₦airaland Forum

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia and other members of the International Community to immediately impose a visa ban on President Muhammadu Buhari and members of his cabinet involved in stifling free speech in Nigeria.

The PDP predicated its demand on the alleged violation of the UN international Charter on Human Rights by President Muhammadu Buhari by banning the use of Twitter in Nigeria.

In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP insisted that banning Twitter in Nigeria is a clear violation of Article 19 of the UN Charter as well as section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guaranteed freedom of expression to all Nigerians.

The party also urged the world bodies to also sanction the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as well as “certain leaders of the APC for their individual ignoble roles in the ban imposed on Twitter in addition to associated harassments and threats to Nigerians.”

The PDP urges the countries to bar President Buhari, Lai Mohammed, Abubakar Malami and their family members from entering their territories for any private purposes whatsoever.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Article 19 of the UN Charter on Human Rights provides that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference and to seek, receive and impact information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”

In the same vein, section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”.the opposition party stressed.

The party submitted that “the trio of President Buhari, Lai Mohammed and Abubakar Malami and their agents cannot continue to enjoy diplomatic privileges and rights extended by virtue of their offices in Nigeria, while at the same time blatantly flouting the UN Charter, which Nigeria is a signatory to, as well as the 1999 Constitution (as amended) upon which provisions they hold office. ”

The PDP called on the international community to hold the trio of President Buhari, Lai Mohammed and Malami responsible for the escalated abuse of human rights, constitutional violations as well as the situations that embolden terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and vandals in our country.

Nigerians on Twitter have criticised a British clothing retailer for trademarking the word “Yoruba”.

Timbuktu Global, which is based in north-west England, filed papers to trademark “Yoruba” with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office in 2015.

But this only came to light when on Sunday, Gbemisola Isimi, the owner of a cultural organisation in London, said she was challenged by the company after trying to trademark the phrase “Yoruba Stars”.

That’s the name of the programme she runs to teach parents, children and toddlers the Yoruba language.

"I thought it was strange it was allowed to happen. I explained to them that Yoruba is not just a word, it’s the people, the religion, a language of over 50 million people all over the world, not just in Nigeria,” she told the BBC.

Ms Isimi said Timbuktu Global first opposed her use of the word before later proposing she purchase the trademark off them.

“I feel this is the height of cultural appropriation,” she wrote on Twitter.

“I told them I do not think Africans or the global media for that matter would take kindly to a company with roots in the north of England attempting to claim sole ownership of a birth right belonging to the people of another continent.”

The tweet has since been retweeted thousands of times and has led to the hashtag #YorubaIsNotForSale.

“How can a language/heritage of a tribe in Nigeria be trademarked in England?”, one person wrote.

"I need to go get a trademark on the following words: British, White, America, Poland, Netherlands, England, London, Windsor, China, Italy and so on. Yoruba is the name of people, language, land and country before colonialism,” said another person on Twitter.


Another pointed out that the name of the company, Timbuktu, refers to a real city in Mali, but its website said “Timbuktu is a fictional location” that “literally means ‘the middle of nowhere,’ a location that has intrigued mankind for centuries, whether it’s to discover something new or simply escape the everyday.”


In response to Ms Isimi’s tweets, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office said their decisions are based on existing laws and that the public can challenge the validity of a trademark.

It appears that Timbuktu Global has since closed down its Twitter and Instagram accounts and has shut down its website.

They have also emailed Ms Isimi to say they have filed an application to surrender their “Yoruba” trademark registration.

A representative of Timbuktu Global told the BBC “the matter has been concluded”.

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently hosting the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dbeibeh and members of his entourage arrived at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa at about 10.05 a.m, and were received by President Buhari.

Others who joined the president at the forecourt of the villa included cabinet members as well as some presidential aides.

Buhari had previously claimed most illegal weapons in Nigeria were brought in from Libya.

NAN gathered that the two leaders are expected to deliberate on bilateral issues meant to benefit and enhance the economies of both countries.

NAN also leant that Dbeibeh would use the opportunity of the meeting with the Nigerian leader to console him and the people of Nigeria over the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and ten other military officers last Friday.

The visiting Libyan leader had on May 25 participated in the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. (NAN)

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Please Help My Relationship Is Crumbling

I am here to ask if anyone has been experiencing same issue with me regarding whatsapp calls because it's about crashing my relationship.

My girlfriend and I usually call on whatsapp every night because we reside in different cities and we usually talk for long. She complains that sometimes when she tries to call my line mostly at night, it will tell her that I'm on another call even when I'm not on any call. She even screenshot it to me several times and the fact is anytime this happens I might not even be with the phone.

Last time this happened, I tried calling her back on whatsapp and it said I can't make the call because I was already on another call of which I wasn't on any call.

She has started suspecting that I am cheating on her and threatening to leave.

I want to ask if anyone has also witness same situation and what could be responsible for this?

Please I need positive response and how to resolve this.

Thank you.