₦airaland Forum

Nigerian wins U.S. state Assembly race

https://www.tori.ng/userfiles/image/2020/nov/04/Agbaje.jpeg
Esther Agbaje

A Nigerian, Ms. Esther Agbaje, has been elected into the Minnesota House of Representatives in Tuesday’s U.S. general elections.

She will represent District 59B in the 134-member House on the platform of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), an affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party.

Esther, 35, won by a landslide, polling 17,396 votes or 74.7 percent of the total ballots cast.

Her closest rival, Alan Shilepsky of the Republican Party, secured 4,128 votes, representing 17.7 percent of the total.

Elections to the lower chamber of the state legislature hold every two years, and there are no term limits for the lawmakers.

The daughter of Nigerian immigrants, Agbaje was born in St. Paul, the state capital of Minnesota.

Her father, Rev. John, an Episcopal Church priest, met her mother, Bunmi, a librarian, at the University of Minnesota where they were studying.

She graduated from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., with a degree in political science.

Esther holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and also a law degree from Harvard University.

She currently works as an attorney in Minneapolis with a focus on general civil litigation and medical malpractice.

She once served at the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Affairs Officer, charged with managing the rule of law projects in the Middle East.

Her priorities as a lawmaker include affordable housing, environmental justice, police reform, public safety, and racial equality.

(NAN)

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday signed an executive order for the rebuilding of the state as a result of the
massive destruction inflicted by hoodlums during the #EndSARS protests.

Sanwo-Olu also constituted the Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund to oversee the rebuilding of every aspect of the state and also look at the future and healing of wounds.

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Former president Goodluck Jonathan has
condemned the “use of deadly force” on
#EndSARS protesters in Lagos state.

In a statement on Thursday, Jonathan said such
actions will only worsen the situation, calling on
all parties to embrace dialogue.

Nationwide protests against the now-dissolved
police special anti-robbery squad (SARS)
metamorphosed into agitation for improved
governance in addition to justice for victims of
police brutality.

On Tuesday, soldiers shot at the young
protesters while they converged on the Lekki
tollgate.

Twelve people died in the shooting and in a
related development in Ikeja, according to
Amnesty International.

In the statement shared with TheCable, the
former president said the event of recent days
“has been a difficult time to me as well”.

He said the task of building a nation must
involve both the old and the young, adding that
Nigeria “cannot afford to lose the lives of our
youth who we look up to take over leadership
and continue our nation’s journey to
greatness”.

“As leaders, we must understand that a nation
can never win a battle against its own
people,” he said.

“Thus, the use of deadly force against citizens
only aggravates tense situations rather than
assuage it. We must therefore move away from
battlegrounds to middle grounds in our individual
and national life. This, I believe, epitomises the
essence of democracy.

“I condemn any unnecessary loss of life and urge
efforts to be stepped up to ensure that there is
no such reoccurrence.

“We all must accept that we are all brothers and
sisters of one Nigeria, and always act towards
each other accordingly.”

Jonathan, who added that “nobody’s interest is
worth the blood of any Nigerian citizen,” asked
security agencies to ensure maximum restraint
is applied in carrying out their constitutional
responsibilities of protecting lives and property.

He also asked young Nigerians to “give peace a
chance especially now that different
stakeholders have demonstrated the willingness
to investigate the various allegations of
excessive use of force on citizens and address
the culture of impunity by security personnel”.

A Chinese man who decided to go on a blind date
with a woman got more than he bargained for
after she showed up with 23 of her relatives to
test his generosity according to local reports.

Without telling her date in advance, the Chinese
woman allegedly showed up with 23 family
members and turned their candle-light dinner
into a rowdy banquet.

She was eventually left stranded with a
whopping £2,300 bill after her potential Mr
Right fled the restaurant upon receiving the
cheque, Chinese media outlets claimed.

The Chinese woman, who remains anonymous,
recently went on a blind date with 29-year-old
Mr Liu in eastern Chinese province Zhejiang.
According to the report, the date was set up by
the man's mother after she was worried about
her son who had been single for a while.

Before meeting up, Mr Liu had offered to pay
for the meal, assuming that it would be a
romantic dinner for two.

But he was taken by surprise when he saw his
blind date, who arrived at the restaurant with
two dozen relatives unannounced.

The woman told Chinese media later that she
wanted to test if her potential boyfriend was
generous enough to pay for the feast of 25
people.

After enjoying the luxurious banquet, the
woman and her family were shocked to find that
Mr Liu had already escaped from the restaurant.
It is reported that he dashed off after seeing
the bill, which added up to £2,291 with
expensive dishes and alcohol ordered by the
relatives.

The date ended with Mr Liu failing the
generosity test and his date paying for the meal
herself.

They later reached an agreement that Mr Liu
would pay for a small part of the meal with the
brunt of bill shared among the woman's 23 family
members.

The event has sparked a heated discussion on
Chinese social media after being reported this
week by multiple websites, with many web users
debating who should pay for blind dates.

One reader wrote: ' Men should pay out of
curtsey. But bring 23 people to the meal is
unacceptable.'

Another commenter argued: ' If they like each
other after the date, then the man should pay.
If not, they should go Dutch.'

A third web user said: ' Usually the woman would
bring one or two friends in case it gets
awkward. We as gentlemen should pay. If the
woman bring seven or eight people, you should
just leave. She wasn't genuine anyway.'

"PRESIDENT BUHARI
RECEIVES EMIR OF KANO BAYERO ROYAL VISIT:
President @MBuhari (M) receives in audience
Emir of Kano HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS Aminu Ado
Bayero at the Residence Tuesday night
Presidential Villa Abuja. Oct 20 2020."

NIGERIA stands the risk of forfeiting its bid for the office of the President of International Police (INTERPOL) on account of #EndSARS and police brutality, according to indications on Saturday.

Some big powers are said to be opposed to the slot for Nigeria although lobbying for the top position for Nigeria is continuing.

China is said to be strongly backing Nigeria in the quest for the position.

INTERPOL has 194 member-countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, Canada, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Saudi Arabia among others.

The tenure of the incumbent, Kim Jong Yang,is due to end this year having been elected in 2018.

Yang is completing the tenure of Mr. Meng Hongwei who resigned in 2018.

The next election is scheduled for December during the General Assembly of INTERPOL in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

Member nations are said to be eagerly awaiting the election and likely reforms of the organization.

Nigeria’s bid for the post has intensified in the past few months with members calling for input at different levels.

It was gathered that the input includes the profiling of the activities and the assessment of the police force of whatever country seeking the office.

Findings, however, confirmed that some of the big powers have “not been favourable” to the candidature of Nigeria.

Although many top police officers have excelled during INTERPOL and some Peacekeeping operations, it was learnt that the larger picture of the “perception of Nigeria Police Force,” might affect the nation’s chances.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Some of the big powers are opposed to Nigeria’s leadership of the INTERPOL because of the outcome of the profiling of the police. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and even the National Human Rights Commission (NHR) have been consistent in their indictment of Nigeria Police Force.

“Some of the issues against the Nigeria Police are extra-judicial killings, roles in some elections, abuse of fundamental human rights of Nigerians, the activities of the disbanded SARS, alleged bribery and corruption, and the poor detention facilities.

“Even during the lockdown, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in May accused the Nigeria Police of committing more extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.

“The internationalization of #EndSARS protests in some parts of the country has made the nation’s aspiration for INTERPOL job slimmer.

“The conveners of the #EndSARS have written many petitions to some of these influential countries. In fact, the ongoing movement might be part of the agenda against Nigeria by some elements.

“Some of the affected countries have also conducted survey internally and they are not keen in pushing Nigeria for the office.

“The dossiers of one of those shortlisted for the slot have also being scrutinized. Some of these nations are just wary of any Nigerian Police officer heading INTERPOL.”

But some countries, including China, have sympathy for Nigeria due to “exceptional performance” of some of the nation’s police officers.

A diplomat said: “I am aware that China is backing Nigeria for INTERPOL presidency. Its position had not changed as at Friday.

“I think Nigeria has some of the finest police officers in the world that can be the President of INTERPOL. Some countries are looking at the Nigeria Police as a whole and these excellent officers.

“Irrespective of the perception of Nigeria Police, the character and personality of the candidate is also more important. We may not oppose Nigeria’s bid.”

Although the US Government has not been forthcoming on its position, a researcher, Dr.Ted R. Bromund gave an insight into “The top US priority at the 2020 meeting of INTERPOL General Assembly.”

He said only qualified candidates from law-abiding democracies might be asked to fill positions.

Bromund is a Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations in the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom, of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullon Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, at The Heritage Foundation.

He said: “The 2020 General Assembly (GA ) was supposed to be held in Uruguay, but earlier this year, without explanation or reference to Uruguay, Interpol stated that the meeting would be held in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.10 It is likely this move was occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the move is nonetheless troubling, for it is the second time since 2018 that the GA has met in Abu Dhabi, a fact that points to the UAE’s growing financial role in, and influence on, Interpol.

“The 2020 meeting of the Interpol GA will likely be dominated by the election of a majority of Interpol’s executive committee, including a new president.

“The U.S. should work with other democratic nations to form a democratic caucus within INTERPOL to ensure that qualified candidates from law-abiding democracies fill these positions.

“While the agenda for Interpol reform is wide, the U.S. must anticipate that the autocracies will make a bid in particular to win Interpol’s presidency, and defeating that bid-not reforming Interpol-will have to be the top priority in 2020.

“Unless nations face consequences for abusing the privileges of belonging to Interpol, it will be impossible to protect Interpol from exploitation and abuse.

“The U.S. should work in advance with democratic nations to propose a GA resolution affirming that Interpol has the power and the responsibility to suspend the access of abusive nations, and directing Interpol’s General Secretariat to carry out a factual study (to be published before the 2021 GA meeting) on which nations have submitted the most requests, and the highest proportion of requests that it rejected as abusive.

A brief on the office by INTERPOL reads in part: “The President of the Organization is elected by the General Assembly for a period of four years.

“INTERPOL’s Constitution requires that the President:

” Preside at meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee and direct the discussions;

” Ensure that the activities of the Organization are in conformity with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee;

” Maintain, as far as possible, direct and constant contact with the Secretary General of the Organization. The role of President is part-time and unpaid, with the holder retaining their full-time post within their national authority.

website of the Nigeria police force (NPF) is
currently offline as protests against the special
anti-robbery squad (SARS) continue across the
country.

Checks by TheCable on Saturday revealed that
the website, www.npf.gov.ng, was not available
— the website went offline on Thursday.

On the police website was the message: “This
Account has been suspended. Contact your
hosting provider for more information.”

The development is one in a series of targeted
attacks against the websites and social media
accounts of government-owned institutions.

On Thursday night, the Twitter handle of the
National Broadcasting Commission was taken
over by the ‘Anonymous’ hackers .

“We #Anonymous have taken over all the NG
Official Twitter’s Account to support
#ENDPOLICEBRUTALITY. WE’RE TOGETHER WITH
NIGERIANS. EXPECT UNEXPECTED,” the group
had written on the Twitter handle of the NBC.

As the ‘Anonymous’ hackers continued to tweet
in support of the #EndSARS movement through
the NBC account, the website of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was also down for a while
on Friday, but was later recovered.

The youth have taken to the streets for more
than one week now, calling for reforms within
the police force.

Although Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of
police, has announced the disbandment of the
SARS unit and announced the creation of the
special weapon and tactics (SWAT) team as a
replacement, the youth have insisted on a total
reform of the force, as well as better welfare
for the citizens.

Four officials of the Coalition of Northern Groups were on Friday detained by the Department of State Services.

Nastura Ashir Sharif, Balarabe Rufai, Aminu Adam and Dr Muhammad Nawaila were invited by Nigeria's secret police while concluding an arrangement for a peaceful protest on the killings in the Northern part of the country.

The group had issued a statement notifying the public of their intention to occupy all the 19 Northern states and the National Assembly.

CNG’s spokesman, Abdulazeez Suleiman, in a statement on Saturday said the group will go ahead with protest despite what he described as an attempt to suppress their rights.

“#EndInsecurityNow protests against the rampant killings in Northern Nigeria and displacement of hundreds of communities has come under intense pressure and intimidation in the last few hours by the DSS which is hell bent on suppressing the tearful voice of the Northerner.

“The development saw officials of the CNG Nastura Ashir Sharif, Balarabe Rufai, Aminu Adam and Dr Muhammad Nawaila being invited by the DSS in Kano where they were held from 11pm Friday to 2:15am Saturday.

“Throughout their stay at the DSS office, they were incommunicado not answering calls on their phones and not returning the same. We are on the alert.”

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