₦airaland Forum

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called for unity, sacrifice and commitment from all stakeholders in order to put Kwara State on the path of good governance and also win the state for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 elections.

The minister, who made the call at a stakeholders’ meeting organized by the Congress of Kwara Progressives in Ilorin on Thursday, said the time was ripe for the people of Kwara to take back their state from plunderers.

‘’What an auspicious time for all of us! Never before have we had a great opportunity like we have now to take our state back from the rapacious few, who have held the state by the jugular and prevented it from meeting the hopes and aspirations of its people.

‘’From my consultations with key stakeholders so far, I can say, categorically, that Kwarans have all resolved to take their destiny into their own hands and take back what rightly belongs to them. This is unprecedented in the history of our state, and we must not waste this opportunity,’’ he said.

Alhaji Mohammed stressed the need for unity on the part of the people, saying ‘’if we all remain united, we can’t and we won’t lose the looming battle for the survival of our dear state. All that is required is for us all to subordinate our individual ambitions to the collective efforts to wrest our state from the hegemony of one man and his cohorts’’.

He said that, on his part, he would be running for any office during the forthcoming elections, adding: ‘’For me, it is not about any clamour for office. It is about working with all like minds for the greater benefit of our people.’’

The minister warned that the battle ahead would not be easy, and that those who are opposed to change in the state will deploy all strategies, including blackmail, to retain their stranglehold on power

‘’Make no mistake about it, the battle ahead will be tough. No one with power will ever give it up easily. But the power of the people supersedes all powers. That’s why I am delighted, and indeed encouraged, that the good people of our state, whether from the North, South or Central, are all united in their singular determination to rescue their state from the grinding poverty, monumental misgovernance and the general state of funk that has enveloped it,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said it is a mere blackmail to say he does not like the people of Ilorin, and went ahead to enumerate his antecedents, which include actively supporting an Ilorin indigene for governor in 2011.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/kwarans-ll-no-longer-be-panhandlers.html

File Photo: Illustrative purpose only

A first batch of 560 intending pilgrims from Zamfara state Friday left Gusau for Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj exercise, the executive chairman , Zamfara Hajj Commission Alhaji Abubakar Pawa Dambo has said.
The pilgrims are from Bukkuyum, Tsafe, Zurmi, Bungudu and Kaura Namoda local government areas of the state.

Delivering his farewell speech, the deputy governor of the state Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala Muhammad attributed the low number of intending pilgrims to insecurity in the state.

He then advised the intending pilgrims to pray for peace in Zamfara state and the country in general saying that they owe Zamfara state a responsibility in that direction.

"You should remember that a lot of brothers and sisters are longing for the Hajj exercise but cannot make it for one reason or the other. Therefore you should shun all forms of indecency during the exercise," he said.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/first-batch-of-560-zamfara-pilgrims-air.html

THE National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified three major factors hindering successful prosecution of electoral offences in the country.

Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, INEC National Commissioner, listed political interference, lack of human and material resources as some of the major factors.

She stated this on Friday in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, at the opening of a two-day training on the prosecution of election offences for the commission’s legal personnel and police officers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised and sponsored by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES).

NAN also reports that over 100 INEC legal personnel and Police officers drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country are attending the training.

Agbamuche -Mbu, who is also the Chairperson, Legal Services of the commission, lauded ECES for funding the training programme, saying the workshop would enhance the capacity of legal officers of INEC and Police officers in the prosecution of electoral offences.


“Our capacity in terms of resources and personnel is simply not large enough to prosecute offences in 120,000 polling units; 8,809 wards, 360 federal constituencies, 109 senatorial districts and 774 local government areas.

“Political interference is also a factor such as instances where Attorneys-General file Nolle Prosequi for such cases, rendering the Commission powerless.

“Now, more than ever, there is the need to prevent, curtail and manage various offences.

“Recent happenings in Ekiti State during the just concluded Governorship Election have thrown up the need for a closer look at our prosecutorial efforts in the area of electoral offences.

“Vote buying has become an issue as witnessed in the Ekiti State Governorship Election and INEC cannot stand aloof and allow its efforts in planning successful election be thrown into disrepute. We must protect the secrecy and sanity of the vote.

“Prosecution of offences is fraught with many difficulties. Traditionally, the police are charged with the duty of investigating these offences, yet we find that the officers who witnessed the offence and made the arrest are moved out of location after the election,” she noted.

The INEC official expressed optimism that participants at the training would brainstorm on issues of adequacy of the law in the prosecution of electoral offences, the capacity of the staff to handle such, capacity and willingness of police to investigate and stringency of penalties, among others.

Agbamuche-Mbu restated the commitment of the commission to conduct free, credible and acceptable election as well as prosecuting electoral offences.

Earlier, Mr Rudolf Elbling, the Project Coordinator, ECES Nigeria, said that that the training was to boost the confidence of the legal officers and positively reposition them in handling election petitions.

Elbling, who was represented by Maria Teresa Mauro, the Senior Election Expert (Legal), ECES Nigeria, restated the centre’s commitment to continue to support INEC and other organisations for democratic governance in Nigeria.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/inec-lists-factors-hindering.html

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Zakari Kazaure has said that it is now an offence for any serving corp member to travel out of camp or places of primary assignment without obtaining permission.

Kazaure stated this at the Ekiti State Permanent Orientation Camp, situated in Ise/Emure, in Ise/Orun local government area of Ekiti state during a shuttle visit to educate corp members on dangerrs inherent from playing with their health and security.

According to him, the standing rule of the agency was being repeatedly ignored in a manner that suggested that authorities had abdicated their roles of looking after the wellbeing as well as the welfare of the corp members.

He said, " You all have to avoid night journeys and other unnecessary journeys for that matter. Remember that before you embark on any journey, the need arises that you first inform your immediate supervisors and obtain necessary permits

" A graduate is expected by the society to be above board. I therefore want you to please join hands with me to ensure that the tragic incident in Taraba is the very last of such", he said.

Kazaure who arrived the Ekiti state camp at about 4:45pm on Tuesday expresssed deep regrets over the tragic death of nine corp members in Taraba state during the weekend, describing it as huge loss to him personally, and the nation in general.

The DG who himself claimed to have undergone the NYSC mandatory programme, over 30-years ago, with graduates as children said the sad incident was highly regetted, even as he called for a minute silence to honour those who lost their lives.

According to him, there was also the need for them to respect the culture and tradition of their host communities.

He advised a section of Nigerians accusing the NYSC of negligence to know that the standing rules banning the youth corp members from unauthorised journeys are more implementable when they are on orientation camp, than when serving in places of primary assignment where they are treated as independent adults.

Gen. Kazaure said any corp member in the country was free to call his personal number o

He warned them, particularly the female ones to avoid dressing irresponsibly and also keep away from sharp practices such as engaging in intrrnet fraud among others.

Earlier the new State Director of NYSC, Mrs. Aniefiok Okpongete had told the DG that a total of 1,809 corps members were currently registered in the state.

She said out of the figure, 1,109 are males while the rest are females.

However, she said a total of 187, among them, 149 females and 38 males had been advised to leave camp on account of being either pregnant, nursing mothers or facing critical health challenges.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/nysc-bans-unauthorized-journeys-by.html?m=1

Former Ivory Coast first lady Simone Gbagbo (C), who had been serving a 20-year jail term, gestures as she arrives at her home after she was released, two days after being amnestied on August 8, 2018 in Abidjan.



Ivory Coast’s “Iron Lady” Simone Gbagbo basked in her role as the power behind the throne during her husband’s regime, but to foes, she was a pitiless killer.

Fervently Christian but ruthless by reputation, she never sought to deny exercising political influence after her husband Laurent Gbagbo rose to power in 2000 elections.

“All the ministers respect me, and they often consider me above them. I’ve got what it takes to be a minister,” she told the French news weekly l’Express in 2001, justifying her stance after a life she said had been dedicated to activism.

“I engaged in political struggle against the former regime alongside men. I spent six months in prison, I was beaten, molested, left for dead. After all those trials, it’s logical that people don’t mess with me.”

She was released from prison on Wednesday in an amnesty, three years into a 20-year sentence for “endangering state security” for her role in the political violence that claimed some 3,000 lives after her husband lost a bitter 2010 presidential election.

The couple were arrested in April 2011 by forces loyal to President Alassane Ouattara during a French-backed military operation, after five months of fighting.

She was accused of actively supporting Laurent Gbagbo in his bid to keep power, the culmination of a turbulent decade in office.

He has been in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for seven years.

‘Blood Lady’

Born in the predominantly Christian south in 1949 as one of 18 children of a policeman, she studied linguistics and history before becoming a trade union activist.

Her militancy led to a jail term in the 1970s for openly criticising then-president Felix Houphouet-Boigny — Ivory Coast’s first leader after independence from France in 1960 — when he rejected opposition calls for multi-party elections.

She and Laurent Gbagbo married in 1989 after founding the opposition socialist Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), and she was later elected to parliament in the world’s leading cocoa producer.

Her husband sought to change relations with former colonial master Paris, arguing that previous regimes had been servile, and the first lady proved a fierce critic of “neo-colonialism”, once famously describing France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy — the main mover in her husband’s downfall — as “the devil”.

Supporters of Simone Gbagbo’s commitment to political causes hailed her as “the Hillary Clinton of the tropics”.

But for detractors, the “Iron Lady” became the “Blood Lady”, amid allegations by human rights activists that the regime used teams of killers to deal with opponents.

Those concerns were reinforced when she was implicated by a French judicial inquiry into the sinister disappearance of French-Canadian journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer in Ivory Coast in 2004.

Gbagbo frequently mingled politics with the evangelical faith she practised after “miraculously” surviving a car crash and starting prayer meetings at the presidential palace.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/simone-gbagbo-iron-lady-of-cote-divore_8.html

Senator Ibrahim Danbaba representing Sokoto South Senatorial district says Senate President Bukola Saraki cannot be impeached because it will require two-third majority.

“How can you impeach him? You cannot impeach a leader like the Senate President without having two-third. You need 73 senators to be able to impeach him,” said Sen. Danbaba.

He said the defectors would not regret dumping the APC for the PDP and warned against attempts to impeach the Senate president.

Also reacting to a call by a group for Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal to resign following his defection, he said there was no justification for that.

He expressed optimism that the PDP would return as the nation’s ruling party next year.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/defectors-wont-regret-sen-danbaba.html

The Jigawa State Deputy Governor, Barrister Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, yesterday in Dutse, the state capital, formally declared his intention to contest for a senatorial seat in the 2019 general elections.

Hadejia made the declaration before elders of the eight local government areas that make up Hadejia Emirate Council who paid him a courtesy call in government House, Dutse.

The elders had approached him to declare for the seat.

The leader of the delegation, Alhaji Umar Mohammed, Magayakin Hadejia, said the deputy governor was not just their son, but had represented the emirate for a long time very well without disappointing us.

After the deputy governor announced his intention to vie for the senate seat, they pledged their total support and allegiance to him and promised to work for his success in the polls next year.

He said the decision was in response to numerous calls by the elders and other APC supporters from his constituency.

The deputy governor commended Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar for his support and cooperation towards making his tenure as deputy a success. He, however, pledged to maintain his loyalty in the governor and the APC towards its overall victory.

Barrister Hassan Hadejia, who is the longest serving deputy governor in Nigeria, was commissioner of Justice and attorney-general, secretary to the state government and later deputy governor all during the Saminu Turaki administration in the state from 1999 to 2007.

In the 2015 All Progressives Congress (APC) congresses, Barrister Hadejia won the governorship primaries, but was overturned overn
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/2019-jigawa-dep-gov-declares-for-senate.html?m=1

THE leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of inducing senators to remove Senate President Bukola Saraki.

The opposition party also alleged that the government was in the process of forcing the reopening of the Senate, contrary to Section 12 of the Senate Standing Rules.

But the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus and the South East Caucus in the House of Representatives have again warned their colleagues in the Senate to shelve any plot to remove Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

In a statement yesterday issued by the House Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema, the lawmakers said some senators are planning an invasion of the Senate chamber in conjunction with security agencies.

The Senate is presently on annual recess and is expected to resume session on September 25.

The Presidency, however, said its call for the National Assembly to resume duties was to enable the federal legislature process the 2019 election budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

President Muhammadu Buhari had, a week before the National Assembly proceeded on its annual vacation, submitted a budget of N242 billion for the INEC for the consideration of the lawmakers.

At a media briefing at its Abuja secretariat yesterday, the PDP queried the timing of the submission of the INEC budget seven months to the general elections.

Besides, the party, through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the Presidency did not have the powers to order or call for the reopening of the National Assembly, as suggested by the presidential liaison officer for the Senate, Ita Enang.

Ologbondiyan said: “What Enang had done is just a mere wish. He does not have the power to order or call for the reopening of the Senate. He is just expressing his personal wishes.

“As a matter of fact, Senator Ita Enang had been the chairman of the Senate Rules and Business Committee both in the House and in and the Senate. Would he have listened to anybody from outside the chamber to come and dictate to the presiding officers?

“It is unfortunate that people who have experience in legislative practices and procedures, when they get to the executive arm, instead of telling the executive the limit of their powers, they pretend to know it all, and by so doing, they mislead the executives. That is exactly what Enang is doing.

Also, the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives, in statement, said: “It has come to our attention that there is an impending plot by a small group of senators aided by security agencies to again invade the Senate Chamber with a view to illegally reconvening the Senate plenary.

“Ostensibly, their purpose is to address what they term as urgent national issues. However, it is clear that their real purpose is an attempt to unlawfully oust the Senate leadership and effect a change of the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President.”

The lawmakers said the trend of events “must be strenuously resisted by all true democrats and well-meaning Nigerians”.

The South East Caucus in the House warned that it would hold Senator Ali Ndume and his group in the Senate responsible if Ekweremadu should meet with any harm.

The caucus, in a statement yesterday by its leader, Onyema, accused Ndume of interfering in the statutory and professional job of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).http://surecontents..com/2018/08/dont-induce-senators-to-remove-saraki.html

Yes. Is taking “selfies” while doing Tawaf lawful? In other words, is it permissible for a pilgrim (Muhrim) to turn rites of hajj to mere play? Is it permissible for a Muhrim to convert hajj to ordinary tourism, full of merry-making and totally devoid and bereft of solemnity and subtleties? I raised these questions out of my desire to remind you of some of the things you should know before embarking on hajj. For my sister who intends to perform hajj, she should be aware that except in her state of Ihram, it is permissible for her to use her veil and gloves. Aishah the wife of the Prophet (r.a) is reported to have said: “The riders would pass by us while we were with the Messenger of the Almighty (s.aw) in the state of ihram. As soon as they came near us, one of us would lower her jilbab from her head over her face, and then when they had passed, she would uncover it.” This has been cited as evidence of the permissibility for women to use face veil particularly when they are not in a state of ihram.

It is equally permissible for the Muhrim to use whatever medication that is lawful in alleviating whatever suffering or pain they may experience while on hajj. It is permissible for the Muhrim to use waist belt or ring even while in Ihram. It is permissible for pilgrims to protect himself or herself from harm from creatures of the Almighty as much as possible. While not in Ihram, it is lawful for spouses in Ihram to copulate. This is part of the rahmah of the Almighty for us, Muslims.

However, besides all of the above and others around which there is consensus of scholars on their permissibility, certain acts are not permissible for pilgrims immediately the intention is made for hajj with the adornment of the garment of Ihram. The pilgrim is not allowed to use scented soaps, lotions and cologne on body and ihram. It is strictly described in Hadiths that the use of perfumes is not permissible for Muhrim as quoted in Hadith that Prophet asked his followers to not apply perfume on a deceased man who died in state of ihram. “Wash the Muhrim in the two garments in which he entered Ihram, and wash him with water and lotus leaves, and shroud him in his two garments, and do not put perfume on him nor cover his head, for he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in Ihram”, he is reported to have said.

Further, it is not permitted for the pilgrims in Ihram to engage in sexual intercourse with their spouses until the rites of hajj are completed. In fact to don the Ihram, it must be remembered, is to engage in self-abnegation, to cast the world aside with its fleeting pleasures and promises. Thus pilgrims are expected to avoid intimate relations with their spouses.

As soon as the ihram garment is adorned, it becomes impermissible for the male pilgrim to shave his head until after the sacrifice is done which marks the first completion of the rites of hajj. The Almighty expressly gives the instruction to that effect in the Quran when He says: “And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter.” [2:196]

Now comes this- I once encountered women on hajj who experienced sudden flow of their monthly cycle. This occurred at the culmination of the rites of hajj otherwise known as tawaf al-Ifadah. Such women are expected to honour the Kaaba by reframing from entering it despite the importance of the occasion. Aisha (r.a) is reported to have said- “the Almighty has prescribed this for the daughters of Adam, so do what other pilgrims do except tawaf until you take the birth of purification”. Now to the question of interest today- Is taking “selfies’ while doing tawaf lawful? In answering this question, I wish to ask another question- is taking ‘selfies’ while observing salat reasonable if not unlawful? In other words, without delving into the grammar of jurisprudence, it stands to reason that taking selfies is an act of play, not an act of worship. Thus what happens when acts of play and jest are mixed with acts of worship?

During the Umrah I saw pilgrims with various types of hand-phones. They were busy taking pictures of themselves while doing tawaf; they were engaged in what I referred to as the profanisation of the sacred and the materialisation of the sacred. I shook my head when I beheld brethren in faith who were busy taking pictures of themselves as they were running between Safa and Marwa. It felt like mixing Zamzam water with alcohol; or mixing rice with sand. Through such conducts, the rites of hajj lose their meaning. The pilgrim who does this shifts his attention away from the Almighty to the Self, the iniquitous entity the purification of which the Hajj sets out achieve. The female pilgrim who is busy taking pictures of herself while doing Sa’y cannot remember Hajar anymore. She would not remember her Creator too.

She would lose the opportunity of rediscovering herself at that important moment when self-rediscovery is the nodus of spiritual engagement. How would that brother appear in your reckoning - the person who is taking pictures of himself while observing salat? Would he not be making jest of himself?

http://surecontents..com/2018/08/is-taking-selfies-while-doing-tawaf.html

Senator Shehu Sani

Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District and President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Shehu Sani, speaks with LEKE BAIYEWU and JOY MARCUS about his struggle and freedom

As the Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, what are your primary responsibilities?

My responsibilities are in two parts. The first is to represent, present, defend, project and protect the interest of my people as a federal legislator. and the second is to ensure that what is meant for them is given to them. As a politician with an activist background, I am a freedom fighter. I will always pursue the cause and the interest of the downtrodden in my constituency as well as their socio-economic and political interest. I will always defend the mandate given to me by my people.

How did you manage the transition from an activist to a politician?

To transform from an activist to being a politician and senator is a difficult task because the two positions have different responsibilities and principles. As an activist, I am guided by a set of rules, principles and my conscience. As a politician, you are under pressure to conform to the interest of a group, position of an organisation and a set of rules which is binding on everyone. As an activist, you don’t need any guidance when it comes to making your point clear on socio-political national and local issues that border on your religion, ethnicity or country. But as a politician, you carry a mandate and the sensitivity of the people you represent and the position you take must be in synergy with the kind of people you represent. Also, whatever position you take, you will be guided by how that will be acceptable to the people you represent. This could sometimes be contradictory to your own conscience as an individual; what your people want you to say or do may be in conflict with what you, as an individual, believe is right or wrong.

In what ways have you been able to impact on the people of your constituency?


For the first time, my people are able to describe their senator. The most important thing is that I have been able to create awareness in the minds of our people in every possible way through my political activism and other activities. I have been able to create a consciousness in the minds and hearts of the people to be able to say no and stand up against injustice. Also, to resist any attempt to undermine their environmental rights and democratic principles. I have aligned myself to the downtrodden; those in the lower strata of society. I have aligned myself with organised labour groups, as well as youth and women groups. I also stand with mass-based organisations within my own constituency, as against the conservative and reactionary politics of projecting a right wing agenda that simply protects conservatism. As an activist, I fought for democracy in Nigeria and as a politician, I guide the people against anti-democratic activities by people in the position of power. I have also been able to create an awareness that they themselves can stand and protest against injustice and speak out.

What peculiar challenges do you face as a senator?

I think there are a lot of challenges but what impresses me the most is that I see the behaviour of senators. When issues are not controversial, you find out that everybody wants to be heard or seen speaking but when issues are sensitive, controversial and may lead to confrontation with the executive (arm of government), you will find the number almost dropping by 60 per cent. That is something which I have always observed. Another thing I see as challenging in the National Assembly is that we have a society where people still cannot differentiate between the duties and responsibilities of the executive arm of government and the members of parliament. It is a very big problem because they want you to construct roads for them, build hospitals, schools and do a lot of other things for them. Another testy point is the fact that your close friends want you to write letters of recommendation for them so that they can get jobs in any of the federal ministries. On the other hand, people who write notes are accused by the society of violating due process; so you will be caught in between. Meanwhile, if you don’t write, you will be criticised by your constituents as not being helpful. If you write, you will also be criticised for trying to circumvent due process. In the National Assembly, each time you stand to speak; you are aware that firstly, your constituents are listening carefully. Secondly, your party is listening carefully to know what you are saying. Thirdly, the Executive is listening as well as your family and friends. For every statement you make, you are very conscious that it is going to be put on a scale by the different sets of people I just mentioned.

What are your aspirations?

I have been able to achieve a lot by being a senator. For the first time, I have made maximum impact on my constituency. As a senator, I have intervened in several areas of education. I have constructed and facilitated the construction of hospitals in my constituency. We have gotten jobs for people in the military, paramilitary and civil service. We have also empowered women and men. We have done a lot in terms of giving them scholarships and other things. I would say that the next step will be determined by what we have been able to achieve. One’s ambition is a factor but also more important is whether the people you want to govern or represent are actually at peace with what you have been able to achieve. Other than that, there are forces that will naturally work against you because they see you as a threat due to your popularity and affinity with the masses. Meanwhile, these people are usually the leading men in power. They are always a stumbling block between the people and those that are ready to defend and protect their interest.

What can you recall of your days as a student union activist?

In my early years as a student union activist, I made my peers understand the direction of the struggle and since our early years were spent under military rule, I led the fight against military dictatorship by mobilising people of my age to stand in defence of freedom and democracy. We were young people who were driven by revolutionary passion to free and unite our people against the odds of religious, ethnic, social and cultural inefficiency. Nigeria, being multi-religious and multi ethnic, we observed that it had been difficult for us as a people to put up a common front against military dictatorship. But the struggle then was mostly in the South-West with the likes of Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), Dr. Beko Kuti, Femi Falana (SAN), Wole Soyinka and many others who were leading the struggle. In the South-East, we had a few like Chima Ubani. The struggle dislodged the military from government and I suffered a lot of persecution. Many times, I was arrested and kept at the police station in Kaduna. Then it graduated to taking me to prison and then to court. I can’t remember how many times I was detained at police stations. I have been incarcerated at Kirikiri Prisons (Lagos), Aba prison in Abia State and Port Harcourt prison. My last prison experience was when I was sentenced to life imprisonment for treason in 1995. I spent four years in gaol and came out with the advent of democracy in Nigeria.

Who were some of the people you met in prison?

In my last prison stint, I was with people such as Chris Anyanwu; the Editor of The News magazine, Kunle Ajibade; former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and many others. They were all brought in for treason too. We were all tried by the military tribunal and sentenced. After we were convicted, we were spread across various prisons in the country. I was taken to Port Harcourt prison and from there to Aba prison.

What were some of the things you discussed with your fellow inmates while in prison?

Prison is a different world where you meet different kinds of people; and they are not just people who committed the same crime with you. You will meet with people from different criminal backgrounds – from armed robbery to murder, pick-pocketing and several other issues. I encountered so many and it was a whole different experience. There is a lot of pain, insult and insolence in prisons. Naturally, I had to develop a cordial relationship with the people for things to be easier for me. Each prison you go in, you meet different sets of people that will make a lasting impact on your life. They learn from you and you also learn from them. I also tried to change some of them who were brought there for criminal activities.

What motivated you to join politics despite having such a bitter experience?

It was a difficult thing as many activists, who fought for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, found it difficult to transit from activism to politics because of the crisis that is attached to it.

My decision to go into politics was propelled by my ideas, views and ideology; to practicalise our ideas of freedom and progress for our people. For all those years that we struggled to free Nigeria from military rules, many of our comrades have tried to reform public office but it has increasingly become difficult to do so. I took it as a personal challenge to transform our popular support and appreciation in the hearts and minds of the masses into votes which we contested in 2003, 2007 and 2015. We (forces that fought for democracy) made the mistake of our life in 1999 by not joining the political forum to capture political power and as such, democracy was hijacked by people who never fought or struggled. As far as I’m concerned, our politics is driven by the principles of the defence of the rights of the people, freedom and justice.

During your school days at the Kaduna Polytechnic, you were the chairman of the student union. What do you recollect from that time?

In the mid-eighties, we set up the African Democratic Guild Congress, which was a socialist movement. The idea behind that organisation was to see how we could spread the socialist consciousness in the minds of our people. Despite the fact that there was a consensus on the need to restore democracy back to Nigeria, we felt that there was a need to have an ideological direction to that struggle. So, that organisation was set up together with other like minds who shared socialist ideas. At that time, we received books and journals from Eastern Europe and other countries. I have lectured young people in universities on the need to struggle and mobilise a popular resistance for a socialist society. And as a student union activist, we carried along some of these ideas as we tried to see how we could divert the focus of student activism on the areas of scholarships and rights of students to how the student union from that level can be actively involved in the revolutionary liberation of the society and mass mobilisation of our people. Activism in those days was different from what we have now. Student union activists of those days were driven by ideology, a set of principles and ideas. Then, you saw young people divided into socialist camps, liberal camps and people who were in support of conservative ideas. You could see the stratification of those along ideological lines but over the years, we have seen these values deteriorate. Now, students leave union activism and turn to something else. It is either being wrecked by religious crisis or ethnic issues and it has reached such a very low level that even people who are in the position of power don’t take threats and protests by the student unions seriously. Many student union activists nowadays defend personalities and policies of governments. That is unfortunate. You see others moving from one office to the other giving public officials’ awards. In those days, whenever the president of the student union government was announced, you would see how much he was respected and adored. But now, they have been so fractionalised and incapacitated.

Who are your role models?

People who we share the same ideological leaning and beliefs. I share the ideas and struggles of people who have stood out in defence of their ideas like Thomas Sankara, Fidel Castro, Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani and Walter Sisulu. These were people that led a life of struggle for freedom. One person that made a profound impact on my life was Frantz Fanon, an Algerian freedom fighter. He was originally from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean but was deployed in Algeria and he played a prominent role in the struggle for the national liberation of Algeria. These were people I considered great.

What is your advice for people who admire your struggles and want to be like you?

They should not be like me; they should be themselves because I want them to lead normal lives of being doctors, lawyers, and engineers. What we have seen in our life and what we still see is not something we pray for our young ones to toe the path. They should live a normal, honest life and contribute to the progress and prosperity of their country.

How do you balance your career and family life?

It is so unfortunate that when you get into politics, you naturally have to bring along your family into it. When you are assaulted, insulted, attacked or whatever it is; they share your pain and when you go into politics, they see less of you because the most part of you will be taken by the public. If your wife is on social media, whatever she sees about you may hurt her more than it hurts you because you are in politics. Whenever you decide to go into politics, you have also decided to drag people who know you into it. Also, there will be so much expectation and demands from you because everybody wants you to do one thing or the other for them. You have to appease the people who elected you, know you and at the same time do your duty as a man in public office. Most importantly, you have to try every possible means to see that you balance both sides.

How did you meet your wives?

I met my first wife when I went to visit a friend. I approached her and we moved on from there. The second one, I met her at an event and we moved along that line. They are both living in peace with each other.

Was it love at first sight for you?

There is nothing like love at first sight but you can only say admiration at first sight because love takes time to develop. You need to know the person that you are going to love and how compatible you are with that person; also, what chemistry exists between you and that person. You may be attracted to that person because of the way she looks but you may not know the manner, habits and other issues concerning that person. It is the invisible qualities of the person that will keep you while the visible ones are the ones that attract you towards that person. You can have a beautiful person with a bad character or an ugly person with a good character; while you can also have one that has both.

What were some of the events that shaped your life as a child?

My father worked with the New Nigerian Newspaper; so, I grew up in a ‘journalistic’ environment. We were exposed to current affairs from as early as when we were five-year-old. It was a time when we woke up in the morning to find newspapers kept outside the door. We learned to read and write from newspapers. Our life was a journey through a journalistic experience as someone who came from that family. We were exposed to books, journals and magazines at an early age. So, it was not much of a problem for us to synergise with current issues right from our childhood till this present day.

What are some of your childhood memories?

I think it is the simplicity of life in the past where we didn’t have social media, phones and people related with each other as human beings. There was trust, love, togetherness, and belief in one another. Nigeria used to be, in the seventies and eighties, a country that was full of promise and people saw one another as brothers and sisters. The communal spirit and the collectiveness between our own existences as a people were things which we actually missed. Unlike now, when life is fast and people have grown to disrupt and fight each other, in those days, Nigerians, whether Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Muslim or Christian, saw one another as one. Our views were also not guided by our sentiments like what is happening today.

What schools did you attend?

I studied Agricultural Engineering at the Kaduna Polytechnic. I was doing a course in Law at the University of London but I had to suspend it because of politics. I hope that by the time I am out of here, I will continue the programme.

How do you relax?

I relax mostly by reading books and stories from other parts of life. Sometimes, in order for me to be a normal human being, I choose a moment to put off my mobile phones and visit people like we did as children and adults in those years. Human beings are becoming more digital. The phone has made so many things easier for us and it has also complicated life. It has removed us away from our humanity. The phone has killed the calendar, camera, compass, wrist watches and personal relationships. Those days, as children, if visitors came to your house, you gave them your family photo album and they would ask you questions about the pictures. These days, when visitors come to your house, from the time they step into your house till they leave, their attention will be on their phones. So, you will see people together but apart. The social media is most likely going to change the anatomy of human beings because people now bend their heads more than they raise it. The fingers that we only used to eat; now we use it more to press and some people now stay indoors more than they go out. Even our children, if you give them an iPad, they will not look at their toys again. We can see how it has been able to destroy their lives in that aspect and people can spend a whole day on phone or iPad rather than going out to do exercise. Sometimes, I decide to break this cycle; I go out to the gym or visit friends without a mobile phone because I want to behave like a normal person. Sometimes, I even go to the post office to post letters just to bring those nostalgic memories back. This is the way I like to relax.

How do you like to dress?

My dad was a man of suits. He wore a lot of suits and he gave the best for himself and for us; I got that from him. Suit is something that we love. My best traditional dress is the Kaftan and ‘minister’ (that is the name of my cap). As for babariga, I don’t have one now but Senator Abu Ibrahim said he will get me a babariga soon. I love to dress smartly. I wear casuals and khaki because of the struggle.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/interview-i-was-once-in-prison-with.html

This is the question many Nigerians are asking, taking into cognisance the killings going on across the country, especially around Abuja. Just recently, my cousin who works in Adamawa State alongside some colleagues were kidnapped by bandits on the Abuja road. They spent almost a week in the hands of the bandits and were only released after ransom was paid.

In fact it has become a daily affair to see armed bandits along roads leading into Abuja.

All these are happening without the police on ground. It is surprising that with the spate of insecurity across the country, many policemen are still deployed to guard the residences of government officials or to serve as

Orderlies. In some cases, policemen are drafted to guard empty houses of top government officials both retired and those in active service, while the people are left at the mercy of vigilante members or

private security outfits.

Today, one cannot travel by road in this country without being afraid of attacks. Government needs to reform the police and prioritise the people over a few rich individuals.

Usman Santuraki is a public affairs commentator and wrote from No. 2 Santuraki http://surecontents..com/2018/08/is-nigeria-police-only-for-rich.html

It was sometime in 2001. The political temperature of Kwara State had reached a troubling zenith. The godfather and his godson had declared a world war. Swords menaced swords, provoking fiery reverberations across Nigeria. Rear Admiral (rtd) Mohammed Alabi Lawal, now late, apparently egged on by his military pedigree, had put on acts like the Yoruba warriors of old. While declaring wars that conjured rivers of blood, those warriors literally spat skywards and thrust their red-eyed face to confront the rain of spittle. The eyes of Abubakar Olusola Saraki, Senate Leader in the Second Republic, better known as Baba Oloye, owner and lord of a sprawling political clientele in his native Kwara, were fiery and dilating like the god of thunders. Right there on this expansive table in a small office in his cosy Ile Arugbo, Ilofa, GRA home in Ilorin this sunny noon, like a rattlesnake, Saraki spat venom with measured acidity. He shot arrows of diatribes and swearwords at Lawal like rotund-cheeked Kim of North Korea wantonly does whenever he is flexing his armament muscles at Donald Trump.

It was a Sunday. As you arrive Baba Oloye’s residence, what strikes you are its celebratory mode and mood amid feasting. Slaughtered cows, women sorting out condiments and market-like exchange of jibes and jives rent the air. I was later to learn that this apocryphal feasting, reminiscent of a Feast of Passover, was a daily routine in Saraki’s vast political empire. Today, Baba Oloye wore a blue caftan and a Hausa-styled cap to match. Highly cerebral politician, Dr. Kola Balogun, kid brother of the incumbent Otun Olubadan, Oba Lekan Balogun, who had ferried me to the presence of this enigma of Kwara politics, was the third person inside Baba Oloye’s small office. The reporter had come for an interview on the broken down relationship between Saraki and his erstwhile godson, Lawal. Sure he would need the atmospherics, he scanned Baba Oloye as if he were a tiny speck just dropped from Mars. The reporter was quick to notice Saraki’s atypical dress sense: he wore a pair of sucks to match a caftan, a dress anomaly among the Yoruba. Not to worry, he had just asked that ‘Olusola’ be deleted from his name, substituted for ‘Abubakar’ and the whirlwind-like rumour that he hailed from Iseyin in Oyo State be perished thenceforth.

My recording spool picked a very humble Baba Oloye repeatedly chorusing in his fast-tempoed voice, “Editor, Lawal is a liar…” The interview ended and as Saraki saw us off in what would be, for both of us, a never-to-meet-again encounter, what ingrained itself on my consciousness like a painted canvass, even 17 years after, was the memory of Saraki as a calculatingly deadly political player who laced power play with grits and wiles. His empire was also said to have been sustained by a very potent marabout system, the like patented in Islamic Mali.

His son, Bukola, is perhaps the most discussed politician in Nigeria today. After that encounter, Baba Oloye, as he swore to me off-record, not only worsted Rear Admiral Lawal in the Kwara 2003 election, he successfully installed Bukola as the next governor and his younger sister, Gbemi, as senator. Apparently demonstrating a profound mastery of the political sense bequeathed by his father, Bukola politically trounced Saraki Oloye Baba Bukola, to the consternation of all in the 2011 elections. Bukola defeated the man fabled minstrel, Odolaye Aremu, the Dadakuwada exponent, famously called the rains of Kwara which beat the city dweller and the village yokel in equal measure! Was that power wrestling real or contrived or a spirit-dictated handover from imperial king to crown prince?

Bukola Saraki has since transformed into a very lethal version of his old man; a political power player you ignore or underrate to your peril. He has successfully drowned fears that Baba Oloye’s exit would end the hegemonic hold of the Saraki dynasty on Kwara. He has even moved it a notch higher by promoting a more sophisticated brand of that politics on the national plane. Sustained by a concept called patron-client or neo-patrimonial relations which foremost scholar on Nigeria, Director of The Program of African Studies at American Northwestern University, Richard Joseph called prebendalism, Saraki the son and father cultivate(d) a long chain of political clientele.

Baba Oloye once established a bakery in Ilorin in the 70s/80s which was ran aground because its capital and products were used daily to feed a retinue of political clients majorly the poor of Ilorin and environs. He also went into banking, founding a bank which again suffered same fate.

With Bukola as governor, it became easier to sustain this power relation.

Most Buharists who now shout blue murder at Bukola’s seizure of the political space hypocritically fail to remember that Muhammadu Buhari, the General, was one of the clients of Bukola’s politics. Positioning himself as a do-gooder interested in power shift from Goodluck Jonathan to the so-called Mai Gaskiya, Saraki reportedly funneled billions of Naira into Buhari’s campaign, a prebend which became useful when he sought to become the Senate President. Rotimi Amaechi also deployed his Bombadier jet for the “incorruptible General” to traverse the nooks of Nigeria at election time, aside huge mounds of cash he offered a man whose definition of corruption excludes exchanges that make him beneficiary of stolen common wealth. For Sarakis, whether it was the pregnant woman whose medical bill the system paid, the pittance distributed inside Baba Oloye’s house, the amala eaten on a daily basis by a retinue of hangers-on, the aim is to subtly control the levers of the heart of their client.

Ariyibi Adedibu perfected same system as a political tool in Ibadan for decades and since his death, that model seems to have died with him. Before him, Adebisi Giwa, a.k.a. Adebisi Idikan, wielded it as a social weapon. When the colonial government detained tax defaulters in scores daily in Mapo, Adebisi Giwa showed up in the colonial office with the offer to pay the tax off in the rapidly growing city. His counterpoise, Salami Agbaje received the scorn of the citizenry for his nil intervention in the personal economies and struggles of the people. Their modern day variant, Bola Tinubu, another patron of this deadly power relation system, patented his own prebendal brand in Lagos and called it Jeun S’oke. Every devotee of this cult, in less than twenty years of its inauguration, has experienced exponential wealth of less than licitly acquired cash. Tinubu was prevented by Saraki from becoming the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), wielding the religious red card of a probable Nigerian resentment of a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Tinubu saw it as a gambit to stave off possible opposition to Omo Baba Oloye’s own Senate presidential ticket. Thus, on Saraki’s day of coronation as Senate President, while Tinubu sought his own pound of flesh from Bukola to halt his inauguration, Buhari was torn between his resentment of Tinubu and Bukola, both of whom he saw as far cries from his make-believe world of integrity. The Buhari hypocritical, Janus-faced and weak disposition to decision-making ensured the ascendancy of Bukola as Nigeria’s Number Three man and the stormy executive/legislature relationship in the last three years or so; it was the cause of the metastasis of the political cancer in the hands of Buhari and his henchmen today.

Sarakis thrive because they understand that rather than being Teflon, the Nigerian State is weak, incapable and incapacitated in ensuring good life for its citizens. The State in Nigeria performs its world-renowned service and care functions in abeyance and is seen as a non-existing behemoth which everyone takes advantage of. As it is currently organized, the Nigerian state is amorphous and even its runners do not know its nature and purpose. The Nigerian State defies virtually all known theoretical and conceptual purposes of State. It defies the Machiavellian theory of the origin of the authority of State as “the Power which has authority over men” or even Marx Webber’s explanation of the State as “that authority which gives order to all but receives from none.” The Nigerian State is also far away from Marx and Engels’ theory of State. The Nigerian State is even amorphous in the rendering of the origin of State thesis. Did the Nigerian State come of divine origin, social contract origin, the “force theory” origin or the Marxian origin? It has been difficult for political scientists to place Nigeria.

The question we all have to answer is if the Saraki, Tinubu and many political persons’ approximation of the role of the Nigerian State is a sustainable model. You may call this line of thought nihilist but we must collapse current understanding and operations of the Nigerian State and reconstruct/reconfigure it. Its current rendering is unsustainable. This is why there is no ideology in political party system in Nigeria. I learnt Senators received millions of naira to leave APC and received millions as well from the Villa not to leave and for not leaving. Neither Saraki nor Buhari nor any of their hirelings factor the people into the loop. It is about personal interest and succession politics. Unfortunately, we are so pauperized and hungry that our manhood has shrunk into nothing. What is the solution? Honestly, I don’t know!
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Why is Ladoja running from pillar to post?

Political Scientists will someday have to help us answer whether indeed the inability to say ‘No’ to amoral advances is what unites man’s oldest trade and his oldest vocation. When you look at Nigerian politics for example, you really will find no difference between the nymphomaniac prostitute who can’t put a rein on her s3xual desire and the politician whose desire for political office ensures he flocks with goats, swine, dogs and the like.

Former governor of Oyo State, Senator Adewolu Ladoja is my inspiration for the above. You will remember the Ladoja impeachment saga, especially the undercurrents of that stormy political concoction put together by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo which culminated in the unseating of Ladoja in 2005. Obasanjo had reportedly told many leading political leaders of the state, including Ven. Alayande, that the battle to remove Ladoja was a battle of his life. Common thugs puffing at marijuana invaded the Oyo House of Assembly, led by late Eleweomo, even as they fiddled with the gavel like they do the bosom of an AK-47.

Many factors have been used to explain Obasanjo’s obstinate obsession with the idea of removing Ladoja. Some attributed it to Lamidi Adedibu’s vice hold on the presidency; to some, it was Obasanjo’s natural despotism, while to some, a woman was at the heart of the enmity. Ladoja suffered terrible humiliation within the interregnum and it is said that this ‘Afghanistan’ experience pushed him to the point of desperation.

Forgive he should, especially after providence rubbished Obasanjo and his sadistic machinations, but why would the natural inclination lure Ladoja to being in same political party with his ex-Tormentor-in-Chief? I saw Obasanjo, Ladoja in a group photo during the week and I could not but wonder if the heart of a Nigerian politician isn’t same smelly ramp as the LovePeddler’s bed.

I have had to ask myself repeatedly why Ladoja would leave his PDP domain if indeed wresting power from the ruling party in Oyo state is his ultimate ambition. That young man – Seyi Makinde – to my mind has given Ladoja all appurtenances of party leadership, except agree that he nominates the governorship candidate of the party. Using all manner of political wiles, including tar-brushing Makinde as purchasing PDP National, Ladoja prepared a fertile ground for his divorce from a platform which would naturally uplift the prospect of reclaiming power.

My haunch is that Ladoja is under a very powerful spell of dissembling from his traditional enemy; or at best, this is a political gambit. In fact, I want political remembrancers to underscore this seeming political divination of mine with a red pen: Ladoja, in spite of his spirited denials, will run for Oyo governorship race by next year when he will be 76 years old.

The way it will be primed is this: Obasanjo, being the pilot of the ill-fated political assemblage called ADC, will call all the strange bedfellows assembled in the party and decree that only Ladoja can defeat the opposition in Oyo. Ladoja will exhibit tepid dissonance to this but will ultimately advertise his buckling, claiming that he could not refuse Obasanjo’s decree. By then, it would be too late to backtrack for gentleman and urbane politician, Olufemi Lanlehin as well as the other dreamer who had once stabbed an unforgiving Ladoja. Ultimately, remaining inside the crash-prone ADC, with the wily old warhorse as pilot, would be a fait accompli.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/saraki-father-son-tinubu-and.html

Lalasticlala mynd44

The Council and Senate of the University of Ibadan has renamed its arts theatre after Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka. This is in recognition of his global status as a writer, activist and first African Head of the Department of Theatre Arts founded in 1963.

The unveiling was held on Tuesday alongside the second Geoffrey Axworthy Lecture instituted in honour of Geoffrey Axworthy, the founding Head of the Department of Theatre Arts.

Late Axworthy was the founding Director of the School of Drama of the university of Ibadan in 1962, while Soyinka was also the founding head when the school was transformed into a full Department of Theatre Arts in 1970.

Soyinka, in his remarks said “This is a place of memories for me, I also felt contented co-honoured with Geoffrey Axworthy who fought so hard to make the department what it is today.

“It is very easy to forget a pioneer, but I have to say that our successors here have a sense of history, so, I must thank you all for this,” he said and urged lecturers and students to have fun like old times and make the department great with creative productions.

The Arts Theatre is a historical structure. Apart from being one of the oldest buildings in the University, having been constructed in 1955 with a grant from the Rockefella Foundation, it has assisted in producing human resource for the country.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/university-of-ibadan-renames-arts.html

Dr Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Federal Government are shopping for a fraudulent interim court order to declare vacant, the seat of the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, following his defection from the APC to the PDP.

The PDP alerted in Abuja on Friday that credible information at its disposal showed that some “cabals” in the Presidency and APC had perfected a plan to institute a lawsuit to challenge the validity of Saraki’s seat with the sole aim of securing a fraudulent injunction to force him out of office pending the determination of the substantive suit.

A statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary said further intelligence available to the party shows that once they are able to secure the injunction from a particular compromised judicial officer, they intend to arraign and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on trumped up charges and ensure he is not granted bail so as to keep him out of circulation while their men would move in to effect an illegal leadership change in the Senate.

It added: “While we trust that the Chief Justice of Nigeria will protect the sanctity of our judiciary especially at this trying time in our national history, we call on the institution of the judiciary at all levels to immune itself from being used by enemies of our democracy as no house falls leaving its roof standing.

“This desperation by despotic forces to forcefully and illegally take control of the Senate, the highest symbol of our Democratic Order, is nothing short of “civilianised coup” which must be resisted by all.

“The judiciary must therefore ensure that it is not intimidated or ensnared to be party to a desperate bid to destabilize our nation.

“The PDP holds that this newest devilish plot to destabilise our democracy lays credence to our earlier stand that President Buhari’s supposed London vacation is a ploy to absolve himself of responsibility for the political terror they have plotted to unleash on the opposition, especially the National Assembly.

“Although they denied it as usual, Nigerians can bear witness to the fact that there is nothing the APC government denied that they did not eventually execute.

“Indeed, there has never been any impunity they executed that they did not deny.

“The recent rascally attempt to hold Saraki and Ekweremadu hostage in their homes on 24th July 2018 as well as the terrorisation of the Benue State House of Assembly after Governor Samuel Ortom’s defection bear sad testimony to this fact.”

The party therefore called on Nigerians and the international community to be on the alert as the conspirators plan to commence the execution of this evil plot from Tuesday next week.

It cautioned the APC and others in “this evil ring to note that they are now running on a collision course with Nigerians as the citizens will definitely not fold their hands and watch them destroy our hard earned democracy and foist a fascism on our dear nation.”http://surecontents..com/2018/08/fg-apc-to-seek-court-order-to-oust.html

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has announced a new five percent credit facility for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to stimulate the sector.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the national MSMEs award, he said under the programme, operators would be given loans from N2million to N10million with little or no collateral for five or seven years.

Osinbajo also said the government has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks to launch a credit facility.

The Vice President said all that the MSME operators required was a bankable business proposal and guarantors.

He said the government was also exploring an initiative to allow a special window of 90 days for MSMEs, who have not registered their businesses to do so at a highly subsidized price.

“This is a special initiative of the Corporate Affairs Commission,” the Vice President said.

Osinbajo also announce that, in addition to the One-Stop-Shops that have been launched in some states to carry on the MSME Clinics interventions, they will shortly be launching Shared Facilities for MSMEs Initiatives, in partnership with BOI, FIRS, NEXIM, NEPC and the private sector led by Access Bank.http://surecontents..com/2018/08/osinbajo-announces-new-5-credit.html

The man who sired a child through his daughter

A 47-year-old man, Julius Ochim, who allegedly fathered his granddaughter by impregnating his daughter, has been arrested by the police in Ogun State.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that Ochim, said to be a commercial motorcyclist, was arrested when his daughter reported at Shagamu Police Division that her father had been having carnal knowledge of her since 2009, shortly after her mother’s death.

The 21-year-old lady said that her father’s s3xual relationship with her resulted in pregnancy three years ago, and the birth of a girl.

The lady said that though her father stopped for some time, he started pestering her for s3x again about three weeks ago, which led to a quarrel because of her refusal to yield to his advances.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, said that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Shagamu Division, CSP Aduroja Moses, led the detectives to the residence of the man where he was promptly arrested.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime but blamed it all on the devil’s handwork. He confessed that he started having problem with the girl when she started going out with another person,” the PPRO stated.

In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, the suspect, who disclosed that he was from Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, said: “It is true that I had s3x with my daughter, but that was in 2015. I had it with her only twice, and she got pregnant.

“I sent her to my brother in my village and we both agreed that she should tell the people at home that she was impregnated by a fellow student.

“I have four female children. My wife was also from my state before she died in 2009.”

Ochim however denied making an attempt to sleep with his daughter again, saying that he was only trying to stop her from dating one of the Yahoo Boys.


“She was always on phone and I noticed her following some guys who were into internet fraud. I tried to stop her by destroying the phone but she went to report me to our landlord,” he said.

The suspect admitted committing incest, but said: “I don’t even understand myself. It is the work of the devil.”

The lady, who also spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, said: “My father started having s3xual relationship with me when I was 12 years old. That was when we returned from our village after my mother’s burial.

“What happened was that a young guy was caught trying to rape me, and my father’s pastor told him to teach me s3x education. But he turned it to another rthing, and since I was a young girl, I didn’t understand what he was doing.

“By the time I was about to finish from SSS3 class, I got pregnant for him.

“I went to my uncle in the village to deliver the baby and following the agreement I had with my father, I told my uncle that the student who impregnated me had gone out of the country.

“After delivery, I thought about all that happened and was disturbed. On my return three months after delivery, I told my father to stop what he was doing to me, and he stopped.

“But about three weeks ago, he made the moves to continue and I did not agree to it. I went to report him to our landlord. He got angry and smashed my phone on the floor.

“He is evading saying the truth if he said he was not the one who deflowered me. He started when we returned from our village after the burial of my mother.

“He is also being economical with the truth when he said I was dating a Yahoo guy. He never allowed any man around me.

“My father would not allow me to work, so I had to depend totally on him. But now that he is away, I can start looking for a job to do. I don’t want a case; I just wanted him to stop pestering me for s3x.”

The PPRO said that the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, had directed that the suspect be transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.http://surecontents..com/2018/08/my-dad-started-having-s3x-with-me-at-12.html

A 39-year-old businesswoman, Mrs Blessing Ozoemelam, yesterday asked an Agege customary court to dissolve her four-year-old marriage to her husband, Mr Emmanuel Ozoemelam, over allegations of battery, lack of love, infidelity and threat to life.

Mrs Ozoemelam, a mother of two, who resides at the Abaranje area of Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos, told the court, “I have suffered so much loss due to constant beating by my husband.”

The petitioner claimed that when the pains became unbearable, she reported the matter at the Domestic Violence Unit, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

“I had to take my children out of the house when he continued beating me, even after the matter was reported at the Domestic Violence Unit. There, my husband had signed an undertaking to stop beating me but he never did. I had to go back to my parents’ house when the beating became too much,” she said.

She described her husband as “an aggressive and violent person”, and pleaded with the court to dissolve the union.

“I am no longer interested in the union. My husband does not care for me and beats me habitually,” she said.

She begged the court to give her custody of their children and award her other consequential orders as the court may deem fit.

The respondent, however, denied ever raising his hands against his wife. “I still love my wife and do not want to divorce her,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel, 38, a forex trader, urged the court not to dissolve the marriage. He explained that whenever he tried to leave the home to avoid further confrontation with his wife, she would become violent.

“I don’t beat my wife like she claimed. Rather, she is the one that gets violent anytime we have any misunderstanding,” he said.

The court president, Mrs Ibironke Elabor, told the estranged couple to remain at peace, and adjourned the suit until August 30, 2018 for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
http://surecontents..com/2018/08/a-39-year-old-businesswoman-mrs.html?m=1