₦airaland Forum

The police have detained Ademola Adeleke, lawmaker representing Osun west senatorial district.

The senator was candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2018 governorship election in Osun state.

In a statement on Monday, the campaign organisation said Adeleke had honoured an invitation at the force headquarters in Abuja before he was detained.

“We alert the public, diplomatic and democracy community worldwide that the Nigerian Police has arrested and detained Senator Ademola Adeleke on old trumped up charges of certificate and testimonial forgery,” the statement read.

“This is after the school principal and school authority have through affidavits denied any forgery and owned up to the school testimonial issued to Senator Adeleke.

“Senator Adeleke had this morning honoured police invitation at the force headquarters, Abuja. He arrived at the force headquarters at 9am and was not attended to until later this afternoon when he was informed of fresh charges of testimonial forgery. The distinguished Senator was taken to Maitama Police station with plan to arraign him tomorrow at an undisclosed Magistrate court.”

More to follow…

Star Times to air live EPL games in Nigeria

ON AUGUST 12, 20169:08 PMIN NEWS, SPORTSCOMMENTS

As the 2016/2017 English Premier League season starts today, digital television firm, Star Times has said Nigerians can now watch the EPL on its platform in the country.

File: Chelsea
File: Chelsea
The firm in statement said football fans would watch 33 live matches of the English Premier League from this weekend, August 13, adding that viewers would also watch the games if they missed via replay

Star Times has exclusive rights to other leagues like German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue I.

Football enthusiasts can enjoy live matches on weekends and the replays on NTA Sports 24 (STarTimes channel 270)as the biggest clubs in England do battle for the crown and glory.

In August and September, Everton vs Tottenham, Burley and Liverpool, Leicester and Swansea, Manchester City against Bournemouth will all be shown live.

Oludare Kafar, Marketing Director, Star Times Nigeria, said, “Securing the English Premier League EPL on Star Times platform highlights Star Times commitment towards ensuring quality contents for its subscribers to enjoy maximum entertainment, be it sports, movies, music, news documentary and kiddies.”

Much has been said in recent times about the wearing of Hijab and Church robes to school by pupils in public schools in the State of Osun; however, what has apparently been missing in the discussion is the availability of facts and logic, and for discussants to analyse the true situation of things before making their opinions public.

Before going to the crux of matter, let me lay a background to the true situation of things with regard to the recent hullaballoo amongst organisations that purport to represent the interest of diverse religious groups in the State of Osun. We have Christians represented by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Muslims, represented by the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN); the government, led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and other interested parties in the case.

The religious conflict got to a crescendo last week when an Osun State High Court judge, Justice Jide Falola, delivered a judgment in favour of a case instituted by the MSSN against the state government on the right of female Muslim students in state public schools to wear Hijab to their various classes. The judge declared the wearing of Hijab in public schools by female Muslim pupils as legal and appropriate.

The Muslims had dragged the state government headed by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to court over the refusal of some ‘Christian’ public schools to allow their female students wear the Hijab. After the judgment, CAN Osun State Chapter instructed Christian pupils to wear church robes to school if the state government dared implement the judgment.

To cut the long story short, some five students, following the instruction of the CAN leaders, wore church robes to school this week. In fact, the CAN leaders followed the pupils to schools to make sure they weren’t turned back for wearing their church robes (never mind, they didn’t carried out the action over the failure of some Christian pupils in their examinations).

Interestingly, a similar suit by the Muslim group in Lagos failed as the judge, Justice Modupe Onyeabor, ruled that the prohibition of the wearing of Hijab over school uniforms within and outside the premises of public schools was not discriminatory. According to her, the ban does not violate Sections 38 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution as claimed by the plaintiffs. The Judge also said Section 10 of the Constitution made Nigeria a secular state and that government must maintain neutrality at all times. Justice Onyeabor held that the government had a duty to preserve the secular nature of the institutions concerned as argued by the then Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN). Muslims in Lagos have since proceeded to the Court of Appeal where it is yet to be determined. Why should the case of Osun CAN be different? Aren’t they supposed to be the salt and light of the earth? Aren’t they supposed to be leading by example? Rather than take the legal route, CAN in the state of Osun resorted to self-help, asking students to disobey school rules by wearing unapproved uniforms. The Christians based their argument on one point; the Muslims cannot be allowed to wear hijab in ‘Christian schools’.

By Edict No. 14 of 1975, the then military government took over private/missionary schools because, according to available records, “the owners charged exorbitant fees and did not give quality education to students. School buildings were of substandard structures, unqualified teachers were employed, teaching and learning materials were inadequate, while classrooms were over-crowded.”


Muslims have been wearing Hijab to schools for a very long time. As a Christian, it doesn’t hinder my faith or ability to learn. If the CAN leadership has a problem with it, they should approach the law courts, rather than embark on actions that could cause disaffection amongst the peace loving people of Osun.
foraminifera


That was the summary of the situation of privately owned schools that prompted the takeover of all such schools in 1975. It should be mentioned here however that the findings of the Western State Government in 1975 was not at variance with, but a replica of one common feature of the reports of the various Educational Review Committees set up at different times in the old three main regions of Nigeria. These include the Oldman’s Report in the old North, Dike’s Report in the old East, and Banjo’s Report in the Western Region. The reports of the various committees intensely reflected the acute immobility that had characterised the inherited colonial system that involved prejudice, high handedness, religious discrimination in pupils’ enrolment, staff recruitment and the general administration of schools. Read more here.

In fact, the “Takeover of schools Validation Decree” of 1977, which still remains in force, states that, “the hold of government on those schools has afforded the government to be able to provide sustained education to the mass majority of the Nigerian public at an affordable cost, without RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AND BIAS”.

What this means is that there are no Christian or Muslim schools in Osun. There are only PUBLIC schools. The government back in 1976 resolved to keep the names given by the missionaries. That is why you have public schools bearing names such as Ede Muslim Grammar School, Baptist High School, etc. The schools may bear religious names, but they belong to the government/public. It is being financed with public funds. Most of the schools now wear new looks, and have modern learning equipment paid for by ALL citizens of Osun, which include Christians, Muslims, Traditional Worshippers, Agnostics and Atheists alike.

Therefore, the schools Christians are laying claim to are government schools. They were acquired from diverse sources: religious bodies, individuals, communities, groups, etc in 1975. That was 41 years ago. But for the five students of Baptist High School, Adeeke, Iwo, many Christian pupils in Osun ignored the CAN leadership, toeing the path of decorum and civility. In truth, the schools compound where the orchestrated drama took place housed three schools with a combined population of about 3000 students and we saw no other student wear unapproved garments to school.

Even though Ogbeni has reiterated his stand on the matter, when he said at an event earlier this week that, “It is not the business of any government, through the schools, to lead a child in a particular religious direction. That will be for parents and religious institutions, in private capacity, until the child is grown enough to make a decision on religion. He further said, “The government cannot support or be seen to be supporting a particular religion. The government is a democracy, not a theocracy. I believe also that parents and society should complement the government in shaping the minds of the pupils to be receptive to knowledge and godly character formation; to be sensitive to the need of others, the plurality of our society and the imperative of mutual toleration. They should also be brought up to be team players, even when in a competitive environment. It amounts to subversion of the educational needs of a child for them to be drawn into and used for political purposes.”

Despite this reassurance from the state governor, CAN went ahead to carry out its provocative threat. Going forward, the motives of the CAN leaders in Osun must be questioned. In whose interest are they acting? For most part, CAN played and is still playing the role of a government opposition rather than a pious body meant to instill morals and discipline on many of its followers who look up to it for leadership. A body like CAN ought to, at ALL times, promote peace and harmony, rather than seek through the back door, what it could have easily achieved in a court of law.

Thank God other citizens did not take the law into their own hands. Imagine if the traditional worshippers – many of whom are in abundance in Osun – decide to start wearing traditional robes such as Bante, Ifunpa, Ofi, etc. Or imagine, for a minute, adherents of Osun religion demanding the wearing of white uniforms only, with white beads to school? Or, children of Sango worshippers, in another instance, insisting on wearing red caps to school, with earrings in the ears of their boys?

Muslims have been wearing Hijab to schools for a very long time. As a Christian, it doesn’t hinder my faith or ability to learn. If the CAN leadership has a problem with it, they should approach the law courts, rather than embark on actions that could cause disaffection amongst the peace loving people of Osun.

Ileowo Kikiowo is the Chief Strategist at Revamp Media.

After an extensive investigation, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has substantiated allegations of violations of consumer rights by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited in the provision of its Digital Satellite Broadcast Television (DStv) service.

Consequently, the Council has issued far-reaching orders, including suspension of service when consumers are away; release of free-to-air channels, even when subscription expires; compensation across board to consumers for lost viewing time, introduction of local toll free lines; and reasonable equitable spread of popular sports channels, among others.

The multinational pay-media company is also required to present written assurances in line with Section 10 of the Council’s enabling law that it will not engage in any conduct which is detrimental to the interest of consumers.

In the same vein, the company shall for 18 months from the date of the orders, subject its processes to the Council’s inspection to ensure compliance with the directives contained in the orders.

During the course of the investigation, the Council observed that the company’s billing system, whereby “billing is not contemporaneous with the provision of service” was not in the best interest of consumers and therefore ordered MultiChoice to install a billing system that ensures billing starts with the provision of service

The pay-television company was also ordered to within 90 days provide across board compensation to its subscribers, considering the fact that many of them have over time lost legitimate and paid viewing time by its conduct of not restoring service contemporaneously after payment as well as other instances of disruptions.

Similarly, the company was also directed by CPC to within 180 days adopt a “technology that supports suspension of service when subscribers are otherwise unable to enjoy their service on account of being away for a limited period of time”, provided such a request for suspension of service is done for a period of between 7 to 14 days and not more than twice in a year with a 72-hour notice to MultiChoice.

On non-availability of popular channels in certain bouquets, the Council ordered the firm to within 90 days ensure “a reasonably equitable spread of popular sports and other channels hitherto concentrated in its premium bouquet over all available bouquets”.

MultiChoice was ordered to keep local and free-to-air channels open so that subscribers would have the opportunity of watching these channels, even when their subscriptions have expired.

In order to aid easy and fast access to the company by subscribers who wish to make complaints or enquiries, CPC directed MultiChoice not only to maintain local toll-free telephone access lines for its call centres, but should also ensure the call centres operate for longer hours during public holidays and weekends.

MultiChoice was also directed to formulate within 90 days a written compensation policy which should “outline amongst other things, the procedure for compensating subscribers for injury they suffer on account of MultiChoice conduct and take into consideration not just viewing time lost, but inconveniences suffered by subscribers”.

The agency also directed MultiChoice to “develop a Customer Care Manual which shall contain mechanisms to address customer complaints in an accurate, friendly, timely, efficient, courteous and honest manner”.

It was also directed to ensure that the list of all its accredited dealers and installers and their details be freely given to its customers at the point of subscription and also made available on its website and other information channels.

In addition, the pay-media company is not only to ensure these accredited dealers and installers carry certified means of identification issued by it, subscribers must also be periodically educated on the means of identification, while it should also reasonably and adequately compensate subscribers where they experience loss of signal on account of faulty, poor or unprofessional installation by agents of MultiChoice.

On the pay-television firm’s agreements with its subscribers, the Council disclosed that several provisions of the Service Level Agreement and the Terms and Conditions of Subscription signed on by subscribers were found to be grossly unfair, unjust and one-sided, directing that such provisions should be expunged, re-drafted and submitted to the Council.

All the orders, which have already been served on MultiChoice, are effective, not later than 90 days from their receipt.

Commenting, the Council’s Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, expressed optimism that compliance with these reforms would bring about a new dawn for Nigerian consumers, who would henceforth enjoy value for money in their engagement with the company.

Mrs. Atoki reiterated the Council’s commitment towards sanitising the nation’s market-place for the benefit of consumers, assuring that no stone would be left un-turned to ensure it is no longer business as usual and shoddy service delivery becomes a thing of the past in the country.

Evangelical Fellowship Christian Centre. its on the signboard

BY DELE MOMODU

Fellow Nigerians, the roof is on fire. And the owners of the house should not sleep and snore lest they get badly burnt. Please, let no one treat or dismiss this Biafra controversy as humbug because it is very serious and has the potential of spiralling out of control and snowballing into an unprecedented conflagration of unquenchable propensities. War has never been a tea party.

I was about seven years old when the Nigerian civil war broke out in July 1967. I was a child but not too young not to know and understand some of what was happening. I certainly felt the tremor of it even in far-away Ile-Ife. We knew something was definitely wrong when we suddenly noticed the inexplicable disappearance of our neighbours and family friends. The most painful for us in my own home was the forceful separation from our prayer warrior and spiritual Guru, Papa Fineface. Papa Fineface had migrated from the Eastern part of Nigeria to Ile-Ife many years earlier. Suddenly like a wisp of smoke he was gone! At that time, we called such citizens of Nigeria from that part, Ibo. Much later, I somehow learnt that the people should actually be addressed as Igbo. Well, we continued to use the two names interchangeably till today.

The civil war that started like a joke raged on for about three years and sent many innocent casualties, running into millions, into despair and sorrow. Hundreds of thousands went on a journey of no return to their Maker. Many more lost their limbs and other vital body parts. Others parted ways with all their worldly possessions. Some still carry the scars of war till this day, more than 45 years after the war ended.

The post war trauma is certainly even far worse. I have read many Nigerian civil war accounts, as I grew older, in newspapers, books, novels and memoirs. By any of the accounts, the pogrom was maniacal and the extent of man’s inhumanity to man was heartrending. Unfortunately, History is no longer a compulsory subject in our school curriculum. Therefore, there is no point blaming those beating the drums of war. Most of them were either too young to appreciate the horror of the war or worse still had not even been born at the end of the war. It is therefore easy for them to romanticise the ideals which they fight for and issue a call to arms even though they know nothing about the horrible plight that they would want to plunge their people and their country into. If they could just travel down memory lane and see for themselves what the true meaning of war is and why it should never ever be contemplated on our shores again, maybe they will begin to see some sense and reason. It is a shocking shame that despite the graphic images of sectarian violence that we have witnessed all over the world in recent times, in other climes, those in the know who have lived abroad and had access to such information and images will still feel that they must unleash similar violence on their own country and people.

The reason for the preamble thus far is to settle one fact; that I knew a bit about the Biafran war even if I did not experience it directly. This is why all men and women of good conscience should urgently reach out to the young folks stoking the embers of revolution, secession, war, or whatever they wish to call it and beg them profusely to kindly perish the thought. Such ideas have no place in Nigeria of the 21st century. We thought that they had been consigned to the dustbin of history but alas that is not the case probably because that history has been denied the propagators of these ill-thought and ill-conceived notions. The bigger plea should even go to the Federal Government of Nigeria. My reason is simple. The government is about to pour petrol and explosives into the towering inferno by reacting angrily to a battle that is in its infancy and can still be nipped in the bud without casualties.

As for me and our house, we did not know of anyone called Nnamdi Kanu until he was arrested and locked up during a visit to Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom a few months ago. At the very best, some people knew him as the founder of a pirate radio station called Radio Biafra. I’ve never tuned in to it and so wouldn’t know what profanities it disseminated that led to the government chasing its owners. I’m aware that even about 20 years ago, when I participated in the Radio Freedom (later changed to Radio Kudirat) from the same United Kingdom, it was impossible to track us down. We communicated with the central operations, located in a Scandinavian country, remotely by telephone. The rest was left to the engineers to sort out.

Today, technology has become even more advanced and volatile. The whizz-kids of science are on the rampage. And don’t forget that the Igbo people are naturally brilliant in all spheres of human endeavour. They are endowed with genes that we could liken to those of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Pythagoras, and Bertrand Russell combined. If the Black man would ever venture into Space exploration, I’m sure of the shock that awaits us; an Igbo would not only land on the moon, he would have a permanent abode there and a shop to sell all common needs to us. Such is the dynamism of the Igbo geniuses that I often refer to them as the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans of Africa all rolled into one.

It is usually an exercise in futility to ban anyone or anything. I was once told by my former Literature teacher at the then University of Ife, Okot p’Bitek, who was a visiting Professor from Uganda, about how one of his controversial works, Song of Lawino, was ostracised by Government because of its atheistic proclivity but all that it did was that many readers rushed out in search of the book and soon it was all sold out. Many reprints came thereafter and the literary giant was smiling all the way to the bank whilst the object of the ban was roundly defeated.The same thing happened to Salman Rushdie when he released a book of complete heresy The Satanic Verses, according to Muslims in 1989 and a Fatwa was placed on his head. That was what attracted people like me to find, buy and read this much-talked about work of esoteric literature. As a matter of fact, when I could not get a copy to buy initially, I had to photocopy the only one in circulation which was owned by my boss for life, Mr Mike Awoyinfa of the Weekend Concord fame. I still bought an original copy much later. The hype generated against the book actually worked wonders in its favour. Salman Rushdie, from relative obscurity became a household name from then onwards.

I will give only one more example nearer to home. When Professor Wole Soyinka released his prison memoirs titled The Man Died, Nigeria’s military authorities frowned at its rambunctious flavour and clamped down on it pronto but the attempt failed woefully. As a young man, the day I bought my personal copy would rank amongst my happiest days on earth. I had heard too many fabulous stories about Soyinka’s socio-political exploits and could not wait to settle down and savour the breezy work. Soyinka became my idol henceforth.

I have cited these examples in order to demonstrate the pointlessness and uselessness of locking up Nnamdi Kanu. What the government needed to do was to meet him on the field of ideas and pummel him with superior logic. They should have allowed him even to come on national television and explain his new concept of Biafranism. He should show the world if he was more brilliant and braver than our Oxford-trained Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who fought gallantly before absconding to safety while leaving behind a tale of woes. Nnamdi would have been asked to justify the claims in certain quarters that the Igbos are treated like second class citizens in Nigeria. I would have wished to be told that Azikiwe, Ekwueme, Okadigbo, Enwerem, Wabara, Soludo, Okonjo-Iwealla, Pius Anyim, Ezekwesili, Nnaji, Emefiele, Ovia, Elumelu, Kachikwu, Onu, Ngige, Onyiuke, Onyeama, and others are from Planet Mars.

Some of what Mr Kanu advocates are not much different from the current battles the Government is waging, especially against Boko Haram, corruption and societal decay. I am not even sure that the Government or those presently pursuing him have bothered to read the mission statement of Radio Biafra. I hereby produce it below:

“The ONLY PURPOSE for the existence of Radio Biafra London is to set a largely misinformed public free from the twin evil of tyrannical rule of a cabal of ill-educated and institutionally corrupt men and women and the sponsored sectarian killings directed against Christian Southerners living in Northern Nigeria by terrorists operating in the name of Islam. It will also serve to articulate a solution to the plight of impoverished and confused Igbo families abandoned by their leaders in Northern Nigeria to a fate worse than those endured by black slaves in plantations in the Americas.
Radio Biafra London will use and deploy every available resource to campaign for the rights of all oppressed indigenous peoples of Southern Nigeria to determine how they wish to structure their societies and live their lives. Radio Biafra London would broadcast debates on issues of national and international importance affecting the lives and rights of the indigenous peoples of Biafra and indeed indigenous people of all ethnic persuasions in Nigeria.
Radio Biafra London further wishes to give advance warning to all looters, embezzlers, kidnappers, sponsors of terrorism, child traffickers, corrupt judges, crooked university lecturers, murderous Nigerian security forces and all thieving individuals masquerading as public officials who steal public funds thereby preventing developmental projects from impacting positively on the lives of the ordinary people. These looters and workers of iniquity will be named and shamed. There will be no hiding place for common thieves who use the cover of high political offices to steal in the name of Nigerian politics. For Radio Biafra London, there will be nothing like no-go-areas in what can be reported, discussed and analysed. The governing principle of the Public-Right-To-Know of the issues affecting their lives will be rigorously upheld.”

There is a constitutional right to freedom of speech. It is only when it begins to tear at the very fabric of society that the right needs to be curtailed. There are many more voices agitating for a Biafra. They include Biafra Foundation (Voice of Biafra International), Biafra Liberation in Exile, Biafra Liberation in Europe, Lower Niger Congress, Biafra Liberation Council, Biafra State Coalition, Eastern Mandate Union and Bilie Human Rights Initiative. Some of them have been in existence for some time before Kanu’s Radio Biafra. Is the government going to muzzle all of these nebulous organisations?

The government should have called the bluff of those calling for the State of Biafra by doing what the British government recently did to the Scots in the matter of agitating for an independent Scotland when they allowed the Scottish referendum. All they need to do is to ask the Igbos to vote and determine where they want to belong, Biafra or Nigeria! I seriously doubt if majority of Igbo people would leave certainty for uncertainty.

The terrible danger of incarcerating Mr Nnamdi Kanu is the unnecessary apotheosis he is certain to enjoy if anything untoward happens to him. Except there is ample evidence to suggest and convince the government that he and his collaborators have procured arms and ammunition to wage war against Nigeria, I think he should not have been detained for this long. Whilst it may seem that he openly solicited for arms to wage war at the World Igbo Conference in Los Angeles in September 2015 it does not seem that this was an appeal made in earnest or more importantly that he was taken seriously by his audience. I do not believe that this is sufficient evidence to lock him up at this time. Indeed it shows that he is merely craving attention to his cause which unwittingly has been granted to him on a large scale by his unfortunate incarceration by overzealousness. If care is not taken we will have a situation where you may cut off one head of the Hydra only for many more to spring up. We must not allow that to happen!

Mr Kanu and his disciples have the right to dream of their Biafran Eldorado but how many Igbos share that belief is what we don’t know scientifically and we need to know. A people cannot be suppressed forever if the majority wish to go their separate ways but I’m reasonably convinced that there was no cause for alarm until the government reacted angrily against a motley crowd of agitators when it should have downplayed their relevance.

It is not too late to enter into dialogue with our dear Brother, Mr Kanu who has demonstrated clearly that he is now gradually amassing a willing, if not ready, army to help prosecute his proselytising mission…

-PENDULUM written for Thisday, Saturday, December 5, 2015

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday stated that it was not against the arrest of its members accused of various forms of crimes.

It, however, called for fairness and transparency in the investigation and trial processes.

Reacting to Raymond Dokpesi’s arrest over alleged involvement in financial deals with the office of ex-National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki, (rtd) PDP spokesman, Olisa Metuh, told Daily Trust that the party was completely in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war.


He said people arrested should not be presumed guilty until after investigation.

PDP said it would not defend or exonerate anyone, adding that government must prove the charges it had filed.

“We have made it clear that we are completely in support of the anti-corruption drive. We are not saying anything against it, all we are saying is let it not be as if people have already been presumed guilty,” he said.

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Congrats!! the website has been updated. i just printed my IV. Ithink we should ignore the date, it is likely an error.

they are yet to conduct interview 4 d 2nd batch of canditates. i'm sure it will be done very soon, so be prepared

my brother it is not advisable 2 put all one's eggs in one basket.

pls has any body received news on lng recruitment yet?