Sunday, 30 March 2014

Michael Schumacher's wife builds £10million medical suite ......

Michael Schumacher's wife builds £10million medical suite in their mansion to look after stricken F1 Ace when he leaves hospital after being told it is unlikely he will wake

  • The medical facility will be built in the family's £25million Swiss estate
  • Doctors think it is unlikely Michael Schumacher will ever wake up
  • Despite grim prognosis, the seven-time F1 champion's family will not give up
  • The family are currently making 150-mile round trip to his bedside daily
  • Family friend said Corinna Schumacher would see giving up as a 'betrayal'
The wife of Michael Schumacher is reportedly spending £10million on building a fully equipped medical suite in their family home so her husband can leave the hospital.
Even though Corinna Schumacher, 45, has been told by doctors it is highly unlikely the racing ace will ever wake up from his medically induced coma, she has decided to use the family's £500million fortune to build the facility in their lavish £25million estate on the banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Today is the three month anniversary of the Alps skiing accident where the seven-time F1 champion, 45, hit his head and was put into an induced coma to reduce brain swelling.
Corinna Schumacher, left, wants to bring her husband, right, home from hospital - even if he never wakes up
Corinna Schumacher, left, wants to bring her husband, right, home from hospital - even if he never wakes up





The £25 million estate on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Corinna Schumacher is installing the facility
The £25 million estate on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Corinna Schumacher is installing the facility

Since then, there have been few encouraging signs of recovery and the racing ace has been wasting away in his hospital bed, losing 25 per cent of his body mass to now only weigh 8st 7lbs.
A friend of the Schumacher's, who has known the family for 25 years The Sun said: 'Miracles happen, of course, and as a wealthy man he has the best care money can buy.
'But all the money in the world cannot fix what has happened to him. The family are making arrangements for a future of permanent immobility.
 
'Is there a sense of denial at play among them? I would say yes'
The family's life has been taken over by the accident, every day they make the 150-mile round trip from their home in Switzerland to the Grenoble University Hospital, France, where Schumacher is receiving the best possible care.
They spend up to ten hours by his bedside, offering up prayers for his recovery, before returning home in the evening.

Michael Schumacher was always a keen skier, the sport appealed to his thrill seeking and love of speed
Michael Schumacher was always a keen skier, the sport appealed to his thrill seeking and love of speed

Grenoble University Hospital Centre, where has been in a coma for three months, since his skiing accident
Grenoble University Hospital Centre, where has been in a coma for three months, since his skiing accident



Mrs Schumacher has always been a devoted wife, extremely supportive of her husband's career.
Mr Schumacher once said: 'It is not so easy to find a partner who unconditionally adapts to the pace of my life.'
Both growing up in the same region of West Germany, Michael and Corinna Schumacher met at a party in 1991 and fell in love. The pact that has seen their loving relationship endure is that she allows him pursue his high-octane career and, in return, he would give her everything she could want.
With an accumulated wealth estimated to be well over half-a-billion pounds, Schumacher's family is well placed to provide the limitless care that will be needed in the coming years.  This will include physiotherapists, to massage his atrophying joints, doctors, nutritionists, nurses and neurological experts.
He used the staggering fortunes from his 22-year career to snap up a ranch in Texas, where Corinna raises horses, as well as apartments and ski chalets around the world - including the one in Meribel from which he set out on the tragic day late last year.
Corinna Schumacher arriving at Grenoble Hospital, the family make the 150 mile round trip every single day
Corinna Schumacher arriving at Grenoble Hospital, the family make the 150 mile round trip every single day






He even built the estate on Lake Geneva where the new medical facility will be installed.
As a result, Mrs Schumacher refuses to give up on the man she once described as the 'perfect partner'.
The family friend told The Sun she 'would view breaking faith with the hope of a miracle a betrayal, little better than treachery.
'She feels that the family communes around his bedside pulsate their hope and love to him, and that of the millions of fans worldwide who share that faith.
'She can’t express defeat because that would be the end of her.'

MailOnline

Why ‘Wills’ Are Hardly Effective In Nigeria



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Conflicts and other family crises arise from none execution of Wills, especially in Nigeria. The writing of Will itself predates modern practice of inheritance. How is this issue faring in the Nigerian context? Ruth Choji writes
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his or her estate and provides for the distribution of their property at death. It is common knowledge that most Nigerians would rather follow their customs and tradition in leaving their inheritance than imbibe the modern   method of passing inheritance through a “will”.
But the issue of leaving a “will” is not a strange development in the African culture, and has been an age-long practice in Nigeria from time immemorial. The Igbo custom holds a traditional method of inheritance or “will”, where succession is done by the eldest son; a practise known as “Okpala” or “Diokpa”, but if the deceased was  a polygamist and had many sons from several wives, the eldest sons of each of the wives may take part in sharing of the property.
The Yoruba customary law stipulates that children of the deceased, whether male or female, are entitled to inheritance from the deceased property upon his death. The property is shared among the children equally, whether female or male.
A woman, who had experienced the bitter pills of contest of inheritance, is Mrs Lydia Akuko, a mother  of four, who resides in Ado,  a suburban of Nasarawa State. “My husband was a driver with a bank. He was also a womanizer, and this used to cause serious problems between us,” she alleged, continuing that “he used to chase everything in skirt. Whenever I confronted him, he would beat me up, and most times, he used to be drunk. At a point, my parents came and took me away from him, which I believe was a blessing. After a year, I was informed that he was sick and my parents told me to go and take care of him, which I did. I never knew he had HIV/Aids.
“But when I got there, he confessed to me and asked me to forgive which I did. Eight months later, he died. I didn’t know he left a will until after the burial, when the lawyer came and told the family to inform me.
“On that day, I came with two of my family members, and when the will was read, it was that day we discovered that my late husband had two houses, some shares and over N800,000 in the bank which he had been saving with the names of the children for their education. He didn’t leave anything for his family. And there and then, the mother called me a witch and accused me of killing my husband. They threw me out of the house that night and took my children away from me. Some few days later, they went to the bank to claim the money after lying to the bank that I had died with my husband, and that they were the ones to take care of the children. But the bank insisted that they must see my death certificate, because my husband included my name in the form as the only one to manage the funds for the children. That was how my battle with my in-laws started. They turned my children against me. I had to go to an NGO that took my case up and got a lawyer for me. My first son was asked if he wanted to live with me, but he said he won’t, because I killed their father. I don’t care about the money or houses, all I want are my children,” she told, after making all efforts to secure a good relationship with her children.
The importance of a will can never be overemphasized. Where a deceased person made a will, he is said to have died testate, but when a deceased person did not make a will, he is said to have died intestate.
Barr Elizabeth Daniel, a legal practitioner who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday on the issue of will, stated that a will is a very important instrument, because of the impact it leaves after the deceased passes on.  A “will” has been known to have saved lives and restored peace within the family. What people don’t really know is that it excludes both our traditional and the English law of inheritance.
According to Barr Daniel, the owner of a Will also gets to distribute his assets the way he wants and he gets to choose who will do it after his dead. Anybody above the age of 18 years old can make a Will, except for military service, seamen or deranged people.
“We always tell our clients to make a Will early, because nobody knows what can happen. It is also imperative for people who are married, because of in-laws. This is because once a person gets married, the rules under which he gets married may become applicable to his estate should he become deceased without making a Will. A person can dispose of his property in the way and manner he deems fit and proper to any person of his choice and in any proportion as long as it is stipulated in his Will,” Daniel said.
The legal practitioner further stated that anybody writing a Will should first start by writing their full names, including his alias if any, address, occupation, telephone numbers, and this is followed by the  executors and instructions. This Will must also include instructions as to how his property would be distributed with complete details. The testament can become invalid if the deceased did not sign  the Will at the end, in the presence of at least two or more witnesses who must be present at the time of writing and signing the Will.
“We don’t allow the witnesses to read the contents of the Will, except if the owner permits it. But the Will can also become invalid when the owner marries and does not renew the Will; if he makes a Will; if it is revoked; if it is destroyed, or has any kind of alteration, or another Will was revived. Nigerian laws recognise Will weather they are oral or written.
Pastor David Bulus, a clergy from Nasarawa State, stated that “the Bible is full of accountability, and so for us to live in obedience,  it’s good to make a Will. It also protects the family. It is also God’s law that says that men must feed their families else they become like infidels. For the Christian to write a Will does not mean that death will soon follow. Everyone should have a Will. The prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die’ (II Kings 20:1). Wills can provide for the care of the wife or husband, and gifts to religious organisations and other charities. The Will gives the testator an opportunity to help his relatives, widows and orphans,” he said.
On his part, Mallam Abdulaziz Sani, a Muslim cleric, stated that “When a Muslim dies, there are four duties which need to be performed. These are payment of funeral expenses, payment of his or her debts, execution of his or her will, and distribution of the remaining estate among the heirs, according to Sharia. It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequest not to let two nights pass without writing a Will about it. Sahih al-Bukhari hadith also states that, ‘A man may do good deeds for 70 years, but if he acts unjustly when he leaves his last testament, the wickedness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the Fire. If, on the other hand, a man acts wickedly for 70 years, but is just in his last Will and testament, the goodness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the Garden’. Our Will includes both bequests and legacies, instructions and admonishments, and assignments of rights. In Islam, the Will (wasiyya) can be oral or written, and the intention of the testator must be clear that the wasiyya is to be executed after his death,” he explained.
 Leadership

Blame governors for insecurity — Jonathan

 by Olalekan Adetayo and Ifeanyi Onuba

President Goodluck Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday indicted some unnamed state governors in the north-eastern part of the country over the spate of insecurity in the zone that has left hundreds of people dead.
He said the unnamed governors who turn around to attribute the violence to bad leadership failed in their responsibility of providing basic primary and secondary education for the children.
He said the uneducated children who form an army of unemployed and unemployable youths are now tools in the hands of miscreants who feed and arm them to kill innocent citizens.
Jonathan spoke at the Peoples Democratic Party’s North East Unity Rally held in Bauchi, Bauchi State.
He said while the Federal Government was doing its part by providing tertiary education to teeming Nigerian youths, state governments must also play their roles and stop pointing accusing fingers at him.
He said he played his role well to end insecurity in Bayelsa State when he was the deputy governor and the state governor, hence he expected state governors to play their roles too.
He added that north-eastern states had lost more people than any other part of the country in the violence orchestrated by the fundamental Islamic sect, Boko Haram because people refused to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Jonathan  on Saturday also said the problems of youth restiveness and insecurity within the African continent might have been caused  by “external forces” working against the progress of the region.
Jonathan was not specific on what he meant by “external forces” but stated however, that the growth which the continent had recorded within the last few years might be a major reason for people who are envious of the region to cause instability.
He stated these in Abuja at the opening session of the Seventh joint annual meetings of the Economic Commission of Africa conference of African ministers of finance, planning and economic development and the African Union conference of ministers of economy and finance.
In a related development, the Katsina State Government said it had concluded arrangements to convene a special security meeting with neighbouring Zamfara on ways to fight crime and attacks on villages.
Gov. Ibrahim Shema said this at a meeting with his Zamfara counterpart, Gov. Abdulaziz Yari, at the Government House in Gusau.
He expressed concerns over increasing criminal activities, where large number of heavily armed hoodlums invaded villages, maimed and killed several community members.
Punch

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua: The Legacy of a President

yaradua11

At a slippery point in time in Nigeria’s history and indeed the history of Africa, where decent leadership is elusive and desperation triumphs; where the people have given up on integrity and the possibility of upright anti corrupt leadership. A time where many ask, what can be better, and is it possible to deliver more for the people and less for the cabal; it becomes valuable to revisit the leaderships of our past and study if possibly there were better legacies, better examples to compare, and greater natures of human beings to emulate and seek in the present-future.
Looking not too far into the past, in fact in this very 4th republic, and from this very currently ruling PDP party, the much overlooked, abbreviated regime of late President Umaru Yar’adua comes to the fore, and has recently re-featured in the national immodest crises of the ‘missing’ $20bn, for which external auditors have embarrassingly been requested to help Nigeria address. A characteristic of a good legacy is when your valued words and actions of the past are raised as measures and standards in determination of the problems of the future. Late Umaru Yar’Adua in this regard, as invoked in the national discussion, left a good and important legacy.
Late President Yar’adua was elected to power in 2007, sponsored by another and two time Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. Umaru Yar’Adua was in office from 29 May 2007 – 5 May 2010 when he passed after a chronic illness. Considering Yar’Adua’s reign requires a brief review of the era before him, that he came to replace.
The democratic regime of Olusegun Obasanjo was very flamboyant and prestigious. It was Nigeria’s first return to democracy after 16 years of imposed military dictatorship.
Two of the common credits of the OBJ regime were the reduction in foreign debt and the establishment of GSM mobile phone networks in the country. Other things OBJ is remembered for is his campaign of privatizations and establishment of an anti-corruption agency, the EFCC. As OBJ’s regime is reviewed in cognizance of its real features and its future results, as well as the economic and political dynamics of the time, a few things are notable.
oil-nigeria-growth-trendOBJ rode the oil price waves. OBJ’s regime was not particularly economically unique, it more accurately was in favorable times and the economic growth was concordant with catapulting global oil prices. Oil prices were $16 in 1999 at the start of his tenure and rose rapidly to double that, $35 in September 2000. By August 2005, oil sold at $65 and by October 2007, oil prices were $90/barrel. Obasanjo rode these prices in an ‘oil cruise.’
Contrary to popular narrative, it was late Abacha who introduced GSM to Nigeria. Abacha awarded the first GSM license to Motophone before he passed. When Motophone refused to bend to Obasanjo’s requests for 50% shares in the company as reliable sources detail, Obasanjo cancelled their award and then awarded 27 licenses of his own to companies he brought.
One more issue to discuss that was a hallmark of the predecessor administration was the privatization agenda. Obasanjo built his friends and sponsors of his party, the PDP; the likes of Dangote and Otedola were handed chunks of Nigeria in a privatization frenzy. Transcorp was formed to further facilitate the complete handing over of Nigeria’s assets to private cronies of the PDP. As Obasanjo failed to secure his third term bid, he quickly auctioned off Nigeria’s oil refineries to the same cabal.
Other not so favorable aspects of the OBJ years, including the ‘skewed’ use of the EFCC, the billions allocated for repairing power plants, the ‘missing’ recovered Abacha loot and the like have been thrashed suitably in the media.
The rich got stupendously richer during Obasanjo and the poor got poorer. The gap between the rich and poor have since in the 4th republic widened to levels never before seen. From 2004, midway into the Obasnajo tenure, to date after 4+ full years of Goodluck Jonathan, according to Nigeria’s statistics Bureau, NBS, Nigeria’s destitute, living under a dollar-a-day have doubled to 100 million, the highest number of any African nation and one-tenth of the world’s total destitute.
Enter Yar’Adua, 2007:
Yar’Adua had an uphill task. The first president to publicly declare his assets, Yar’Aduawas referred to as ‘go-slow,’ possibly because at the time, people did not realize what cards he had been handed and also actually due to his attention to details and due process. He was coming in when oil prices were dropping during the global recession and Nigeria’s economy faced testing. The Yar’Adua government had to stabilize the economy against dropping oil prices and decreased production as a result of Niger-Delta terror.
Yet, Yar’Adua had been handed two catastrophic problems by the predecessor Obasanjo government. Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND was wrecking havoc in the Southern creeks and Boko Haram had similarly evolved in the north east. Under the Obasanjo regime, Nigeria’s national security boss, NSA Aliyu Gusau, a Babangida dictator regime henchman and the man behind most of Nigeria’s sad history of military coups—who together with Babangida organized the 1983 coup and displacement of the Shagari civilian regime, in which they put army senior Buhari in charge and also behind the 1985 coup in which he removed Buhari and the 1993 coup in which he removed Shonekan and replaced him with Abacha—had failed to abate the problems in the north and south. According to reports, Gusau had actually told president Obasanjo when he asked about Boko Haram, then called, ‘Nigerian Taliban,’ that ‘no such group existed,’ despite attacks by the group.
Faced with these unique, entrenched challenges, Yar’Adua selected a National Security Adviser, Major Gen. Sarki Mukhtar, who is remembered for opposing Abacha on coup plotter treatment in the 90s, and had the commitment and wherewithal to intelligently and appropriately combat the two terror problems.
The Yar’Adua administration with NSA Mukhtar immediately approached the MEND crises with an understanding of the pressing situation. An Amnesty was worked out for the agitating youth who had reduced Nigeria’s oil output by almost half, and Nigeria invested billions in training and rehabilitating these youth. Peace that eluded Obasanjo was restored to the creeks.
Faced with a different terror uprising in the north, Yar’Adua with his apt NSA Mukhtar swung into action, again properly considering the dynamics of the northern question. Poverty is predominant in Nigeria’s north, however poverty and/or misguided fanaticism is no excuse for terrorism and murder of innocent civilians and security officers. The nation’s security men were sent to sack the Boko Haram camps in a swift and efficient operation. In one of the few times in recent global history, the terror mastermind, Mohammed Yusuf himself was caught and killed as ‘he attempted to escape.’ Over 700 Boko Haram terrorists were massacred in the operation of July 2009.
Having established calm and restored security to Nigeria, late Yar’Adua continued with managing other pressing crises he had inherited from the previous administration.
Another battle Yar’Adua had to face was the recovery of Nigeria from the cabal. Obasanjo had literally sold Nigeria to private friends of his and his party. Tycoon Dangote had been selected and favored by president Obasanjo not only during his second appearance in civilian regalia but from his first show as military dictator when he gave Dangote exclusive importation rights. With the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and Otedola, Dangote owned as much as half of Nigeria’s assets, which included Nigeria’s cement plants, a telecoms licence and mining concessions. Bashani Aminu had revealed as relayed in Wikileaks, that Dangote once gave Obasanjo a 35 million dollar private jet as thanks for his fruitful partnership.
In July, 2007, barely two months into office, Yar’Adua summoned the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), to query the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and co. And to the praise of Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) Yar’Adua overturned these privatizations for being corrupt. Yar’Adua was next going after the Transcorp purchase of Abuja Nicon Hilton. Though Obasanjo had put Yar’Adua into office against Yar’Adua’s wishes, he having objected to contesting on health grounds, Yar’Adua was determined to rescue Nigeria from the paws of the cabal, even his sponsors, Dangote, who financially sponsored his campaigns and Obasanjo who orchestrated his selection.
But this was not even the half of Yar’Adua’s war against corruption. There was the kerosene subsidy scam, through which the fourth republic stole and still steals 10 million dollars every day from the Nigerian masses. Yar’Adua who was battling with a chronic allergic disorder and had intermittent kidney failure, took this matter as no joke and not a matter to delay on. Within his short tenure, he went hard and firm against the subsidy fraud, sending 4 directive communications to immediately seize the fake subsidy that ‘was not reaching the beneficiaries, the Nigerian masses.’  Yar’Adua’s Principal Secretary, Mr. David Edevbie conveyed the directives.
The government spent/spends millions of dollars everyday subsidizing kerosene that was/is sold to the masses at unsubsidized prices in an elaborate, cheap scam. In this scheme Yar’Adua met on the ground, and that is by all means one of the most gigantic fraud scams in recent world history, the government states that it imports 10 million liters of kerosene everyday at the cost of N156/liter. It then claims to subsidize this to N40.9/liter to be sold at N50/liter to the masses. The NNPC now sells the kerosene to a handful of cabal portfolio marketers at the N40.9/liter and allows them sell it at N150+/liter to the masses, an unsubsidized price, raking in a whooping N100 on the liter for 10 million liters a day and billions of dollars a year [Reference CBN governor Sanusi’s ‘missing’ $20bn  alert].
President Yar’Adua on June 15, 2009 gave a clear directive that NNPC should cease subsidy claims on kerosene. Kerosene fraudulent subsidy claims run up to the tune of N300 trillions per year. This was going to hurt Obsanjo and his cabal cronies.
But Yar’dua was not stopping here, late Yar’Adua gave executive orders to the EFCC to go after anyone, bar none. Obasanjo was in his crosshairs. Obasanjo panicked!
Ambassador Maitama Sule revealed that Obasanjo was scared Yar’Adua would soon come after him and AC’s Garba Shehu said Atiku warned Yar’Adua that Obasanjo was plotting to remove him for his “treachery.”
WeeklyTrust in their one year tribute, remeber him thus:
Yar’adua deconstructed power. He was not intoxicated by it, a fact that even his critics had attested to. He operated within the realm of the law. He didn’t pay lip service to the rule of law and due process he preached. The courts regained the freedom they lost during his predecessor’s tenure. They handed down verdicts that cancelled political victories even though his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the victim.
Despite his ill-health, he pioneered laudable projects across the country. He initiated the dredging of River Niger, a project that was abandoned for decades. He started the reinvigoration of the abandoned rail system. He brought Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to head the Central Bank, thereby saving the country from a looming financial crisis.
He was bold enough to reverse President Olusegun Obasanjo’s decisions considered to be against the national interest.  He saved the country’s three refineries from being auctioned to businessmen, who could not establish theirs.  The nation’s comatose telecom giant, NITEL was not auctioned at least during his time.
He fought corruption in his own ways. He pioneered the policy of returning unspent funds to the national treasury at the end of the fiscal year even though the policy regrettably died with him. He prosecuted and jailed those believed to be above the law. His party chieftain, Chief Olabode George was convicted during Yar’adua’s adminitration. He did not create political enemies who he needed the anti-graft agencies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to humiliate as Obasanjo did.
After his assumption, he saved the jobs of over 160, 000 federal workers pencilled for sack under various pretences. Not only that, he released the N10 billion Lagos State local government councils’ funds which Obasanjo sat fat on despite court orders. Yar’adua went ahead and reversed the increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 10 percent to five as well as the hike in fuel price from N75 to N65. Read full
There are many more instances of Yar’Adua’s stunning and committed actions in total war against corruption. But as he waged this war he suddenly took seriously ill. Yar’Adua suspected he was poisoned. As relayed in Wikileaks cables, Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, an insider and confidant to Babangida and other Nigerian top elite, claimed that late Yar’Adua suspected he had been poisoned by his kitchen staff who he inherited from the former president, Obasanjo. This belief was grave enough according to Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, that Yar’Adua fired all the kitchen staff and replaced them.
Suspicion of poisoning has been rather common in Nigeria’s story, and Shehu Musa, Yar’Adua’s elder brother, was believed to have been killed by poisoning in jail as also it is believed late president elect MKO Abiola was.
Yar’Adua’s wife, Turai is also reported to have believed her husband was poisoned, and this was done to speed up his death. [Fresh Facts, May 2010: “They Killed Yar’Adua”].
When the Goodluck Jonathan administration took over, during a valedictory session in Yar’Adua’s  honour, a motion to investigate the conditions of Yar’Adua’s death was raised by senators who alleged that the circumstances leading to the death of Yar’Adua were suspicious, but this motion to probe did not pass the floor and so this possibility was never investigated.
With the death of Yar’Adua, his deputy, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan took over the presidency and things pretty much went back to how they were in the Obasanjo years… or actually worse. Boko Haram recouped and resumed in full swing, MEND and MEND related terrorists including a revised form as oil bunkerers, high sea pirates and pro-presidency thugs, got reactivated to hold the nation to ransom, with terror reigning supreme from north to south; and fraudulent, non-people beneficial cabal-privatization (cabalization) and corruption were the order of the day. Unlike the Obasanjo administration, recognized for utilizing the EFCC at least for witch hunting the corrupt in bad taste with the president, the EFCC was practically retired to petty cases and authority grand robbery with impunity reigned.
I believe one can admit late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to the fold of late General Murtala Mohammed and Idiagbon/Buhari, whose regimes were marked by total intolerance to corruption and also marked by their assassinations during rule and after (as happened in the case of late general Tunde Idiagbon who was poisoned in Abuja in early 1999, paving the path for the return of Obasanjo by NSA Gusau and Babangida).
Nigeria’s political parties, APC, PDP and the rest can yet find another Murtala, Idiagbon/Buhari or Yar’Adua to restore sanity, decency and global respect to the nation.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah

New sRescue

This National Conference is waste of time – Prof. Nwabueze


Jona-nwabueze

*‘How Jonathan got it wrong’
*On 1979 Constitution: We were misguided
*Speaks on the new political order Nigeria needs and Ohanaeze crisis We are in the process of another constitution making.  If you agree, what’s your take on the arrangement?
 By Clifford Ndujihe & Ikenna Asomba
Let me correct the impression that we are in the process of another constitution making. The National Conference, as constituted by the President, lacks the capacity to draft a constitution to be submitted to the people for approval through a referendum. It doesn’t have the capacity, so it does not entail a constitution making at all. That is something we have to realise, arising from the nature and type of the conference as constituted or established by the President.
The reason for this is that the conference is not established by virtue of any law enacted by the National Assembly. The convocation, its composition, its functions, its modus operandi are not catered for by  law. It is established entirely by virtue of the inherent powers of the President under Section 5 of the constitution. With its limited functions, its establishment is within the immediate powers of the President. The conference not established  under a law enacted by the legislative authorities of the country cannot adopt a constitution. It lacks the capacity to draft a constitution that will be binding on everybody as law.
At best,  what do you think would come out of this exercise?
Nothing, it’s just a talk-shop. We must realise that it’s a talk-shop. It’s functions are merely deliberative and advisory. So, there is no harm in talking. If they talk for three months, something good may come out of it but, certainly, not the adoption of a new constitution.
As it is, how can we make the best out of the present arrangement for the good of the country?
We have to decide first: what do you want as a country? What we want is a new, better and united Nigeria. That is what we want. There is no way you can get it from this conference. Even if you talk for one year, there is no way you can get it in this conference, we must all realise this. You can get something, but not a new and united Nigeria. You can’t because of the limitations of this conference. It has no powers, it has only functions.
There is a difference in law between powers and functions. This conference doesn’t have the powers to bind you and me, to affect the legal relations of you and me, or the legal rights of you and me. It doesn’t have the powers, that is what powers entail. It has only functions, deliberations, talking. You can talk for one year but what can come out of the talking is another matter.
You are one of those who convinced President Jonathan to go for National Conference.  But the way you sound, it’s as if you are disappointed with the turn of things…
That is correct. I led the delegation of The Patriots to the President on August 29, 2013, and I think we were able to persuade him. The so-called u-turn made by the President is as a result of that meeting. But the conference we asked him to convene is totally different from what he has now established. There are totally two different things.
We were looking for a conference that will have the power to adopt a new constitution for Nigeria, that will be submitted to the people at a referendum for approval. That was what we were asking for, and we were asking for a conference of ethnic nationalities. I will come to that later.

NewsRescue

FEAR: Terrorists May Have Used Chemical Weapons In North Nigeria


rebels-sarin

For the first time in the history of Nigeria, substances suspected to be chemical weapon is suspected to have been used the ongoing war waged by Fulani herdsmen on the good people of Benue states.
The marauders attacked Shengev community in Gwer West Local Council leaving 15 people dead without any visible wounds, gunshots or otherwise as in the past but were foaming in the mouth, leading to fears that they obviously have been attacked with chemical weapons.
The inhabitants of Shengev community explained that one of the victims was found dead outside his house but after critically observing his body, no cut or wound was seen on him.
The chairman of the local council, Mrs. Eunice Abajwa, confirmed yesterday that part of her domain was attacked in the invasion and 10 bodies had been recovered without wounds and had taken them to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi for autopsy to determine what exactly caused their death.
One of the inhabitants of Shengev community said that one of the victims, his elder brother, was found dead outside his house but after critically observing his body, no cut or wound was seen on him.
Benue state has been in the news recently over incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen. Just 2 days ago, Makurdi, capital of Benue State came under fire when some Fulani Herdsmen launched attack on unsuspecting residents at about  4 a.m. killing over 60 persons.
Eyewitnesses said that they came in around 4am when the people were enjoying the last lap of their night slumber, hence unprepared for the attack. The barrage of gunfire jolted everyone from their sleep with wailing women and children scampering for safety amidst the commotion.
About two weeks ago, five people died in a similar manner in Guma Local Government Area of the State. The Commissioner for Information, Justin Amase, on Friday told journalists that the victims died after inhaling a chemical substance.
“We suspect that some chemicals were used on the victims. Their bodies were then set on fire to destroy any evidence,” he reportedly said.
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REVEALED: How Reuben Abati And Guardian Retracted Claim That Buhari Was Behind Terror In Nigeria

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Rueben Abati Retracts Libelous Invention Linking Buhari With Terror; Compensates General For Damages

  • Presidential spokesman Rueben Abati settled the case Buhari filed against him and “The Guardian newspaper” out of court
  • Rueben Abati published a retraction of his libelous claim which accused the ex-president of instigating terror.
Mar. 28, 2014
Buhari Vanguard Replies Olisa Metuh On Libel Against Buhari
We had thought of ignoring Olisa Metus allegation against Muhammadu Buhari since we understand that he is a man without a mind of his own, but a vuvuzela that is used at will by his owner the PDP.
However, in the interest of unsuspecting Nigerians who may be deceived by the gimmicks and deceit of the likes of Olisa Metuh and his party, we wish to put the records straight in this response to the recent libel against the person of Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
You recall that on Saturday, the 22nd of March 2014, Olisa Metuh, the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP attempted once again to link Gen Muhammadu Buhari to the insurgence in Nigerian its usual “blame game” and in a bid to defend the incompetence, confused and underperforming government of the Peoples Democratic Party.
In his words, “When we accused the APC of being behind insurgency, we did not speak in vain and when we summarised the manifesto of the party as a product of Janjaweed ideology, we have verifiable reasons”. He went further and argued that it was not a coincidence that an unprecedented violence broke out after Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) allegedly beckoned on his supporters to go on lynching spree if he should lose the 2011 presidential election, adding that the Sheik Lemu committee, which investigated the death of hundreds of people in the post-2011 election violence, established Buhari’s culpability.
We were rattled by this dislocated, irrational and weird thinking that is coming from a man who claims to be a lawyer and we wish to set the records straight for discerning Nigerians. First, It would be recalled that Reuben Abati, an aide to President Goodluck Jonathan had on page 51 of the April 22, 2011, edition of The Guardian newspaper, written an article entitled “For the attention of General Buhari,” where he claimed that Buhari made an unguarded statement which stirred the post-election violence that almost tore the nation apart.
The former Military General however, regarded the publication as libelous, aimed at denting his hard earned name and image. Buhari consequently dragged Abati and The Guardian Newspapers to court via suit no. ID/837/2011, demanding N1billion damages from them. The presidency begged the former Head of States General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to settle out of court the libel suit he filed against the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.
In a copy of the Terms of Settlement filed before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, the ‘warring’ parties have agreed to settle the matter out of court. According to the terms of settlement, dated December 2012 and filed before the administrative judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke, the claimant (Buhari), Mr. Tope Adebayo ( lawyer to Buhari), Abati and Mr. Kunle Sanyaolu (lawyer to The Guardian) signed the terms of settlement.
The terms of settlement reads in part: “The claimant (Buhari) and defendants (Abati and The Guardian) have agreed that the defendants should publish a retraction and an apology to the claimant on the Opinion Page of the newspaper, to be printed in reverse line black (RLB) within seven days of entering the Consent Terms as the judgment of the court in two editions of The Guardian.”
“The claimant and defendants have agreed and resolved that the retraction and apology shall take the following form and contents: ‘Re: For the attention of General Buhari’- On April 22, 2011, The Guardian Newspaper published an article on Page 51 titled ‘For the attention of General Buhari’ where certain allegations were made against General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), GCFR, concerning the 2011 election and General Buhari’s alleged role in the violence emanating from the elections.”
“The publication was based on information which we believed to be reliable at that time. Since the publication, however, we now have reason to believe that certain parts of the story were not verified to be correct before the publication. We assure General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), GCFR, of our highest esteem and regret any distress or embarrassment which the said publication may have caused him.”
“The claimant and defendants agree that on the execution of these Terms of Settlement, the defendants are discharged from all or any liabilities or obligations arising from the said publication.”
GUARDIAN  Re: For the attention of General Buhari
Thursday, 11 July 2013 00:00 Editor
SIR: “On April 22, 2011, The Guardian Newspaper published an article on page 51 titled “For the attention of General Buhari” wherein certain allegations were made against General Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged role in the violence emanating from the elections.
The publication was based on information which we believed to be reliable at that time. Since the publication, however, we now have reason to believe that certain parts of the story were not verified to be correct before the publication.
We assure General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) GCFR of our highest esteem and regret any distress or embarrassment which the said publication may have caused him.”
In the weird allegation by Olisa Metuh, he erroneously and mischievously quoted the report of the Lemu Panel’s report on the 2011 post election violence and claimed that the panel report indicted Gen Muhammadu Buhari. This is not only wrong and deceitful but mischievous. Metuh forgot that Nigerians are not all illiterates and still have the report of the panel and the exact words of the chairman of the panel.
The Chairman of presidential panel on the pre and post election violence in some parts of the country, Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, said on the 11th of October 2011that the committee did not indict former Head of State Gen Muhammadu Buhari in its report.
Sheikh Lemu told the BBC Hausa service that so many politicians called on their supporters to guard their votes just like Buhari did. When asked whether his committee said Buhari’s comments were responsible for the violence, Sheikh Lemu said: “If you take a look at our report, what we said cleared Buhari of any complicity. Because we showed that he was not the only one who asked the people to protect their votes, there were other prominent politicians, who also asked the people to protect their votes. And we said that statement was misconstrued to mean a call to violence, and they did. It was discovered that the Buhari himself was a victim of the violence and of the destruction of his property, the photographs of which were presented to the panel.
On the cause of the crisis, panel said, “The first and probably most important cause is the failure on the part of the previous successive regimes since the military handover of power in 1999 to implement the recommendations of various committees, commissions and panels that had taken place in our nation. That failure facilitated the wide spread sense of impunity in the culprits and perpetrators of crimes and violence in the Nigerian society”.
It said, “The second major cause of the recent electoral violence was the existing widespread desire for change as a result of frustration and disappointment of many members of the general public regarding the inability of the successive past regimes to solve the problems of electricity power failure nationwide, deplorable state of Federal Government roads throughout the nation, bribery and corruption, which have virtually been legitimised in all affairs of our nation. Obviously, the report indicted the PDP government and till date, they have not been able to implement or act on the report.
reno-omokri-sanusi-bokoIt is so amazing that an acclaimed learned fellow like Olisa Metuh does not respect court rulings nor has knowledge of them. We also marvel that the spokesperson of a ruling political party does not know the history of post election violence in Nigeria and their remote causes.
Elections have been a source of violent political, ethnic, religious and communal conflicts in Nigeria since the late 1940s when limited elections were introduced. This problem deteriorated in the elections conducted immediately after independence in the 1960s.
In the Western Region, violent political conflicts, popularly referred to as “operation wetie“, were recorded from 1964 to 1965. The national election conducted in 1983 witnessed massive post-election violence following the declared landslide victory of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Oyo and Ondo states considered to be stronghold of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
There is substantial similarity between the post-election violence recorded in 1983 and the post-election violence recorded after the presidential election on April 16, 2011 in which hundreds of people were reported killed and property worth billions of naira were destroyed or looted.
We may not have the time to tutor Olisa Metuh, but we urge him to study and improve on his limited knowledge to avoid embarrassing himself again.
Olisa Metuh is a man of questionable and indecent character, a bully that has no respect for others and the law of the land. We have not forgotten that February 19, 2011, Olisa Metuh, a lawyer turned politician, allegedly held Pele by the throat and reportedly ordered an aide to put him in his car boot, saying “No police IG or SSS can secure your release.” The Vice-Principal of British Nigerian Academy, Prince & Princess Estate, Abuja, Mr. Kola Pele, 67, has taught in numerous schools and nurtured many pupils. He was going about his duty at the last BNA visiting day when the National Vice-Chairman (South-East), Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, invaded the school with his wife, policemen as well as aides and allegedly assaulted him and other teachers for confiscating his son’s GSM phone.
The affected teachers had filed a lawsuit seeking N250m for general damages, N10m for punitive damages and N350, 000 for medical bills. The writ was issued by Joseph Dauda (SAN), the Nigeria Bar Association President. Pele told PUNCH METRO on Wednesday that he went to the hostels around 6.30pm to check if the parents had dispersed, when a teacher, Ms. Amuche Igbe, informed him that she saw Metuh’s son, Derrick, a former pupil of the school, giving his GSM phone to pupils to use in violation of the school rules. This is just to mention but a few examples of olisa Metus indecent behaviors and character.
On the other hand, Gen Muhammadu Buhari has held the most juicy and highest offices in Nigeria, but has come out clean and remained the rallying point of discipline and virtues. He has remained the purveyor of anticorruption, anti-materialism and disciple.
His achievement as PTF chairman where he procured free school bused for higher institutions, free drugs for all hospitals, lecture halls and learning materials for students among others is unprecedented. His mild stone as the petroleum Minister where he signed the contracts and supervised the building of the existing Nigerian refineries among others is still enviable.
His restoration of discipline as a head of state and refusal to de-value the naira making it more valuable than the dollar cannot be forgotten, not to mention the fact that he led the army at young age to chase the Chaldeans who intruded into the territory of Nigeria and would have caused what would have been more terrorizing than Boko Harram if allowed to stay, this is not to mention the role he played in the Nigerian civil war to restore peace and defend Nigeria.
We condemn the attempt by men like Olisa Metuh to poke their hands into the mouth of a descent, respected and quintessential gentle man like Muhammadu Buhari who has spent all his life fighting for and defending Nigeria.
Jasper Azuatalam, Chairman Buhari Vanguard

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