The verge of waste, self centeredness and corruption in Niigeria: Olisa Agbakoba versus The National Assembly

Dr Olisa Agbakoba- SAN

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has threatened to sue the 8th National Assembly to court, if they fail to maximally slash what he described as the ‘bogus’ salaries and allowances they earn, which takes up 25 percent of the country’s national budget according to VANGUARD.  Speaking at a news conference on Friday, in Lagos, Agbakoba, who advised the President-elect,
Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on how to handle the big shocks caused by Nigeria’s dwindling economy, argued that there is need to challenge the earnings of the lawmakers. *Agbakoba According to him, it will be very easy for Buhari to compel the NASS to slash their bogus emolument, if only he first sets the example by slashing the bogus allocation to the Presidential Villa. He said this has become imperative, as Nigeria has been hit by a tidal wave of big shocks bordering on a post oil economy, preference of the clean shale oil over the nation’s smelly hydrocarbon oil in the international market, as well as an economy in danger of running out of steam and cash.  Recall that constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, in 2011, alleged that Nigerian lawmakers at the lower and upper chambers of the National Assembly are the highest paid legislators in the world. According to Sagay, a Senator in Nigeria earns N240 million (about $1.7 million) in salaries and allowances, while a member of the House of Representatives earns N204 million (about $1.45 million) per anum. This is a far cry from the situation in the United States of America (USA), where a Senator earns $174, 000 and in the United Kingdom (UK), where a
“If we want things to work in this country, the role doesn’t only rest in the President. Civil societies also have a role to play. What we haven’t seen in Nigeria is a President who is willing to run the country towards a new order. Who are even these legislators, how many are they? They are about 500. So, they can’t continue in the context of dwindling economy, to eat up 25 percent of our resources. It doesn’t make sense,” he said

member of Parliament earns about $64,000 a year.  Also recall that the Senators-elect who have described as unacceptable the high cost of running government in the country, demanding immediate review so that the incoming administration can achieve meaningful development are Ben Bruce (PDP, Bayelsa East) and Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West). Agbakoba said: “It will be very easy easy for the President-elect, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to compel the National Assembly to slash their bogus emolument, if only he first sets the example. If he first cuts down the budget account of the Presidential Villa, the lawmakers will fall in place. For instance if the budget of the Villa is N5 billion and he cuts it down to N500 million, no one needs to tell the national assembly members to toe the same line. “The problem in Nigeria is professional politics, where the lawmakers say, the executive allocates bogus emolument to themselves, why shouldn’t we do same. But if the President is living above board and transparent, he will have the political authority to get lawmakers to behave, because he is the one who controls the budget even though you appropriate it.” On the impending suit, he said, “I am actually preparing a case to go to court to challenge the National Assembly on the unconstitutional allowances, and for the court to also declare that the national assembly legislators are only part-time, since the 1999 constitution stipulates that the Legislature should operate for 180 days of the 365 days in a year.”

EBOLA VIRUS DEATH IN LAGOS!

A Liberian man who was hospitalized in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, with the Ebola virus has died, Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said.

"The patient was subjected to thorough medical tests ... which confirmed he had the Ebola virus," Chukwu said Friday.

The case has raised fears that the virus could spread beyond the three countries at the center of what health officials say is the deadliest ever Ebola outbreak and into Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria. Lagos has more than 20 million residents.

As of July 20, some 1,093 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are thought to have been infected by Ebola since its symptoms were first observed four months ago, according to the World Health Organization. Testing confirmed the Ebola virus in 786 of those cases, of whom 442 died.

Of the 1,093 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, 660 people have died.

The man hospitalized in Lagos was a 40-year-old Liberian working for a West African organization in Monrovia, Liberia, according to the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

He arrived at Lagos airport on Sunday and was isolated in a local hospital after showing symptoms associated with the virus. He told officials that he had no direct contact with anyone with the virus nor attended the burial of anyone who died of Ebola.

The Lagos State Ministry of Health had said Thursday that "the patient's condition is stable and is in recovery" and that the results of testing for Ebola infection were still pending in his case. Infection control measures were in place in the hospital, officials said.

Doctor infected

Confirmation of the death in Lagos followed news that a doctor who has played a key role in fighting the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is infected with the disease, according to that country's Ministry of Health.

Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan is being treated by the French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres -- also known as Doctors Without Borders -- in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, agency spokesman Tim Shenk said.

Before falling ill, Khan had been overseeing Ebola treatment and isolation units at Kenema Government Hospital, about 185 miles east of the capital Freetown.

Ebola typically kills 90% of those infected, but the death rate in this outbreak has dropped to roughly 60% thanks to early treatment.

What is Ebola, and why does it kill?

Spread by bodily fluids

Officials believe that the Ebola outbreak has taken such a strong hold in West Africa due to the proximity of the jungle -- where the virus originated -- to Conakry, Guinea, which has a population of 2 million.

Because symptoms don't immediately appear, the virus can easily spread as people travel around the region. Once the virus takes hold, many die in an average of 10 days as the blood fails to clot and hemorrhaging occurs.

The disease isn't contagious until symptoms appear. Symptoms include fever, headache and fatigue. At that point, the Ebola virus is spread via bodily fluids.

Get the fast facts on Ebola

Health workers are at especially high risk, since they are in close contact with infected people and their bodily fluids. Adding to the danger, in the initial stages of infection doctors may mistake an Ebola infection for another, milder illness.

EBOLA VIRUS

 

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by ebola viruses. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, throat and muscle pains, and headaches. There is then nausea, vomiting and diarrhea along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point some people begin to have problems with bleeding
The disease is first acquired by a population when a person comes into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal such as a monkey or fruit bat. Fruit bats are believed to carry and spread the disease without being affected by it. Once infection occurs, the disease may be spread from one person to another. Men who survive may be able to transmit the disease sexually for nearly two months. To make the diagnosis, typically other diseases with similar symptoms such as malaria, cholera and other viral hemorrhagic fever are excluded. The blood may then be tested for either antibodies to the virus, the viral RNA, or the virus itself to confirm the diagnosis.
Prevention involves decreasing the spread of the disease from infected monkeys and pigs to humans. This may be done by checking these animals for infection and killing and properly disposing of the bodies if the disease is discovered. Properly cooking meat and wearing protective clothing when handling meat may be helpful, as may wearing protective clothing and washing hands when around someone sick with the disease. Samples from people with the disease should be handled with an extra degree of caution.
There is no specific treatment for the virus with efforts to help people including giving the person either oral rehydration therapy or intravenous fluids The disease has a high death rate: often between 50% and 90%. It typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa Between 1976, when it was first identified, and 2014, fewer than 1,000 people a year have been infected.
The largest outbreak as of 2014 is the ongoing 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which is affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. The disease was first identified in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none exists as of 2014.

Precautions

Ebola viruses are highly infectious as well as contagious. Governments and individuals often quickly respond to quarantine the area while the lack of roads and transportation in many parts of Africa helps to contain the outbreak. Airline crews are trained to spot the symptoms of Ebola in passengers flying from places where the virus is found. Crews are told to quarantine anyone who looks infected.
As an outbreak of ebola progresses, bodily fluids from diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding represent a hazard. Due to lack of proper equipment and hygienic practices, large-scale epidemics occur mostly in poor, isolated areas without modern hospitals or well-educated medical staff. Many areas where the infectious reservoir exists have just these characteristics. In such environments, all that can be done is to immediately cease all needle-sharing or use without adequate sterilization procedures, isolate patients, and observe strict barrier nursing procedures with the use of a medical-rated disposable face mask, gloves, goggles, and a gown at all times, strictly enforced for all medical personnel and visitors. The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid any person’s contact with the blood or secretions of any patient, including those who are deceased.
Vaccines have protected nonhuman primates. Immunization takes six months, which impedes the counter-epidemic use of the vaccines. In 2003, a vaccine using an adenoviral (ADV) vector carrying the Ebola spike protein therefore was tested on crab-eating macaques. The monkeys twenty-eight days later were challenged with the virus and remained resistant. A vaccine based on attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vector carrying either the Ebola glycoprotein or the Marburg glycoprotein in 2005 protected nonhuman primates, opening clinical trials in humans. The study by October completed the first human trial, over three months giving three vaccinations safely inducing an immune response. Individuals for a year were followed, and, in 2006, a study testing a faster-acting, single-shot vaccine began; this new study was completed in 2008. Trying the vaccine on a strain of Ebola that more resembles the one that infects humans is the next step.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved no candidate vaccines. the most promising whereof are DNA vaccines or derive from adenoviruses, vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus (VSIV) or filovirus-like particles (VLPs) because these candidates could protect nonhuman primates from ebolavirus-induced disease. DNA vaccines, adenovirus-based vaccines, and VSIV-based vaccines have entered clinical trials.
Ebolaviruses are not transmitted by aerosol during natural EVD outbreaks. Without an approved vaccine, EVD prevention predominantly involves behavior modification, proper personal protective equipment, and sterilization/disinfection.
On 6 December 2011, the development of a successful vaccine against Ebola for mice was reported. Unlike the predecessors, it can be freeze-dried and thus stored for long periods in wait for an outbreak. The research is reported in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

Endemic zones

The natural maintenance hosts of ebolaviruses are unidentified: primary infection may not necessarily be preventable in nature. Fruit bats are thought to be the natural hosts (primary source needed, but see e.g. BBC). Thus, to avoid EVD, risk factors such as contact with bats, nonhuman primates, and bush meat should be avoided.

During outbreaks

The most straightforward prevention method during EVD outbreaks is not touching patients, their excretions, and body fluids, or possibly contaminated materials and utensils. Patients should be isolated, and medical staff should be trained and apply strict barrier nursing techniques (disposable face mask, gloves, goggles, and a gown at all times). Traditional burial rituals, especially those requiring embalming of bodies, should be discouraged or modified.

In the laboratory

Ebola viruses are World Health Organization Risk Group 4 Pathogens, requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment. Laboratory researchers have to be properly trained in BSL-4 practices and wear proper personal protective equipment.









reference: Wikipedia

CharlyBoY: An Open Letter To The Pope

Controversial entertainer Charly Boy wrote an open letter to the present head of the Catholic Church.

Most of you are probably expecting a scandalous letter, but i myself was shocked.

Read it below: -

The first 20yrs of my life, I seriously had this dream of being a priest. I was overfed with an overdose of religion which has always been a very serious business in my family. You dare not be late for morning mass or else you get the whipping of your life, yes my father was that strict, no nonsense when it came to going to church or anything spiritual. That’s where I’m coming from, we were a family that prayed together and were very staunch Catholics for that matter. 

When I turned 16 I became an altar boy, at that time that was the coolest thing to be, considering years of going to bible classes and regular confessions. Eight months into the spiritual things as an altar boy, I made a big goof; I drank the priests wine and ate a bunch of Holy Communion enough to fill me up. I figured I could be more spiritual by that action, but I got expelled as an altar boy, needless to say how scandalized and angry my father was then, OMG. 

By the time I turned 20, I’ve had enough religion to last me two life times. By 1974, I left to further my studies in the USA, I was overjoyed because for the first time, I was going to be on my own. I was really carried away with my new found independence. Being an adventurous young man I started dabbling into not only the occult but with metaphysics, Buddhism, astrology, magic and all that Jazz. However, I still believe I was fundamentally a Catholic by birth, but the catholic fate has suddenly become boring and old fashioned for me.

 When I read that controversial book, “In God’s Name”, all the negativity I started to feel about the Catholic Church became magnified in my mind. What about the s*x scandals about priests and little boys. Hummmmmmm! I am aware that the Catholic Church is not a perfect body, and doesn’t claim to be one. Of course it is plagued with the same corruption, scandals and sin as any other organization. Last night as I was watching CNN, the Pope’s visit to Brasil was being beamed to the world and all of a sudden, there it was, “who am I to judge as long as they walk in the light of Christ” Pope Francis on Gays. As reflexes would have it, I jumped out of my seat and hugged my TV, funny ha ha. Not because homosexuality has been part of my advocacy through the years but because I feel that every adult has a right to make their bed and lie on it as they choose, and who the hell are we to judge. I have always said that it is really not our place to judge those who do not fit our view of normal. So once again the church is attempting to evolve in order to keep up with the rest of civilization. That is how a religion survives. Its belief has to be flexible enough to stay somewhat relevant to current or the public will abandon it.

 

 Ever since the Pope’s election, my man has taken actions that seem to be very ‘unpopelike’. He even used public transport as a cardinal, he lives in a smaller quarter, he asked for blessing before blessing the crowd which gathered in St Peters square on the day of his election. But my people, what is stranger than Pope France’s action have been evangelicals’ reactions all over the world. Never before has a Pope become so widely accepted by Protestants and evangelicals. It’s a proud day for Catholics and all mankind. Finally a Pope who doesn’t see himself as equal to God, unlike our men of god down here. It is really amazing. Every Pope in the Catholic Church’s past has had a mastery over catholic rhetoric, because theoretically they always say the right things. But Pope Francis has decided to lead with his actions. Before delivering his message at the Holy Thursday Mass, Pope Francis spent time on his Knees washing the feet of young women incarcerated at a nearby prison. This is the first time a Pope has ever washed the feet of women, not to mention that one of the women was a Muslim, which is another break in papal tradition. In the holy book, the bible calls us to be the light to the world if Christ is to be present to the world. This is why Pope Francis’ way should be imitated for imitating him we make Christ visible and that is what influences others to walk in the way of Christ. So much to be said for our so called “men of god” in this neck of the woods who strut around as if they are God’s gift to mankind, most of them bunch of con men and fraud stars who are continually ripping off unsuspecting Nigerians, living in fancy houses, building universities their congregation can’t even afford for their children and buying private jets because their God is not a poor God, as Nija’s hand over their pay checks in return for a miracle because they have bought into the Hocus-pocus that is Pentecostalism. Just look at our churches today, tell me those priest, pastors or our so called men of god, who makes Christ visible. Jesus needs us to make him Visible and present in this troubled world. Blessed mother Teresa is a perfect example of showing us the love and mercy of Christ in the millions she cared for. The gospel calls us to imitate Christ and it is in the way we live that the gospel of Jesus gets proclaimed, that is how we speak Christ to a world that does not know him.

 

I am very scared for this Pope, he is a little too Christ like for his own good. There are still some die hard winches, vampires in the Vatican. I fear assassination, probably by the very people who call themselves “devout”. If any Pope can show us what Jesus was saying, I think this one is the one. At least I hope so. I am impressed with this Pope not for his Catholicism but for his Christianity. As I lay in the comfort of my room watching the Pope’s visit to Brazil, it was clear to me that Pope Francis will go down in history as the greatest Pope ever, I just pray that he lives out his Pope ship for many years to come as to spread his light and make our lord Jesus more visible in the world. More than 3million people where at Copacabana beach for the re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross and farewell mass. This world Youths Day smashed previous attendance records and goes down in the record books as one of the best attended papal events ever.  In short, this Pope is a rock star. Here is a Pope who speaks the language of the people; In fact in Rio he kicked his penchant for simplicity, humility and accessibility into high gear. The security operatives were all overwhelmed by zealous pilgrims, he insisted on leaving the windows of his car down so he could extend his arm to those seeking his blessings. Countless babies kissed, photo ups with adoring faithfuls only added to the pontiff reputation for being a man of the people, and all of this took place in the roughest side of town, a crime ridden zone in Rio.

 

 Pope Francis is now standing up to the Mafia. First the Vatican honoured Rev Giuseppe Puglisi, killed 20yrs ago by mobsters for preaching against the Mafia, as a martyr. Pope Francis himself demanded that Mafia members abandon their “evil ways” especially those who exploit their fellow humans via human trafficking, drug dealing and prostitution. “They cannot make our brothers slaves; let us pray that these Mafiosi convert to God”. Hummmmm na wa, if the Mafia decides to take Pope Francis out in retaliation for his words against them, I pray that there’s a Pope Francis army out there ready to throw down.  If the Pope manages to mobilize all of Italian society against the Mafia, his days maybe numbered, but he will be unable to do so, and as a result I pray that the Mafia won’t remember him. They say the only thing needed for Evil to exist is for good men to do nothing. I am glad that he is doing something. He looks and sounds to me like he has a beautiful spiritual light burning  inside of him and is preaching goodwill for all and trying to turn around the corrupt so they too can walk in the sunlight of the spirit. I really admire him for standing up to the Mafias. I recognize the Popes effort in trying to bring a better image and name to Christianity. Anyway you flip it, the Holy Father is full of surprises, born of true and faithful humility, at another occasion, he declared that all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through Jesus, even atheists. “Those people must still do good. Infact, it is in doing good that they are led to the one who is the source of all that is good” In essence he simply restated the hope of the church that all come to know God, through his son Jesus Christ. Pope Francis is saying more than ever before, that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That has always been a Christian belief, but rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with such evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it is a timely reminder that God cannot be confined to our narrow categories. Thumbs up for my man Pope Francis, nothing do you.

BasketMouth: BEFORE I WRITE A BOOK (part 2)

As I pay respect to those great men that changed my life, the seemingly little gestures that shaped me and have made me who I am... I recall another long evening...

Year 2000, Fame pre-award concert. Dele Olukoju and Wale Oluwaleimu were the stage/project managers. I had met Wale before then and he had suggested I come perform in my bid to build a name.

I went there with a friend of mine,we had spent the last kobo on us transporting ourselves and getting food to eat as the event didn't start early enough.

My performance was done @ about midnight. It was a great outing for me. As it was time to leave,I met with the show organisers hoping I'd be paid for my service or get a little change for transport. Unfortunately, communication had gone wrong somehow as they thought I was doing the performance for free.

It dawned on me at that moment, that I was in trouble.

My friend and I then decided to just hang around as the concert was still on and our last hope was that we might get a free ride.

By 2am, the concert was still banging in full swing and I was totally exhausted. While moving around I met Six Foot Plus and Terry D Rapman...now, I was a big fan of their work and so we got talking. It so happened that they loved my performance that evening so we hit it off immediately.

After some minutes of small talk, I swallowed my ego and pride and brought myself to ask Six Foot Plus for transport money, he didn't have much on him but he split what he had and gave me N60 which was more than enough to cover our bus fare.

We happily bounced out from the concert, confident. We approached the main road and as God will have it,there was a bus going our way. In 30mins we were in Yaba, walking to Railway Compound-Ebute Meta where I was staying.

By 4am I lay in my little corner, the end of another successful day in my struggle for relevance, I was happy at my chance to perform,
Exhausted by my ordeal but most importantly, I was grateful for that rapper who shared all he had on him with me, my new friend and saving grace, Six foot Plus

Child Marriage: Femi Fani-Kayode Replies Senator Ahmed Yerima on his message to Nigerians...

Senator Ahmed Yerima Replies Nigerians: 

''Nigeria has many uncountable problems and none of them is early marriage. As a matter of fact early marriage the solution to about half of our problems. For those who wonder if I can give my daughter(s) out in marriage at the age of 9 or 13, I tell you most honestly, I can give her out at the age of 6 if I want to and its not your business. This is because I am a Muslim and I follow the example of the best of mankind, Muhammad ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢَ .

In Islam, marriage is not only about sex, it is about family and helping one another in achieving their goals, which is the attainment of Paradise.

In Islam, a girl can be given out in marriage as early as 6 years old, but consummation of the marriage can only be done when the girl becomes physically mature and she gives her consent to it because unlike English law, it is not permissible for a man to rape his wife in Shari'ah Law.

So what can anybody tell me?

~ I live in a city where young girls at the age of 12 have already became serial fornicators and cannot count the number of man they've had sex with.

~ I live in a City where primary school children disvirgin themselves behind toilets on Valentine day.

~ I live in a city where young girls flood the street at night looking for men that would give them N500 to have sex with them.

~ I live in a city where parents send their daughters out overseas to prostitute and send dollars down.
~ I live in a City where Government officials pick undergraduates from University car parks with Coastal Buses to wild sex parties.

~ I live in a city where abortion is so common that even a Chemist shore owner can perform abortion with just N2,500.

These are your daughters, and this should worry you and not Yerima's private matters. So ask me again why I support early marriage and I will slap the Jinn out of your head''.

- Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima

Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician, essayist, poet and lawyer, response to Senator Ahmed Yerima and his supporters; Read below ...

''If I had any doubts that the self-confessed paedophile Senator Ahmed Yerima was of the devil before today I have long since shed those doubts. Ahmed is not only evil but he is also a very sick man. In any civilised society he would be either be behind bars or he would be in a mental hospital.

We as a people need to protect the girl-child from self-righteous sexual predators like him. He not only thrives on under-age sex and child rape but he boasts about it and seeks to justify it with his islamic faith. He forgets that in 95 per cent of muslim countries in the world today child-marriage, child-sex, child-porn and paedophilia are specifically banned and outlawed by law. Are those people and nations not muslims too? Is he a better muslim than them? Are the muslims of southern Nigeria in yorubaland who have collectively refused to indulge in vile practices like paedophilia, child- marriage, child-rape and child-sex and who consider such things to be an abomoniation not muslims too? As far as I am concerned they are the true muslims and they are far better and more civilised than Ahmed Sani's brand.

It is time to stand up to this monster called Yerima and those that think like him once and for all no matter what the consequences are. First he introduced political sharia into Nigerian politics in 2001 which, a few years later, resulted in the meteroric rise of islamic fundamentalism in the north and Boko Haram. Now he seeks to introduce and legitimise child sex and paedophilia in our country by propogating and peddling a false interpretation of islam and bringing that beautiful faith into disrepute and opprobium. Nothing sickens me more than this man and those that think like him and be rest assured that I and many others will call him out on this one.

We must all stand up and say ''NO MORE'' to this rubbish and sheer wickedness and that ''ENOUGH IS ENOUGH''. We must all join our hands together and seek to protect the Nigerian girl-child whether that girl-child be a christian, a muslim, a pagan, a northerner or a southerner. As long as she is a human being and she is a Nigerian we must and we will speak for her, fight for her and uphold her right to be treated as a human being and not to be subjected to rape and sex abuse. This is a divine obligation because the Holy Bible says that we must ''resist evil'' and ''defend the weak and vulnerable'' that are amongst us. And in this case we will. Our children will not be abused and destroyed by these monsters who are lusting after them''- CHIEF FEMI FANI-KAYODE 

Video: Nigerian artist, MI Caught with drug...

Patience Jonathan: Wole Soyinka Is An Embarrassment

Wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, on Friday took a swipe at Prof. Wole Soyinka, for attributing the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly to her.

In a statement by her spokesman, Ayo Osinlu, the First Lady said Soyinka betrayed the moral duty that was expected of him as a respected member of the society, carefully consider all shades of issues that informed his opinions on any matter.

Mrs. Jonathan said Soyinka had become an embarrassment to his admirers with his diatribe against her.

“Unfortunately, Soyinka betrayed moral duty in his recent diatribe against Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

“Of course, this would not be the first time he would reach out against the First Lady, usually from self-righteously indignant lecterns.

“In this particular instance, his verdict was that Mrs. Jonathan was ‘stoking the crisis currently rocking her home state of Rivers…’, and thereupon asked Mr. President to caution his wife.

carefully consider all shades of issues that informed his opinions on any matter.

Mrs. Jonathan said Soyinka had become an embarrassment to his admirers with his diatribe against her.

“Unfortunately, Soyinka betrayed moral duty in his recent diatribe against Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

“Of course, this would not be the first time he would reach out against the First Lady, usually from self-righteously indignant lecterns.

“In this particular instance, his verdict was that Mrs. Jonathan was ‘stoking the crisis currently rocking her home state of Rivers…’, and thereupon asked Mr. President to caution his wife.

Ask Madam President!!!

If there was any doubt that she is in charge of the country, it was dispelled last week with what could easily pass as a “presidential address” by Her Excellency, Dame (Dr.) Patience Faka Jonathan.

I take issue with the way the First Lady of the Federal Republic has carried herself since a combination of good luck and political intrigue brought her to power as First Lady three years ago.

From being the inconspicuous wife of a vice-president whose main job was not remarkable, Mrs. Jonathan has grown to the most powerful First Lady in the history of Nigeria and she is blithely usurping the power of the President.

When the First Lady is more visible and vocal than the President, then something is wrong. We thought we had it bad with Turai Yar’Adua. While the late Umaru Yar’Adua was snoozing at the Presidency, his wife and her cabal ran amok, almost imperilling the country. When that grotesque absurdity came to an end in May 2010, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief. Little did they know that they would look at the Turai Yar’Adua era with palpable nostalgia.

Of course, like all power-besotted individuals, it is easy for the First Lady to attribute her power and position to some divine force. And that was exactly what she did last week when she gathered some “men and women of God” led by Bishop God-do-well Awomapara for a state visit at the Presidential Villa. Well, it looked like “God-did-well” for his faithful servants at the end of the circus.

A few months ago, when Mrs. Jonathan returned from her extended hospitalisation in Germany for an undisclosed illness, she told us that she had been to the great beyond and back. We were expecting “a new improved” and sober First Lady. If we expected that experience to “teach her any lessons”, it clearly did not.

Rather, the First Lady has thrown herself into the political fray, bestriding the political landscape like a colossus and committing one political faux pas after another with relish. Of course, as a Nigerian, the First Lady has interests. And there is nothing wrong in seeking to advance those interests. But that desire has to be channelled through her husband, her elected representatives or relevant public office holders.

When Nigerians voted for Goodluck Jonathan, they did not vote for him and his wife. Mrs. Jonathan was not on the ballot box during the last general elections. That is the tough lesson the First Lady has to learn and quickly too. It is sad enough that we have to live with the quirks of a rudderless Presidency; to add the inanities and meddlesomeness of the First Lady is undoubtedly “double wahala”.

You can’t but pity Nigeria. Anyone who saw Mrs. Jonathan in her imperial majesty and splendour on theNigerian Television Authority last week reading the riot act to Nigerians on how to be good citizens and followers would be pardoned if she was mistaken for the President and Commander-in-Chief. The audacity is obvious. She can be a messiah or saviour to those who are in search of earthly messiahs and saviours, (One Evans Bipi even called her his “Jesus Christ”) but for goodness sake, as a nation, we do not deserve this contempt for decency. Jonathan and her Dame have taken this side-show that passes for governance too far.

Now is the time to curtail the paternalistic bravado of the First Lady. The “mummy culture” that allows the First Lady to arrogate to herself the role of “Mother of the nation” which makes every Nigerian a daughter or son, no matter how old or highly placed, is patently undemocratic.

Reuben Abati, then chairman of the editorial board of The Guardian and now spokesperson for the President and his First Lady, was right when he wrote about Mrs. Jonathan’s three years ago. “Many of our compatriots, particularly persons in positions of privilege and authority confuse this – the freedom to be free – with the right to be disagreeable”, Abati noted. “The truth is that democracy is about rights and responsibilities, a democratic dispensation therefore cannot be a licence for disagreeable conduct as a norm; just as the possession of power in any form does not guarantee the right to be reckless or to ignore the etiquette required of office holders”.

We know where Abati is eating from today and his current position on the meddlesomeness of the First Lady, but that does not vitiate his point. “When people suddenly find themselves in a such position (as Mrs. Jonathan found herself in May 2010), prepared or unprepared, anywhere in the world, they are taken through a crash programme in finishing and poise”, Abati wrote three years in reference to the First Lady and her shenanigans during a visit to her hometown in Okrika, Rivers State.

What a difference three years make! I am not sure the First Lady has taken the crash programmme Abati recommended three years ago. Which is why she has failed to realise, in the words of Abati, “that being the wife of an important man comes with serious responsibilities lest (you) sabotage the same person that (you) should be supporting”.

Mrs. Jonathan is consciously or unconsciously sabotaging President Jonathan. The President may decide not to act for reasons best known to him. But as Abati noted, “The Jonathans must be told that Nigeria does not have a co-Presidency. We have only one president and his name is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan”.

From Abati, we learnt that, “Under the Jonathan presidency, Dame Patience Jonathan even got a special allocation in the original budget for the 2010 Golden Jubilee anniversary whereas she has no official, financial reporting responsibilities! The international standard is that spouses in these circumstances must not only appear but be seen to be above board like Caesar’s wife. They must not misbehave like Marie Antoinette”.

It is appalling that the Senators of the Federal Republic, led by Ahmed Rufai Sani Yerima, voted to keep a section of the constitution which is not only discriminatory but puts the female child at the risk of early marriage and abuse and there hasn’t been as much as a whimper from the First Lady, the so-called Mother of the nation.

Yerima and the First Lady appear to have something in common. While the apostle of child-bride – whose children would likely be in elite schools outside Nigeria – seeks to undermine the secularity of the country and imperil the future of our children, our omnipresent First Lady has assumed powers not known to the constitution.

Please, “Madam President”, listen to the wise counsel of Abati. Do not push your Goodluck!

By Chido Onumah

BEFORE I WRITE A BOOK (By Basketmouth)

Back stage at the Rothmans Groove tour which held @ TBS in 1998, there I was seated with the likes of The Plantashun Boiz,Dr. Fresh,Remedies and more...I was just a young boy trying to weigh his options on what direction to go with his career as drumming,rapping,producing and comedy were few of my options.

That night was the 1st time I met Tony Tetuila, one of those humble guys you come by,he was warm and accommodating considering the obvious fact that I was nobody in the industry.

Fast forward a few months later, Comedy had won me over and in the course of my hustle and journey to where I'm yet to get to, I bumped into Tetuila in Festac, just about the time his single 'you don hit my car' came out.

We reconnected while playing catch up. We had common friends so 'bumping' into each other became a tradition. The 1st time he saw me perform @ a concert was at a gig The Plantashun Boiz used to host @ the Den in Ikeja.

I must have impressed him because not long after that night, I got a call from him asking that we meet up. We did and he took me for a meeting in Lagos Island (Shell Office). A director at Shell was retiring and a send-forth party was being held in his honour. My performance fee then was N10,000, Tony pushed it up and convinced the client to pay N30,000 which they paid cash. Prior to this, they had never heard of me and only used me because Tony believed in me and stood up for me, convincing them to buy in.

I was paid in full a week to the show.

After picking up the cash I went straight home. Now here I was, a young comic with his 1st major pay-out of N30,000. Considering the fact that my 1st performance fee was N300 (1%) of what I had in my pocket,I couldn't help but to thank God.

I got home,gave my mum N25,000 and kept N5,000 from which I bought a shirt,pants and shoes from Tejuosho market to wear for the event. Ready for my first big show... (To Continued in part 2)

Confession: “I haven’t Had Sexual pleasure In 10 Years” – Genevieve Nnaji

Surprisingly, Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji, who is said to be getting married soon. Our reporter got into a steamy conversation with Miss Nnaji where she revealed she haven’t had any sexual pleasure for the past ten years and that is one of the major reasons she wants to settle down.

”I have been single for so long, it hasn’t been easy..even when d'banj came along with his thing that wasn’t long..he kept saying NO LONG THING..NO LONG THING..never that was he meant till i saw it,it was even shorter than his harmonica… We couldn’t settle down, luckily for me, I have found a man now to spend the rest of my life with”

Miss Genevieve’s fans are now keeping their fingers crossed because they had earlier thought she had given up on settling down, especially with lyrics like “the more I gave him loving, the more he gave me nothing” From her NO MORE hit track.

Names Of Senators Who Voted To Legalize Underage Marriage In Nigeria

We now know how senators voted on the constitution amendment bill which caused an uproar in the senate on Tuesday.

The part up for ammendment relates to persons qualifies to renounce Nigerian citizenship. The constitution in Section 29 says anyone of age can do so.

Section 29(4) (b) says that ” any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” It means that even a child if married can be seen to be of full age and as such can renounce citizenship. The committee proposed that that provision be deleted.

When it was put to vote, 2/3 of members present voted for it which meant it was deleted. 2

Senator Yerima had kicked and mobilised his fellow Muslims in the Senate which was threatening to cause confusion. Despite the senate president, David Mark insisting that it could no longer be revisited as it had been voted upon, Yerima continued his objection.

Due to the sensitive nature, Mark had to call for another vote. At this point the Senators who were in favour of this clause could no longer muster 2/3 of the votes that will retain Section 29, Clause 4 (b). Senators still voted 60 votes to 35 votes for the clause to be deleted, but it did not satisfy the 2/3 requirement and so, according to the senate version, “any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.”

Thanks to Sen. Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central, ACN), we have the full list of the senators who voted NO)

The senators who voted NO, that is those who did not want the clause deleted, include the following:

1. Sen. Abdulmumin M. Hassan (Jigawa South West, PDP)

2. Sen. Abdullahi Danladi (Jigawa North West, PDP)

3. Sen. Adamu Abdullahi (Nasarawa West, PDP)

4. Sen. Ahmed Barata (Adamawa South, PDP)

5. Sen. Akinyelure Ayo (Ondo Central, Labour Party)

6. Sen. Alkali Saidu A. (Gombe North, PDP)

7. Sen. Bagudu Abubakar A. (Kebbi Central, PDP)

8. Sen. Dahiru Umaru (Sokoto South, PDP)

9. Sen. Galaudu Isa (Kebbi North, PDP)

10. Sen. Garba Gamawa (Bauchi North, PDP)

11. Sen. Danjuma Goje Mohammed (Gombe Central, PDP)

12. Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (Sokoto East, PDP)

13. Sen. Gumba Adamu Ibrahim (Bauchi South, PDP)

14. Sen. Hadi Sirika (Katsina North, CPC)

15. Sen. Ibrahim Bukar Abba (Yobe East, ANPP)

16. Sen. Jajere Alkali (Yobe South, ANPP)

17. Sen. Jibrilla Mohammed (Adamawa North, PDP)

18. Sen. Kabiru Gaya (Kano South, ANPP)

19. Sen. Lafiagi Mohammed (Kwara North, PDP)

20. Sen. Lawan Ahmad (Yobe North, ANPP)

21. Sen. Maccido Mohammed (Sokoto North, PDP)

22. Sen. Musa Ibrahim (Niger North, CPC)

23. Sen. Ndume Mohammed Ali (Borno South, PDP)

24. Sen. Sadiq A. Yaradua (Katsina Central, CPC)

25. Sen. Saleh Mohammed (Kaduna Central, CPC)

26. Sen. Tukur Bello (Adamawa Central, PDP)

27. Sen. Ugbesia Odion (Edo Central, PDP)

28. Sen. Umar Abubakar (Taraba Central, PDP)

29. Sen. Usman Abdulaziz (Jigawa North East, PDP)

30. Sen. Ya’au Sahabi (Zamfara North, PDP)

31. Sen. Zannah Ahmed (Borno Central, PDP)

32. Sen. Ahmad Rufai Sani (Zamfara West, ANPP)

33. Sen. Ahmad Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central, PDP)

34. Sen. Bello Hayatu Gwano (Kano North, PDP)

35. Sen. Ibrahim Abu (Katsina South, CPC)

Some senators did not register to vote, while some abstained.

After the second voting, Yerima tried to get up to thank the Senate Present and his colleagues in an attempt to claim victory, he was shouted down and booed.

…Please lets hear your view ?

Get Inspire: Meet The Grass to Grace, Nigeria's Super Rich Men and how they make their money...

To make wealth is an achievement; the way it is spent is style. In most cases, successful individuals who have created wealth through wise and diligent investments in business hardly squander their money.

They usually prefer to reinvest their capital, including the accrued profit over the years, into their businesses to increase their asset base and level of affluence…

The tendency, therefore, is that the richer they are, the more their business interests expand. In line with this corporate tradition, the rich investors get richer and, when they spend, they do so in a big way worthy of mention. This is because of the extensive attention attracted by their rare wherewithal and will to spend, including doling out money on humanitarian grounds. Among Nigeria’s privileged people are:

Aliko Dangote

Nigerian business tycoon Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa. He is the founder, Dangote Group, West Africa’s largest publicly listed conglomerate with diverse business interests such as sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, real estate and salt processing. Dangote Cement, Dangote Foods (noodles) and Dansa Juice complete the chain. His total net worth is about $16.1 billion as at March 2013.

Dangote spends money in philanthropic activities. He has stepped up his philanthropy in recent years, giving over $100 million to causes ranging from education and health through flood relief, poverty alleviation to the arts. He acquired a private jet in April 2010 as a personal gift on the occasion of his 53rd birthday. The Bombardier Global Jet Express XRS (one out of a few) was estimated to cost $45 million. Dangote is also said to have purchased a private luxury yatch at the cost of $43 million made exclusively for his enjoyment. The yatch is named Mariya after his mother.

Mike Adenuga

Otunba Mike Adenuga built his fortune in business from banking, mobile telecom service and oil. He founded Globacom, now Nigeria’s second largest mobile phone network, in 2006. Globacom has more than 24 million subscribers in Nigeria, and also operates in the Republic of Benin. Adenuga made his first fortune at the young age of 26 in the 1970s by distributing lace and other materials.

He later had another opportunity to expand his fortune during the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida when he was awarded a contract for the construction of military barracks in some military installations in the country. He is presently worth $4.7 billion, thus justifying him as one of Nigeria’s super-rich businessmen.

Adenuga is a philanthropist who spends a lot of money on selfless activities aimed at bringing succour and assistance to less-privileged people. Adenuga also takes his philanthropic goodwill to the area of sports development in Nigeria and Africa through his selfless investments in sports. His demonstration of philanthropic largesse cuts across sponsorship of Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) and the Super Eagles. This was one of the points highlighted by President Goodluck Jonathan at his (Adenuga’s) 60th birthday. “You are celebrating 60 years of a remarkable life filled with monumental achievements in high entrepreneurship, philanthropy and dedicated service to God and country,” the president said.

Similarly, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Mr Issah Hayatou, used the occasion of Adenuga’s birthday celebration to appreciate his contributions to the society. He recognised that Adenuga had not only affected Africa positively through his accomplishments in business but has also been the pillar of sports on the continent.

Adenuga loves spending money on what gives him joy. It could be said that, partly for this reason, he acquired a private Bombardier Global Express jet, fitted with the latest flight facilities. It is one of the most luxuriously built private jets in the world, just like that of Dangote.

Jim Ovia

Jim Ovia started building his fortunes when he founded Zenith Bank Group in 1990. The bank has grown to become West Africa’s second largest financial service provider by market capitalisation and asset base. His sources of wealth are banking, telecommunication and real estate investment.

He also owns Quantum Luxury Properties Limited, a private equity fund with special focus on Africa. Ovia’s total net worth is about $825 million.

He has embarked on the establishment of a free, co-educational high school, James Hope College, in Delta State, the place where he pondered his future as a young man. The school, an 18-month project, launches in September with an initial capacity for 420 students. He is also the founder of Mankind United To Support Total Education (MUSTE), an organisation providing scholarships for the underprivileged.

Abdussamad Rabiu

Lagos-based business tycoon Abdulsamad Rabiu is a son of Khalifa Isiyaku Rabiu, one of Nigeria’s most successful businessmen in the 1970s. Little wonder therefore that he followed in his father’s footsteps in business with interest in importing basic commodities such as rice, sugar and cement in the 1980s.

Abdussamad heads the BUA Group, a conglomerate with $1.9 billion in revenues and interests in sugar refining, vegetable oil processing and flour mills. The BUA Group also operates the BUA Cement, Nigeria’s first floating cement terminal, as well as Nigerian Oil Mill which processes edible oil. According to Forbes magazine report, he is the 21st richest African and is worth $675 million.

Folorunsho Alakija

Billionaire oil tycoon, fashion designer and philanthropist, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija is worth at least $3.3 billion against a recent Forbes’ rating which quoted her net worth as $600 million. She began her professional career in the 1970s as secretary of defunct International Merchant Bank of Nigeria, one of the country’s earliest investment banks.

In the early 1980s when banking was seen as one of the most lucrative jobs, she took a bold step towards realisation of her personal dreams by quitting her job in the bank to study Fashion Design in England. She returned to Nigeria a few years later to establish Supreme Stitches, a high-profile fashion firm which provides special services to exclusive clientele. She also founded Rose of Sharon Foundation, a charity organisation.

This fashion design business led her into fortune. She was in a position to make and sell high-level clothing to the fashionable wives of some military big shots and other society women.

In May 1993, Mrs Alakija set out for oil business. It was then she applied for an allocation of oil prospecting licence (OPL) to explore 617,000-acre block granted to her company, Famfa Oil Limited. However, at that time, she had no experience in oil exploration — she was just a new entrant in the business.

Also, Mrs Alakija is widely reported to own a private jet, Bombardier Global Express 6000 which cost about $46 million, added to acquisition of a property at Hyde Park. This is one of the ways she spends her wealth, which gives her happiness. Furthermore, she is a philanthropist who derives joy in giving assistance to widows and other less-privileged in society.

Tony Elumelu

Mr Tony Elumelu (CON) was born in Jos on March 22, 1963. He is a renowned economist, banker, investor and generous philanthropist. Elumelu is a recognised African leader in corporate business. After leading United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc to a higher level with the acquisition of Standard Trust Bank (STB) during the consolidation of the banking industry in 2005, he retired from the management of UBA in July 2010.

On establishment of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, he stated the foundation’s objective as to “prove that the African private sector can itself be primary generator of economic development”. Among the roles of the foundation are deployment of resources to generate reliable solutions to the business constraints that derail and clog the growth of business in the private sector in Africa.

Moreover, Elumelu ploughs a lot of resources in philanthropic activities. Apart from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, he was also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Regional Agenda Council on Africa. He is also part of the Bretton Woods Committee which brings leaders in the global banking industry together. Voluntary development of human capital is one of the cherished interests where Elumelu spends his wealth. He also partners with the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) with high focus on strengthening the role of the private sector in economic transformation policies of some African countries. This partnership is named Blair-Elumelu Fellowship Programme.

Elumelu, the originator of the concept of Africapitalism as an economic philosophy that reflects the commitment of players in the private sector towards the economic transformation of Africa through long-term investment, is a consummate patriot with a full-blown obsession for how he can make his country and continent a better part of the world.

Interest in paying family hospital bills, unpaid school fees, providing for families who cannot provide their needs — all form part of what Elumelu does through his catalytic philanthropic method of assisting human beings within the shores of Nigeria and Africa.

Hajiya Bola Shagaya

Hajiya Bola Shagaya is hailed as one of Nigeria’s richest businesswomen. She is the CEO of Bolmus International Limited. She has interests in several sectors ranging from oil and gas, banking, cash crops export, real estate, fast-moving consumer goods and photography.

She has been a very influential figure in Nigeria’s corridors of power for decades and has excelled in a society where the role of women has been restricted traditionally. Her rise to affluence and power is not attributed to parental or marital influence. This woman of means has skilfully built her network and wealth from a humble background, and has proven herself as an outstanding power broker with impressive entrepreneurial skills.

In the manner of an astute entrepreneur, she saw opportunities in the populous image-conscious Nigerian market, prompting the expansion of her Konica marketing operations to photo laboratory services; that was the birth of another of her companies – Fotofair (Nigeria) Limited. Today, Fotofair is a leading photo laboratory company in Nigeria with over 30 laboratories spread across the nation.

Hajiya, as she is fondly called, has impressively carved her path in the sixth-largest oil producer’s oil and gas sector. As far back as the late 1980s, during the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida-led military administration, she had steered her oil and gas company through the highly connected and contested Nigerian oil and gas sector to secure allocations for oil blocks. Thus began her reign as an indigenous oil marketer.

Around 2005, she became the managing director of Practoil Limited and, in 2011, she founded another exploration company, Voyage Oil and Gas Limited.

Shagaya, who is of Yoruba extraction, a tribe distinguished as party enthusiasts of the over 200 tribes in Nigeria, often attends the biggest social events dressed in “anko” with Nigeria’s first ladies — a local practice of Nigerian women indicating bosom friendship by wearing the same traditional attire especially to social functions.

The one-time patron of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) is a collector and retailer of the finest and most exquisite jewelleries from different fashion capitals of the world. “I love fashion, artworks and beautification endeavours,” she said.

The graceful billionaire is not all about heavy-weight work. “I’m also a lover of sports, especially Polo”, she said. She has consistently supported Polo tournaments in Nigeria over the years.

Femi Otedola

Femi Otedola is the CEO of African Petroleum Plc. He was one of only two Nigerians (alongside Aliko Dangote) to appear on the 2009 Forbes list of 793 dollar-denominated billionaires in the world, with an estimated net worth of over US$1.2 billion. Femi Otedola is the Nigerian president and chief executive officer of Zenon Petroleum and Gas limited.

Forbes magazine estimates Femi Otedola’s net worth at $1.2 billion and ranks him as the 601st richest person in the world. According to Encomium magazine, Femi Otedola’s net worth is $3.5 billion.

He owns a private jet called Challenger Global 5000 and a yatch almost similar to Dangote’s named Nana after his wife.

Emeka Offor

Sir Emeka Offor, as he is often addressed rarely grants interviews, rather, he prefers his works, businesses and philanthropy to speak for him.

His multi-million business interest, Chrome Group, is a multifaceted organisation which originally started as an engineering outfit handling projects such as refinery maintenance, has today become by the grace of God, a conglomerate with diverse interests in Oil and Gas, Finance/Investments, Telecommunications, Insurance, Maritime, Destination Inspection, Real Estate and the Power Sector.

He once said in a newspaper interview that he is a son of a policeman, born in Kafanchan in Kaduna State. Offor is a goal-getter and founder of Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, a platform through which he doles out millions of naira for philanthropic purposes.

A member of Rotary International and deeply involved in the 4 cardinal pursuits of the Rotary Foundation, which are; peace and Conflict Management, Maternal and Child Death, Basic Education and Literacy, and Polio and Guinea Worm Eradication. He has made an outstanding donation of 250,000 USD for Peace studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, $250,000 for Polio eradication; $250,000 for Guinea worm eradication; and another $250,000 for Women empowerment programmes in Nigeria. He was inducted into the Foundation Circle of the Arch Klumph Society of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, an honour reserved for individuals who have donated over $250,000 to its causes. Through his Foundation, he has donated over $1 million, making him the highest donor from Africa.

This Anambra State-born politician and businessman has heavily invested in education. The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation is the largest single sponsor of Books For Africa, a non-profitable organization, bringing in over $10 million worth of books, computers and other educational materials to our national institutions of learning and public libraries. He was reported to have also used his money to enthrone a governor in his home state.

Andy Uba

Initially named Nnamdi Uba and currently a member of the National Assembly as a Senator of the Federal Republic, Senator Andy Uba is a member of the famous Uba family in Anambra State. He is stupendously rich and was reported to have declared his assets to be worth N3trillion though he denied ever doing so.

Uba has a lot of lucrative business interests and he is connected with a number of charity works via a Foundation.

Written By Leadership’s Bode Gbadebo, Paul Chima, Bidon Mibzar

…Who inspired you more on the list?