₦airaland Forum

One of the kids, Steve, told Saturday Sun that his world nearly collapsed when the truth of his paternity dawned on him. “Men can be wicked. Imagine deceiving my mother into having kids for him and turning around to stab her at the back. I feel bad knowing that I have no identity, but then thank God for my father, whose sanity was controlled till I graduated and now working before this happen. If he doesn’t want us anymore, so be it. Such is life. But God will never forgive him for making my mother to do what she did 26 years ago for love,” he said.

Another of the kids, Funmi, 22, begged that she be left alone, as she has learnt her lesson. She said: “We were like a family before these religion things blew the whole thing open. I have so much pity for my mother who conceded to such act because if she was the one barren, am quite sure that my father would take a second wife. We all have a lesson there, that is, trust no man. I console myself in the fact that there are many orphans out there. ” Asked if she would seek for her real father, Funmi said: “I am not interested because I can’t afford to impose myself on a man who never knew I existed. You don’t think about the effect it would have to his family members, who will be devastated. As I said, I have no father and that is how it will remain. I only pray that God will give me the strength to concentrate and finish my education.”

Restitution scandal:

Impotent man, who encouraged wife to sleep with men and give him kids, wants the children returned, as part of his repentance process
By CHIOMA IGBOKWE
Saturday, December 26, 2009


As people all over the world rejoice and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, there is one Nigerian, who, caught in what could pass for “restitution trap,” would be in mourning mood. Disgrace is hanging over her, like the sword of damocles, because her husband, who said he has repented of his sins, wants old things to pass away.

Saturday Sun gathered that Samuel Adejumi, a 55-year-old man, wants to expose his wife, Funke, to ridicule for failing to help him undergo the process of repentance. He has, therefore, dragged her to court, to force her reveal a secret in their 28- year-old marriage.

Trouble started for Samuel’s wife when her husband joined a new generation Pentecostal church and called himself a new creature. Until then, the man, who was diagnosed of impotence, had encouraged his wife to sleep with other men, get pregnant and give him kids so that nobody would know about his impotence. The obedient wife had agreed, in order to make her husband happy and keep the marriage. She succeeded in bearing three kids, fathered by different men, who did not know that they were being used as “baby factories.”

When, therefore, Samuel repented of his sins, he felt that for his repentance to be complete, he had to make restitution. He, therefore, asked his wife to return the three kids to the men, who fathered them, as he would not want to have anything to do with them. His wife refused to do such a thing. Samuel then dragged her to court.
In the suit, instituted at the Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, Samuel is seeking an order to force his wife to return the three children fathered by other men to them.

Funke told Saturday Sun that 28 years ago she and Samuel had an elaborate wedding, after which they settled down in their new home, in the hope of having their own kids as soon as possible. According to her, when months rolled by and she was yet to conceive, she and her husband sought medical attention. Medical investigation had revealed that Samuel was impotent.

She said: “The result had it that he can never impregnate a woman.”
Samuel, in order to cover up, had pleaded with his wife not to tell anybody about the medical result. He was also said to have encouraged her to sleep with other men to get pregnant. The plot was that when she got pregnant, nobody would know that her husband was impotent.
Funke got pregnant three times for different men and had the kids. Everything went well until two years ago when Samuel claimed that he had repented.

“He came home one day, from a vigil, shouting that hell and heaven were real and that he would do everything possible to ensure that he makes heaven. I praised God for his life but received the shock of my life when he called me aside and said that the children were the only obstacle to his making Heaven. I thought it was a joke till he made it clear that I should return those children from wherever I got them from,” Funke said.

Saturday Sun gathered that the woman reminded her husband of the pact they entered into, to sleep with men and get pregnant as well as keep it secret. Samuel would not hear this.
“I begged him, but he would not bulge. The truth is that I do not know who owns these kids and where on earth to find them. Where will I start and what disaster could it be for the men who were kept in the dark all these years. When the threat became much, I had no choice but to involve his family members who tried to talk sense into his head,” the woman said.

[size=18pt]Yar'adua May Hand Over To VP Next Week[/size]
By Muyiwa Adeyemi

Barring any last-minute change of mind, President Umaru Yar'adua may have concluded plans to formally hand over to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, to act as President, next week.

President Yar'Adua has been on a sick bed in King Faisal specialist hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since November 23 without properly handing over to the Vice President.

A reliable source told The Guardian last night that the president's kitchen cabinet has seen the necessity of a proper handing over by next week for the Vice President to perform some official functions including the swearing in of the new Chief Justice of the Federation Justice Alloysius Katsina-Alu, who is expected to take over from Justice Idris Kutigi who will retire from the Supreme court on December 31.

The source said since it had become uncertain when the ailing president would return to the country, the vacuum his absence had created had to be filled, adding that the Yar'Adua kitchen cabinet had confidence in the ability of the Vice President Jonathan to continue with the seven point agenda of the administration.

The source said the leadership of the National Assembly had been informed and was already awaiting the letter from the president according to the Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution which says that "whenever the President transmits to President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President."

The source said among the worries of Yar'Adua's caucus is that the president cannot give the traditional New Year message which the president delivers in the early morning of January 1 every year both on national radio and television and this, they reasoned, would send wrong signals to the Nigerians about the country's leadership.

In fact, as at last night, some political pundits still in doubt about the ability of President Yar'adua to return to work, see the expected hand-over next week as a first stage of what should be expected by next year, the reason there is intense lobby for who becomes the Vice President.

Federal officials identified the man as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, of Nigeria, who was traveling one way, without a return ticket. Dawn Griffith, who was waiting for her husband on the plane, said she saw the man being carted away on a gurney or bed, with his bandaged hands handcuffed to the railing.

Rep. Peter King of New York, the senior Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, who was briefed on the incident, said A[b]bdulmutallab was known in federal counterterrorism files and may have been on the government’s list of suspicious passengers banned from flying in the United States.[/b]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34592031/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001

[size=18pt]Jonathan may take over next week - Yar’Adua to write N/Assembly - NASS confused over supplementary budget[/size]

INDICATIONS emerged on Thursday that the National Assembly may be asked to reconvene next week to receive a letter from ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is down with acute pericardittis, in Saudi Arabia.

The president left the country in the late hours of November 23 and has spent more than a month in that country.

His absence has nearly jeopardised the 2009 supplementary appropriation bill, which was passed into law by the National Assembly on November 24.

The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta has also been suffering since President Yar’Adua’s departure, as he is reputed to be the only man in charge of the blueprint for the implementation of the programme.

Refusal of the government to continue to fund the amnesty programme has led to restiveness and renewed hostility in the Niger Delta, with the militants becoming impatient by the day.

Sources in Abuja confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the Senate and the House of Representatives might reconvene after Christmas to receive a letter from President Yar’Adua.

It was gathered that the president’s office was preparing the letter in full consultation with Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, who has been the only person seeing the president for sometime now.

It was learnt that the letter could be flown to Saudi Arabia this weekend after it has been prepared by the president’s office. It was further gathered that whoever took it to Saudi Arabia would return immediately to ensure that the lawmakers convene between Wednesday and Thursday.

Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, had said that the Senate was not on holiday but on standby and could reconvene if asked to do that at any moment.

The letter being expected from the president will enable the Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to act as president and perform the duties of the president until Yar’Adua is fit to return to office.

But it was learnt that the health situation of the president had remained aggravated, with the man running in and out of coma in the past days.

It was gathered that the worsening condition apparently forced members of the kitchen cabinet to agree to the need to write the letter to the National Assembly in line with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.

The Section reads: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

Besides the letter that will be read on the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the lawmakers are also expected to utilise the short session to determine the situation with the 2009 appropriation bill.

There are some confusing talks about the bill, which has been on the president’s table since December 8, 2009.

A bill, according to the Constitution, cannot stay on the president’s table for more than 30 days, after which the National Assembly can override the veto.

But the confusion in the legislature is whether to take the 2009 supplementary bill as strictly a money bill or treat it like any other bill passed by the National Assembly.

A source said that if the presidency sends the letter empowering the vice-president as president, the lawmakers need to know whether the vice-president has the intention of assenting to the bill before December 31, 2009.

Money bills are expected to lapse within a financial year and the supplementary budget could lapse by December 31, 2009. But another source said that since the bill itself included some clauses which extended the financial year till March 31, 2010, it could still be signed in January, making it valid till March 2010.

[size=18pt]Fuel: Lukman defies VP’s order, travels to Austria[/size]

In what may look like the first major test about who really is in charge in Abuja, following President Umaru Yar’Adua’s continued absence, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, on Thursday defied Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan’s no-Christmas holiday order on him and three other ministers by travelling to Vienna, Austria.

Jonathan had on Wednesday given an order that Lukman; the Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia; the Minister of Power, Mr. Lanre Babalola; and the Minister of State in the Power ministry, Alhaji Nuhu Wya, should stay back in Abuja during the Christmas holidays for a series of meetings aimed at finding a lasting solution to the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.

The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, had told journalists after the Federal Executive meeting on Wednesday that the “mini-FEC meetings” between the vice-president and the four ministers would hold on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

However, a source in the Presidency told journalists that Lukman told his close aides immediately after the FEC meeting that he had already planned to travel to Austria, the seat of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The source claimed that the minister travelled on Thursday morning on a British Airways flight through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The source, who asked not to be named, described Jonathan’s action as an embarrassment to President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration. The source, a highly-placed official in Abuja, disclosed that the consequence of Lukman’s conduct might be calls for his resignation or outright removal for disobeying Jonathan and abandoning his duties.

He said, “It is sad that Lukman had to travel out of the country despite the order of the vice-president that he should not travel.

“He was supposed to be in charge of the petroleum crisis but the man chose to defy the directive of the vice-president and abandon his official responsibilities and travelled.

“As I am talking to you now, the minister is already in Vienna. He travelled on a British Airways flight. This is a clear demonstration of lack of respect for the office of the vice-president.

“It is unfortunate that a man who is supposed to be handling a major national issue such as the fuel crisis in the country chose to disobey the vice-president and went in pursuit of personal pleasure.

“It is a great embarrassment to this government and he must be asked to leave this government. The minister’s action is a clear demonstration of the way they look down on the Nigerian people.

“How then can one justify why a serving minister, who is supposed to be responsible to the Nigerian people, decided to abandon his mandate and travelled for personal pleasure? It is indeed very sad.”

The source added that there were indications that Lukman may not return to Nigeria until the New Year.

Our correspondent learnt that Lukman’s trip to Vienna was not for an official function.

Information on the OPEC website (www.opec.org) showed that it would hold its 156th (ordinary) meeting on March 17, 2010 in Vienna.

The organisation’s 155th (Extraordinary) meeting was held in Luanda, Angola on December 22, 2009.

However, efforts to reach Lukman did not yield results.

Also, telephone calls to his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs. Florence Boloko, did not go through.

A text message to Akunyili by our correspondent for her comments on the petroleum minister’s action was not replied.

Akunyili had, while addressing journalists on Wednesday, said that “the vice-president directed that some ministers are not going on holiday because of the issue of fuel (scarcity) and power.

“The vice-president has openly told them that there is no holiday for them because they cannot afford to go on holiday when the people are suffering.

“They must stay back with him and find out ways of easing the problems of Nigerians, because Nigerians are suffering; we know that.”

Becomrrich:
what are you saying. they would bomb up all pipeline, if a northerner replace yar adua, any nigerian would tell you that.

ijebuman:
Lets calm down a bit. Nothing is going to happen. This time next month no one will remember this incident and then something else will happen and then we will go through the whole cycle again.

Why i'm not worried? quite simple. Majority of Nigerians do not have the foresight or patience required to effect social change. We think social change can come through occasional violence, crying out to God etc. People want instant results and when they don't get it they give up.

Change requires sustained action, not our typical fire brigade approach or knee jerk reaction to everything. Who will fight if they realise that it may take them 30 to 40 years to achieve their goal.

Then you also have the religious factor. As long as people wrap themselves in the cloak of religion, nothing will happen because religion absorbs most of the social frustrations people have.

Nigerians only react to incidents when it affects them personally. We don't really have this culture of standing up for each other (its every man for himself). You want to understand the true psyche of a Nigerian, then study the behaviour of Nigerians abroad.
A lot of Nigerians are victimised all over the world, but its surprising that even where avenues exist for many to seek redress (and probably even get compensated in the process ) they refuse to do so, placing their trust in religion.

As usual this crises will play itself out till the next one and the next one after that

In Nigeria, an estimated[b] 3.1 percent of adults between ages 15-49 are living with HIV and AIDS.[/b]1 Although the HIV prevalence is much lower in Nigeria than in other African countries such as South Africa and Zambia

kosovo:
Good! Let Get back to serious political issues

OAM4J:
The problem is that there are two many decisions on this thread so its difficult to know which one stands.

Yours or [b]The Supreme Commander'[/b]s own ?

kosovo:
can i have them!?

kosovo:
Pls, always make use of "report to moderator" it would get rapid response.
Thank you!

kosovo:
IT STANDS

proudly9ja:
I dont even think this has anything to do with wrong or right ministry, It simply means that if this was health ministry and someone had brought a contract pre approved by her predesessor,she would do the same thing ie simply put a cover letter to it and give it to the president to sign!

Point is, she was careless and with her signature on the papers, she is culpable along with all those who drew out the contract and in a sane environment, if she is to avoid jail terms, she would humbly resign.

[size=18pt]Resign now! - Emirs tell Yar’Adua - Endorse Jonathan as acting president - Court asked to mandate FEC to sack president - I didn’t order Goodluck to take over - Aondoakaa[/size]

From Lanre Adewole, Leon Usigbe and Dare Adekanmbi -


THE prolonged illness of President Umaru Yar’Adua appears to have influenced a paradigm shift in the North, as northern traditional rulers are said to have resolved to back Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as acting President.

Sources informed the Nigerian Tribune that the resolve of the northern monarchs influenced the recent meeting of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which stated that the country must follow the provisions of the constitution if it happened that President Yar’Adua could no longer continue to function as president.

A source in the North told the Nigerian Tribune that the ACF, as the political mouthpiece of northern monarchs, had stated its position, following what was described as prolonged frustrations in the North over the Yar’Adua presidency.

It was gathered that long before the president travelled to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, northern emirs had been frustrated about his style of leadership and relationship with them, which was described as “very cold.”

A source said that the usual handshake which former President Olusegun Obasanjo used to extend to the traditional institution got missing as soon as Yar’Adua took over.

Besides, there were complaints about cancellation of appointments to visit the Presidential Villa by northern monarchs sometimes, at short notice.

On some occasions, some monarchs would have arrived in Abuja before they discovered that they would be unable to see the president, a source said.

It was learnt that the monarchs had resolved that it was better to have Jonathan as acting president now so that he could begin to put things together in the country.

A source further said that the northern monarchs would not mind Jonathan continuing in office as president, if it became clear that Yar’Adua could no longer perform his duties.

It was learnt that the North had resolved to solidly back a candidate that could deliver as vice-presidential material, while Jonathan completes the tenure of his boss.

“Consultations are going on right now on the way forward; the monarchs have resolved that it was not necessary to hold down the entire country, because of the sickness of the president, especially as the development is daily painting the north as power hungry.

“It was wrong for the president to travel abroad without handing over, when he was going to treat a serious illness like (acute) pericarditis. If anybody had advised a leader not to hand over in that circumstance, the leader is in the best position to know that there are no sentiments when you are going to a surgeon’s table,” a source said on the sentiment among the monarchs.

But it was understood on Wednesday that the First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, had started some troubleshooting exercises to ensure that the Northern monarchs gave her husband another chance.

Gekko:
I watched this programme as well and Madam rebrand excuse was that she wasn't present when the contract was initiated, her role was merely forwarding the contract to the president from the parastatal. She basically admitted how culpably careless she handled this matter. This is what happens when you try to fit a round peg in square hole.