Sunday, September 4, 2016
Man who named pet dog 'Buhari' names newborn daughter 'Aisha'
Popular Broadcast Journalist, Olalomi Ejire, dies At 54
US Congressman writes to US Secretary of state, John Kerry, accuses Buhari of autocratic tendencies, selective Anti-Graft war
According to Thisday, Marino in his two-page letter, accused President Buhari of autocratic tendencies and selective anti-graft war. Marino asked the State Department to stop selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion of other opposition members.
His letter to Kerry reads:
“Dear Secretary Kerry, I am encouraged by the personal interest you have taken in aiding Nigeria and its administration as it takes on endemic corruption, multiple insurgent movements, and a faltering economy. However, I believe there are a number of warning signs emerging in the Buhari administration that signal “the man who once led Nigeria as a military dictator might be sliding towards former autocratic tendencies. I would urge the U.S. to withhold its security assistance to the nation until President Buhari demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech. A logical start towards this commitment is for the Nigerian government to hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes. Human rights groups like Amnesty International have widely documented torture, inhumane treatment, and extra-judicial killings of defenseless Nigerians since President Buhari took office.”Quoting Amnesty International Report, he wrote, “in the last six months, Nigeria’s military has unlawfully killed at least 350 people and allowed more than 168 people, including babies and children, to die in military detention. The Secretary to the Government of Kaduna State even admitted to burying 347 of those killed in a mass grave. And while President Buhari promised swift condemnation, his words rang empty. Instead of swift reforms, Buhari chose to reinstate Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, who Amnesty International revealed was in charge of the Nigerian military unit that executed more than 640 unarmed, former detainees. Also, in separate incidents concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Nigerian Army has killed at least 36 – the real number is likely higher – people since December 2015 in an attempt to silence opposition and quell attempts by the group to gather publicly.”
Describing President Buhari as a former military dictator whose administration as military head of state was cut short by a coup, he stated that the President has continually shunned inclusivity in favour of surrounding himself with advisors and ministers from the north of the country and the region he considers home.
“Of President Buhari’s 122 appointees, 77 are from the north and control many of the key ministries and positions of power. Distrust is already high in Nigeria and favouring Northerners for key appointments has only antagonized the issue. These appointments are also primarily Muslim in the north and Christian in the south, adding a religious aspect to long-held regional biases. Of additional concern is President Buhari’s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari’s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners,” he claimed in the letter.
He said the Obama Administration would advance justice by urging the Buhari Administration to act decisively to hold accountable members of the police and military.
The congressman said, “This is a logical first step in making a demonstrable, sustained commitment to inclusive democracy, with distributed power in Nigeria. Until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion, we ask the State Department to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to the country. The State Department should urge President Buhari to form a government that represents the diversity of its citizens and allows dissenting voices to be heard. Democracy can thrive only if people are free to assemble, to express their beliefs, and voice their concerns.”
Ibidun Ighodalo opens up on her search for a child: "People who get married and have children don't know how lucky they are"
Former beauty queen Mrs Ibidunni Ajayi-Ighodalo opened up about her search for a child in a rare interview with Thisday's Nseobong Okon-Ekong.
The wife of Trinity House founder and accountant, Pastor Itua Ighodalo
also talked about dedicating her life to helping others through her
Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation, IIF by funding IVF treatment for couples
who are hoping to have their own children.
When the CEO of Elizabeth R got married in 2007, her expectations were
like those of every many married woman, to give birth to children. Her
wedding to Itua Ighodalo, was celebrated, even if it was attended with a
heat of debate from his previous union.
Close to one decade on, the loathing generated in some quarters at the
onset of their relationship has definitely receded. The rumour mill
which spewed torrents of lopsided and coloured tales that caused the
couple a lot of trauma, even if a bit, has withdrawn, but the pain of
those turbulent years live with her still. For one who keeps to herself,
the scrutiny of her marriage in the public, led her to sew-up. She
reduced the number of persons she called friends to a handful, becoming
more and more engrossed with her husband.
"I have heard stories of in-laws calling the woman painful names. Those are hurtful things to say. There are names you don’t want to call a woman that is looking up to God." Mrs Ighodalo began...
She continued to share her experiences.
"People may not want to be mean, but they don’t know that certain statements and body language hurt. When you are waiting on God, you can be sensitive to what people say or do and they might not know it will hurt or hit you. It is good to raise awareness and understanding about childless couples. Friends and relatives should be a bit more sensitive to women or couples who are waiting on the Lord. I know that because of our culture, the pressure is so much. The shoes of women who are waiting on the Lord are not very easy shoes. Emotionally, mentally and psychologically, hormonally, when you are going through treatments, it’s a rollercoaster-you deal with in-laws, society, friends, there’s a lot going on."
"People who get married and have children don’t know how lucky they are. I mean you are even careful not to get pregnant again, you are so blessed by God, you should thank God every day. It is not easy to find yourself in a situation where your friends are doing school runs, you don’t know what that is, you don’t even know what your first trimester is. The friends you had bridal showers with are having baby showers, it takes the grace of God to remain sane, honestly."
On her 35th birthday last year, she decided to turn the lemon that life
had thrown at her into lemonade. It had become her fashion to write a
wish list on the day she was born and then tick-off the accomplished
ones on her next birthday. Every year, she scored high on every point,
but one: The issue of childlessness had become a sore point that could
not be addressed. She had prayed and sought different avenues for a
medical solution, but the problem just could not be wished away.
Although she enjoyed the understanding and love of her husband and
in-laws, the quest for a child consumed her.
"I had tears in my eyes when I told God, ‘you know what? This is enough. You are going to do it when You want to do it, in Your own time and if You are not going to do it, let it be left undone. This is You. I trust You. Right now, it’s ok, I’m going to live my life. I found out that I had stopped living, because that was all I wanted. I said no, I’m going to be happy, live my life and leave it all to God. I’m grateful to God for my own family, for the family I’m married into."
Those statements to God with tears in her eyes opened a window to air
her bottled emotions. It lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. As she
cleared her mind of the cobwebs of trying to have a baby, she was
amazed to receive one of the most altruistic ideas with clarity. Her
husband was no less enthused when she shared the idea with him.
"My focus now is to help others, one at a time. I want to make a family happy and with the help of God, their prayers would be answered. I know the pain and what it feels like. It will give me joy to see them jumping and rejoicing, saying that they are expecting their own children. I have seen it happen. I have seen the two sides during my course of treatment. I said God help me, let me do this. When you focus on helping others, you don’t know the blessings that come back to you. It is difficult but I said Lord you have put this in me, You have to provide. You know when God gives you a vision, He makes the provision. I have been amazed at the response. It is unbelievable."
"When I was going through some treatment, I would get to the clinic and someone who has just done a pregnancy test was being told that it didn’t work, it was always so devastating for me to hear them wonder aloud where they would get money for the next treatment. I have met women who came to the hospital to get the treatment but they couldn’t afford it. Some couldn’t even afford the test to know what was wrong. I have also met women who decided to share their burden, this is how financially draining this treatment can be. If you have extra eggs, you can sell them in exchange for the treatment. When women share eggs left from a successful IVF on another women or they use the woman’s extra cycle that has been paid for, these are ways women support one another because getting an egg donor can be very expensive."
"It is so strange and funny, but when you sit back and think about it, every family has somebody who is waiting on God for a child. The person might be your cousin or mum’s sister. There are certain ways we will treat the person. But do you know that there are certain ways we treat somebody else coming into our family with the same issue? We don’t treat them the same. It is not intentional. If you have in-laws who are not nice to you, they will think it’s your fault. They will call you names, talk down on you. If your in-laws have somebody in their family who is waiting, they will never speak to the person like that. We really need to have a support system and also learn to put ourselves in other people’s shoes."
The graduate of Microbiology from the University of Lagos is using the
platform of IIF to award grants for fertility treatment such as In Vitro
Fertilization (IVF), Frozen Embryo Transfer and Intrauterine
Insemination. She was forced to change her initial plan to help one or
two couples when she received tons of applications. The plan has now
changed to accommodate 28 couples.
"There are some couples that have applied that have been married for between 20 and 25 years and when I read their history, they have come to a point where they are tired. I even found out that it was their family that applied for some of them. A lot of people have asked me why I don’t face my life, why am I trying to be Mother Theresa. What is it? Is it that you have so much money you don’t know what to do with it. I can’t even explain it."Source: ThisDay
Photos: NNPC boss meets with former NNPC GMDs, says current N145 per litre is no longer feasible
“They (the GMDs) noted that the petrol price of N145/litre is not congruent with the liberalisation policy especially with the foreign exchange rate and other price determining components such as crude cost, Nigerian Ports Authority charges, etc remaining uncapped”.Among the former GMDs that attended the meeting include HRM (Dr.) Edmund Daukoru, Chief Odoliyi Lolomari, Engr. Lawrence Amu, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, Dr. Thomas M. A. John, Engr. Funsho Kupolokun, Engr. (Dr.) Abubakar Lawal Yar'Adua, Dr. Joseph T. Dawha
More photos...
Lady accuses staff of Ebute Metta Health centre in Lagos of being lackadaisical to their duty
"I had a terrible experience this dawn (4th sept 2016 @12:45am) at the Ebute Metta Health centre on cemetery street! I took my little nephew there as a result of severe vomiting (over 6 times) and dehydration with all his eyes sucked in and his facial bones were already protruding and his thighs were seriously paining him as he has lost too much fluid and he was seriously weak.
On getting there i tried talking to one of the two nurses on duty and she just sat there staring at me like i was talking to a statue then the other nurse intervened and asked some questions then d first nurse lazily got up to call the doctor who was sleeping at that time. It was already 20mins and he wasn't coming out then when i raised my voice and the nurses were even raining insults saying i should have taken him to a private hospital instead, then Dr. Olatunji finally came out. He wrote a prescription of only Maxolone ( for vomiting) and paracetamol so i asked him if he wont give my nephew any infusion (drip) as he was totally dehydrated he didn't answer and the nurse said i shouldn't teach him his job. He now later said they wont be able to manage my brother there and that they will have to refer so i said even if you will refer, wont you at least rehydrate him just to make him a bit strong and also stop the pains in his thighs, he said theres nothing else he can do.Dr olatunji then referred us to Randle General hosp. So we had to leave the hosp for our house at about 1:40 am thinking the drug they gave will surpress the vomiting but it became worse and about 5am, i rushed him to randle where they took the case as a serious medical emergency because he was almost going! Doctors and nurses are supposed to save people but some are killing people everyday! The staffs on night duty at the Ebute-Metta Health centre from 3rd September to 4th september 2016 must not go unpunished!".
Drake and Rihanna get matching Shark tattoos (photos)
Wife of popular evangelist, Prophet Abiara, dies at 70
Photo: Teenager's eyes gouged out by best friend for ritual in Bauchi State
Hussein Emmanuel had his eyes gouged out by his friend and other accomplice for ritual.
The 18-year-old from Sara village in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area
was deceived by his best friend identified as one David Arafat who had
promised to secure a job for him in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to Daily Trust, David allegedly connived with another
accomplice, Jerry and led Hussein to a river in Sara village where they
attacked him and gouged out his eyes.
Emmanuel Iliya, the victim's father disclosed said that David asked his
son for money in order to assist him to secure employment in Port
Harcourt. The devastated father said he borrowed N5,000 from a friend in
order to assist his son make the journey.
He explained that the victim was earlier taken to Abuja by David, whom
he said has a wife and a child there, but the victim was sent back home
by the suspect to look for more money for his onward journey to Port
Harcourt.
Bauchi State Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Mahmood Mohammed, who
confirmed the incident said that the police will provide details on the
issue later as investigation is ongoing. The suspect is still at large.
Source: Daily Trust
14 oil workers kidnapped in Rivers State
Fourteen workers with Nestoil in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area
of Rivers State were abducted by unknown gunmen on Saturday, September
3rd.
The workers were reportedly returning from their work site at Omoku area
enroute to Port Harcourt when they were ambushed by the kidnappers. The
gunmen forcefully diverted the staff bus to an unknown destination
under heavy gunfire.
The Public Relations Officer of River State Police Command, Nnamdi
Omoni, who confirmed the incident stated that anti-kidnapping teams are
combing the bushes in efforts to rescue the workers, according to Sahara
Reporters.
Mr. Omoni said police have located the company's Costa van and expressed optimism that the workers will be rescued.
Another Nigerian arrested in Morocco with 1.05kg of cocaine in his stomach
The Moroccan authorities on Friday, arrested a Nigerian national who was smuggling 1.05 kilograms of cocaine inside his stomach.
According to Moroccan Times, authorities said that the Nigerian man
raised suspicion because he did not look quite comfortable in their
presence. He was then taken to Casablanca’s Ibn Rush hospital, where he
was subjected to a surgery to remove the drugs from his stomach.
The suspect had just landed from a flight coming from Brazil when he was
arrested. An investigation was launched and he will stand soon before a
judge to defend himself against heavy drug trafficking charges.
Moroccan Times
Lola Omotayo-Okoye celebrates birthday with family & friends (pics)
Photo: Nigerian man arrested at Mohammed V International Airport, Morocco for drug trafficking
Rapper Lil Wayne re-assures fans he's OK after posting 'suicidal' tweet
After he began to trend worldwide following his tweet, he sent out another tweet re-assuring his fans he's okay. See that after the cut...
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