Pandemonium in Ikorodu as strange images appear in mosque

Barely a year after a child was reportedly born with a copy of the Holy Quran in Lagos and another born with an Islamic rosary, (Tesbah) in Sagamu, Ogun State. Last Tuesday, another amazing event

occurred at Owode Onirin, Ikorodu, Lagos; as images of some clerics who died decades ago were believed to have made sudden appearances on the walls of Dawiz Central Mosque in the area.
When a source visited the mosque, thousands of people and passers-by storm the mosque to have a glimpse.

The images were identified as that of late Sheikh Ahmada Tijani, (Algeria) Sheikh Ibraheem Niass, (Senegal) Sheikh Jamiu Bulala. (Nigeria)
Although the images were not clear as at the time Vanguard visited, but those who spoke to a sourcesaid the images were clearer on Tuesday when they were first noticed.
According to Eye-witness: "The images were noticed on Tuesday September 3, on the walls of the mosque which was constructed a few months ago and owned by Sheikh Musa Alegbeleye."
It was gathered that four months ago, the image of Sheikh Jamiu Bulala Islamic Cleric, who had died two decades ago appeared first faintly to the consternation of Muslim faithful and they decided never to make it public to creat any doubt.
The strange occurence has turned the serene Owode Onirin area into a Makkah of sorts as people thronged the area not only to see but to also offer some prayers. Right inside the mosque, people were seen holding bottles/satchets of water muttering prayers and shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great). Some were even seen bowing to the image.
Efforts to speak with the founder of the group and leader of the mosque, Sheikh Alegbeleye, was futile, as we were told he was sleeping after observing several vigil prayers.
Speaking on the development and an eye-witness, the President of Islamic society of Nigeria, Lagos State Mukadam Alhaji Samodu Onikoyi confirmed the appearance of the images. "We started noticing a very faint image which came with intermittent brightness on the inside wall of the mosque which were replica of the portrait of Sheikh Ibrahim Niass, Sheikh Jamiu Bulala and Sheikh Ahmaa Tijani engraved on the walls of the building."
How it Happened: "A member of the mosque Alhaja Idayatu Idera Afolabi first noticed it and she rushed out to inform everybody and when we saw it, we decided to cover it, because we thought if we announce it, people will think it is ruse that one is trying to play on their intelligence. But when I also saw it, I was greatly terrified, wondering how such thing could have happened".

People bowing to the obscure image
"My thought was that the image would eventually disappeared but on the second day, it brightened more and started showing on all sides of the building which made us to still cover it untill it became public".
An eye-witness also disclosed that attempt was made by some individuals to wash off the images but to no avail; adding that the more they try to rub it off, the more the images become clearer.
Non-Muslims' comment
I don't believe it — Mrs Oluranti Jonson
For me, that image is not real and it's an evil imagination. Because the Bible says Jesus will come down with the Holy Saints and Prophet at the last day. And I will advice those clerics to stop deceiving people because I don't understand what that means and I have not seen such before.
Crowd trying to gain entry into the mosque
It's a sign of end time — Mr Mike Nwoha
This is unbelievable, although as a Christian, I'm not trying to say this is evil but to them they believe; it's a sign of end time and some of them said it is stated in the Koran. So, I cannot judge, only God knows the truth about it. All I can say is that we are all serving the living God, there should not be anything like the Muslims are idol worshipers but to me this is a sign of end time. So, people should mend their ways.
Also, one Mrs Idayatu Afolabi said: "When we saw that the image, it was a strange thing, I told my husband to inform those that know better than us, it was then we called on the Imam who told us not to announce it until now that the images decided to brighten up on the wall of the mosque building ".
The shout of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) rented the air as hundreds of people continue to find their ways to the the Mosque in Owode Onirin to have a glimpse

About Sheikh Tijani and Niass
Shaykh Tijani 1735-1815
Shaykh Tijani was born in 1735 in Aïn Madhi, a small village in western-central Algeria. An orphan at the age of 15, and applied himself to his studies. Having learned the Quran by heart at age seven, he studied the fundamentals of Maliki jurisprudence and other texts. For nearly 50 years Shaykh Tijani was the main active propagator of the doctrine of Toriqah.

Crowd who could not be accommodated in the mosque
Shaykh Tijani his passed on Thursday 22 September 1815. After he performed the Subh prayer, he laid down on his right side while he asked for a glass of water then he returned to his bed and died. Even in the coffin, people were rushing and trying hard to hold his coffin and it was a scene full of deep emotions where tears and sorrows constituted the landmark of this great funeral. Shaykh Tijani was buried in his blessed Zawiya. He is followed today by over 300 million disciples world-over.
Sheikh Ibrahim Niass (1900–1975)
Born in 1900 in the village of Taïba Niassène between the Senegalese city of Kaolack and the border of Gambia, the main representative of the Tijaniya- Sufi Order, often referred to as Tariqat al-Tijjaniyyaa. During his youth, Sheykh Ibrahim relocated with his father to the city of Kaolack, where they established the zwiya (religious center) of Lewna Ñaseen.
Shaykh Ibrahim's role as principal Imam of the Medina Baay mosque has been carried out by the Cisse family. While serving as Medina Baay's Imam, he took his teachings to the United States, United Kingdom and many other western countries. He was regarded as Leader of Tariqa al-Tijaniyya after the late Ah,ada Tijani. He died in August, 2008.
 

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CP Mbu Leading Plot To Put Gov. Amaechi In Harms’ Way – Rivers Govt

The Rivers State government has re-visited the issue of the continued stay of Mr. Joseph Mbu as the state commissioner of police following its public outcry that Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s life is in danger.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday and made available to journalists, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, stated that Mr. Mbu redeployed the escort commander to the governor on the alleged grounds that he had “refused his directive to ‘furnish (the CP) with prior information of the movement of  Amaechi.”
The statement reads in part, “Today, Thursday September 5, 2013, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu redeployed the escort commander in charge of the convoy of the Governor of Rivers State – Rt. Hon.  Rotimi Amaechi. The redeployment, according to CP Mbu, was because the escort commander had refused his directive to ‘furnish (the CP) with prior information of the movement of the governor.’
“The escort commander is not in charge of the governor’s protocol and cannot have prior knowledge of the governor’s movement, especially in the prevailing circumstances regarding security in the state.
“After redeploying the escort commander, CP Mbu also requested the Camp Commandant of Government House, Port Harcourt, to give him prior briefing of the governor’s daily movement; a request which in practice would be difficult to comply with unless the camp commandant gets prior knowledge of the governor’s movement.
“The government of Rivers State is most uncomfortable with these developments and their implications for the security of Governor Amaechi. This is more so, as the developments are coming on the heels of the Rivers State Police Command’s declaration of Governor Amaechi’s ADC (which is receiving medical attention) as a deserter.
“This sudden interest of CP Mbu regarding the daily movement of Governor Amaechi cannot be borne out of love. If his intentions were noble and above board, CP Mbu has Governor Amaechi’s telephone number and could have reached him directly to make the request of prior briefing of his movements. Alternatively, he could have written officially to the Secretary to State Government to make the same request.”
Mrs. Semenitari added that the development would be the first time since Amaechi assumed office in 2007 that a CP would request prior information of his movement, saying that this situation did not occur during the hey days of militants in the state thereby making it an “exception rather than the rule.”
The commissioner further explained that in an action that elicited curiosity and indicative of ulterior motives, the CP waited for Gov. Amaechi to travel out of Port Harcourt before issuing out the invitation to policemen attached to Government House, adding that Mr. Mbu’s sudden interest in the governor’s movement is suggestive of a more sinister motive.

She said, “CP Mbu has not hidden the fact that he holds Governor Amaechi in disdain and would stop at nothing to either harm him or aid those planning to harm him. After all in May 2013, he allowed ex-militants to barricade the gate into the Government House after parading major streets of Port Harcourt. He has even acknowledged before the media that he found nothing wrong in fraternizing with militants.
“We suspect that the request for daily prior briefing on the governor’s movement may be to furnish strange persons with necessary details of his movement and, thereby, placing him in harms’ way.”
The commissioner recalled that at different times, Mr. Mbu had compromised the governor’s security and safety and went as far as leading an attack on Government House in the wake of the House of Assembly crisis in July.
She added that “As Commissioner of Police, CP Mbu, refuses to brief the Governor, who is the Chief Security Officer of the state on the state of security in Rivers State.”
The statement said following the formal report by the governor to the police high command on his worries about CP Mbu and having waited for something to come out of his complaint to no avail, the Rivers State government has as a last resort, decided to cry out to Nigerians and the rest of the world about the threat to Gov. Amaechi’s life.
“We therefore wish to alert Nigerians and the rest of the world that CP Mbu should be held responsible should anything evil happen to the Governor of Rivers State Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, any principal officer or top government functionary in Rivers State”, the statement read.
InformationNigeria

I Don't Care If Pokello Is Older - Elikem

The “short” display of romance between Ghana’s Elikem and Zimbabwe’s Pokello when they kissed on stage after Elikem was evicted two weeks ago at the Big Brother Africa finals, must have made many among the audience and viewers across Africa exclaim under their breath, “these two again.”

And why not? The couple who were voted the show’s most romantic housemates probably wanted to send a signal that what they started in the house was real and not fake as many suggested.

Though there was a hint of a possible relationship back in the house and later confirmation by the couple themselves after the show, a lot of people have doubted the sustainability of Elikem 24, and 27-year-old Pokello’s relationship.

Following the talk about their age difference which seems to have created a lot of “buzz” recently, Elikem says he was not worried about age as a factor in choosing a partner he wants to be with. Elikem is three years younger than Pokello.

Speaking with Showbiz last Tuesday, he said though a lot of people have questioned the rationale for being an “item” with the older Pokello, he could not be bothered about their age difference.

“I don’t know why people would want to make a fuss about our relationship because of the age difference. If I find some qualities of a virtuous wife in a woman, I don’t know what age has got to with it.

“I went to the house not attached to any woman. By God’s grace, I found someone like Pokello and I don’t know why we both cannot start on a good note because of age factor.

“I don’t feel younger at all and I’m very much okay. I have dated a lady five years older than me before so the age difference between Pokello and I, is actually not a big deal for me,” he stated.

He dismissed claims that he was caught in a love triangle with housemates Feza, Fatimah and Pokello before finally settling on the Zimbabwean lady.

“I was never a playboy or confused as people are suggesting. The truth is that I made moves on Feza because I thought she was a nice person I could start something with but she turned me down because her culture frowned on a woman dating a younger guy.

“She also made me understand that she was in love with Oneal and I had to respect her decision. As for Fatima, she was just a friend and nothing more than that,” Elikem added.

On life in the Big Brother house, Elikem dispelled the public perception that most of the happenings in the House were staged.

“You have no idea how difficult it is to be locked up in a house with no radio and television. It is really a difficult situation and whatever viewers saw was100 percent real”.

He was rather hesitant to comment on Pokello’s sex tape with her ex-boyfriend because that was in the past and he was looking forward to the future with Pokello.

Elikem said he was not bothered by the cultural differences that exist between Ghana and Zimbabwe because from what he learnt from Big Brother, Africans are one people and marrying Pokello would have nothing to do with her nationality.

Asked how soon Ghanaians should expect to hear the wedding bells, he let out an infectious laugh and said: “It is too early to talk about marriage but I think things are looking good for us. We just started and waiting for what the future holds for us.”

Pokello is expected to be in Ghana on September 13 for Elikem’s welcome party at the Aphrodisiac Night Club and another at the Vienna City night club in Kumasi a week later.

For now, Elikem says he is taking advantage of the popularity gained from Big Brother to build his brand and acting career which took off before he entered the Big Brother house.

“I already have three scripts and I know people will enjoy that aspect of my life apart from the fashion business. Ghanaians should expect nothing but the best of Elikem ‘the tailor’ as I journey into the world of show business,” he stated.

Elikem was the first Ghanaian housemate to get to the finals of the Big Brother Africa show since its inception seven years ago. Before Big Brother, Elikem had a taste of the make-belief industry when he featured in two films by Abdul Salam Mumuni titled Cheaters and Hunters.

TON

World leaders pressure Obama over Syria at G20 summit

U.S. President Barack Obama faced growing pressure from Russia's Vladimir Putin and other world leaders on Thursday to decide against launching military strikes in Syria, which many of them fear would

hurt the global economy and push up oil prices.

At a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg, Putin greeted Obama with a thin smile and a businesslike handshake, a clear sign of the strains between them over how to respond to a chemical weapons attack in Syria.
Obama also wore a stiff smile before talks began over dinner on the world economy and then on Syria, and there was none of the arm clutching or hugs between the two presidents that is typical of such occasions.
The rift over Syria overshadowed the discussions on how to revive growth but not before splits emerged within the group over a U.S. plan to wind down an economic stimulus program. The G20 accounts for two thirds of the world's population and 90 percent of its output.
The first round at the summit went to Putin, as China, the European Union, the BRICS emerging economies and a letter from Pope Francis all warned of the dangers of military intervention in Syria without the approval of the U.N. Security Council.
"Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price - it will cause a hike in the oil price," Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later told the leaders over the dinner in a tsarist-era seafront palace that any military action must have the Security Council's backing.
"Let us remember: every day that we lose is a day when scores of innocent civilians die," his office quoted him as saying. "There is no military solution."
Obama blames forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the August 21 poison gas attack in the Damascus suburbs that killed up to 1,400 people. Moscow says Obama has not proven that claim and says rebel forces may have carried it out.
In New York, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power left no doubt that Washington had given up trying to work with the U.N. Security Council over the attack.
She said there was "no viable path forward in this Security Council" and accused Russia of holding it hostage. Moscow has signaled it would veto any resolution on the use of force unless Washington produced stronger proof.
Obama has asked the U.S. Congress to approve military action and France has said it is ready to support U.S. intervention.
Showing he was undeterred by the criticism, Obama said before talks with Japan's prime minister on the sidelines of the summit that using chemical arms was "not only a tragedy but also a violation of international law that must be addressed."
Aides said he would set out his views at the leaders' dinner and hoped to build support for military action, although they acknowledged a consensus might be hard to find.
Long after midnight, there was still no word from officials on how the dinner discussion had gone.
Putin was isolated on Syria at a Group of Eight meeting in June, the last big summit of world powers, but could now turn the tables on Obama, who recently likened him to a "bored kid in the back of the classroom" who slouches at meetings.
Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, portrayed the "camp of supporters of a strike on Syria" as divided, and said: "It is impossible to say that very many states support the idea of a military operation."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel saw no chance of agreement between Putin and Obama on Syria. U.S.-Russian ties have long been strained by political differences but went into free fall when Russia harbored Edward Snowden, a former spy agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. intelligence programs.
Any G20 decision on Syria would not be binding but Putin would like to see a consensus to avert military action in what would mark a significant - but unlikely - personal triumph for the Russian leader.
LOSS OF HARMONY
The G20 achieved unprecedented cooperation between developed and emerging nations to stave off economic collapse during the 2009 financial crisis, but the harmony has since waned.
Member states are at odds as the U.S. recovery gains pace, Europe lags, and developing economies worry about the impact of the Federal Reserve's plans to stop a bond-buying program that has helped kick-start the U.S. economy.
"Our main task is returning the global economy towards steady and balanced growth. This task has unfortunately not been resolved," Putin said. "Therefore systemic risks, the conditions for an acute crisis relapse, persist."
The BRICS agreed to commit $100 billion to a currency reserve pool that could help defend against a balance of payments crisis, although the mechanism will take time to set up.
There is likely to be an agreement on measures to fight tax evasion by multinational companies at the summit in the spectacular, 18th-century Peterhof palace complex, built on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great.
An initiative will be presented on refining regulation of the $630-trillion global market for financial derivatives to prevent a possible blow-up.
Steps to give the so-called "shadow banking" sector until 2015 to comply with new global rules will also be discussed.
 

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It Is Bizzare, Absurd That Bianca Ojukwu Claims We Never Had An "Intimate Relationship" -Femi Fani-Kayode

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has withdrawn the controversial comment he made a week after Bianca Ojukwu threatened to sue him for him saying they had an “intimate relationship”


In a statement through his lawyer, Rotimi Akinola, on Thursday, Mr. Fani-Kayode accepted that he erred by making the comment but said it was “bizarre, absurd and inexplicable” that the wife of the late Biafran warlord, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, claimed they were never acquainted.
“As our client said earlier through his press secretary some of the words he used to describe his friendship with Ambassador Ojukwu in his article titled ”A Word For Those Who Call Me A Tribalist” were indiscreet,” Mr. Fani-Kayode’s lawyer said in the statement.
“He hereby withdraws those words,” he added.
News of Mr. Fani-Kayode’s withdrawal of the comments came just as it was learnt that several concerned highly placed Nigerians were reaching out to both Mr. Fani-Kayode and Mrs. Ojukwu with a view to amicably resolving the differences between them.
One of those who initiated the peace moves but pleaded not to be named said both parties were cooperating with the efforts at reconciling them.
He said the statement by Mr. Fani-Kayode’s lawyer was part of the measures suggested by the mediators.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Fani-Kayode had written the article where he sought to allay the outrage caused by an earlier controversial piece titled ‘The Bitter Truth About the Igbos.’
In the article, Mr. Fani-Kayode had disclosed that he had had a “long standing and intimate relationship” with Mrs. Ojukwu, former beauty queen and daughter of a state governor in the Second Republic.
The claims angered Mrs. Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, who directed her lawyers to request Mr. Fani-Kayode to retract his statement.
In his statement on Thursday, Mr. Fani-Kayode, who was also a Minister of Culture and Tourism, insisted that he knew Mrs. Ojukwu in the early to mid-80′s when he was a student at London University and Cambridge University respectively.
“They were good friends at the time and they had a few mutual friends who are still alive today,” Mr. Fani-Kayode said through his lawyer.
“The bizarre, absurd and inexplicable assertion that they were not friends and that Ambassador Ojukwu has never met our client is patently false.
“Though he has not seen her for over 25 years he spoke to her on the phone when her husband passed on last year,” he added.
Last week, Mrs. Ojukwu’s lawyers, Wall Street Attorneys threatened to commence a legal action against the controversial ex-minister if he fails to retract his comments stating that their client was “outraged” and “embarrassed” by Mr. Fani-Kayode’s claims.
Naij

Federal lawmakers supporting New PDP dismiss Tukur’s threat, call him a drowning man

By Wale Odunsi

The threat by embattled national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur, to eject National Assembly members, who have publicly declared support for the Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the party, from their seats has been dismissed and regarded as an empty threat.
Tukur had on Wednesday vowed to ensure that office holders elected officials on the platform of the PDP, now supporting the Baraje faction, are removed as punishment for their actions.
Members of the House of Representatives loyal to the New PDP on Thursday, said Tukur’s statement was wishful thinking and a sign of a “weakling”, a “loser”, and a “drowning man”.
The lawmakers in a statement signed on their behalf by Sekonte Davies from Rivers State noted that, “Weaklings and losers always seek to use whatever powers they think have at their disposal, irrespective of how inappropriate that may be”
According to them, Tukur’s comments were characteristically “garrison attitude” that has brought the party to its present undesirable state.

“Again, as he had operated the constitution of the party, mostly in breach, he thinks that he can also do the same with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. From all relevant sections of these laws and as severally pronounced by the Supreme Court, you cannot declare anybody’s seat vacant especially when the party is in factions,” they said.
“Moreover, since he has not been a member of the party, he does not also know that PDP is the greatest beneficiary of party factionalization and fractionalization in the present dispensation of our democratic journey.”
On Tukur’s call on security agents to go after leaders and supporters of the new faction, they said: “We don’t know when political disagreements within a political party became a State offence such that the former Chairman of PDP should ask the security agencies to harass and arrest his opponents. We thought this was what the military and the political cowardly did.”
“However, we are not surprised, nonetheless, because a drowning man can always hold on to anything he thinks will help him to stay afloat and survive.”
Presently, nearly 60 House of Representatives members and 27 Senators have declared support for the new faction of the party, which has Abubakar Baraje as Chairman and Olagunsoye Oyinlola as Secretary.
Other prominent members are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and governors of Jigawa, Niger, Adamawa, Sokoto, Rivers, and Kwara and Kano states.

DailyPost

Edo govt will encourage the stowaway boy to achieve his dreams - Commissioner

The Edo State Government has expressed its readiness to ensure that the stowaway teenager, Daniel Oikhena, achieve his dreams by sponsoring the boy's education up to university level. Mrs Evelyn, meanwhile

the mother of the boy is at war with the husband, after she was accused of depriving the husband, Osaigbovo access to members of the public since the stowaway saga started, but the family of the woman described the attitude of the husband as disappointing "because he decided to appear now thinking that money is involved but he abandoned the children all these while, it is shameful."
Mr Louise Odion, the Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation however said that Governor Adams Oshiomhole was determined to ensure that Daniel gets the best education, regretting that the seeming crack between the mother and the father affected the upbringing of the boy.
Odion said: "Edo State Government is already taking steps to ensure that Daniel gets not just material but also psychological support to enable him achieve his God given potentials. As a doting parent himself, Governor Oshiomhole has followed the development closely. As a matter of fact, he personally engaged Daniel.
"From his interaction with him and his parents, who unfortunately are separated, it is obvious that there is a deficit in terms of parental care, even though he sounds quite intelligent. We will ensure that Daniel benefits first of all from the intervention of clinical psychologists. His psyche needs to be weaned off destructive anger."
"Thereafter, we will assist Daniel up to university level consistent with the philosophy of Oshiomhole that every Edo child gets quality education that not only addressed the cognitive, but also the affective and psycho-motor domains as well."
 

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