Sahara Reporters Latest News Wednesday 10th July 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 10/07/19
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target=_blank>Tribute To Kongi @ 85: The Conscience Of A Nation By Louis Odion
Louis Odion
The cell-phone beeped frantically. With the caller ID with-held, it was easy to surmise that it was either a foreign call or someone preferring anonymity. Pressing the receive button, my hunch was dead right. The baritone voice was unmistakable: it was the literary lion himself roaring from his den on the other side of the Atlantic.
“Hey Louis, what’s the trouble at home this time?,” he teased in his accustomed patriarchal flourish.
“Good day, Prof,” I responded and, excited that my repeated dials had finally paid off, quickly switched to the sarcastic mode Kongi had set. “It’s Maradona again o. Of all the idle pensioners left in Nigeria, the NLNG people just declared that he’s the only one fit to give keynote address at the next Prize ceremony.”
Indeed, heavy dust had been raised earlier on this day in September 2007 following the unveiling of General Ibrahim Babangida as the lead speaker at the exclusive shindig, to which the who’s who in Nigeria’s literary community get invited annually.
As editor of Sunday Sun then with a robust literary section, this writer was urgently seeking Professor Wole Soyinka’s comment, to set the agenda ahead of the presentation ceremony scheduled for the following weekend.
Without mincing words, Kongi released the expected bombshell: “Abominable!!”
His logic was simple: having been linked to the unnatural deaths of a few literary celebrities as military dictator and having presided over an order that flagrantly stifled free speech, it was simply unacceptable that the microphone be yielded to the former military dictator at a ceremony intended to celebrate the spoken or written word.
To him, that amounted to dancing on the graves of the likes of poet Mamman Vatsa (a military general summarily executed over the alleged 1985 military coup despite passionate pleas from the nation’s leading writers including Soyinka) and Dele Giwa (celebrated journalist dispatched by a letter bomb on October 19, 1986).
Louis Odion
Almost breathless with rage, Soyinka said: “I call on ANA (Association of Nigerian Authors) to boycott the NLNG Grand Award Night unless the organizers reverse themselves on the choice of General Ibrahim Babangida as keynote speaker, mindful of his antecedents. His choice is an affront on intellectuals in the country.
“NLNG has the right to invite whoever it pleases. It should also be understood that ANA, as a democratic institution, reserves the right to boycott. Saying that invitation extended to IBB is in the exercise of freedom of expression is a distraction. It is agreed that freedom of expression is consistent with democracy. Let it also be noted that ANA has, in this regard, a responsibility of action against the man who destroyed democracy in the country, whose policies stifled intellectual growth.”
With such thunderous denunciation by Kongi, yours sincerely was left salivating with some malicious pleasure at a steaming exclusive and did not think twice before making it a front-page story with the headline, “NLNG Award: Soyinka moves against IBB.”
Predictably, Soyinka’s eruption instantly triggered a concatenation of lightning and thunder across the land. Literary icons like Professors Niyi Osundare and Okey Ndibe added to IBB’s misery with their barbs. There were a few dissenters, however. At the end, the 2007 edition of the Literature Prize organized by the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas was completely overshadowed by the debate on the propriety or otherwise of inviting a military dictator to a literary feast.
Fleeting as it may seem, the foregoing anecdote nonetheless speaks to one fact: another confirmation of Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka as the conscience of a nation blighted by vanity and amnesia, with a deep moral voice whose resonance not only sends fear into the hearts of men of power but also inspires generations of men and women to stand up and be counted for good.
By and large, what truly makes Soyinka great is not so much for the monumentality of a talent that spews pithy poetry, gripping prose and transcendental drama. His greatness lies more in the courage and character he brings to bear in creativity.
At an age when no territory seems restricted anymore, when many yesterday’s heroes and heroines have been exposed to be counterfeits, when more and more of the surviving statesmen would rather trade away their honour for temporary gains, Kongi remains an exemplary, distinguished from the multitude by his trademark hoary mane accentuated by an equally immaculate goatee.
My early contact with him was through the channel of the written word. Beginning from secondary school, to the polytechnic and later the university, I read tons and tons of Soyinka’s works to find my own feet as a writer. As many students will attest, Soyinka’s poems were a source of dread and torture.
But the Kongi I would later encounter as journalist was a pleasant man. Despite his world celebrity status, his humility is very numbing and, as the good teacher, he never allows any opportunity to mentor the younger ones pass.
As one of the pioneers of THISDAY back page back in mid-90s, this writer was introduced to him by a professional ‘egbon’ (senior), Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, during a flight to Abuja from Lagos.
“Oh, your face is already familiar,” he said, offering me a handshake. “You’re one of those I read on THISDAY back page.”
Coming from the owner of the word himself, the Nobel laureate, a famous name I grew up worshipping, I felt completely flattered that my own little juvenile jottings made some sense to Soyinka. I took his contact and tried to stay in touch. Thus began a relationship that grew from acquaintanceship to discipleship. He has a natural affinity, instinctive solidarity with anyone in the writing fraternity.
I have seen him deploy his awesome clout to extract better deals for fellow writers. While delivering a keynote address at the inaugural edition of the NLNG Prize for Literature many years ago, Soyinka had tactfully bad-mouthed the organizers for being too “stingy” by the amount set aside as the Prize money in view of the “fortune you daily amass from the soil of Niger Delta.”
In clear breach of protocol, he thereafter unilaterally declared that in the exercise of his “natural powers” as the “defender of writers” the amount was upped from 10,000 to 30,000 US Dollars. The Kongi’s coup elicited a standing ovation from the galaxy of writers gathered in the expansive hall that night. The rapturous applause continued when his speech ended. Reading the mood in the audience correctly, NLNG’s MD had little or no choice than announce the approval of Soyinka’s proposal.
To the younger ones like yours sincerely, Soyinka’s father-figure stature naturally makes him a guardian. But despite the wide age difference, Kongi also relates to you as a friend with incredible sense of humour. During one of his frequent visits to Nigeria, he gladly consented to an interview request I made. The only problem was time, because he had several speaking engagements already lined up.
Finally, he decided to squeeze out time in-between a lecture at the National Arts Theatre, Lagos.
On the D-Day, we were already more than thirty minutes into the session when I suddenly noticed that the tape-recorder was stuck. My heart skipped with embarrassment. I quickly demobilized the gadget and played back. Lo, not a single word was recorded!
“Haba! Louis, shame on you. You mean a journalist of your standing still carries around a counterfeit recorder,” he teased, without the slightest sign of irritation that his precious time had been wasted on account of an avoidable mechanical malfunction. Graciously, he accepted we begin afresh.
His fiery pen and caustic tongue notwithstanding, Kongi remains tender at heart; one who may disagree with you in principle, but never holds back in the fellowship of humanity or be detained by bitterness over the past. Only that could possibly explain the complicated relationship he has had over the years with his kinsman, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Feisty OBJ had decided to veer from the political turf as sitting president in 2005 to engage Soyinka in an epistolary joust. In a statement he personally signed, he took a swipe at Kongi for criticizing his policies.
But discerning observers who read the open letter could not but raise their hands in panic immediately, fearful of the approaching literary wrath on the proverbial errant native doctor who carries his ritual offering past a mosque.
While it was easily conceded that OBJ was cantankerous by nature, many had expected that his fabled native intelligence would have served him well by dissuading him from venturing into a square rope against Kongi in a literary duel.
Their worst fears were soon proved right. Soyinka’s response was an atomic bomb. By the time the smoke cleared, OBJ’s presidential garment was torn beyond recognition. For once, the Ota chicken farmer became tongue-tied. Months later, the animus that open ‘roforofo’ (dirty fight) had generated would not prevent Kongi from showing up at the funeral of OBJ’s spouse, Stella, who died suddenly following complications arising from a medical procedure in Spain.
When OBJ finally met with Kongi face to face on the aisle outside the funeral parlour, the story is told of how the president exploded in a playful rage, ‘Wole, iwo! (Wole, You!)’, raising an arm in mock threat. Defiant Kongi fired back, “Segun, Ori e!”, thumping his own head in a supreme Yoruba gesture of contempt.
Obviously more embarrassed than amused by such show of audacity, the band of guards around the President cleverly looked away.
Again, when Chief Emeka Ojukwu qualified the victory he achieved in the sham elections arranged by the Abacha junta to select delegates for the 1994 Constitutional Conference as conferring on him a mandate “superior to June 12”, vintage Soyinka gave expression to popular thinking in the country then by simply dismissing the ex-Biafran secessionist as “an expired warlord”.
That critical riposte would not prevent Kongi from attending Ojukwu’s burial in 2012 to pay last respect to a personal friend.
Same generosity of spirit is very much in evidence in his warm relationship today with General Yakubu Gowon. At the presentation of a memoir by Oba Eradiuawa of Benin in 2014, Soyinka continually poked good-natured jokes at Gowon while giving a keynote address, to the admiration of the audience. It was hard to believe that it was same Gowon who had clamped him into the gulag during the Nigerian civil war. In fact, his 20-month solitary confinement birthed the book, “The Man Died”.
When it was his turn to speak, the former head of state threw the crowd into a fresh bout of laughter by cautioning Kongi to watch his tongue: “You should remember that it was because of the same sharp tongue of yours that I sent you to prison in the 60s.”
Being the first black man to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Soyinka’s life surely sends an enduring message: the infinite possibilities of the black race and the value in character. Here is wishing him happy 85th birthday.
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target=_blank>Tinubu: Next Move In Ondo APC Crisis Is Unity
Tinubu and other APC leaders after the closed meeting held in Akure
Tinubu and other APC leaders after the closed meeting held in Akure
Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the party has decided to apply ‘conflict resolution’ to resolve the internal crisis rocking the Ondo state chapter of the party.
The APC national leader said conflicts were bound to happen in politics, adding that the leaders of the party would embrace internal democracy to minimize the frequency at which conflicts occur in the party.
Tinubu spoke briefly to reporters shortly after a closed-door meeting in Akure today (Tuesday) with some agrrieved members of the party.
Tinubu was appointed in February 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhar to end the various crises rocking the ruling party across the country.
“We apply conflict resolution mechanism which is part of politics to resolve any other problem and smoothen the edges. The next move is unity; talking together, consulting one another and working together for the interests of our party and in particular Ondo state,” he said.
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Speaking, Chief Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun state, said the APC leaders had resolved to mend the broken fences in APC in Ondo state.
The former governor noted that members of the APC in Ondo state had been instructed to work together.
“We talked how we shall win next election resoundingly. You see all our leaders coming out together laughing and happy. We have our leaders in Ondo and we have told them to go and do their job and bring our party together as one.
“We shall also keep encouraging our leaders in Ondo state to do what we have agreed to which is unity at all level,” Akande said.
Earlier, Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun state said the party members must preach unity from the wards to the state levels.
“Our leaders should go back and preach unity to all our members,” he said.
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target=_blank>Police Arrest 100 Cultists, Gangsters In Lagos
The Lagos State Police Command said it has arrested 100 suspected cultists during their annual initiation ceremonies.
Zubairu Muazu, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police said this on Tuesday during the parade of the alleged suspects at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Yaba, Lagos.
The police chief said the command identified more than 10 active cult groups in various parts of Lagos State and clamped down on their activities against the July 7 initiation day, also known as 7/7.
He said: “The command, through massive raids on cultists’ strongholds among other strategies, successfully prevented any kind of activities in the name of 7/7 celebration.
“100 cultists and gangsters were arrested within this period. We have charged 70 of them to court while 30 are still under investigation.”
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target=_blank>Because Of EFCC Criminals Have Fled Kwara State, Claims National Orientation Agency
The Kwara State Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Segun Adeyemi, says criminals have fled the state because of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s activities in Kwara.
Adeyemi stated this when the management of NOA, Kwara State Chapter visited the Ilorin Zonal Office of the EFCC.
According to Adeyemi, “The fear of EFCC in Ilorin is now the beginning of wisdom in Kwara State, criminals fled from this state because the EFCC is on the ground. Since you came, we have been following all your activities in the media. Your achievements send signals to criminals. Your efforts in fighting corruption are highly commendable. We hope you will continue in this direction.”
The state director of NOA, however, promised to partner the anti-graft body in its fight against corruption. “We cannot go far unless we partner an agency like the EFCC. We are interested in good governance. Corruption must not be given a chance,” he said.
Responding, the Ilorin Zonal Head of the EFCC, Isyaku Sharu commended the delegation for the visit and promised to engage NOA in raising awareness in order to prevent crime within the zone.
“We are very much aware of your responsibilities. Section 6 of the EFCC Act says we must collaborate with both government and non-governmental agencies. Beyond conviction, we must change the people for good. This country belongs to all of us. We have to do all things so that crime will be reduced to bearest minimum,” Sharu said.
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target=_blank>EXCLUSIVE: Get Ready For Another Massive Protest Tomorrow, Shiites Dare Police
Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as ‘Shiites’ have vowed to embark on another massive protest tomorrow (Wednesday) in Abuja despite the violent clash with the police at the National Assembly complex today (Tuesday).
SaharaReporters exclusively gathered that the Shiites have perfected plans to regroup and storm the Federal Capital Territory.
During today’s protest, two Shiites were killed while five policemen were injured and 50 cars vandalized.
The Secretary of the Academic Forum of the movement, Abdullahi Musa told SaharaReporters that the movement would not be deterred by the killing of two of its members.
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BREAKING: Two Feared Dead As Police, Shiites Clash At National Assembly Complex
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“We are coming out tomorrow. The only thing that will stop us from coming out is when they free our leader and allow him to go for medical treatment,” Musa said
Musa explained that the movement had last Thursday submitted a petition and medical reports to the leadership of the National Assembly on the need for their leader to seek medical attention because of his deteriorating health condition.
He stated that the leader of the delegation, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa addressed the group at the gate and assured them that action would be taken regarding their demands.
He also said that they had presented evidence that the Federal government poisoned El-Zakzaky.
He said, “All the documents were duly submitted to the appropriate authority but they are yet to take action on it after 128 hours. No response from them that is why we went back to see them but the police started shooting teargas at us on the arrival at the gate.
“They used live ammunitions and killed two of us and during the shooting they shot some of their officers.”
The Shiites have been engaging in continuous protests for the past three weeks to demand the freedom of their leader who has been in detention since 2014 despite court ordering his release.
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target=_blank>El-Zakzaky Protest: Police Arrest 40 Shiites In Violent Confrontation
Forty members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) have been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force.
They were arrested during a protest to demand the freedom of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. But the protest became violent after a confrontation with policemen.
Trouble started when members of the sect started scaling a fence of the National Assembly’s building in an attempt to enter its legislative chambers.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that two of the protesters were shot dead while five cops were injured and 50 vehicles vandalized.
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The protesters, who were few meters away from the chambers, were eventually dispersed by anti-riot policemen who opened fire on them.
In a statement, the police claimed that the IMN members attempted to forcefibly invade the National Assembly complex.
DSP Anjuguri Manzah, Police Public Relations Officer of FCT Police Command, also said the IMN members used clubs and stones in attacking the policemen.
“Members of the sect during the violent protest shot two police personnel on the leg, while clubs and stones were used to inflict injuries on six other policemen. The injured policemen have been taken to the hospital for prompt medical attention.
“Meanwhile, 40 members of the sect have been arrested in connection with the violent protest. Investigation is in progress,” Manzah said.
He stated that the force would not tolerate “any attempt by any individual or group of persons to cause the breakdown of law and order,” while adding that “those arrested in the process will be dealt with in accordance with the appropriate law of the land”.
PHOTONEWS: Police Open Fire On Shiite Protesters At National Assembly Complex On Tuesday In Abuja
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target=_blank>Boko Haram Insurgency: Buhari Approves Accelerated Promotion Of Senior Army Officers
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Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the accelerated promotion of two senior army officers and a subaltern for their patriotic role in ending Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s north-east region.
According to a statement by the Nigerian Army, the officers were granted promotion for their “extraordinary feats, courage, examplary leadership, loyalty, uncommon commitment and valour” in the counter-insurgency operation of the military.
The statement added: “The two senior officers are Major General LO Adeosun, the Chief of Training and Operations at Army Headquarters who has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and Brigadier General AB Biu, General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander Sector 2 Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri, promoted to the rank of Major General.
“Also, promoted to the rank of Captain is Lieutenant AJ Danjibrin of 211 Demonstration Battalion Bauchi.”
The Buhari administration, said the army, has continued to demonstrate total and unflinching support to the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the bid to effectively contain the security situation in the country especially activities of terrorists in the North-East.
“In particular, the government has shown commitment to recognizing excellence, dedication and commitment on the part of personnel of the Nigerian Army,” the statement. “It is in this wise that the President, Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the accelerated promotion of two senior officers and a subaltern of the Nigerian Army.”
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, on behalf of officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army has felicitated with the newly promoted officers and extended his best wishes to them in all their future endeavours.
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Ondo APC Crisis: Tinubu, Akeredolu In Closed-Door Meeting With Aggrieved APC Leaders
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu receiving Bola Tinubu to Akure
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu receiving Bola Tinubu to Akure
Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress and erstwhile Osun State Governor, Bisi Akande are currently holding a closed-door meeting with some aggrieved members of the party in Akure, Ondo State.
The meeting had in attendance the National Deputy Chairman (South) of the APC, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo and the former Osun State governor, Bisi Akande.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Engr. Ade Adetimehin, Ondo APC Chairman, led the caucus of the party leaders to the meeting.
The meeting is holding at the Heritage Intercontinental Hotel in Ijapo Estate in Akure.
Others at the meeting included the 2016 governorship candidate of the party, Olusegun Abraham, Chief Olusola Oke, Afe Olowookere, Isaac Kekemeke, Tayo Alasoadura, Bola Ilori, Pius Akinyelure, among others.
A source at the meeting revealed that the meeting is to address the crisis rocking the Ondo state chapter of the party.
Details later.
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Two Feared Dead As Police, Shiites Clash At National Assembly Complex
PHOTONEWS: Police Open Fire On Shiite Protesters At National Assembly Complex On Tuesday In Abuja
Members of the Islamic Movement Of Nigeria, popularly known as Shiites, have clashed with policemen during a protest in Abuja on Tuesday.
The police fired shots at the protesters who are demanding the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, detained by Nigerian government.
Five policemen were reportedly injured in the altercation.
The protesters were seen overpowering the security operatives at the main gate and vandalised more than 50 vehicles.
Trouble started when members of the sect started scaling a fence of the National Assembly’s building with the intention to storm the chambers.
The move was resisted by the security operatives attached to the complex as the mob descended on the staff and vehicles parked on the premises.
The protesters, who were few meters away from the chambers were eventually dispersed by anti-riot policemen who opened fire on them.
Two protesters were reportedly shot dead.
Meanwhile, the situation has led to the abrupt end of the lawmakers’ plenary while normalcy is being restored to the area.
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Transparency International Set To Release Nigeria’s Corruption Survey
Transparency International is set to release its Africa corruption survey (Global Corruption Barometer –Africa) which captures people’s experiences and perceptions of corruption in 35 countries and territories.
The survey conducted in patnership with Afrobarometer, sampled 47,000 citizens between September 2016 and September 2018 about their perceptions of corruption and their direct experiences of bribery.
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Transparency International Ranks Nigeria 148th World’s Least Corrupt Country
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The countries surveyed are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the organization’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Nigeria has “neither improved nor progressed in the perception of corruption in the public administration in 2018″.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) aggregates data from a number of different sources that provide perceptions by the business community and country experts of the level of corruption in the public sector.
Nigeria scored 27 out of 100 points in the 2018 CPI, maintaining the same score as in the 2017 CPI.
The new survey will be released on July 11, 2019.
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