her hands on the ledge and was hanging from there. She momentarily hung from the ledge until she appeared to push herself out.

'I was shocked. I shouted out "Oh my God. I've just seen a woman jump off Carfax Tower". I was in total disbelief at what I had seen.'

She also recalled that nobody else had been at the top of the tower when Mrs Stoute jumped.
Born Patricia Phipps, she married her former handyman, Kenneth Stoute, in the summer of 2008. Her previous husband, George Bedding, had died of cancer in 2007.

Mr Stoute told the Oxfordshire coroner: 'She was the best thing since sliced bread. She was the perfect woman. I was proud to call her my wife.'

However, he added: 'She was a little bit secretive.'
Around two months before she died, Mrs Stoute confessed to her husband that she had financial troubles.

However, when he pressed her for details she just repeated: 'I've let you down. I've let you down.'
On the morning of his wife's death, Mr Stoute remembered how they had parted.
He said: 'She looked sad. I think she knew where she was going.'

http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=13250&z=12

Oyo to renovate 4 hospitals with N4.6bn

Friday, January 15, 2010
AS part of the ongoing reforms in the health sector in Oyo State , the state government has approved the rehabilitation and reconstruction of four major hospitals in Ibadan, the state capital, at the total cost of N4.6 billion.





http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/15/606.html

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Isaac Owolabi, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing the press after the State Executive Council meeting. According to the commissioner, the four hospitals include Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road; the Oni Memorial Children Hospital; Jericho Specialist Hospital and the Jericho General Hospital.

The commissioner said that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of these hospitals became imperative to reposition the health sector and enhance the health care delivery system of the state government.

Dr Owolabi said that the ongoing reform in the health sector had already recorded success in the rehabilitation and construction of Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Yemetu, which had been abandoned for over 84 years.

The commissioner disclosed that an initial amount of 30 per cent, amounting to N1.4 billion, had already been paid to the contractors to mobilise them. He stressed that major reforms being carried out in the health sector in the state were supported by the University College Hospital (UCH), with a view to improving the health care delivery.

The commissioner added that Oni Memorial Children Hospital would place a greater premium on necessary and adequate care to children, particularly under five.

Plot, intrigues against VP thicken - Power, water supplies regularly interrupted in Aguda House - His correspondences under close monitoring - VP keeps mute
By Our Reporters
Friday, January 15, 2010

VICE-President Goodluck Jonathan has been subjected to great discomfort in the last four weeks, as events are attesting to this, Nigerian Tribune investigations have revealed.




http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/15/613.html

Since the clamour by Nigerians that Vice-President Jonathan should act as president has been intensified following the continued absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is thought to be currently recupperating in a Saudi Arabian hospital, the vice-president is reportedly prone to attacks in the Villa, according to Nigerian Tribune source.

One of such attempts against the number two citizen was through food poisoning, which sources said the vice-president himself had taken note of and therefore refrained himself from taking food and drinks served in the State House.

Nigerian Tribune also gathered that events in the last four weeks in the Villa suggest that there is more to the threat to the life of Vice-President Jonathan. The latest remote or near incident, according to sources, indicated that a top company which manages Aso Rock, is this time orchestrating the plan.

For instance, sources said the entire Presidential Villa was thrown into darkness on Tuesday night, when the vice-president was billed to host members of the Diplomatic Corps in Aguda House.

The incident was so dramatic that even the envoys were quite stunned. Sources said that as soon as the diplomats began to trickle in, the Villa was, without warning, plunged into darkness for close to one hour.

The confused ambassadors, it was gathered, were seen huddling together, wondering if the Presidential Villa had no standby generator, or if there was something sinister about it.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that, when power was finally restored, the central public address system failed to work, causing the vice-president’s aides to run helter-skelter for remedy.

The Nigerian Tribune gathered that it was not the first time such an incident had happened. Sources said that in December 2009, during the Christmas Carol night hosted by the vice-president, the Villa was similarly thrown into darkness, causing a similar scare.

“And when power was eventually restored, the air conditioners were deliberately shut down. Over 100 guests had to endure the suffocating heat of the banquet hall during the event, but dramatically, the air conditioners began to work again as soon as the event ended,” the source said.

It was learnt that mobile phones are programmed not to work in the Presidential Villa, leaving the principals and staff with no choice but to use the telephone lines run by the company.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that situation had become so bad that the company is being fingered in an effort to sabotage the vice-president’s activities in the Villa. During the week, Jonathan was said to have issued a query to the company over recent happenings.

The role of the top company said to be managing the Villa was also said to be another “instrument” being used to sabotage the efforts of Vice-President Jonathan or cause him discomfort.

The Nigerian Tribune learnt that given its vantage position, the company holds sway over virtually all activities in the Villa. It was gathered that its access to every part of the villa is unrestricted.

Sources said: “The company has unfettered access to the vice-president’s offices and the innermost recesses of his living quarters. They control the telephones, so they can have access to the vice-president’s conversation, and they run the internet services, so they have access to private e-mails through the web portal.”

It was gathered that this company is being used to monitor the vice president’s activities, while sources said that “they do this by shutting down facilities like electricity and water at such hours in sections of Aguda House and when they are inevitably invited to check what has gone wrong, they are able to pinpoint where the vice-president is and when.”

Meanwhile, rather than abating the constitutional crisis, Wednesday’s verdict by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Daniel Abutu, has further deepened the logjam occasioned by the long absence of President Yar’Adua.

Abutu, had on Wednesday, directed Vice-President Jonathan to perform the functions of the president in his absence. Curiously, the judge was emphatic that Jonathan was not an acting president as adherence to section 145 of the constitution, according to Abutu, was at the discretion of the president.

This is coming on the heels of a warning by the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the umbrella body of Ijaw ethnic nationality, that the verdict was capable of causing further damage than ameliorating it.

INC’s position was made known by its National President, Dr Atuboyedia Obiannime. Obiannime spoke as constitutional law expert, Professor Itsey Sagay, said that the verdict had said nothing new.

Also, the coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, Joseph Evah, canvassed that further steps should be taken to address the issue along the constitution instead of putting the nation’s judiciary to ridicule.

”The development is a very welcome one. I mean it means that the judiciary is also seen to be performing its duties as the third tier of government. But I doubt if the verdict has really leveraged anything near the resolution of the crisis because it is already a constitutional crisis. Rather, I see a situation where some persons have decided to impose their political inclinations as well as their personal views on the nation. By and large, what they are doing is simply replacing the nation’s supreme document, which is the constitution, with their views.

“In my own view, this is very dangerous and it is capable of instigating doubts in the minds of the people, whether the prayers of Nigerians are, indeed, needed. Nevertheless, much as the INC will continue to pray for the quick recovery of the president, it abhors anything aimed at undermining the nation’s constitution to suit the personal whims and caprices of a few individuals.

“We pray for the vice-president as he pilots the affairs of the nation, but he has to be wary of booby traps such as this verdict,” Obiannime said. Sagay said “this verdict has said nothing new in its enterity. I have not seen the full text of the verdict, but from what I have seen this morning in some newspapers, it is mere academic exercise for anyone to say the vice-president should continue to perform the duties of the president.

“The verdict is nothing new from what the justice minister said that all other things requiring the attention of the president are being attended to by the vice-president. To me, the verdict has successfully affirmed that position. Beyond that, the verdict is a very trickey one that requires the carefulness of the vice-president because it is capable of pitching him against the constitution and, even, his boss.

In his own reaction, Evah said ”the verdict delivered by the chief judge of the Federal High Court has confirmed that there is a cabal in this country that is trying to subvert the nation’s constitution by all means, but Nigerians will reject it with all legal means because the nation belongs to all of us.

“What the judge said in the verdict was just to read out the provisions of Section 50 of the constitution; does Jonathan need a judge to answer his name as Jonathan or doesn’t he know that he is a vice-president? As far as we know, the verdict is another way of deceiving the vice-president to believe in the wrong thing but he will survive all these intrigues.”

Waxing biblical, the governor asked: “Who shall lift up Jacob, who shall lift up Yoruba?”

Same thing Pa Adesanya said when they formed Yoruba council of elders. Is ethnic groups our problem in Nigeria or better standard of living via good leaders?

Yoruba leaders unite, float umbrella body
From YINKA FABOWALE, Ibadan

Friday, January 15, 2010
A new pan-Yoruba organization to serve as umbrella body for individuals and groups within the ethnic nation was born yesterday in Ikenne, Ogun State.


http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/15/515.html

It was midwived by a gathering of Yoruba leaders of thought chaired by the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo, at the home country of the late sage and modern patriarch of Yoruba, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Concern that the group would not join the list of similar bodies aimed at promoting unity within the enclave, but which ended up becoming partisan, however, dominated discussions at the parley, attended by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors of Ogun, Osun and Ekiti as well as deputy governors of Oyo and Ondo states, elected on the platform of Labour Party.

Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and former governors in the South West who now belonged to the Action Congress (AC) were, however, absent at the talks, save for Chief Larn Adesina of Oyo State.

Although journalists were barred from a caucus meeting held behind closed doors between 11am and 1.04 pm, as well as an enlarged meeting involving traditional rulers, youths, scholars, politicians and the clergy which lasted almost four hours later, Daily Sun reliably gathered that tempers flared at a claim by Alhaji Adesina that he was representing his colleagues at the parley.

The duo of Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi and a factional leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, took up the former governor, who belonged to another caucus of the political group, on his claim, which they described as untenable and unacceptable.

They pointed out that the former governors, particularly Chief Segun Osoba and Bola Tinubu, were invited to the crucial meeting and should have honoured the invitation more so as special effort were made by the convener to ensure their attendance.

Dubbed the Yoruba Legacy Forum, the new body, which cuts across religious, social and political party affiliations, is to henceforth speak for and represent the interests of the ethnic nation on national affairs, the meeting resolved in a four-point communiqué read to reporters at the end of the parley.

It also agreed that: “All efforts will continue to be made towards the peace process in Afenifere and among prominent Obas in Yorubaland.”

The sitting also held that Yoruba politicians, irrespective of party leanings, must come together to fight the Yoruba cause.

While praying for the quick recovery of President Umaru Yar’Adua, the forum implored, “appropriate machinery of government to ensure there was no vacuum in government.”

The document was signed by the meeting’s convener, Mrs Awolowo.

Addressing the meeting earlier, the aged matriarch expressed worries over disunity in Yorubaland and the proliferation of groupings purporting to represent the people.

She noted that rather than help, the efforts had polarized the people more.

She cited the conflicts within the Afenifere and between it and the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) and others such as Yoruba Parapo and Atayese, an initiative by the son of the late elder statesman, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, launched in Ibadan two days earlier. Mrs Awolowo urged Yoruba to close ranks, saying disunity was costing them their place as pace setter among the larger Nigerian community.

Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who spoke in similar vein, likened the Yoruba situation to the plight of Zion, noting that Yoruba, which used to be example to other ethnic groups in Nigeria, appeared to be retrogressing.

Waxing biblical, the governor asked: “Who shall lift up Jacob, who shall lift up Yoruba?”

Oyinlola then pledged the commitment of his fellow governors to the unification project. Former governor Adesina also pledged his political tendency’s solidarity to the peace move.

He, however, threw barbs at some unnamed people, he described as ‘traitors and deceivers’, who he accused of frustrating efforts at moving the Yoruba forward.

Former deputy governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Kaka, in his contribution, urged the session to “watch it,” so that the new group would not end up as another addition to the figure of similar bodies in the land.

He said the major challenge that faced the group was finding a credible leader that would be acceptable to all, irrespective of political leanings and who would not serve the parochial interests of his own group to the detriment of others.

Others at the well attended meeting are, Chief Olu Falae, Senator Femi Okurohunmu, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Oluwole Awolowo, traditional rulers and professionals.

samcc30:

but u people should know that Hausa r not allow us to stay in Nigeria and igbos r also not allow us to stay outside the country due to their crime, how many Yoruba or Hausa and s-south among the people beheaded in Indonesia, china and Malaysia can anyone tell me.

Chevron is offering scholarships to Nigerians who cannot read and write. I believe you will benefit immensely from that program.

What if Yaradua was kidnapped and they are hiding it cos of security purposes?