Friday 7 October 2016

EVENTS OF THE CORONATION WEEK

 
EVENTS OF THE CORONATION WEEK
(October 8th through october23)

Saturday October 8th: (afternoon).
•The Edaiken escorted by Uselu people, leaves Eguae Edaiken(Uselu)for Oredo.
•The Edaiken stops at sacred palm trees (udin) called Amamienson-aimiuwa. Journey continues after a brief ceremony at the tree.
•Edaiken arrives Iya-akpan where Uselu Chiefs take leave of him and Oredo Chiefs take over.
•Edaiken arrives at Eko-Ohae (he stays for three days).  Private ceremonies.

Monday, October 10th: (morning)
•Edaiken leaves Eko-Ohae for Usama Palace.
•Coronation rituals continue.

Tuesday, October 18th :(morning)
The Edaiken goes to Use Village for the ceremony of choosing a name.
•Edaiken returns to Usama.

Wednesday, October 19th:vacant.

Thursday, October 20th.
•Edaike leaves Usama for Benin.
•Goes through Isekherhe to Urho-Okpota.
•Coronation ceremony at Urho-Okpota.

Sunday, October 23rd.
•Omo N'Oba's Thanksgiving Worship at Holy Aruosa.

Wednesday 5 October 2016

WE LOST A HUMBLE PRINCE OF BENIN KINGDOM. PRINCE EFOSA AKENZUA (ROLLY MURPHY).


PRINCE EFOSA AKENZUA (ROLLY MURPHY)
.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Prince Efosa Akenzua was a very humble personality. Unassuming and a dedicated old boy of Eghosa Anglican Grammar School.
Played active part in the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the school. Rolly Murphy, you will be missed by those of us that shared the boarding house and school activities with you.
Adieu humble Prince and you have left this sinful world to meet the Almighty Lord that you dedicated your Christian life to serve.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

WHAT THE WHITE MAN TOLD ME Thula Bopela

A revealing piece: A sure read if you're African.

I have no idea whether the white man I am writing about is still alive or not. He gave me an understanding of what actually happened to us Africans, and how sinister it was, when we were colonized. His name was Ronald Stanley Peters, Homicide Chief, Matabeleland, in what was at the time Rhodesia. He was the man in charge of the case they had against us, murder. I was one of a group of ANC/ZAPU guerillas that had infiltrated into the Wankie Game Reserve in 1967, and had been in action against elements of the Rhodesian African rifles (RAR), and the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI). We were now in the custody of the British South Africa Police (BSAP), the Rhodesian Police. I was the last to be captured in the group that was going to appear at the Salisbury (Harare) High Court on a charge of murder, 4 counts.
‘I have completed my investigation of this case, Mr. Bopela, and I will be sending the case to the Attorney-General’s Office, Mr. Bosman, who will the take up the prosecution of your case on a date to be decided,’ Ron Peters told me. ‘I will hang all of you, but I must tell you that you are good fighters but you cannot win.’
‘Tell me, Inspector,’ I shot back, ‘are you not contradicting yourself when you say we are good fighters but will not win? Good fighters always win.’
‘Mr. Bopela, even the best fighters on the ground, cannot win if information is sent to their enemy by high-ranking officials of their organizations, even before the fighters begin their operations. Even though we had information that you were on your way, we were not prepared for the fight that you put up,’ the Englishman said quietly. ‘We give due where it is to be given after having met you in battle. That is why I am saying you are good fighters, but will not win.’
Thirteen years later, in 1980, I went to Police Headquarters in Harare and asked where I could find Detective-Inspector Ronald Stanley Peters, retired maybe. President Robert Mugabe had become Prime Minster and had released all of us….common criminal and freedom-fighter. I was told by the white officer behind the counter that Inspector Peters had retired and now lived in Bulawayo. I asked to speak to him on the telephone. The officer dialed his number and explained why he was calling. I was given the phone, and spoke to the Superintendent, the rank he had retired on. We agreed to meet in two days time at his house at Matshe-amhlophe, a very up-market suburb in Bulawayo. I travelled to Bulawayo by train, and took a taxi from town to his home.
I had last seen him at the Salisbury High Court after we had been sentenced to death by Justice L Lewis in 1967. His hair had greyed but he was still the tall policeman I had last seen in 1967. He smiled quietly at me and introduced me to his family, two grown up chaps and a daughter. Lastly came his wife, Doreen, a regal-looking Englishwoman. ‘He is one of the chaps I bagged during my time in the Service. We sent him to the gallows but he is back and wants to see me, Doreen.’ He smiled again and ushered me into his study.
He offered me a drink, a scotch whisky I had not asked for, but enjoyed very much I must say. We spent some time on the small talk about the weather and the current news.
‘So,’ Ron began, ‘they did not hang you are after all, old chap! Congratulations, and may you live many more!’ We toasted and I sat across him in a comfortable sofa. ‘A man does not die before his time, Ron’ I replied rather gloomily, ‘never mind the power the judge has or what the executioner intends to do to one.’
‘I am happy you got a reprieve Thula,’, Ron said, ‘but what was it based on? I am just curious about what might have prompted His Excellency Clifford Du Pont, to grant you a pardon. You were a bunch of unrepentant terrorists.’
‘I do not know Superintendent,’ I replied truthfully. ‘Like I have said, a man does not die before his time.’ He poured me another drink and I became less tense.
‘So, Mr. Bopela, what brings such a lucky fellow all the way from happy Harare to a dull place like our Bulawayo down here?’
‘Superintendent, you said to me after you had finished your investigations that you were going to hang all of us. You were wrong; we did not all hang. You said also that though we were good fighters we would not win. You were wrong again Superintendent; we have won! We are in power now. I told you that good fighters do win.’
The Superintendent put his drink on the side table and stood up. He walked slowly to the window that overlooked his well-manicured garden and stood there facing me.
‘So you think you have won Thula? What have you won, tell me. I need to know.’
‘We have won everything Superintendent, in case you have not noticed. Every thing! We will have a black president, prime minister, black cabinet, black members of Parliament, judges, Chiefs of Police and the Army. Every thing Superintendent. I came all the way to come and ask you to apologize to me for telling me that good fighters do not win. You were wrong Superintendent, were you not?’
He went back to his seat and picked up his glass, and emptied it. He poured himself another shot and put it on the side table and was quiet for a while.
‘So, you think you have won everything Mr. Bopela, huh? I am sorry to spoil your happiness sir, but you have not won anything. You have political power, yes, but that is all. We control the economy of this country, on whose stability depends everybody’s livelihood, including the lives of those who boast that they have political power, you and your victorious friends. Maybe I should tell you something about us white people Mr. Bopela. I think you deserve it too, seeing how you kept this nonsense warm in your head for thirteen hard years in prison. ‘When I get out I am going to find Ron Peters and tell him to apologize for saying we wouldn’t win,’ you promised yourself. Now listen to me carefully my friend, I am going to help you understand us white people a bit better, and the kind of problem you and your friends have to deal with.’
‘When we planted our flag in the place where we built the city of Salisbury, in 1877, we planned for this time. We planned for the time when the African would rise up against us, and perhaps defeat us by sheer numbers and insurrection. When that time came, we decided, the African should not be in a position to rule his newly-found country without taking his cue from us. We should continue to rule, even after political power has been snatched from us, Mr. Bopela.’
‘How did you plan to do that my dear Superintendent,’ I mocked.
‘Very simple, Mr. Bopela, very simple,’ Peters told me.
‘We started by changing the country we took from you to a country that you will find, many centuries later, when you gain political power. It would be totally unlike the country your ancestors lived in; it would be a new country. Let us start with agriculture. We introduced methods of farming that were not known I Africa, where people dug a hole in the ground, covered it up with soil and went to sleep under a tree in the shade. We made agriculture a science. To farm our way, an African needed to understand soil types, the fertilizers that type of soil required, and which crops to plant on what type of soil. We kept this knowledge from the African, how to farm scientifically and on a scale big enough to contribute strongly to the national economy. We did this so that when the African demands and gets his land back, he should not be able to farm it like we do. He would then be obliged to beg us to teach him how. Is that not power, Mr. Bopela?’
‘We industrialized the country, factories, mines, together with agricultural output, became the mainstay of the new economy, but controlled and understood only by us. We kept the knowledge of all this from you people, the skills required to run such a country successfully. It is not because Africans are stupid because they do not know what to do with an industrialized country. We just excluded the African from this knowledge and kept him in the dark. This exercise can be compared to that of a man whose house was taken away from him by a stronger person. The stronger person would then change all the locks so that when the real owner returned, he would not know how to enter his own house.’
We then introduced a financial system – money (currency), banks, the stock market and linked it with other stock markets in the world. We are aware that your country may have valuable minerals, which you may be able to extract….but where would you sell them? We would push their value to next-to-nothing in our stock markets. You may have diamonds or oil in your country Mr. Bopela, but we are in possession of the formulas how they may be refined and made into a product ready for sale on the stock markets, which we control. You cannot eat diamonds and drink oil even if you have these valuable commodities. You have to bring them to our stock markets.’
‘We control technology and communications. You fellows cannot even fly an aeroplane, let alone make one. This is the knowledge we kept from you, deliberately. Now that you have won, as you claim Mr. Bopela, how do you plan to run all these things you were prevented from learning? You will be His Excellency this, and the Honorable this and wear gold chains on your necks as mayors, but you will have no power. Parliament after all is just a talking house; it does not run the economy; we do. We do not need to be in parliament to rule your Zimbabwe. We have the power of knowledge and vital skills, needed to run the economy and create jobs. Without us, your Zimbabwe will collapse. You see now what I mean when I say you have won nothing? I know what I am talking about. We could even sabotage your economy and you would not know what had happened.’
We were both silent for some time, I trying not to show how devastating this information was to me; Ron Peters maybe gloating. It was so true, yet so painful. In South Africa they had not only kept this information from us, they had also destroyed our education, so that when we won, we would still not have the skills we needed because we had been forbidden to become scientists and engineers. I did not feel any anger towards the man sitting opposite me, sipping a whisky. He was right.
‘Even the Africans who had the skills we tried to prevent you from having would be too few to have an impact on our plan. The few who would perhaps have acquired the vital skills would earn very high salaries, and become a black elite grouping, a class apart from fellow suffering Africans,’ Ron Peters persisted. ‘If you understand this Thula, you will probably succeed in making your fellow blacks understand the difference between ‘being in office’ and ‘being in power’. Your leaders will be in office, but not in power. This means that your parliamentary majority will not enable you to run the country….without us, that is.’
I asked Ron to call a taxi for me; I needed to leave. The taxi arrived, not quickly enough for me, who was aching to depart with my sorrow. Ron then delivered the coup de grace:
‘What we are waiting to watch happening, after your attainment of political power, is to see you fighting over it. Africans fight over power, which is why you have seen so many coups d’etat and civil wars in post-independent Africa. We whites consolidate power, which means we share it, to stay strong. We may have different political ideologies and parties, but we do not kill each other over political differences, not since Hitler was defeated in 1945. Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe will not stay friends for long. In your free South Africa, you will do the same. There will be so many African political parties opposing the ANC, parties that are too afraid to come into existence during apartheid, that we whites will not need to join in the fray. Inside whichever ruling party will come power, be it ZANU or the ANC, there will be power struggles even inside the parties themselves. You see Mr. Bopela, after the struggle against the white man, a new struggle will arise among yourselves, the struggle for power. Those who hold power in Africa come within grabbing distance of wealth. That is what the new struggle will be about….the struggle for power. Go well Mr. Bopela; I trust our meeting was a fruitful one, as they say in politics.’
I shook hands with the Superintendent and boarded my taxi. I spent that night in Bulawayo at the YMCA, 9th Avenue. I slept deeply; I was mentally exhausted and spiritually devastated. I only had one consolation, a hope, however remote. I hoped that when the ANC came into power in South Africa, we would not do the things Ron Peters had said we would do. We would learn from the experiences of other African countries, maybe Ghana and Nigeria, and avoid coups d’etat and civil wars.
In 2007 at Polokwane, we had full-blown power struggle between those who supported Thabo Mbeki and Zuma’s supporters. Mbeki lost the fight and his admirers broke away to form Cope. The politics of individuals had started in the ANC. The ANC will be going to Maungaung in December to choose new leaders. Again, it is not about which government policy will be best for South Africa; foreign policy, economic, educational, or social policy. It is about Jacob Zuma, Kgalema Motlhante; it is about Fikile Mbalula or Gwede Mantashe. Secret meetings are reported to be happening, to plot the downfall of this politician and the rise of the other one.
Why is it not about which leaders will best implement the Freedom Charter, the pivotal document? Is the contest over who will implement the Charter better? If it was about that, the struggle then would be over who can sort out the poverty, landlessness, unemployment, crime and education for the impoverished black masses. How then do we choose who the best leader would be if we do not even know who will implement which policies, and which policies are better than others? We go to Mangaung to wage a power struggle, period. President Zuma himself has admitted that ‘in the broad church the ANC is,’ there are those who now seek only power, wealth and success as individuals, not the nation. In Zimbabwe the fight between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai has paralysed the country. The people of Zimbabwe, a highly-educated nation, are starving and work as garden and kitchen help in South Africa.
What the white man told me in Bulawayo in 1980 is happening right in front of my eyes. We have political power and are fighting over it, instead of consolidating it. We have an economy that is owned and controlled by them, and we are fighting over the crumbs falling from the white man’s ‘dining table’. The power struggle that raged among ANC leaders in the Western Cape cost the ANC that province, and the opposition is winning other municipalities where the ANC is squabbling instead of delivering. Is it too much to understand that the more we fight among ourselves the weaker we become, and the stronger the opposition becomes?
Thula Bopela writes in his personal capacity, and the story he has told is true; he experienced alone and thus is ultimately responsible for the ideas in the article.

Benefits of early morning sex





Prof. Musa Yakubu of University of Ilorin has said having sex in the early morning lowers blood pressure and reduces risks of heart attack.
Yakubu of the Department of Biochemistry made the assertion in a paper, “Knocking Down the Barriers to Four O’Clock Activities and Reproductive Inadequacies”, presented at the 163rd Inaugural lecture of the university on Friday.
He said that having sexual intercourse, three to four times a week, was good for love life.
“Research has shown that sex boosts immune system by stimulating the body’s first line of defence and production of immunoglobulin A (IgA), against cold and fever,” he said.
Immunoglobulin A is one of the most common antibodies in the body system.
Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
Sex, according to Yakubu also regulates menstruation in women by influencing the levels of lutenizing hormones that control menstrual period and promote better sleep.
He said sex also releases the feel-good chemical, known as oxytocin, which enhances closeness with one’s partner and makes people feel happier for a longer period of time.
“Lovemaking of about 20 minutes reduces 150 calories,” he said.
The professor of Biochemistry postulated that sex is the most powerful creative force given to human by God for pleasure and deep companionship.
Yakubu, however, noted that any marriage in which the man or woman could not enjoy sexual intercourse or satisfy their partner in bed was a dead marriage.
He said lack of sexual satisfaction had led to the collapse of many marriages in Nigeria, and urged couples to seek for solutions to the problem.
“Sexual and reproductive dysfunctions are common among men and women in Nigeria, which necessitates regular screening and check-ups,” he said.
He also said that traditional medicines had been authenticated to cure sexual dysfunctions.

The size of the bladder is 40 - 60 cl. A bottle of coke is 50cl



As the bladder stores more urine it can enlarge up to 300cl. An overfilled bladder may leak and this leads to wetting / urinary incontinence.
Also the volume may put pressure on the kidney and may lead to kidney damage.
What may likely bring the man to hospital is acute urinary retention. He wakes up one day and he is not able to pass urine.
Everything I have described above is associated with prostate enlargement, technically called benign prostate hyperplasia.
There are other diseases of the prostate like:
1. Prostatitis – inflammation of the prostate
2. Prostate cancer – cancer of the prostate.
This discussion is on prostate enlargement.
I have bad news and good news.
The bad news is that everyman will have prostate enlargement if he lives long enough.
The good news is that there are life style changes that can help the man after 40 to maintain optimum prostate health.
Nutrition
Look at what you eat. 33% of all cancers, according to the US National Cancer Institute is related to what we eat.
Red meat everyday triples your chances of prostate disease. Milk everyday doubles your risk. Not taking fruits / vegetables daily quadruples your risk.
Tomatoes are very good for men. If that is the only thing your wife can present in the evening, eat it with joy.
It has loads of lycopene. Lycopene is the most potent natural antioxidant.
Foods that are rich in zinc are also good for men. We recommend pumpkin seeds (ugbogulu).
Zinc is about the most essential element for male sexuality and fertility.
Men need more zinc than women. Every time a man ejaculates he loses 15mg of zinc. Zinc is also important for alcohol metabolism. Your liver needs zinc to metabolize alcohol.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
As men begin to have urinary symptoms associated with prostate enlargement, it is important they look at alcohol consumption. More fluid in means more fluid out.
Drink less. Drink slowly.
EXERCISE
Exercise helps build the muscle tone. Every man should exercise. Men over 40 should avoid high impact exercise like jogging. It puts pressure on the knees. Cycling is bad news for the prostate. We recommend brisk walking.
SITTING
When we sit, two-third of our weight rests on the pelvic bones. Men who sit longer are more prone to prostate symptoms. Do not sit for long hours. Walk around as often as you can. Sit on comfortable chairs. We recommend a divided saddle chair if you must sit long hours.
DRESSING
Men should avoid tight underwear. It impacts circulation around the groin and heats it up a bit. While the physiological temperature is 37 degrees, the groin has an optimal temperature of about 33 degrees. Pant is a no - no for men. Wear boxers.  Wear breathable clothing.
SMOKING
Avoid smoking. It affects blood vessels and impact circulation around the groin.
SEX
REGULAR  SEX IS GOOD FOR THE PROSTRATE
Celibates are more prone to prostate illness. While celibacy is a moral decision, it is not a biological adaptation. Your prostate gland is designed to empty its contents regularly.
NB: SEX MUST BE WITHIN D CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE.

‘Change begins with me’ is not Lai’s initiative, Afe Babalola & Co. writes Buhari






👤by Taiwo George


The law chambers of Afe Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria, has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, saying there is enough evidence to prove that the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign is not the initiative of Lai Mohammed, minister of information.
The campaign, which was launched in September, has come under heavy scrutiny.
First was President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech at the occasion, a part of which was lifted from the 2008 victory speech of President Barack Obama.
Akin Fadeyi, a creative consultant, subsequently said he conceived the idea under the theme ‘Not in My Country’, and even pitched it to Mohammed but he was sidelined along the way.
Denying Fadeyi’s claim, Mohammed threatened to file legal action against him.
Click here to download the letter
But in the letter written by Afe Babalola Chambers by Adebayo Adenipekun, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, Babalola dared Mohammed to go ahead with his threat.
He said Fadeyi, his client, decided not to make any public exchange with Mohammed all along because he is a private citizen.
Babalola asked Buhari to carry out a thorough investigation on the issue.
THE LETTER IN FULL
29th September, 2016
President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Aso Rock Villa,
Abuja.
Your Excellency,
ALLEGED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF AKIN FADEYI’S “NOT IN MY COUNTRY” ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN BY THE “CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME” PROJECT-
We have the instruction of Akin Fadeyi to write you this letter. Our client, Akin Fadeyi is the creator of the anti-corruption media campaign project “Not in My Country”. The ‘Not In My Country’ project has been the subject of a heated media exchange over allegations of copyright infringement and counter-allegations of blackmail between some actors and other concerned citizens who were privy to the ‘Not in My Country’ anti-corruption campaign project and the Hon. Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. By this letter, we seek to state our client’s position for the first time in a public space, on the many issues thrown up by the media fray. It is our hope that upon reading this letter, Your Excellency will come to appreciate our client’s status as a partner in the pious goals of this administration and the need to thoroughly investigate the issues surrounding the media report.
For the records, our client chose to remain silent for three crucial reasons. First, our client is a private business man genuinely concerned with advancing our Nigerian society by innovative thinking and development projects, not a politician with any vested interests.
Second, as shown below, the ‘Not in My Country’ anti-corruption campaign project is a product of our client’s lifelong vision to do something towards ridding our society of the cankerworm of decadence. On this point alone, our client has the same goals as the present administration in tackling corruption effectively at the grassroots.
Third, our client will not sacrifice this noblest of goals on the altar of claiming his personal individual rights, especially not in a way capable of being bastardized or confused with propaganda, among other distractions. That is not to say our client will not defend his work and hard-earned intellectual property rights in a court of competent jurisdiction at the appropriate time. Indeed, our client awaits Alhaji Lai Mohammed to make good his threats to sue him, in preparation for which he has instructed our law firm to commence the preparation of processes in answer to any summons filed against him. Without a doubt, when our client responds to any processes filed, his actions and motives will be clear and unmistakable.
BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR CLIENT’S 1-MINUTE DRAMA SKIT ‘NOT IN MY COUNTRY’ ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN PROJECT
Your Excellency, our client is an enterprising young man with over a decade experience in initiating, coordinating and executing national (re)orientation and other development projects in Nigeria. Specifically, our client conceived and initiated the ‘Not in My Country’ anti-corruption campaign project as far back as the year 2007 at the University of Lagos. In a Letter granting his request to use the University premises for ‘a three minutes clip demo tape on Saturday, September 29, 2007’, the Principal Assistant Registrar acknowledged that the “…project is on national re-orientation campaign aimed at changing the attitudes of youths for the better especially in the area of examination malpractices and moral integrity” (Please find attached Letter dated September 26, 2007).
From those days of little beginnings, our client kept working hard at his vision for this project- an effective anti-corruption media campaign which the Nigerian public would easily connect with and ultimately respond to. Thus, our client has records of having presented some of his drama skits to officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in 2007. In 2008, our client took the project to Messrs Joseph Adeyeye, Casmir Igbokwe and Steve Ayorinde, the current Honorable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos, who was then Editor of the Punch. Since then, our client kept developing this project into the media campaign to eradicate corruption over time- using the 1-minute drama skit model- which our client has perfected in his ‘Not in My Country’ project.
OUR CLIENT’S MEETING WITH THE HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE
It was this fully developed 1-minute drama skit model our client presented in a proposal to the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed on the 30th of December, 2015. The point of the proposal, which was the sole purpose of that meeting, was to enlist the cooperation of the Hon. Minister to facilitate the broadcast of our client’s already prepared skits on the nation’s largest free- to- air network (Nigerian Television Authority). Our client showed three 1-minute skits to the Minister and his team. Indeed, the Hon. Minister was so impressed with the project that he commended our client for having effectively harnessed the ‘power of drama and time (one minute)’ and agreed in principle to partner with him on this project.
However, the Hon. Minister indicated that he was yet ruminating on a ‘Change Begins with Me’ idea of his own which he wanted our client to reflect in the ‘Not in my Country’ project. Thus, it was agreed at that meeting that our client should go back to location and re-shoot the drama skits to reflect the Hon. Minister’s ‘Change Begins with Me’ as the pay-off line in the ‘Not in My Country’ videos.
Our client set to work immediately with his crew at his own cost. Upon completion of the video reshoot, our client sent the minister text messages intimating him that the job was done. Our client later met with the Hon. Minister at the Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, where the minister was meeting with some musical artists. The minister gave our client his email contact and asked that the reworked videos be sent to him via email. Accordingly, our client sent the files to the Minister’s email (acnprs@yahoo.com) with a Cover Letter dated 3rd February, 2016. Receipt of the letter was duly acknowledged.
SUBSEQUENT CONDUCT OF THE HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE
Having received our client’s drama materials, the Hon. Minister held on to them without communicating with our client any further. All attempts to reach and meet with him again were evidently rebuffed by the Hon. Minister. Undaunted, our client reverted to the original skits first presented to the Hon. Minister and produced many more skits of the Not in My Country drama. This was launched publicly to wide media coverage on the 3rd of May, 2016 in a well-attended event at Leadway/Protea Hotel, Maryland, Ikeja. The countless media coverage of news stories, opinions and columns are available in print and electronic media for all to see. Thereafter, our client embarked on an aggressive nationwide stakeholder engagement. Despite the Minister’s silence after receiving the work, our client sent him a reminder letter, newspaper cuttings of his launch and a comprehensive copy of his Not in My Country project on the 9th of June 2016. Till date, the Hon. Minister has not replied any of these correspondences.
When on the 8th of September, 2016 the Hon Minister launched a drama skit model of the Change Begins with Me campaign, certain persons who were privy to our client’s project and others who witnessed his protracted exchanges with the Minister have made statements and accusations. Rather, contrary to all the Hon. Minister has said about him, our client has neither released nor commissioned anyone to release any comment on this matter before now. For the avoidance of doubt, let the following be known to the government, the Hon Minister and the Nigerian public as our client’s stand on this issue:
1.our client has read every reaction, some spontaneous, some self serving and some others patriotic since Alhaji Lai Mohammed launched his ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign;
2.our client has read some concerned public reaction to the campaign questioning the originality of some of its components and accusing the Hon Minister of re-adapting the drama concept of our client’s project to his change campaign;
iii.         our client has read the Hon. Minister’s sponsored and orchestrated media attacks on his person and associates, tagging him as someone “seeking shortcut to success”, a blackmailer etc;
1.in all of this, our client has urged his group of very patriotic young Nigerians and his hardworking crew not to say a word in response. Our client has equally consistently refrained from uttering any rejoinder to the Minister’s publications and correspondences. Naturally, our client wishes to state his side of the story, but does not want to be mistaken for a sponsored detractor of this government;
2.our client has read the comments of all those who believe the Minister’s account simply because they are not aware of every shred of evidence that shows all that transpired between the parties till the Minister launched this Change Begins with Me campaign on September 8, 2016;
3.our client is away in the United States to further the traction his Not In My Country project has gained and enhance it further through strategic and sustainable ingredients from a global dimension pursuant to negotiations that began long before the advent of this administration;
Without taking a stance on the issue and without prejudice to a more robust response to the Hon Minister’s threatened suit, we believe that the law and reason will vindicate our client’s narrative over and above any contrary incredible narrative.
OUR CLIENT’S REQUEST
At the opposite end of our client’s private rights in the media reports, is a very crucial project of the Federal Government of Nigeria by which the government seeks to encourage individual change in the citizenry in the hopes of a holistic national change. Such a project is not one that ought to kick-off dogged with debate and controversy. Already, an important orientation project is being overwhelmed by negative reports and backlash. We consequently urge Your Excellency to initiate a thorough investigation of the respective positions of the parties in the ultimate interest of the all-important war on corruption.
We also wish to reiterate to Your Excellency that in the event that Alhaji Lai Muhammed makes good his threat to go to court, which our client urges him to do, our client reserves his right to come all out to put up his defence, and that whatever steps our client takes in defending his right should not be interpreted as fighting the government. Our client has no intention of taking up any dispute with the government in appreciation of its laudable anti-corruption campaign. Whenever our client is called upon to defend himself and his work before a court of justice, he will do so to the full extent allowed by law as the matter is strictly between Akin Fadeyi and Alhaji Lai Muhammed.
Your Excellency, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.
thecableng

Tinubu: How We Plotted PDP’s Ouster






Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

•Says Buhari on assignment to correct decades of past wrongs
•Proceeds from president’s biography donated to IDPs.


Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt


The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, monday in Abuja gave a historical account of how the ruling party came to being and brought to a sudden end the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Reviewing the book, “Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria” written by Professor John Paden, during its launch in Abuja, Tinubu provided a rare insight into the challenges faced by political parties that came together to form an alliance that produced the APC, which eventually ended the reign of PDP.

 
According to him, to defeat PDP, which had boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 years, a political alliance had to be formed.
He said: “In forming the ‘new’ party, we had three challenges. The first was learning the right lessons from the aborted attempt at political cooperation in 2011. Fortunately, both the ACN and CPC regretted our inability to conclude a pact in 2011.
“We agreed that there would be no recrimination over what did not happen before. We agreed there would be an intensified effort to forge the united effort that eluded us in 2011.
“In 2011, both parties wanted cooperation, but became stuck on whether that should take the form of an alliance or outright merger. This difference gave rise to another one, regarding how the vice-presidential candidate, who would run with the presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, would be selected.
“Despite the good-faith demonstrated in our attempt to resolve these issues, time ran out on finding a solution. In retrospect, we all were perhaps a bit too inflexible and did not realise the extent to which cooperation and flexibility were needed to establish the reform we all wanted.
“The result: Each party went its own way in 2011. However, the talks of 2011 would foreshadow the discussions beginning in 2013, which led to the successful merger forming the APC.
“Talks mainly between the CPC, led by Buhari, and the ACN, led by myself, later joined by the ANPP and the progressive wing of APGA, would go more smoothly and would reach the desired finish-line this time.
“There would be a merger and there would be a presidential candidate agreeable to all. A winning combination had been joined.
“It would give the PDP, which had boasted of 60 continuous years in power, more than it could handle.
“After the successful merger and the birth of APC, it was time to pick a flag bearer. At the Lagos convention, President Buhari emerged as the new party’s choice in a transparently, honest process.
“His speech to the convention was greeted with ovation, even by those who had opposed him.
“Then there was the sticky issue of selecting a running mate. After careful study and discussion, it was agreed that we should field a religiously-balanced ticket given the sensitivities of the moment.
“Based on this conclusion, the name of Yemi Osinbajo, renowned law professor and former Lagos State Attorney-general during my tenure as governor, was proposed as an excellent running mate.
“Osinbajo was also a pastor in the largest church in the entire country, and this would answer those who wrongfully tried to paint Buhari as intolerant.”
He further recounted: “Many of us invested ourselves, our hearts, bodies, minds and souls in this project for national salvation. Many did not want it to happen and fought to undermine the good we sought to accomplish.
“Many others straddled the sidelines, neither completely in nor completely out, but waiting to see how the prevailing winds might blow before making their moves.
“Muhammadu Buhari never wavered for one moment on this journey. Proving to be a focused leader, he acted with single-minded determination that showed no fear or doubt in the rightfulness of the cause we pursued.
“I know this for an unassailable fact because I was there with him, every step of the way, to fight against, what the realists told us, were insurmountable odds.
“Yet, our determination for reform beat their smart calculations. The desire for a better country was more powerful than their incumbent might.”
Tinubu explained that the APC was a party born out of the quest for democratic good governance. “In essence, the party is the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members as well as a democratic vow made to the public. The APC genesis is truly a historic and an engaging one.”
Tinubu also described Buhari as a patriot on a national assignment to right the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance in Nigeria.
He noted that the authorised biography was an attempt at a broad characterisation of the different stages of Buhari’s life and professional career.
Tinubu said: “Essentially, the book explores how his professional career, his personal life and prior experiences in government shaped and prepared him for the momentous assignment he now has.
“From the book’s pages, we see a man who has lived his life on assignments that always intersected with vital moments in the nation’s history. He was a man on assignment, when, in the military, he served bravely in a civil war to keep Nigeria united.
“He was on national assignment when he became military head of state in a well-intentioned effort to straighten things out, and set Nigeria on a better path.
“When he ventured into politics and competed for the presidency, culminating in his 2015 election victory, he was still on assignment, showing that there was no other way for this nation to go but the way of democracy, no matter how difficult the path may be.
“Now, as sitting president, he is on an assignment, against time, to undo the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance.”
While lauding the author for the historical bent of the book, Tinubu stated that Buhari has “always been in the public eye, doing things in his different, disciplined and Spartan way”, adding that the president’s credential as a transformative leader, who has evolved into a committed democrat, was secured in the book.
“The Nigeria project, which occupies the centre stage in the book, has been Buhari’s life,” he added.
He also stated: “The search for that astute political leadership is what produced the Buhari presidency. That same search is what must propel this presidency forward.”
He noted that the forward written by General Theophilus Danjuma captured the very essence of the book.
“No one is more qualified to evaluate President Buhari, from the past to the present, other than General Danjuma. As a senior officer to Buhari, they both enjoy a professional and personal friendship, unparalleled in our history.
“His words confirm that Buhari was a man prepared for leadership ahead of a time like this,” he declared.
Tinubu also noted that the author, in the book, succinctly explained the transition from the Buhari in uniform to one in civilian garb. He said Prof. Paden observed that in terms of style of leadership, Buhari as a young military head of state was in a hurry.
“However, now that he is older and given his experience, he is ‘slow but steady’ in his approach to governance.
“The author juxtaposes Buhari’s military career and his political career adeptly, weaving them together in a tapestry that evokes the image of a man, who, from day one, had been destined for leadership,” Tinubu stated.
He recalled that Buhari made three electoral promises: security, corruption and employment.
“On security, success has been recorded in decimating Boko Haram. On corruption and the rule of law, Buhari continues to plough new ground.
“Chapter 19 of the book entitled ‘Corruption and Law’ is a good examination on his fight against corruption. Unemployment has been a stubborn problem, made even more difficult by the oil price-driven recession, but this administration has shown its commitment towards achieving the structural reform that will bring durable solutions to this and other economic challenges,” he said.
He described the book as an important one. “It is a logically-presented account of the emergence of the current political dispensation with President Buhari as its central protagonist.
“The author tries to achieve many things within a relatively small space. He succeeded in the main. He let the reader get a view into the family roots, life and experience of President Buhari.
“He also told the story of his professional career as a military general. The story of his political career and the journey to the presidency was told in a straightforward manner.
“Finally, he attempted a quick evaluation of the president’s first year in office. The author covers a vast amount of territory with an economy of words, yet he manages to give a feel for Muhammadu Buhari, the man. Therein lies the success of the book,” he said.
Also reviewing the book, a former United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, admitted that the U.S. had not shown enough interest in Nigeria. This, he said, was a mistake.
 Accordingly, he called on the U.S. authorities to give Nigeria the attention it deserves as the giant of Africa.
Another reviewer, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who was Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative at the United Nations, urged Buhari to show leadership and carry all Nigerians along.
 He advised him to practise politics of inclusion, warning that development without unity would be tough.
Gambari noted that Buhari was confronted with the challenge of bringing immediate change to thousands of his supporters who voted for him during the election.
 Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Ogbonaya Onu, who also reviewed the book, said that despite the fact that the judiciary let him down three times, when the courts rejected his petitions to upturn elections in which his opponents were declared winner, he did not lose faith in the judiciary.
The chairman of the event and former military head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, said Buhari deserved every commendation and criticism.
 He said Buhari was a fighter and a man of destiny working to get things right with the economy, despite the huge challenges being faced by the country.
In his brief remarks, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the book confirmed what he knew about Buhari and what he was also told about him as an upright man.
 At the book presentation were the presidents of Niger, Chad, Benin Republic and a representative of the Camerounian president.
Nigeria’s vice-president and his wife, Dolapo, the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his wife, Toyin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais and Alfa Belgore, and chieftains of the APC were present at the book lauch.
A cross section of state governors and traditional rulers also attended.
 The author of the book Paden said that the biography was an attempt by him to introduce Buhari to the international community.
He also observed that political leadership was critical in keeping Nigeria moving and developing.
 Prof. Paden also donated the proceeds of his book to internally displaced persons in the North-east. The professor of International Studies said: “Let me say that the proceeds of the launch of this book will all go to some select charities including humanitarian aid to the internally displaced people in the North-east.”
The organisers of the event also announced that no one would be allowed to make huge donations or purchase copies in millions of naira.
One of the organisers, Alhaji Ismaila Funtua, announced that the cover price of the book was pegged at N1,500 for the soft cover, N2500 for the hard cover and N10,000 for the leather cover.
 As such, two wealthy presenters of the biography, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Tunde Folawiyo, stated that they were purchasing two copies for each of the nation’s tertiary institutions.