Sahara Reporters Latest News Monday 15th April 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 15/04/19
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target=_blank>One Killed, Four Critically Wounded In Ibadan As FRSC Officials Chase Micra Driver Into A Ditch
At least one person died and four other passengers were seriously wounded in an auto accident that happened on Saturday evening at Moniya in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.
The accident occurred when some officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) gave a commercial Micra car a hot chase until the car — together with the FRSC’s own — plunged into a ditch, resulting in the death of Akeem Ibrahim, the driver of the commercial car, and leaving four others passengers critically wounded.
According to a witness, the driver of the commercial car had refused to stop at a checkpoint manned by the FRSC officials around Ojoo. The driver’s refusal to stop made the FRSC official to embark on a hot pursuit of the Micra car, with number plate Lagos 831 DH, and their van marked 1139(3).
“We saw how the FRSC officials were pursuing the unpainted commercial car,” the witness. “The officials were trying to overtake the car and in the process both of them plunged into this wide hole by the roadside.”
A source said the officials of the FRSC were chasing the car for not being painted in the normal commercial colour.
“The FRSC were chasing the car because it was not painted in the normal commercial colour. The passengers in the car were shouting and pleading with the officials not to risk their lives, but they did not heed their pleas.
“Like a movie, we just saw and heard a deafening noise when they crashed. The Micra car somersaulted before it crashed into the ditch, followed by the FRSC van. The driver of the Micra car had stopped breathing by the time they carried him out. Other four passengers in the car were critically injured when they pulled them out. Blood covered them all over.”
However, when the FRSC rescue team got to the scene of the accident, all they were trying to do was to cover the code on the car. The witness said their arrival was so prompt, but when they got to the scene they evacuated their van without attending to the car it chased and forced into a fatal plunge.
He said: “There is a number on the bonnet and the side of the door. They opened the bonnet and the car door to conceal the code. If they were right, would they be doing that?”
Meanwhile, angry drivers mobilised themselves and would have attacked the FRSC official present but for the prompt intervention of five police vans who checked the irate drivers and nipped the attack in the bud.
Lamenting the death of his colleague and the unprofessionalism of the officials of the FRSC, one of the drivers, amid sobs, said: “We got here now to see the extent of the crash. Why are these FRSC officials causing deaths instead of saving lives?”
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target=_blank>Rwanda/Biafra: Before We Forget By SOC Okenwa
SOC Okenwa
SOC Okenwa
Penultimate weekend the east-central African nation of Rwanda marked 25th anniversary of the very worst man-made cataclysmic event in her national history — genocide anti-Tutsis. In April 1994 following the tragic crash of the presidential flight that killed the then Hutu-born President Juvenal Habyarimana and the then Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira and a host of others aboard an organized genocide against the Tutsi minority population began in horrible earnest. In the end close to a million Tutsis and some moderate Hutus were butchered to death in an aggressive vengeful killing spree described by witnesses as the satanic-inspired wild exhibition of the black man’s penchant for the primitive, for the abominable.
The late President Habyarimana had attended an official function outside his home country and was home-bound when suddelny the grim reaper came calling in a violent manner. Before his ‘borrowed’ presidential plane could land in Kigali a powerful anti-aircraft missile fired supposedly by enemy forces hit the executive jet forcing it down in smithereens! The Rwandese President who was being accompanied home by his Burundian counterpart and every other person on board were blown to pieces like the jet itself.
Soon after the chilling news of the gory incident hit the streets spreading like wild fire the streets of Kigali were deserted for fear of the unknown. The state-owned radio and TV stations were inundated with appalling hate speeches and direct calls for vengeance by the Hutus against the Tutsis. And before anyone could do anything in terms of appealing for calm, concord or harmony the blood of the innocent had started flowing.
In the end, after three to four months of barbaric rage and blood-letting, close to a million Tutsis (and moderate Hutus) had been slaughtered in a particularly gruesome manner like wild animals! Pregnant women had their protruding tummies ‘operated’ upon with sharp objects on the streets, people were mindlessly hacked to death by a hate-filled gangs, houses were burnt down at wee hours of the night with folks sleeping therein.
Prior to the commencement of the genocide historians had noted the fragmentation of the society along ethnic lines. Besides, conclusions were reached that the deliberate wicked calls for annihilation of an ethnic group by another had aided and abetted the success behind the massacre. The Tutsis were condescendingly described as ‘rats’ and ‘cockroaches’ worthy of total elimination.
And the international community did not do much to halt the pogrom. It was as if the gate of hell was opened forth and demons of war were unleashed on defenceless unarmed civilians with no functional authority in place to impose order.
Twenty seven odd years prior to the Rwandese genocide a similar gory incident had happened in Nigeria during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. In 1967 the late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu had declared the Biafran Republic unilaterally yanking off the entire eastern region from the rest of the Nigerian nation. The 1966 coup d’etat and consequent counter coup led to societal division on ethnic fault lines. Following the counter coup orchestrated and executed by mainly northern military elements the Igbos up north were being killed indiscriminately by their hosts. And that led to the Igbo exodus to the hinterland or their ancestral homes.
The then Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, in his youthful exuberance much like the late Ikemba Ojukwu, had declared war against the seceding Igbos (Biafrans). The Aburi Accord signed in the neighbouring Ghana encountered discord as the signing parties returned home renouncing same. Three years of war followed and more than three million Biafrans were killed by the enemy forces, hunger, starvation, diseases or whatever!The Tutsis in Rwanda are like the Igbos in Nigeria: enterprising, intelligent, rich, strong and republican. In Rwanda the Hutus hated them for their gut and cultural heritage. In Nigeria the Hausa-Fulanis hated the Igbos for their gut and cultural heritage as well. That is why like in Rwanda the Igbos are systematically marginalised and excluded criminally from assuming the presidency.
But a new great Nigeria would be born, rich in her restructured prosperous corporate entity, when the Igbos are given the chance to prove their mettle at the power apex. And when that historic era dawns, later than sooner, Nigeria would be ‘healed’ of her tragic nationhood malaise.
Biafra failed quite alright as the Igbos are still today grudgingly part and parcel of the Nigerian federation. But today the Biafran dream still lives on! The idea behind Biafra, even when the great man behind the original concept is no longer with us in flesh and blood, may never die given the prevailing injustice and marginalisation being visited on the Igbos.
Twenty five years after Rwanda has changed for good. The Tutsis like the Igbos are soldiering on with their lives embracing the future, remembering the past and never forgetting. The capital city, Kigali, is reputed to be a very clean city worthy of tourism. There is democracy with President Paul Kagame as the strong man in the mould of the Russian Vladmir Putin. The Hutu/Tutsi ethnic tension has died down considerably. The economy is not doing badly compared to the continental standards.
Quarter of a century after the Rwandese genocide and half a century and two years after the Biafran pogrom we collectively mourn the dead and the missing. And exhort the living to live and let live!
Between Rwanda and Biafra humanity in general and Africans in particular demonstrated, yet again, our collective capacity for pure evil. But before we lapse into convenient forgetfulness we must continue to remind ourselves, with culpability in mind, about the imperative of love and unity! By loving one another and uniting our forces for the common good we can make this beautiful (yet blood-soaked) planet we know better a better place to live in.
SOC Okenwasoco_abj_2006_rci@hotmail.fr
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target=_blank>Kachikwu, Falana Set For FoI Showdown Over ‘$60bn Oil Revenue Loss’
Ibe Kachikwu
Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has acknowledged the request by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) for the details of the loss of about $60bn oil revenue due to Nigeria — although he offered no hint whether he would acceded to Falana’s request or not.
Ina letter dated April 10, 2019 and received by Kachikwu’s office a day after, Falana had made the request on the strength of the Freedom of Information(FOI)
“In my letter addressed to you in your capacity as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), I called your attention to the refusal of the regulatory agencies in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to enforce the Production Sharing Contracts signed with the International Oil Companies by the Federal government,” Falana had written.
“In a public statement credited to you sometime in August 2017, you did disclose to the media that Nigeria had lost not less than $60 Billion due to the refusal of some public officials to implement the terms of the Production Sharing Contracts between the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies.
“In another public statement made on January 19, 2019 by the Acting Chairman of the Revenue, Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mr. Shetima Bana confirmed the loss of oil revenue of $60 billion arising from the non-implementation of the said production sharing contracts.
“In view of the foregoing, I am compelled to request you to furnish me with information on the revenue of $60 billion which the Federal government has refused to collect from the International Oil Companies as at August 2017. As this request is made pursuant to section the provision of the Freedom of Information Act,, you are required to supply the requested information not later than 7 days from the date of the receipt of this letter.
“TAKE NOTICE that if you fail or refuse to accede to my request, I shall be compelled to apply to the Federal High Court to direct you to avail me with the information on the loss of the oil revenue of $60 billion.”
However, responding in an April 11, 2019 reply, Kachikwu, through his Chief of Staff, Ms. Oge Modie, just acknowledged Falana’s letter. He he did not supply the requested information or promise to do so in future.
The curt letter, with reference number MPR/COS/042/VOL.1/795, and signed by Modie, reads: “On behalf of the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kackikwu, this is to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 10, 2019 and received on April 11, 2019 on the above subject matter.
“Please accept the assurances of the Honourable Minister’s best regards.”
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E2%80%98killed%E2%80%99-two-lovers target=_blank>BREAKING: Police Release Names, Photos Of Officers Who ‘Killed’ Two Lovers
Inspector Dania Ojo
The Lagos State Police Command has released the names and pictures of the five police officers involved in the shooting of two young lovers, Ada Ifeanyi and Emmanuel Akomafuwa, who were returning from the nightclub early on Saturday morning.
The couple were waved down by the Police, but Akomafuna did not immediately stop; so when the Police chased him down, they shot both of them.
Ada died on the spot while Akomafuna survived until he got to the hospital, where he finally gave up the ghost.
The injustice, the Police have now said, will not go unpunished.
Already, the suspects have been identified and their pictures released, including that of one officer (pictured below) who escaped after the incident
“The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu mni, has ordered the immediate arrest and detention of Police Officers suspected to be involved in the shooting of Ada Ifeanyi ‘f’ 20yrs old of No 4b Amusa Lane off Ojo road Ajegunle and Emmanuel Akomafuwa ‘m’ 32yrs old of No. 52 Babatunde Street Olodi Apapa, at Akpiri Street, Olodi Apapa,” Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintended of Police and Public Relations Officer of the Police in Lagos, said in a statement.
“The incident happened on 13th April, 2019 at about 7.00am. The victims were rushed to hospital and Ada Ifeanyi was confirmed dead while Emmanuel Akomafuwa is currently on admission receiving treatment from the injury he sustained as a result of the shooting SaharaRepoters has since confirmed Akomafuwa’s passing.
“Members of the team suspected to be involved in the shooting are from Trinity Police Station and are currently facing internal disciplinary proceedings at the Command Headquarters Ikeja. Their Rifles have been retrieved for forensic analysis by Ballisticians. If found wanting, they will be prosecuted in a conventional court for murder. The Policemen arrested are (1) Inspector Adamu Usman (2) Sergeant Adeyeye Adeoye (3) Sergeant Kashim Tijani (4) Sergeant Lucky Akigbe and (5) Sergeant Paul Adeoye while Inspector Dania Ojo who escaped immediately after the shooting incident is declared wanted by the Command.
Inspector Dania Ojo
“Lagos State Police Command condemn in total these senseless killings of unarmed civilians by few ‘bad eggs’ in the Command, who are bend towards denting the image and reputation of the nation’s Police Force. The Command will not relent in its efforts in ridding the force off these criminal elements. Those involved in extra judicial killings and abuse of power are promptly identified, isolated, tried through internal disciplinary proceedings, dismissed from service and prosecuted in conventional Courts.
“Within the last one month, Lagos State Police Command has dismissed four Policemen for abuse of power and conducts unbecoming of Police Officers and awarded various degree of punishments to 41 others. The four dismissed Policemen were charged to Court and remanded in prison custody. Our collective resolve in building a more humane, professional, dedicated, courageous and people oriented Police Force is a task that must be done and together we can make it a reality.”
Elkana also extended the “deepest condolences” of the Commissioner of Police to the family and friends of Ada Ifeanyi, and called for calm as the Command would leave no stone untouched in ensuring that Justice prevails.
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Police In Apapa Shoot Two Young Lovers Returning From Night Club
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target=_blank>Police In Apapa Shoot Two Young Lovers Returning From Night Club
With the dust over the killing of football fan Kolade Johnson by Inspector Olalekan Ogunyemi in Mangoro area of Lagos yet to settle, the Police in Lagos are again enmeshed in a fresh case of extrajudicial killing, this time in Olodi Apapa, Apapa, Lagos.Two young lovers, identified as Ada Ifeanyi and Emmanuel Akomafuwa, were returning from the nightclub early on Saturday morning when they were waved down by the Police. Akomafuna, the driver, did not immediately stop; so when the Police chased him down, they shot both of them.
“I got a call this morning from my town union to step into a matter concerning the murderous killing of a young girl, daughter of my towns man. This happened at Wilmet area of Ajegunle,” said Obuesi Phillips, a member of the CSO Accountability Network who first brought the matter to SaharaReporter’s attention.
“The story is that the lady, Adaobi Ojide, and her boyfriend were on their way from a nightclub Saturday morning when they were waved down by policemen.
“According to the story, when the boyfriend, being the driver didn’t immediately stop, the Police gave a chase and caught up with the vehicle.
“The Police shot at the young man on the head. The young lady, seeing that her boyfriend had been shot at, raised her voice against the policemen, who promptly shot at her also. The young lady Adaobi Ojide died instantly on the spot while the boyfriend is yet alive. I was also informed that the DPO last night visited the father and the CP has also visited the father of the late young lady.”
SaharaReporters subsequently confirmed that Akomafuwa eventually died at the hospital, and that a second lady was with the couple in the car, but she’s alive.
When SaharaReporters contacted Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintended of Police and Public Relations Officer of the Police in Lagos, he said the officers involved had been arrested and detained.
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target=_blank>Police Arrest ‘Three Notorious Kidnappers’ Of Channels TV Reporter Friday Okeregbe
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says it has arrested “three notorious persons” involved in the kidnap of Friday Okeregbe, the Channels reporter who covers the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Okeregbe was kidnapped on March 22 along Games Village in Abuja while on his way from his mechanic’s workshop. He was released a few days later, but that was only after the kidnappers had contacted his family to demand a ransom of N50m.
On Sunday, the Police announced the capture of three of the kidnappers, and released details of the abduction.
“In line with the IGP’s stated commitment to curb all forms of crimes and criminality, especially incidences of kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country, Police Operatives attached to Operation Puff Adder, acting on intelligence report, on 9th April, 2019 at about 6:30am arrested three (3) notorious persons involved in the kidnap of Channels Television’s staff, Mr. Friday Okeregbe,” read a statement by Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and Force Public Relations Officer at the Force Headquarters.
“The suspects: Hanniel Patrick ‘m’ 29years from Akwa Ibom State, Abdulwahab Isah ‘m’ 28years and Salisu Mohammed ‘M’ 32years both from Kogi State have made useful statement to the Police.
“Meanwhile, investigations revealed that Mr. Friday Okeregbe was not originally the intended target of the vicious criminals. However, on that fateful day, 22nd March, 2019, at 07:45PM, he was kidnapped when the kidnappers saw him parking his vehicle at a location in Lugbe, Abuja. Investigations further revealed that the victim was taken to the kidnappers’ den somewhere in Karimo, Abuja and kept incommunicado afterwards.
“The Police have also recovered from the kidnappers a locally made revolver gun, three (3) live AK47 ammunitions, a battle axe, phones and masks with which they blindfold their victims. Effort is being intensified to arrest other members of the gang still at large.”
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BREAKING: Channels TV Reporter Friday Okeregbe Kidnapped… Abductors Demand N50m Ransom
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Mba conveyed the assurance of the IGP to the general public, that the Police and other security agencies “are doing everything humanly possible to tame the challenges of kidnapping and other heinous crimes across the country”.
He enjoined them to always avail the Police of useful information that will help in realising these objectives.
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E2%80%99s-plan-run-tinubu-2023 target=_blank>EXCLUSIVE: Adamawa APC Bigwigs Move To Scatter Boss Mustapha’s Plan To Run With Tinubu In 2023
Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), may not have bargained for the kind of bitter fight he is enmeshed in, following his support for Jibrilla Bindow, Governor of Adamawa State, in the recently concluded elections.
The SGF, SaharaReporters gathered, is currently battling a intrigues weaved together to end his political career for daring to cross paths with pro-Buhari interest groups within the Adamawa political sphere in order to boost his prospects of becoming Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
If nothing, it is explicit for now that his alleged succession pact with Bindow, with a due date in 2023, is now a mirage, owing to a synergy that forced Bindow out in a landmark governorship election loss after just a single term.
Historically, in Adamawa State, every governor has secured a second term in office, Bindow being the only exception.
In this fight, SGF Mustapha is the man in the eye of the storm, for aiding Bindow to pocket the All Progressives Congress (APC) structure and subsequently snatch the governorship ticket to the dismay of many chieftains.
Former Governor Murtala Nyako, former SGF Babachir Lawal, Former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, Forma Lagos and Borno Military Governor Mohammed Buba Marwa, Dr. Mahmood Halilu Modi, senators Aziz Nyako and Mohammed Mo-Allahyidi are some of the notable names behind a strong synergy that sent Bindow packing in the last governorship election.
To these political Juggernauts, Bindow’s first term was characterised by gross incapacity, as such they couldn’t fathom why a man of Mustapha’s pedigree would want to be associated with him.
They also blamed APC’s poor outing in Adamawa in the last general elections to Bindow’s abysmal performance and nonchalant attitude to state issues and party matters.
But the pro-Buhari groups’ other grouse against Bindow dates back to President Muhammadu Buhari’s 104 days of medical vacation in the United Kingdom (UK).
It was gathered that Bindow was one of those who lobbied to deputise for Professor Yemi Osinbajo, allegedly hoping that Buhari would be ferried back home in a body-bag.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as a prominent Yoruba leader who wielded considerable influence on Buhari’s government then, was conscripted to prevail on Osinbajo if the need arose.
Obasanjo, as gathered, agreed to the plan, seeing a sitting Vice President of Adamawa extraction would technically whittle down Atiku Abubakar’s hold on Adamawa politics and probably discourage him from running in 2019. But all that was not to be, Buhari came back hale and hearty.
Babachir, like President Buhari, had taunted those who wished his principal dead at different fora. “In fact, some of them wished him dead, but I can assure you that by the grace of God, Buhari will outlive them,” he once said.
Now that Bindow is out of the way and the succession contract nullified naturally, Boss Mustapha, cashing in on his value as the most prominent northern Christian politician of APC stock, is aspiring to clinch a running mate ticket in a Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidential project. This explains how and why Buhari’s henchmen have initiated the move to truncate the APC zoning formula.
In a move widely seen as testing the waters, Babachir recently came out to say “nothing in the law mandates the ceding of power” to Tinubu’s southwest. Other steps to follow involve drafting the next cabinet with Buba Marwa or any other person, but not Mustapha as the SGF, all to be sure Mustapha is cut to size ahead of time.
There is also the plan to reorganize the Adamawa APC structure. Accordingly, all those alleged to have been hand-picked by Bindow and Mustapha in the last congresses would be weeded out, preparatory to the next round of polls.
The proponents of this reorganisation have predicted bleak future for the APC under its current handlers in Adamawa State. To them, the party’s chances cannot be guaranteed in future outings, if its structures are left in the firm grip of Bindow and Mustapha.
With Aisha Buhari, wife of the President, recently adding her voice against the Bindow-Mustapha tango, it is only a matter time before the SGF would be off the stage.
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target=_blank>OPINION: God Vs. Gospel Comedians By Bayo Oluwasanmi
Bayo Oluwasanmi
Bayo Oluwasanmi
I’m neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son. Yes, I’m not a pastor. But I have a message for Nigerian Pentecostal pastors.
I’m here to warn you. The Lord is angry with you. If you choose, you can ignore the message at your own peril.
Because you have sided with the tyrannical government of President Jonathan to oppress and terrorize the poor, you are fighting God: it’s a case of God vs. gospel comedians. And we know who’s going to win.
I call you gospel comedians because you teach and practice false gospel. You’re hypocrites. And from the body of evidence, that’s who you are!
The time to change your minds about God, yourselves, and your wickedness that characterize your life is now. In a word, you must repent.
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God Vs. Gospel Comedians By Bayo Oluwasanmi
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Not long ago, we were inundated with stories of pastors who went shopping with audacious frenzy for jets.
In the past week or so, the story of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s offshore company clogged the news arteries of different media outlets.
In a cache of documents reviewed by Premium Times and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) found that Gmobile Nigeria Limited an offshore company was incorporated in 2007 by Oyakhilome in a Caribbean tax haven in the British Virgin Islands.
According to the report, a business associate of Oyakhilome said some directors of the company held shares on behalf of Oyakhilome’s two teenage daughters, Sharon and Charlyn.
Oyakhilome is the founder and president of Believers Loveworld, Inc, aka Christ Embassy.
As you well know, the church is the last pillar of refuge for the people. It is the enduring buffer against a repressive and oppressive government like Jonathan’s.
You seemed loath to speak truth to power. But “We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth,” Paul reminds us in second Corinthians 13:8.
Nigerians have become weary of your gospel of deception and theology of prosperity. Nigerians have been swallowed up in the fiery abyss of your scams.
You have substituted modest lifestyle for lavished and ostentatious living. You have shunned pronouncements in favor of the dispossessed.
Do you ever think of the social mission of the church as one of expressing solidarity with afflicted Nigerians rather than confederate with Jonathan’s administration that is saturated with corruption, hypocrisy, and nepotism?
Cast your mind back to the missionaries who brought Christianity to you. The missionaries not only preached the gospel, but visited the sick, catechized the children, admonished the erring, and labored to settle disputes and promote harmony and brotherly love.
They were sustained by the freewill offerings of the people. But like Paul the tentmaker, each learned some trade or profession by which if necessary, to provide for his own support.
The missionaries built no mega churches. They built churches known for their purity and simplicity that resembled the church of apostolic times. Far from the monuments of human pomp and pride, the people assembled not in magnificent churches or grand mega cathedrals. But beneath the shadow of mango trees the people listened to the words of truth from the servants of Christ.
The mission schools by the missionaries were accessible, affordable, and inclusive. The schools were reputed for moral excellence and academic laurels. Our poor parents could afford the tuition fees.
They built hospitals that healed the sick and cared for the needy. They lived among the poor. They trekked long distances to preach the gospel. They didn’t need jet planes to undertake the Great Commission.
The followers of Christ must tread the same path of humiliation, reproach, and suffering which their Master trod.
Think of your discipleship:
Which gospel do you believe in? Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth or Gospel according to Jesus of Oyingbo?
You rob the poor rather than enrich them. You fleece the poor rather than feed them. Rather than receive the poor, you reject them. You fight them instead of fighting for them.
The Bible explicitly states that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.
Apostle John was quick to warn us: “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1
As apostate Christians with your half-pagan companions, you directed the warfare against the poor. But remember there is no light between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. And there can be no union between their followers!
You have shown hatred to the principles of God’s law. You have embraced deception by which lies are made to appear the truth.
You have replaced God’s law with human laws and your congregations are led to worship the creature rather than the Creator.
Like wolves hunting their prey, you pursued those of us who dared to criticize you and claim freedom of religious faith.
Because you cherish evil under a profession of godliness, you hate those who disturb your peace by condemning your course of sin.
Under the cloak of pretended Christianity, you actively participate in the siege and slaughter of the poor. You corrupt their faith. You turned their minds from the word of truth.
Your fortunes are built on the alarming indifference to the doctrines which are the pillars of the Christian faith.
Your preaching slogan is based on the spirit of compromise and conformity with the oppressors in power. You have become satanic in your cruelty to the poor.
We are at a crucial moment in the history of our country when people’s lives are in ruins. Everything is in chaos. And you don’t give a damn to being fair and honest.
Nigerians have never been so hopelessly divided by ethnicity, poverty, religion, culture, and language. And yet, you close your eyes as if all is well. You thumb your nose to the odious smell of neglect and suffering of the poor. Where is your compassion?
We are at a time when judgments on people’s lawsuits are based on lies, and when the government conceives evil deeds against the people. Where is your outrage?
We’re have been transfixed by violence and misery as our hall mark and destruction always follows us. Where is your protest?
Nigerians don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. Where are your tears?
The government mapped out crooked roads and no Nigerian who follows them knows a moment’s peace. Where is your cry for justice?
There is no justice among us and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like blind along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark.
We growl like hungry bears. We moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.Among the living we are like the dead!
The gospel teaches service to the poor and rejection of the indifference of the prosperous to the poverty around them. Where is the emblem of your calling?
Rather, you’re interested in retaining your privileges and power at the expense of your flock. The poor are deceived and robbed. What Bible version do you read?
You have failed to alleviate or at least lessen the sufferings and the hopeless situations of your congregations. Where is your charity? After all, it’s being said charity begins at home.
Your worship is full of shallow formalism. Your outward piety is not matched by inner purity. You fasted for public recognition while ignoring the needs of Nigerians all around them.
You have aligned yourselves to the forces of darkness and oppression. What happened to Christ’s teaching of the Beatitudes? You have thrown all into the memory hole.
With your hideous collage of comedy and errors, the poor are further tormented and pulverized. In every sense of the word, you are anti-poor. Well then, God cannot be casual or indifferent about your conduct and conversation. God’s judgment brings discipline and destruction.
Your habitual sins of idolatry, hypocrisy, injustice, and corruption have not escaped God’s notice.
His righteous wrath will soon fall upon the king and commoner alike that all might learn that the Lord Almighty cannot and will not be mocked.
There comes a time when changing one’s mind is not only desirable, it is imperative – and that is what God demands from you – now!
You can still do the right thing and please God:
(1) Be honest and fair.(2) Reject making a profit by fraud.(3) Stay away from bribes.(4) Shut your eyes to all enticement to do wrong and(5) Preach and practice the true Gospel.
It’s not too late for you to ally with the oppressed Nigerians.
There could be no better opportunity for you than to mobilize the people. Reach deep into the arsenal of your influence, position, and the strength of your congregation and confront the tyrannical regime of President Jonathan.
Because improper attitude or action has crept into your life, it’s time for a change. Do these words describe your lifestyle before God today: pure, genuine, and uncorrupted?
Let James 1:27 point the way to an outward religion that is consistent with inner relationship with Jesus Christ: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (New Living Translation, 2nd edition).
Repentance may be old fashioned, but as long as there is sin, it will never be outdated.
If you refused to do God’s will but continues federating with the anti-people administration of Mr. Jonathan, then turbulence lies ahead! *** We cannot drive a car forward by looking at the rear view mirror. We cannot use shoes as hammers, newspapers for umbrellas, and finger nail to tight a screw!
byolu@aol.com
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Bayo Oluwasanmi
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target=_blank>Referring To Members Of University Senate As Pot-bellied Is Unacceptable, Says UI VC
Idowu Olayinka, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, says it is unacceptable to refer to members of the University Senate as pot-bellied.
The VC said this in reaction to the suspension of Ojo Aderemi, the former Students’ Union President of the institution, that was rusticated for leading a protest in 2017.
In his response, Olayinka also claimed that since the suspension of the Students’ Union, the University has been peaceful.
The University of Ibadan Students Union body was suspended in 2017, following a peaceful protest by students to demand the identity cards that were duly paid for.
During this period, Abiodun Odude, Oyo State Commissioner of Police, also threatened to kill students if they embarked on any protest. The Olayinka-led leadership of the University never reacted to the threat against the students.
Since the suspension of Aderemi, the University has come under serious criticism. The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) criticized the management for its decision to rusticate Aderemi for four semesters.
However, responding to this, Olayinka gave a long history of how student union leaders have been rusticated while querying the importance of the student body.
He said: “I received a WhatsApp message overnight from a student of the University of Ibadan asking for restoration of the Students’ Union. My lengthy response to him is given below.
“I have no personal problem about restoring your Union. I am being honest with you here. The problem I have is the disruptive nature of your Union and this has a very long history.
“I was an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan for four sessions, 1977 till 1981. To that extent, one has the privilege to give some sort of eye-witness account.
“During the 1977/1978 session, Tayo Ilupeju (now of blessed memory) was so popular among the entire student body that he was elected unopposed as President of the Students’ Union at the University of Ibadan.
“That was the era of the (in)famous ‘Ali Must Go’ nationwide protest by students. Colonel Dr Ahmadu Ali (an Ibadan Alumnus) was then the Federal Commissioner (Minister) of Education.
“The protest then was centred around the attempt by the Federal Military Government under General Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State to remove our meal subsidy. Invariably, all members of the Students’ Union Executive led by Tayo Ilupeju were rusticated.
“The same scenario repeated itself during the 1978/79 Session, whereby all members of the Student Union Executive were rusticated. I cannot now remember the name of the then President of our Students’ Union.
“It may be pointed out that the two presidents of the University of Ibadan Student Union Executive for 1977/78 and 1978/79, respectively, did not return to the institution after serving out their one-year rustication. Hence they never earned an Ibadan degree. So unfortunate indeed.
“I remember that the vast majority of the student body lost interest in student unionism and we decided to boycott elections into the Students’ Union during the next session, 1979/1980. Less than 5% of the eligible students turned out to vote eventually and they were elected, albeit highly unpopular. We referred to those Executive Members of the Union for that session pejoratively as the ”Puppet Executive” on account of lacking legitimacy.
“Then after this short break, majority of the students again took active part in the election of the Students’ Union for the 1980/81 Session by which time I was in my final year. All members of the Executive led by my brother and kinsman, Femi Falana, of the Department of Political Science, as President, were eventually rusticated by the University.
“Femi Falana in his own case, served out his one year rustication and returned to the University of Ibadan during the 1982/83 session to continue his academic pursuits. He contested again for the position of President of the Students’ Union and he was re-elected massively. He thus has the distinction of being perhaps till date the only person to have emerged twice as President of the UI Students’ Union.
“In essence, out of the four sessions that I spent here as an undergraduate, leaders of the respective executives were rusticated on three different occasions. This is not a good record to celebrate.
“‘Experience teaches man that man does not learn from experience’.
“’We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” ? John Dewey
“As you well know, there was no elected Students Union at the University of Ibadan from 2000 to 2011. I do not know whether the students who passed through the University of Ibadan during that period are in any way inferior to those came here before and after them during the era of active student unionism. I stand to be corrected on this.
“Leadership training is not limited to disrupting the peace of the Campus at the slightest excuse.
“Degrees of the University of Ibadan are awarded on the basis of character (the more important criterion) and learning. It is unacceptable for a student to refer to members of the University Senate as pot-bellied old men. It is the Senate as the highest body in the University for all academic matters that award degrees. You do not attempt to desecrate that body under any guise. The Vice-Chancellor is merely a symbol of the Senate by virtue of his being the Chairman and Ex-officio member. Unfortunately, many of our students are not aware of this.
“For a 100 level student of Geology to claim that ‘Olayinka is a disgrace to our noble profession’ is, in my humble opinion, simply holiganism taken too far. That same Olayinka was in 100 level nearly 40 years earlier and later became the Head of that same Department on two different occasions. You begin to wonder what profession a chap who had just entered the University that same session belongs.
“In saner climes, a student will not claim that his Vice-Chancellor is a liar and pillory that same Vice-Chancellor on the social media. These can still be searched on google.com. There should be a limit to unguided rascality.
“We had the ‘Free Mote’ campaign in 2016 which led to the closure of the University for about seven weeks. Mote is the nickname of a then 400 Level student of Petroleum Engineering who was supposed to be on industrial attachment in Port Harcourt. He left his station to come to Ibadan to lead a student demonstration on account of his political ambition to contest the position of Administrator-General (Chairman) of Independence Hall, one of our 12 halls of residence.
“He appeared before the Jointly Committed Offences Disciplinary Panel and eventually rusticated for one Semester. In the letter to him conveying decision of the Student Disciplinary Committee it was clearly stated that he had a right of appeal to the Council of the University. Rather than explore the option of appeal, he invited ‘students’ from all manners of tertiary institutions in Oyo State to invade the Campus in order for the Management to rescind its decision. After two consecutive days of disrupting peace on the Campus and no let up, the University was closed. It is important to note that the Students’ Union then was not disbanded.
“The following year 2017 there was yet another student unrest masterminded by the 200 level student who emerged as President of the Students’ Union. This time around, the battle cry was ‘No identity card, No examination’. In spite of all the entreaties to him not to lead his colleagues to protest outside the Campus he went ahead with his plans even on a public holiday. People who are familiar with the geography of Ibadan know that right opposite the University main gate is the high density Agbowo. The possibility of the protest being hijacked by hoodlums was real. That was what led to the immediate closure of the University and the suspension of Union activities since May 29, 2017.
“It may be pointed out that Semester examinations were to commence on Tuesday 30 May 2017. In retrospect, a good number of the students were not yet ready to write their examinations although the time table had been publicised many weeks earlier.
“The reality is that students still came back after the university had been closed down for six weeks to write their examinations, even when those identity cards were still not ready.
“We have been having relative peace with student activism ever since the suspension of Union activities at the end of May 2017. Ironically, efforts are on to improve the welfare of students. Many of the Halls of Residence now wear a new look, although this is still work in progress.
“You cannot be doing something the same way all the time and expect a different result. I have a responsibility to ensure a stable academic calendar. By doing this, I am indirectly saving the vast majority of our students, who want to complete their degree programmes in good time and move on with other challenges of life, from the hands of those who are committed to demarketing the University by their actions that lead to incessant closure of our great citadel of learning.I do hope you can relate with my position as your servant leader. Cheers and God bless you richly.”
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Osinbajo Has Become A Glorified Market Leader, Says Odumakin
Yinka Odumakin, Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, the pan Yoruba organisation, has berated the performance of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, stating that he has now become a glorified “Baba Oloja” (male market leader).
He stated this in an interview published by The Guardian newspaper on Sunday.
According to Odumakin, not much has been achieved in the South-West in the past 20 years.
“The Yoruba have not jettisoned what Afenifere stands for. The demand for restructuring is still very strong despite manipulations to sweep it under the carpet. There are forces that want to destroy the Yoruba legacies and they are working against what Yoruba want and they have been working against agitation for restructuring because of their political ambition, but the race is too much more advanced for their agenda,” he said.
On the note that the “forces” he referred to have been in control in the last 20 years, he added: “What have they achieved? What development have they brought to the region? In the area of education, rather than the Southwest progressing, it is retrogressing. In the past, a Yoruba man or woman hardly begged, but today, you see a Yoruba man or woman begging on the street. Under the same people, Oyo and Osun States couldn’t run Ladoke Akintola University.
“The region has retrogressed. What they are doing is to put money in the hands of their cronies. What is the essence of a Vice President from the region when the occupant of the position is now a glorified Baba Oloja, who is going all about to distribute Trader Moni to campaign?”
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