₦airaland Forum

A Coronavirus Thriller Was Finished Just Before the Shutdown

A Canadian filmmaker read the headlines, and a few weeks later a shoot was underway on a story addressing xenophobia and the pandemic. Then film festivals were canceled.

In between the time the coronavirus started to make headlines but before life shut down to restrain the pandemic, an independent filmmaker conceived, shot and finished postproduction on a movie about the contagion.

Thanks to the availability of relatively cheap digital equipment, there is rarely much lag time these days between real-life events — like Hurricane Sandy in 2012 or the Japanese tsunami in 2011 — and films about them. But this new movie, by Mostafa Keshvari, is unusual in that it was made even as the story is still unfolding.

Keshvari’s 63-minute “Corona” looks at what happens when seven people are trapped in an elevator, and begin to realize that one of them has Covid-19. The movie is about fear and “a study of society, people and moral choices,” Keshvari, 33, said in recent phone and email interviews about the movie. “We are all in this ride together.”

Vancouver, known as “Hollywood North,” is Canada’s gateway to Asia, and also an epicenter in the country’s Covid-19 crisis. As news reached here of a “Wuhan virus,” there were increasing reports of harassment of Chinese-Canadians and others of Asian heritage. Patronage of Chinese-Canadian businesses dropped by up to 70 percent.

The filmmaker was in an elevator reading the headlines when he had the idea.

“There were just so many incidents,” said Keshvari, who also runs BC Minorities in Film & TV Society, a network for budding artists from minority backgrounds. At the time he embarked on his project, “nobody thought a white person could get it. But the virus doesn’t discriminate.”

In real life, “everyone faces discrimination, all different kinds,” he said, so if he could “bring all these people” together in the film and “trap them,” he thought, then their “true colors come out.”

Starting in late January, he spent two weeks writing the script; the set took 10 more days to create. “We rented a space and we built an elevator,” he said. “Ultralow budget.”

Some cast members he already knew; others he found through word of mouth. The director also left room to improvise. “I told them: ‘Imagine that the actual coronavirus is in this elevator.’”

He wanted the action to unfold in real time, he said. “My struggle was to make sure it was all one shot,” Keshvari said.

Over three days in February, it took nearly 70 takes to pull that off. Money was running out. And time. “It helped with the anxiety of the film,” he said.

Outside, the coronavirus moved fast. “We thought it was just going to pass,” Keshvari said. “No one could have imagined.”

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He had planned to submit the film, finished before the city declared a state of emergency, to festivals. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore,” he said, as nearly every such event has been canceled for the foreseeable future. Streaming is the most likely option. The movie “belongs to humanity,” he said.

As for Keshvari’s cast and his crew of 25, he said, so far they are well.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/movies/coronavirus-movie.amp.html

Alot of scam is going on around the world over the Covid-19 pandemic from institutions and individuals.The forensic accountants must prepare for post Covid-19 fraud detection and investigation.

'The Ingraham Angle' takes a deeper look into the COVID-19 numbers in US
Could flu, pneumonia and COVID-19 deaths be conflated? Insight from Dr. Scott Jensen, physician and Minnesota state senator.

Dr. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota family physician and Republican state senator, told "The Ingraham Angle" Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for doctors to certify whether a patient has died of coronavirus are a "mess" and predicted that some fatalities initially reported to be COVID-19-related would be reclassified.

"We both know," Jensen told host Laura Ingraham, "that there have been influenza deaths, influenza cases, that have been called COVID-19 [deaths] because nobody bothered to swab their throats. If you want to find out what the data is, I don't care if they're dead or alive, swab them. We can always run a test later and then actually get real information."

Earlier this month, Jensen told Ingraham that under the CDC guidelines, a patient who died after being hit by a bus and tested positive for coronavirus would be listed as having presumed to have died from the virus regardless of whatever damage was caused by the bus.

Jensen also gave a hypothetical example of a patient who died while suffering from influenza. If the patient was elderly and had symptoms like fever and cough a few days before passing away, the doctor explained, he would have listed "respiratory arrest" as the primary cause of death.

"There's been so much garbage going in that we are going to get garbage out," Jensen said Tuesday. "Three weeks ago, you and I talked about this and we've seen since then, [in] Pennsylvania, the coroners have pushed back and said 'These aren't COVID-19 deaths,' and Pennsylvania reduces its numbers.

"New York says it's going to come out and add 3,700 [coronavirus deaths] in a day," Jensen continued. "The Illinois public health director tried to define what a COVID-19 death looks like and stumbled all over herself -- made it very clear didn't she have a clue.

Dr. Jensen calls out 'ridiculous' CDC guidelines for coronavirus-related deathsVideo
DOCTOR BLASTS 'RIDICULOUS' CDC CORONAVIRUS DEATH GUIDELINES

"We've got people ... in the southeastern part of the country saying they want accountability, we’ve got California and Minnesota saying 'We're going to count only confirmed cases' ... so it's a mess," Jensen said.

New data published this week by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) projected more than than 74,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the United States by Aug. 4, an increase of nearly 6,000 projected deaths from its latest report.

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-scott-jensen-cdc-coronavirus-death-guidelines

A group of researchers at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have produced a clinically tested ventilator to aid the sustenance of COVID-19 patients in the state.
Benedicta Ehanire, UNIBEN’s public relations officer, in a statement on Tuesday, said the feat was attained by the institution’s engineering and medical sciences faculty.
She said the group, led by Kensington Obahiagbon, a professor in the varsity, took into consideration the peculiar circumstances of the country while producing the ventilator.
According to her, the project has now been presented to Lilian Salami, the university’s vice-chancellor, alongside other members of the school management.
“A clinically-tested ventilator produced by a team of researchers in the Faculty of Engineering and Medical Sciences has been presented to the management of the University,” Ehanire said.
“The invention is in response to the vice-chancellor’s challenge to various experts in the university to make relevant marks to showcase the institution’s talents.”
Speaking on the project, Obahiagbon, who led the research team, said: “The ventilator was produced to work without electricity for at least one hour.
The ventilator, which was designed to function in a dual-mode for adults and children, comes at a time when countries have started edging towards self-reliance in the fight against COVID-19.
It also follows after Nigeria’s finance ministry had come under criticism for asking Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, to send the country free ventilators in response to a message by the US billionaire.
Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases have soared to 1337 with 40 deaths recorded so far.


https://lifestyle.thecable.ng/covid-19-uniben-researchers-produce-clinically-tested-ventilator/

PUZZLE: Buhari’s draft speech leaked ahead of broadcast — but who did it?

Hours before President Muhammadu Buhari delivered his address to the nation on Monday night, a version — full of errors — was already circulating on social media.
Although the version he eventually read was different in some ways from the draft, presidency officials are livid over the leak, TheCable understands.
The president’s address is usually released to the media while the broadcast is on, but the leaked draft was in circulation long before the broadcast.
In the draft, the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the federal capital territory (FCT) was to be lifted on Saturday, May 2, 2020.
But in the broadcast, the president moved the date to Monday, May 4.
Significantly, while the president announced a total lockdown for two weeks in Kano state, the draft only said “the total lockdown recently announced by the State Government shall remain enforced… for the full duration”.
It appears the leaked version was copied from a Microsoft Word document with the original text and edits included, leading to the repetition of many words and phrases.
All these had been cleaned up in the final version read by the president.
TheCable understands that the draft was prepared by a member of the presidential task force on COVID-19 and sent to the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).
Boss Mustapha is both the SGF and chairman of the task force.
All fingers are now pointing at the SGF office for the leak, although there is also suspicion that the email of the writer might have been hacked.
A few days ago, a memo to Mustapha by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) was also scanned and leaked on social media.
In the letter, the forum made recommendations on the easing of lockdowns nationwide.
Some of the recommendations — including use of face mask in public, restriction of interstate movement and imposition of dusk to dawn curfew — were adopted by the president.

https://www.thecable.ng/puzzle-buharis-draft-speech-leaked-ahead-of-broadcast-but-who-did-it

As governments look to lift restrictive measures put in place for the coronavirus, one genre of proposals is to give people who have recovered from COVID-19 a digital immunity pass, passport or certificate. It goes by many names, but the idea is the same. It would say you’re immune and no longer spreading the virus, letting people get back to work, enter shops and engage in the physical world again ahead of the rest of the population.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.coindesk.com/immunity-passes-explained-should-we-worry-about-privacy%3famp=1

WHO cautions against use of 'immunity passports' for people who have coronavirus [url][/url] antibodies

The World Health Organization is warning that countries should be wary about issuing certificates for people who have coronavirus antibodies.
The WHO issued the warning in a scientific brief published on Friday. It noted how as the world begins to reopen slowly during the coronavirus pandemic, some countries have begun discussing the use of immunity certificates in order to allow people who have already been exposed to the virus to return to work sooner.
The WHO claims there is not enough proof to support the conclusion that people with antibodies can’t still be at risk.
“There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” the WHO said in the brief.
“At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate,’” the WHO continued.
Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the concept of immunity passports could have some merit “under certain circumstances.”
“It's one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure that we know who the vulnerable people are and not,” he explained. “This is something that's being discussed.”
The WHO said that instead of helping to stop the spread of the virus, the use of immunity certificates may “increase the risks of continued transmission.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/who-cautions-against-use-of-immunity-passports-for-people-who-have-coronavirus-antibodies

Boko Haram group has called on her fighters to intensify attacks especially this Month of Ramadan. The group in second video in a week according to Rita Katz, the Director of SITE Intelligence Group calls for action during Ramadan.

In the video according to Katz;

“BokoHaram, in 2nd vid in a week, and following its bloody Mar. 24 attack in Chad, calls for action during #Ramadan w/ fighter calling it the month of “jihad, invasion, and conquests.” Interestingly, Boko cont’s to produce its vids as #ISIS W. Africa Prov”

https://ijam.ng/boko-haram-calls-for-jihad-invasion-and-conquests-in-new-video/

No smoke without fire. You have to enquire what led to her problem with the hubby because most men avoid their wives once infidelity is discovered as culture demand. Is possible your so called love find is promiscuous and how would feel if few months from now if your gateman or landlord start nacking her?

Actress sacks domestic worker while on COVID-19 isola• ‘She lied, my son didn’t test positive for COVID-19’
tion

A domestic worker, Oyindamola Alexander, has lost her job while being treated for the coronavirus disease, which she claimed to have contracted from her boss’ son.
Our correspondent learnt that while Oyindamola was receiving treatment at the Lagos isolation centre in Onikan, the boss, who is a popular actress, Caroline Danjuma, allegedly threatened to arrest her.
Oyindamola, who was discharged on April 20 after testing negative, said she was depressed by the allegations made against her by the celebrity, who also threatened to sue her over a missing laptop.
The victim alleged that her ordeal started after Danjuma’s 11-year-old son returned from a high risk country, the United Kingdom, and started manifesting symptoms of COVID-19.
She stated that the boy’s parents, who were alarmed, contacted officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, who tested him and confirmed the positive status.
Oyindamola, a graduate of English and Literary Studies from the University of Ado Ekiti, said the health workers conducted tests on everyone in the house and she was among those who tested positive.
The 33-year-old explained that she was subsequently taken to the Onikan isolation and treatment centre.
Narrating the incident, she said, “When Danjuma employed me on March 11, 2020,, she said I would supervise her domestic workers. She had a cleaner, a washer man, a driver and a cook. She said she noticed that things were not being properly done and she wanted me to coordinate them.
“A week to the lockdown, she asked if I had money for my family to stock up food. My parents are in Ekiti and my husband is in Benin, though we have some misunderstanding.
“I told her that I had yet to send money to them, but I believe that they would cope somehow. She said she would give me some money to help them. She then gave me N30,000 for which I was grateful. She never said it was my salary.
Oyindamola added that some days later, her boss’ 11-year-old boy arrived from London.
“After coming into the country, he became ill and was tested by the NCDC; the result came in positive. Everybody in the house was tested. My boss, however, did not allow the cook to be tested. I don’t know her reason for that.
“My result came back positive and I went into isolation. I contacted my boss and asked when I would be paid for the month and that my mom was hypertensive and would need money. I told the doctors not to tell any member of my family. I knew there was nothing to panic about and that I would be fine.
“However, my boss started abusing me. She said what about the N30,000 she gave me when I had not even started working. She said the money was my salary for the month.
“She said she had been feeding me and my attitude was unbecoming, and as a matter of fact, I was no longer working with her and that I deserved what I was going through. She asked if she was the one who impregnated me.”
Oyindamola said she was surprised by Danjuma’s reaction and wondered why she did not show concern for her health.
She added, “My bed in the isolation centre was beside that of the cleaner, who also tested positive for COVID-19. Some days after, my boss told me that I had been fired and asked the cleaner and I to send our account numbers.
“She sent me N23,000 and N50,000 to the cleaner. She had apparently removed the N30,000 she gave me initially and the N7,000 she said was a refund for my missing money. She said I lied that my money was stolen.
“Two days later, she sent me a message on WhatsApp that her laptop was missing. I was fed up. I had never seen the laptop.
“She has been threatening me, saying she would get the police to arrest me. She said she had called my agent and that nobody should employ me. She said if I run away, she would post my pictures all over the social media with my details.
“While in isolation, what they did was to check our vital signs every day. That particular day, the nurse told me that my blood pressure had shot up. I later told the psychosocial agent, who was keeping a tab on me, all that had been happening.”
She noted that the social worker, who later spoke to Danjuma, said the actress threatened to sue her.
“Why is she frustrating and intimidating me? It was while working for her that I got exposed to this thing, and the other domestic worker is still in the isolation centre. Right now, I am afraid for the cook; he should be tested. Right now, I am stranded with nowhere to go. My drugs are in her place,” she added.

In the text message she sent to Oyindamola, the actress claimed that the domestic worker got infected after going out of the house without permission.
“When my boys came back, I ensured that everyone was properly protected and insisted that you did not come close to them. I was with my kids all through, but (tested) negative three times. You ‘K’ deformed legs you were always using to go out without my permission on the basis of being my friend instead of a staff got you sick; you came home and infected Chioma,” the message read in part.
Danjuma, in her reaction, described Oyindamola as a manipulator, adding that she was sacked for plotting to extort her.
She said she agreed to pay Oyindamola N60,000 monthly on compassionate grounds.
The actress noted that the domestic worker, whom she employed as a nanny, went out several times without permission, adding that the second domestic worker caught the virus, because she stayed in the same room with Oyindamola.
Danjuma noted that in a week, two domestic workers left the house because of Oyindamola’s oppressive attitude.
She denied that her son tested positive for the COVID-19, adding that no member of her family had the virus.
The celebrity also told PUNCH Metro that she isolated the child upon his arrival from London and called the NCDC for tests in line with the government’s directives.
She stated, “An innocent child! Should I call my son to tell you that Oyin is trying to blackmail him to extort money from his parents? My son is negative; we are all negative.
“Oyin does not work in the house. She orders people around. She is rude. I just cannot stay with her. She is not the only one working for me. I still have others. All others are still working for me and I am paying them.
“If she has COVID-19, is Lagos State not providing for her? You have COVID-19 and you are abusing me, are you possessed? You are saying all sorts of nonsense about me.
“Oyin started working with me on March 12 and she started showing some signs. She was always looking tired. You tell her to climb the staircase and she is breathing heavily. She later said she had ulcer.
“When somebody has gone through marital woes, all she needs is not to work for anybody. She needs a psychologist to tell her that the world is not against her.”
Danjuma added that less than a week after her employment, she paid Oyindamola N30,000 as part of her salary, wondering why she would think the money was a gift.
She also said she bought drugs for all her workers, including the COVID-19 survivor.
She added, “My children came back on March 23. I told the doctor to come and test them and they tested me as well. It was not because of anything. They were not sick. I took everybody for the test.
“Oyin has never been proud of working for me. She tells people I am her friend. She tells other workers that whenever I am not around, she is the boss. She wants to control them.
“I know how much I spent feeding three adults, who I don’t really need in my house, and the kids. I have tried. This woman is the most ungrateful soul I have seen. When she tested positive, I called an ambulance and I ensured that the estate did not know about it so that she is not stigmatised.
“She stayed in the main house and shared a room with the other girl. I was calling to check up on her and pray with her while in isolation. Then one day, she called and said she wanted to be paid. And I blasted her. And before you know it, she said she contracted COVID-19 in my house.
“I was surprised and I said which son? It was at that point that I went off on her.”

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved.

Nearly all NY coronavirus patients suffered underlying health issue, study finds

A new study by a medical journal revealed that most of the people in New York City who were hospitalized due to coronavirus had one or more underlying health issues.
Health records from 5,700 patients hospitalized within the Northwell Health system -- which housed the most patients in the country throughout the pandemic -- showed that 94 percent of patients had more than one disease other than COVID-19, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Data taken from March to early April showed that the median age of patients was 63 years old and 53 percent of all coronavirus patients suffered from hypertension, the most prevalent of the ailments among patients.
In addition, 42 percent of coronavirus patients who had body mass index (BMI) data on file suffered from obesity while 32 percent of all patients suffered from diabetes.
The study also revealed that the overwhelming majority of patients who were on ventilators eventually died, and those who did more often had diabetes.
Data gathered from 2,634 patients who either died or were discharged from the hospital showed that 12 percent of them were placed on ventilators and of those who were, 88 percent of them died.
“Having serious comorbidities increases your risk,” said Karina Davidson, one of the study’s authors and senior vice president for the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, which is part of the Northwell Health system, according to reports by Time.
“This is a very serious disease with a very poor outcome for those who have severe infections from it. We want patients with serious chronic disease to take a special precaution and to seek medical attention early, should they start showing signs and symptoms of being infected. That includes knowing that they’ve been exposed to someone who has this virus.”

Vandana Rambaran is a reporter covering news and politics at foxnews.com. She can be found on Twitter @vandanarambaran

Usama Bin Laden wanted to kill Obama so 'totally unprepared' Joe Biden would be president, declassified docs show

Usama bin Laden wanted to assassinate then-President Barack Obama so that the "totally unprepared" Joe Biden would take over as president and plunge the United States "into a crisis," according to documents seized from bin Laden's Pakistan compound when he was killed in May 2011.
The secretive documents, first reported in 2012 by The Washington Post, outlined a plan to take out Obama and top U.S. military commander David Petraeus as they traveled by plane.
“The reason for concentrating on them is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make [Vice President] Biden take over the presidency," bin Laden wrote to a top deputy. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour ... and killing him would alter the war's path" in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden specifically wanted fellow terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri to shoot down Obama.
“Please ask brother Ilyas to send me the steps he has taken into that work,” bin Laden wrote to the top lieutenant, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. Kashmiri wouldn't get too far along in the plot, however; he was killed in 2011 in a U.S. drone strike shortly after bin Laden himself was shot to death by U.S. special forces.
Usama bin Laden said he wanted Joe Biden to be president, according to declassified documents.
Usama bin Laden said he wanted Joe Biden to be president, according to declassified documents.
Intelligence officials told the Post that bin Laden's plan never progressed past the aspirational stage.
For his part, Biden has sent mixed signals on his role in bin Laden's death, as explained at length in a timeline by The Washington Examiner's Jerry Dunleavy. In late April 2011, Obama gathered together a team that included Biden before making a final decision on whether to strike at bin Laden's suspected compound.
In January 2012, Biden revealed he had opposed to the raid, and claimed that “every single person in that room hedged their bet” except for CIA Director Leon Panetta, who supported striking the compound.
“Mr. President, my suggestion is, don’t go,” Biden said he told his boss, as reported by The New York Times. "We have to do two more things to see if he's there.'"

But in 2015, Biden changed his mind and said he had told Obama he "should go."
Obama himself verified Biden's opposition to the plan, telling Mitt Romney in a 2012 presidential debate, “Even some in my own party, including my current vice president, had the same critique as you did."
On CBS’s “60 Minutes" in Oct. 2015, Biden tried to clear up the confusion, and insisted everything he said had been "accurate."
“In order to give the president the leeway he needed, I said, ‘Mr. President, there’s one more thing we can do.’ … One more pass to see if it was bin Laden. I said, ‘You should do that, and there’d still be time to have the raid, but that’s what I would do,” Biden said.
SEAL Team Six ultimately landed at bin Laden's compound in two MH-60 Black Hawks, killed the terror leader and seized a fateful cache of valuable intelligence.

Gregg Re is a lawyer and editor based in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @gregg_re or email him at gregory.re@foxnews.com.

Six days after he went on self-isolation following the confirmation of his COVID-19 status, Abba Kyari, former chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, issued a statement on his health.

There had been rumours about his health condition, with some even saying the president’s right hand man
had been flown abroad in an emergency.

Some also said he had died but in a statement he personally signed, the deceased said he was looking forward to resuming at his desk.

He had said he was feeling well but would move to Lagos where he had made his own arrangement.

Below is the full statement:

I am writing to let you know that on medical advice, I will transfer to Lagos later today for additional tests and observation. This is a precautionary measure: I feel well, but last week, I tested positive for coronavirus, the pandemic that is sweeping the world. I have followed all the protocols government has announced to self-isolate and quarantine.

I have made my own care arrangements to avoid further burdening the public health system, which faces so many pressures. Like many others that will test also positive, I have not experienced high fever or other symptoms associated with this new virus and have been working from home. I hope to be back at my desk very soon. I have a team of young, professional, knowledgeable and patriotic colleagues, whose dedication has been beyond the call of duty, who continue to work seven days a week, with no time of the day spared. We will continue to serve the President and people of Nigeria, as we have for the past five years.

I want to thank all our fantastic, talented and brave healthcare professionals, working across the country in such a difficult time; all the good Samaritans looking out for the most vulnerable in our communities; the key workers that will keep our country going through this; friends and family and often strangers, who have sent me such warm wishes and displayed such a generosity of spirit.

We should be calm, measured and diligent – be meticulous in your hygiene, especially with cleaning hands, if possible stay at home or keep your distance. Listen to good advice from the proper authorities: pay no heed to quack cures or fake news from social media. President Buhari will do whatever it takes to protect the health and safety of our people and get the country back on its feet as soon as possible.

Like the whole world, we are dealing with a new disease. Our experts are learning more all the time about coronavirus, what it does and how we can combat it. What we do know is that while some may become very sick, many others who contract the virus will not, and may have no symptoms at all. This is a disease that recognises no difference between north and south, men or women, rich or poor. We are all in this together.

Sincerely

Abba Kyari
Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Late Abba Kyari was born in 1938 to a Kanuri family from Borno, a lawyer and banker.

He was an alumnus of both the University of Warwick and University of Cambridge.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Warwick and a law degree in 1983 from

Cambridge.

He was called to the Nigerian bar in 1984 after attending the Nigerian Law School.

He worked for the law firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo after law school.

From 1988 to 1990, he was Editor with the New Africa Holdings Limited Kaduna.

In 1990, he served as a Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State.

From 1990 to 1995, Kyari was the secretary to the board of African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

He was also an executive director in charge of management services at the United Bank for Africa.

Later, he was appointed the chief executive officer of the bank.

In 2002, he was appointed a director of Unilever Nigeria. He also later served on the board of ExxonMobil Nigeria.

President Mohammadu Buhari appointed him as his chief of Staff when he was elected President in 2015. He allegedly wielded enormous power and influence in the presidency and was also one of few officials that had cordial relationships with President Buhari.

His death was announced on Friday morning by the presidency. He was infected with the deadly COVID-19 in March this year

The statement reads: “The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari”, he said.

“The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020.

Be it as it may, Nigeria has lost a great man. Death has taken an iroko from us. Rest in peace.

Cal Thomas: Obama finally endorses Biden – and here's who to blame if Democrats lose in 2020

Former President Obama officially endorses Joe Biden
Obama throws support behind Joe Biden for president as Democrats continue to unify ahead of November.
It isn't like Joe Biden was former President Obama's first choice for president.
Obama's video endorsement on Tuesday of the former vice president came after every other candidate had pulled out. He even waited for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to suspend his campaign to endorse Biden. The "moderate" Obama and the formerly moderate Biden now appear to be in bed with the hard-left, Saul Alinsky, socialist wing of their party. In all of this, Sanders is the real winner because he has managed to pull the party so far left that it might qualify to open a headquarters in Havana, or even Moscow, where Sanders and his wife honeymooned.
Obama tried, but failed, to convince Biden not to run this year. According to The New York Times, Obama told Biden, "You don't have to do this, Joe, you really don't."
Biden wrote in his book that Obama talked him out of running in 2016 in order to clear a path for Hillary Clinton. Biden wrote that Obama "played up the appeal of leaving politics and gave little encouragement about a possible bid."
Again, according to The New York Times, Obama "offered every (2020 Democrat) candidate his counsel," and in December it leaked that the former president was secretly promoting then-candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to possible donors.
Last December, Obama told a gathering in Singapore there would be "significant improvement across the board" if more countries had female leaders and that "old men" should get "out of the way." It was a comment many took to be a slap at his much older (and male) vice president.
In March 2019, a report in The New York Times said Obama called together some of Biden's top campaign advisers and told them, they needed to "make sure" Biden didn't "embarrass himself," a clear reference to the growing number of gaffes Biden was committing and continues to commit.
Last September, CNN reported it was told by a senior Obama-Biden administration official that it appeared Biden's capacity was in obvious decline, a statement that is easily confirmed by anyone who observes his rambling comments.
Robert Gates, who served as secretary of Defense in the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said of Biden in his 2014 book "Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War": "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."
A review of Gates' book in The New York Times, reprinted in the January 2014 issue of Atlantic magazine, notes Gates' scathing indictment of the former vice president: "Biden is accused of 'poisoning the well' against the military leadership. Thomas Donilon, initially Obama's deputy national security adviser, and then-Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, the White House coordinator for the wars, are described as regularly engaged in 'aggressive, suspicious, and sometimes condescending and insulting questioning of our military leaders."'
At a 2011 meeting of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, Obama sheepishly confessed that the economic stimulus program he and Biden had previously said would create "shovel-ready jobs," "was not as ... uh ... shovel-ready as we expected."
There's plenty more criticism of Biden and his record, which Republicans are certainly storing up for a slew of campaign ads and the upcoming presidential debates, including Biden's flip-flopping on issues he once claimed to hold as convictions.
Most of the former Democratic presidential candidates would have been better and stronger than Biden. But once again, the establishment has had its way, and should Biden be defeated and Democrats lose congressional seats, they will have only themselves to blame.

Cal Thomas is America's most widely syndicated op-ed columnist in the U.S. He is the author of “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires, Superpowers and the United States,” to be published Jan. 21, 2020. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

Business Executives are needed in a financial institution in Benin City.

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B.sc & HND holders

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Job offer in a financial institution in Benin City for the position of Business Executives is required.

Qualification:
B.sc & HND holders

Contact: 080-3404-9175
090-6006-7143