₦airaland Forum

Obasanjo, Bankole, Govs pray for Yar'Adua
Written by Leon Usigbe & Ola Ajayi
Tuesday, September 2, 2008


FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole; and four South-West Governors yesterday held a joint prayer session for President Umaru Yar’Adua who is in a Saudi Arabia hospital.


The ocassion was the South-West PDP Elders Caucus meeting in Ibadan just as some members of the House of Representatives say there is nothing unusual in President Yar’Adua falling ill or even hospitalised.


Also in attendance at the Ibadan meeting were the Governors of Oyo, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala; Ekiti, Engineer Segun Oni; and Osun, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.


The rest were Hazeem Gbolarumi; Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun; Chief Bode George; Biola Morakinyo, former Commissioner for Finance in the old Oyo State; Senator Clement Awoyelu, representative of former Ekiti Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose; Mr. Demola Seriki, Minister of State for Agriculture; and Chief Ebenezer Babatope, among others.


Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, was absent.


Meanwhile, the Reps who spoke yesterday in separate interviews on the President’s health said he (Yar’Adua) as a human being could fall ill without notice and seek treatment as he deems fit.


The Presidency remained quiet yesterday amid reports that the President would be back in the country “anytime from (Monday) yesterday.”


Chairman of the South-South caucus of the House, Mr. Andrew Uchendu, said: “I don’t have anything to say about the speculation but the President is a human being. He can fall sick any time.”


Concurring, former chairman of the House Committee on Power and Steel, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, declared that President Yar’Ádua was healthy. “The man will be back tomorrow night (today). There is nothing wrong with him.


“He has also ensured that rule of law is respected and due process is followed and people are not happy about it and people that know that their toes have been stepped on are bent on running down the government.


“What is wrong with somebody falling sick and going for treatment if that is the case? I don’t think that is even the case. The man went to rest and as a citizen of this country, he has freedom of movement and association. So, he should be allowed to have his normal rest,” Elumelu said.


Former chairman of the House Committee on Air Force, Rep. Halims Agoda, wondered "why should people be wishing their President dead? Can’t a President even fall sick? A President is a human being. When human beings fall sick, we go for treatment and we get well.


“What we should do as a nation and as a people is to pray and encourage our leaders. We are all human beings. That he is president does not make him not to be a human being. We should be wishing our President long life, prosperity and good leadership.


“All that we owe the President is wishful prayer and longevity in life. People should stop this madness or speculation. It is not of a right mind. Such a person (Yar’Ádua) is bound to live long. Such a person that people carry speculation about is bound to live very long. Instances abound everywhere.


But of course, as a privilege man in government, I know that the President is very okay,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, Rep. Friday Itulah, representing Esan North East/Esan South-West Federal Constituency of Edo State, urged every citizen to join hands in prayer to wish President Yar'Adua a quick recovery in order to enable him to resume is normal duties.


Yar'Adua in King Fahd Hospital, Saudi official confirms


An official of the King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in the Red Sea City of Jeddah told AFP that President Yar’Adua had been in the hospital for several days. But he did not specify his medical condition or the treatment he is undergoing.


Saudi military police were seen guarding the hospital, which is run by the Saudi Defence Ministry and where ruling family members and senior officials are usually treated.


Yar’Adua left Nigeria about 12 days ago for the lesser hajj, or umrah, which is performed in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, according to the government.


The Federal Government on Sunday again sought to dispel speculation over the president’s health, saying he is well and fit to run Africa’s most populous nation.


“The Federal Government wishes to restate here that Mr President is very well and healthy,” said Information Minister, Mr John Odey.


“He is in good health to steer the affairs of the state to bring about better livelihood for the generality of the people of Nigeria,” Odey said in a statement to the media.


Odey said the head of state is expected back in Nigeria “soon after his trip to Saudi Arabia where he has gone on lesser hajj.”


The King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital has 420 beds and five city-wide satellite clinics. It is part of a national network of healthcare facilities directly managed by the Medical Services Division (MSD) of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA).


The hospital provides a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary medical services to members of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and their dependents. The Cardiac Centre, situated within the main hospital, is the only adult cardiac surgical facility in the Western Region.


In-service training and education are actively promoted by the Departments of Medical Education and Nursing Education and from within the individual departments.


The programme includes a weekly hospital Grand Round, monthly Nursing Grand Rounds and regular nursing study days. Inter- and intra-departmental activities include seminars, case presentations and Journal Clubs. The hospital is also a designated training center for junior medical and nursing staff.


All departments and units, both medical and non-medical


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/2/310.html

[size=14pt]I’m not planning divorce, I want more wives - Man with 86 wives says [/size]
By Our Reporter
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
AN 84-year-old Nigerian Muslim preacher with 86 wives, Mohammed Bello, intends to marry more women despite an order from local Islamic chiefs to immediately divorce all but four of them, his spokesman said on Monday.







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Reports on Sunday said that Bello, who lives in Niger State with his wives and at least 170 children, was ordered by local religious elders to divorce 82 of his wives by Sunday or leave the area.



Reports also said he had agreed at a meeting with local officials to divorce all but four of the women and had asked for time to return them to their families.



But his spokesman, Mohammed Tahir, told Reuters on Monday that there was no such deal. “He is not going to divorce any of his wives. Rather, he is going to marry more,” Tahir said.



“Since he married those women, none of them or his children has ever gone out to beg for food or money. He has not broken any law and none of his wives has committed any offences that would be a basis for divorce,” he added.



Many Muslim scholars say Islam allows men to have up to four wives at any given time who must be treated equally. Bello has received a number of death threats in the last few weeks after the Nigerian media began reporting on his unusual marital situation.



“Sometimes people will call us, hide their numbers and tell us that they are coming to kill him and everyone in the compound if he doesn't leave,” Tahir said. “Is that fair? What offence has he committed?”



An official in the palace of the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Umar Edota, had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Bida that Bello had agreed to retain only four of the wives.



Alhaji Edota is the chairman of the five-member committee of Islamic scholars set up by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, to handle the disengagement.



He said the agreement was reached at a meeting between Bello and the Etsu Nupe in Bida.



http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/2/607.html

Is he looking for money for his own funeral?

NDLEA arrests 72-year-old man for drug trafficking
By Chika Ezeokoli

OPERATIVES of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 72-year-old man and two others for drug trafficking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.



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The suspect, Akiola Tubosun Salawu (72), reportedly swallowed 100 pieces of the substance that tested positive for heroin for N250,000 while two others identified as Rosemary Okonji (29) and Enoma Kelvin (37) were also accused of ingesting the substance.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Ahmadu Giade, assured Nigerians that no effort would be spared in the agency's determination to rid the country of narcotic drugs.

He said: "The international rating of the agency is rising daily with the various arrests and seizures that we are recording. We will not relent on this all-important fight for a drug-free society. The dangers of illicit drugs are devastating to mankind. That is why we must put drug barons out of business".

Salawu was arrested on Monday, August 27, 2008, at 10.30 a.m. at the departure hall during the screening of passengers on Virgin Atlantic flight. An indigene of Abeokuta in Ogun State, Salawu, who allegedly confessed to have ingested 100 wraps of substance, had worked as a contractor for 37 years.

According to him, he got involved in the illicit trade because of financial difficulty. "It is lack of money that made me to carry drugs. I was financially distressed and things were so difficult because there were no more contracts. I swallowed 100 wraps of the drugs in one hotel in Mushin area of Lagos and they promised to pay me 250,000 to take the drugs to New York", he said.

He was quoted as saying that it took him over one hour to ingest the drugs and that he met his sponsor in a bar in Abeokuta. Salawu, who is married to a Ghanaian, has five children with the eldest being 43 years old and married with children. He has so far excreted 99 wraps of the drug.

Okonji was held on Tuesday, August 26, 2008, on her way to Prato, Italy, during screening of passengers on Alitalia flight. She was found with 73 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.435 kilogrammes. Okonji ingested 70 wraps and inserted two others in her anus and one in her private part because for 5,000 Euros.

According to her, "I have too many problems. I am not married but I assist my family in Nigeria. I invested 7,000 Euros that I borrowed from a friend in the deal with the hope of making 12,000 Euros".

She said it took her over three hours to complete the ingestion. Okonji pleaded for forgiveness from her mother whom she lied to that she was going to Lagos for the wedding of her friend. She hails from Asaba in Delta State but is based in Prato, Italy, where she works as a cleaner.

Enoma was arrested on the same flight with Okonji. He was caught with 66 wraps of cocaine weighing 747 grammes. A factory welder in Recanati, Italy, Enoma hails from Useni in Edo State.



http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/2/25.html

Personally, I have defended MM so far for two reasons:

1, OBJECTIVE:I'm convinced he was a great leader

What made him a good leader? Is it because he embarked on the OIC project after just one month in office? How good was he when he initiated that useless project knowing full well it'll cost us arm and feet and the bad news is that OIC membership is still costing us till this day. He went ahead to inscribe our naira with arabic rubbish that is not readable(thanks to obasanjo and soludo).

2, COUNTER-SUBJECTIVE: Having read your mischievous intention of smearing MM's name just because you can't come to terms with seeing a Muslim being given such accolades, to, as much as possible, defend him. call it tit for tat, if you like.

Whatever! I wouldn't have complained if Ahmadu Bello or Tafewa Balewa got such accolades(not that they did so much for united Nigeria) but I will definitely complain if some people jump up and clap for an ex coup plotter like Murtala Mohammed. You are still getting passionate because he was a muslim, i wonder whether you'll feel the same way if Aguiyi Ironsi or namdi azikiwe or obasanjo registered nigeria in a Vatican club(if there is anything like that) or World Bible believing nations and such memberships will be costing Nigerian or Northern tax payers millions of dollars especially when nothing comes out of it. I'm not against you worshipping Mohammed, but don't worship Him with my money.

Why do male pastors have an eagle eye for super preety women? Do they go out there looking for preety women or are they no supposed to look out for a woman that is humble, virtuous and Godly abi ugly women no dey get these qualities. Check out Chris Oyakhilome's wife, Kris okotie's new wife and paul Adefarasin's wife, Pastor (Mrs.) Ifeanyi Adefarasin of House on the Rock Church below.


http://niyitabiti..com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Who is Naeto C?

Who is Nunu?

Who is ikechukuw?

Are These Guys Really Big Or Is It Just Media Effizy?

The Naeto boy has an unidentifiable accent but one thing am sure is that his accent is not Nigerian.

http://notjustok.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/tuface-interview-backstage-the-h20-concert-in-dc.html

Can you list a few similarities you've noticed between any two tribes or ethnic groups in Nigeria as regards to culture? for eg: Languages, norm, art, food, etc

DEEPZONEI cannot refrain from commenting on your poll, you talked about been a non tribal leader and at the same time you brought the issue of religion. Nigeria membership to the OIC is an expresssion of right to freedom of association. What do you expect from countries bolded that are active menbers with less than 20% muslim population.

DEEPZONE You are living in the deepest zone of an alternative universe, where the truth is irrelevant - where hatred ignorance & tribal sentiments are the norms. GET BACK ON YOUR MEDS!!!

Many muslims on this board watch us everyday criticize a Nigerian Christian leader to death but immediately you raise an arm on their fellow islamic faithful pertaining his/her policies, they'll start bitching about and calling you names because they've perceived your action as anti Islam. Is it inferiority complex or just malignant religious melanoma?

Why not forget DeepZone who has no right to express his freedom of non association and ask yourself why we spend millions in that islamic club yearly from the federal purse when the same amount of money can be used to develop the Northern children vocationally?

The way to a mans heart are just too many;

Examples
1. Food
2. Sports
3. Cars
4. Alcohol
5. Cigarettes
6. Hybrid weed Wink

e.t.c


BUT>>> The only way to remain there is;

SEX. No! I made a mistake.

Really, freaking, damn, hot, steamy, interesting, adventurous SEX. Grin WORD!

7. Juju
8. Intimidation
9. Cash money
10. Children
11. Massive boobs and humongous behind
12.??

It's a man's world. . . . .STOP HATING

That was before the advent of modern civilization.

but when a womna is poor in sex and cooking Shocked Shocked that is a gateway to unfaithfulness

You are joking right? Why can't the man cook if the woman cannot cook very well? Love is patient.

so who are these many Nigerian that regard him as JFK? Lips sealed Lips sealed

why didnt Aremu Obasanjo cancel our membership,
i think he even collected some $m grants from the organisation early last year sef!

Infact why aren't your legislators opposing the membership,
I can't remember that last time anyone talked about it on the floor
all these bickering over irrelevant issues online is immature!
take to the street let the people know your stance instead of
acting like some cattle herders are controlling your life!

I still think Ojukwu should replace him

I think you should ask as a MATURE person why we are in OIC in the first place and what we've gained from it. Pardon my ignorance sir, can you tell us one advantage of the OIC membership?

Maybe I am wrong but I thought Murtala Mohammed was from the south but grew up in Kano

He's a core northerner. Which kain south?

@deepzone

If we really pay millions for membership of OIC, would suggest we start a movement for the withdrawal of Nigeria from organisation.

Am actually a tread for this. I need at least 5million Nigeria to sign up for the withdrawal, then we would have a case at the National Assembly.

If u re interested in Nigeria's delisting from OIC, please sign up on my thread

I'm all for that. Separate the state from religion. If muslims cannot raise enough money to sustain their membership, let them be kicked out afterall God did not charge them that money rather, it's some greedy OIC frat brothers that are reaping from our money and the worst of it all is that the money is from southern Nigeria. So much for Murtala Mohammed. Jfk ko , Roosevelt ni.

We are stuck with nations like Niger, Bangladesh, Gaza (that is nothing more than a terrorist training camp), misguided loons like Cameroun, terror-exporting countries like Saudi Arabia and Algeria, unstable entitites like afghanistan and there are idiots here still hailing Murtala Mohammad's unilateral and unpopular decision to force us into the OIC?

Do these people realise we pay millions of dollars as membership fees? That these monies come solely from the christian parts of the country? Serious nations do not just join organisations, they do so only when it is to their strategic interests . . . what is our gain for joining the OIC? Helping us to determine when the full moon is up so we can fast?

My point exactly and his followers will never cease to ignore the facts above. what and what have we gained from the OIC membership apart from losing money to Saudi Arabia?

Me thinks the way to a man's heart is through his mind. . . keep him interested and keep his mind stimulated and he'll never leave
he can get food and sex anywhere

How do you stimulate his mind when he's never attentive?

na lie ooo,not our african men,they want a well prepared punded yam and egusi soup after d whole sex

I thought Hannibal your man na butter? Him dey chop iyan? Eeeewwwwww

2. Nigeria's membership is NOT an expression of right to freedom of association because our membership was NEVER submitted to a referendum. We, the people, were not a part of the deliberation to join the OIC. Rather it is simply and FRANKLY an expression of the hegemonist agenda of a misruling cabal intent on using religion as a tool of oppression.

Thank you.

Google it yourself unless you intend to tell me that you do not believe in Google:

Religion Year Reported Number of Adherents (Based on 140M. Pop.) [1]

Percentage of Total Population

Islam 1999 70,000,000 50%

Christianity 1999 56,000,000 40%

Other 1999 14,000,000 10%

Mumu; Google is not God, it was somebody that falsified the information officially and put it there so that Nigerias image will forever remain Islamic according to OIC tenets.

oh no funmi u and this your kwestions Grin

seriously wats all sex and no correct food to go with it?

Lmao; some men can do with a cold pizza as long as the sex keeps rolling.

Deepzone's problem is that she can't stand seeing a HAUSA MAN(Muslim for that matter) commanding such reverence.

You got me wrong; My issue here is why should he be given such accolades even though he tried to induct Nigeria into the world moslem club? Besides, he didn't rule Nigeria long enough for us to see his loopholes, rather, the only move he made was the OIC one in a few months in office. Why not Obasanjo that was the only military man to hand over to civilian(except Abdulsalami that did it a while ago).

[size=14pt][b]Yar’Adua is with us - Saudi hospital official; He is performing hajj - FG insists - Rumour of death spreads [/b][/size]
From Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Idowu Samuel, Okey Muogbo and Wale Ajayi
Monday, September 1, 2008
CONFUSION reigned on Sunday over President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health as the Federal Government insisted that he was performing lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia while an official of King Fahd Hospital said the president was in the hospital undergoing treatment.







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According to a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by Mr. John Odey, Information Minister, the government said, “The Federal Government wishes to restate here that Mr. President is very well and healthy. He is in good health to steer the affairs of the state to bring about better livelihood for the generality of the people of Nigeria. He is expected back in Nigeria soon after his trip to Saudi Arabia where he has gone on lesser hajj.”



Agence France Presse (AFP), however, quoted an official of King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, run by the Saudi Defence Ministry, and where members of the ruling family as well as senior officials are usually treated, as saying that Yar’Adua had been in the hospital “for several” days without specifying his medical condition or the treatment he is undergoing.



According to the news agency, Saudi military police were seen guarding the hospital located at the city of Jeddah. Yet unconfirmed sources had it that the president was moved out of Saudi Arabia on Sunday to the German hospital where he had his first renal surgery. Another source said it was his German physician that was flown to Saudi Arabia to attend to him.



Reacting to the handling of the information concerning the health of the president, the Action Congress (AC) on Sunday castigated the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on what it described as its attempt to cover the health condition of Yar’Adua by swaying the attention of Nigerians away from him.



The party, therefore, asked the FEC to apologise to Nigerians on its conduct so far. In a statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the AC commended the media for struggling to keep the nation abreast of the state of health of Yar’Adua.



Nigerian Tribune learnt that the worsening condition of the president forced some of his aides to return to Nigeria to brief top government officials about the state of his affairs.



The aides were said to have departed Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Sunday and are expected to arrive in Nigeria any moment from now.

According to findings, indications that all was not well with the president at his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia emerged on Saturday when at a point, movements were restricted around him, even as the wife, Turai, was said to have equally been prevented from seeing him.



He was said to have lost consciousness such that he could not recognise those around him, a development said to have caused instant panic among those in his entourage. Sources within the Presidential Villa told the Nigerian Tribune that President Yar’Adua had to leave Nigeria in a hurry following the advice of his physician, when he started coughing uncontrollably, and experiencing shortness of breath.



As early as 6.30 a.m. on Sunday, rumour of the death of the President had spread to many cities. From Lagos, Ibadan, Osogbo, Benin to Kano, and other major cities, many people became apprehensive when they heard the rumoured death.



Many people called the newsroom of the Nigerian Tribune on the phone when they heard the rumours while many actually came to the newsroom to confirm the ‘news.’



Some people did not even go to church for Sunday service as they eagerly awaited the Cable television stations to beam the news as ‘Breaking News.’



Church services were on Sunday disturbed in Lagos, as the rumour did the round that the president had passed on. Many people had to abandon church services half way to confirm the veracity of the information.



Many of the worshippers were seen putting calls across to their friends and relatives to confirm the information, but none of those who were anxious about the president’s state of health could confirm the source of the information.



Amid anxiety over the health condition of President Yar’Adua, the club of opposition parties will be holding a crucial meeting in Lagos today to review the political situation in the country.



The political parties, including the ANPP and AD, under the aegis of Nigeria United for Democracy (NUD), are expected to make some pronouncements on the state of the nation, most especially on the allegation of a coup plot levelled against them by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).



A source among the parties told the Nigerian Tribune that the NUD would also deliberate on the health condition of President Yar’Adua which at the moment is shrouded in secrecy.



The PDP had accused the NUD and the major opposition parties of a plot to topple the Yar’Adua government with the help of foreign agents.


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/1/602.html

d way to mans stomach is food

the way to a mans heart is sex

Why do you need a way to his stomach?

[size=16pt]
The way to a man’s heart is sex –Mopelola Ogunlusi, MD, Romeo and Juliet [/size]

By Chinyere Fred-Adegbulugbe


Mrs. Mopelola Ogunlusi, a technologist and matchmaker, tells Chinyere Fred-Adegbulugbe why her marriage has lasted 33 years.


By training, she is a medical laboratory scientist. She got to the peak of career, retiring many years ago as the chief medical scientist of the University College Hospital, Ibadan. But Mrs. Mopelola Ogunlusi has yet another love: linking and matchmaking men and women, who desire to find life partners. Since 2002 when she officially opened her doors, her matchmaking agency, Romeo and Juliet, has become a Mecca of sorts to different categories of individuals for different reasons. ”This is where you can get good husbands and good wives. If you have marital or relationship problems, this is where we can help you because we are not biased since we are not related to either the husband or the wife, we see things clearly,” she says.

Incidentally, she says matchmaking is something she was involved, howbeit informally, even as a spinster. Then, as a young girl, though she already had a boyfriend who was to be her husband later, there were many other men who were interested in having her as a wife. And as she humorously recalls, since she didn‘t have any problem with the relationship she was having, coupled with the fact that even her parents felt the fellow was okay for their daughter, she devised a means of warding off her excess suitors. “Many of my friends were dating wrong men. Some of them didn‘t even have men to date, so I was linking my extra suitors to my friends and I must say that some did get married and are even grandparents today,” she says.

She didn‘t stop there. With time, even her domestic hands became beneficiaries of her matchmaking prowess. ”If I saw anyone who was single; there was always this urge to link them to others who were also single and desirous of having spouses. Some worked out while some didn‘t,” she says.

Until she had to retire from her job in order to join her family in Lagos, she did not fancy staying alone in Ibadan. That was when her husband rekindled the matchmaking fire in her. But this time, it was in form of a business that is duly registered and not just as a pastime.

She says, “One day I was discussing with my husband and he lamented that some of his secretaries were still unmarried, despite the fact that they were good looking and well-mannered. He even said some of his friends‘ secretaries were also in the same predicament. He now said to me, ‘Why don‘t you start an agency since you have the flair for it?.’”

But she wasn‘t convinced that it would be a profitable venture. ”Who will agree to pay for such services? I asked him,” she says. Nevertheless, the man went ahead. Not only did he get the company registered, he also got an office space and equipment, printed stationery and also hired staff. ”That was when I knew that he was serious,” she recalls.

Yet, she wasn‘t persuaded to get involved until, according to her, the staff almost ran the business aground. And that was when she decided to take over the business. Thus, her new status as the managing director of Romeo and Juliet was born.

And as she says, her initial scepticism concerning Nigerians’ willingness to pay for the kind of services her company was engaged in was proved right. ”The first two years were very difficult. Many people didn‘t want to pay and maybe because it was a totally new venture, a new idea. So many people did not know what to think about it. My husband had to pay salaries and rent without us realising anything during those years. And each time I told him that I was calling it a day, he would refuse and tell me that even if it was only one person that registered with me, that I must get the person a husband or a wife, that I couldn‘t just let the person down,” she reminisces.

And today, she just can‘t thank him enough for his encouragement those early years as Romeo and Juliet, she says, has over 1,000 members in the organisation‘s database today. ”Out of this, about 200 have been successfully linked and married, about 250 are still courting and the rest are yet to find partners,” she enthuses.

And what does it take for a registered member of Romeo and Juliet to be successfully linked to a spouse? Ogunlusi says it is very simple. “The person comes, tells us his profile and also the profile of the kind of spouse he is looking for. Once a person gives us this information, we collate what you have in your data, compare with the genotype of prospective partners. Once we see someone in our database that has at least seven out of 10 of what a particular client wants, we link them and leave God to do the remaining.”

But just like every other relationship, she says that it is not always that it works out as there are some of them who don‘t like each other, even at the very first meeting. ”There are even some who don‘t like each other even from phone calls alone and there are some who fell in love just by speaking to the person or at first meeting. So it varies,” she explains.

With her registration pegged at N5,000, one wonders how the agency breaks even. Ogunlusi says people do ask her the same question, but that has never been an issue with her. “You know when God sends you on an errand, he fortifies you and makes it easier for you to accomplish. I am a pensioner, and my husband is also now retired. Though we need money, we are not looking for anything outrageous. The joy of seeing people happy is our reward,” she insists.

Talking about matchmaking and why it has become necessary, she insists that many people would be married if they weren‘t too fussy with their choices. Speaking from her various experiences at the agency, she says many of the so-called singles limit themselves with the kind of specifications they give, especially when it comes to physical attributes. “According to the Holy Book, everything God created is beautiful but some will come and say, ‘He is too tall.’ She is rotund and all that, thereby limiting themselves,” she adds.

Religion, Ogunlusi says, is also a reason why many people have remained single, even unto their 40s. “A lady came in the other day and she is already 42. One would think that at 42 years, as a Christian, she should be ready to marry any Christian. First of all, she told me that she was a prayer warrior in her Pentecostal church, so she didn‘t want a man that would disturb her prayers. She said she didn‘t want an Anglican, a Methodist, and a Catholic. She gave us a very long list of people she didn‘t want when she was submitting her form. I told her that I was not God and that if God says she would get a mate through the agency, she would. But I also told her that she was spoiling her chances. People are not helping themselves. Once you are above 30, you should drop some of your dos and don‘ts,” she says.

As a marriage counsellor, she gives a hint why many marriages tend to end in divorce. Tolerance and patience, she says, are very necessary if a marriage is to stand the test of time. ”In marriage, one must be willing to be a sheep why the other is a goat. And I always advise women to be sheep; somebody has to give in. For a marriage to work, the woman must be ready to be accommodating and patient,” she opines.

Does she also advise a woman whose husband is engaged in extramarital affairs to remain quiet and docile? Ogunlusi replies that since most of our men are involved in extramarital affair anyway, what a wise woman should do is to make the best out of it. ”If you put men on the ground and calculate, I will tell you that over 70 per cent are having extramarital affairs, even when they claim to be Christians or Muslims. And the young girls are not helping; they forget that while they are breaking another person‘s home, their own homes can never settle. But if a man is having extramarital affairs and there is nothing you can do, talk to him. You know David Beckham‘s wife once said that she would not allow a tart to break her home and till today she is still married to her husband. That is the kind of attitude all women should have,” she advises.

For those who preach equality of the sexes and women liberation, obviously, they can never find a kindred spirit in Ogunlusi. “I am not for women liberation,” she emphasises. ”That is why I have been married for 33 years and I am going to be married for another 30. Those women, who say they are liberated, are not. Are they wiser than God?” she queries.

She also advises women who want their marriages to last not to ignore the power of sex. She says, “Sex is the binding factor in marriage. People say that the way to a man’s heart is food. It is not food alone. You must have sex together often.”

At 58, Ogunlusi believes that style should be about what fits one’s body structure and age. “I hate those women who expose their chests. The way you can get to a man is to hide what he is looking for a little. Men who go after such girls do that for sex and not for marriage,” she insists.





http://odili.net/news/source/2008/aug/31/415.html

[b]Nigeria’s Glo targets South Africa’s Vodacom[/b]
By Efem Nkanga, 09.01.2008
Monday, September 1, 2008

Nigeria’s Second National Carrier, Glob-acom – reputed as Africa’s fastest growing telecommunications network – has expressed interest in Telkom’s assets in Vodacom, Southern Africa’s leading telecommunications network.

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Sources in Johannesburg, South Africa, said if Globacom’s expression of interest succeeds, it will lead to a 100 per cent merger between Globacom and Vodacom, thereby creating the continent’s largest telecommunications company.

“If the alliance is consummated, it will enable both Glo and Vodacom to pull resources together and build a pan African telecommunications giant that will be the biggest and the best,” an industry analyst told THISDAY.

Sources said Globacom is set to battle it out with UK’s Vodafone for Telkom’s shares in Vodacom. Vodafone is currently a part-owner of Vodacom.

Incidentally, Globacom’s vision since it launched its services five years ago is “to build the biggest and best telecommunications network in Africa”.

Joe Fizelle of Mowana Investment, Johannesburg, said he was optimistic that Globacom’s offer would be considered because “it presents value and growth potential to Telkom shareholders”.

The deal would see Globacom merge with Telkom’s asset in Vodacom in a new listed entity to be dubbed “Vodaglo”, with both Glo and Vodacom being equal partners.

Fizelle expressed hope that the South African government, with a 39 per cent stake in Telkom, would find the Nigerian offer more attractive than the idea of retaining a minority interest in Vodacom and seeing it become British owned.

Globacom’s expression of interest in Telkom’s assets in Vodacom is already generating tremendous excitement in the continent as it is seen as Africa’s indigenous solution to the continent’s huge telecoms challenges, industry analysts said.

Globacom has very strong footprints in the West African sub region, while Vodacom has robust footprints in the Southern African region.

The West African telecoms giant, which has over 20 million subscribers in Nigeria, instantly became the bride of the industry when it launched its operations in 2003 with its revolutionary and pocket friendly products and services.

Earlier in the year, it inaugurated its network in Benin Republic and shortly after won the licence to operate in Ghana.

Globacom is also on the verge of sealing operating licences in two other West African countries within the next one month.

Regarded as Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications brand, Globacom is also building a submarine optic fibre cable from Lagos in Nigeria through 16 African countries to Bude in the UK and New York in USA.

The submarine cable, christened in the telecommunication industry as “Glo 1”, is right now off the coast of Senegal and will be due for inauguration soon.

Vodacom provides GSM service to more than 23 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique.

Industry experts in South Africa believe the new development has better prospects in store for both operators as it will also foster a stronger bond between Nigerian and South African entrepreneurs.

Before now, there had been no multi-billion dollar business relationship between Nigerian entrepreneurs and their South African counterparts at this scale.

“This move is the next biggest thing to really drive home the need for investment cooperation between Nigeria and South Africa.

It represents true expression of collaboration between the two countries,” a South African economist told THISDAY.


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/1/211.html

[b]i agree with the age restriction, but having said that,sticking with the villagers as you put it is the essence of being a traditional ruler, dyu know oba of benin will not leave benin till he leaves this world?[/b] that is the price to pay for being an oba,besides the state government pays them salaries based on what category of oba they are and sharp obas amongst them use their influence to shape political outcomes in their domains not necessarily rigging, they also attract development to their domains by giving chieftaincy titles to eminent people which comes with a hefty price tag plus developmental commitments from the recipients they also have the power most times to make eminent indigenes contribute for needed projects , chicken sacrifices and the likes happen only in the stone ages or smthing not the present day nigeria, the thing is that people have reduced the the whole thing to the mundane, imagine the ooni of ife who is supposed to be the spiritual head of the yoruba supporting one political party or governor over an

# opponent,hustling for oil blocks ,cotracts,allfin of oyo,the igwes e.t.c hustling for oil blocks, thats why they don't command any iota of respect, like the oba aderemis of yester years, the fact thathe has to send money to nigeria out of his own pocket to get a well fixed in his town shows he is not fully in touch because even if his towns people are mechanics and welders,a whole town will no be as impoverished to the extent of not being able to contribute a few hundreds of thousands naira

@Bold, for real? He can't even travel to lagos?

DEEPZONEI cannot refrain from commenting on your poll, you talked about been a non tribal leader and at the same time you brought the issue of religion. Nigeria membership to the OIC is an expresssion of right to freedom of association. What do you expect from countries bolded that are active menbers with less than 20% muslim population.

DEEPZONE You are living in the deepest zone of an alternative universe, where the truth is irrelevant - where hatred ignorance & tribal sentiments are the norms. GET BACK ON YOUR MEDS!!!

I'm glad you posted the OIC member nations and their year of accession. The year of accession is not the same as when the country first threw in her application for membership. Murtala Mohammed applied for Nigeria to get admitted into that Islamic club. Why didn't you see major african christian nations like Ghana and south africa in that list?

It is almost unanimously agreed that Murtala was the best Head of state Nigeria ever had.
He was a soldier with a difference, an epitome of humility. He died poor. He took over over at a critical period in Nigeria's history and started well until he was gunned down on Friday, February 13, 1976 in Lagos, while returning from Juma'at prayers.

Maybe you need to read the book JUST BEFORE DAWN by KOLE OMOTOSO.

He may not be perfect, but Murtala stood out among Nigeria's past leaders. He deserved all the honours(MMA,N20 etc) please.

A lot of Nigerian leaders that time died poor. tafewa balewa, nnamdi azikiwe, even Shehu Shagari is not rich. Looting the Nigerian treasury by the north started from IBB. If Murtala Mohammed started the process of inducting Nigeria(a country that has more christians than muslims), then why should we overlook that and regard him as a martyr?

yea let's replace it with Ojukwu!!

Lmao; Ojukuw is not even the issue here.

Get away.