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Tragedy: Mobile Phone kills Man as Generator Explodes while call comes in .

Posted by 9jabook.com on December 22, 2010 at 9:25pm

12166294668?profile=originalTragedy struck in Agege area of Lagos State, South West Nigeria when a staff of Fidelity Bank PLC was burnt to death while trying to switch on a generating set which caught fire when a call came in his GSM handset.

We gathered that the victim, Mr. David Adeogun, got married not too long ago and had a new baby.

Investigations revealed that Adeogun, a staff of the Ikosi, Ketu branch of the bank got home after work and wanted to switch on the generating set with the torchlight on his phone when the phone rang...


The generating set was said to have exploded immediately when the phone rang. His body, it was learnt, was seriously burnt by the explosion.

He died later in the hospital after being hospitalised for a week.

Some staff of the bank said the death of their colleague came to them as a shock.

A staff, who craved anonymity lamented the death of Adeogun and called on Nigerians using the torchlight on their handsets while putting on their generating sets on at night to desist from doing so as it could lead to an explosion when a call comes in.

Another staff of the bank described the deceased as a cool and easy going person who would not look for people’s trouble. A similar incident occurred two weeks ago when a man was killed while trying to put on the generating set for his family at night using the torchlight on his handset. The generating set was said to have caught fire when a call came in.

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Senators call Sanusi & Aganga Traitors over Lawmakers 100billion a Year Package

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on December 1, 2010 at 3:56am

Tempers rose on the floor of the Senate yesterday as senators after senators stood up in vehement condemnation of the statements credited to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga that federal lawmakers are crippling the country's economy with their outrageous pay packets.

The senators likened what they considered an attack on the federal legislature by members of the Executive arm of government to treason and “an attempt to arrest democracy”.

Sanusi had alleged last weekend that 25 per cent of the nation's total recurrent expenditure is spent on the lawmakers' upkeep, while Aganga was reported to have said on Monday that the Federal Government was considering slashing the National Assembly vote.

At the end of the heated debate which was the only business undertaken by the senators having stood down other items on the order paper, the Senate resolved to summon the minister and the CBN governor to appear before four of its committees today to clarify their statements on outrageous budget allocations to the National Assembly.

Also irked by the statements, the House of Representatives has formally summoned Aganga and Sanusi to appear before it.
The two principal managers of the national economy are expected to appear before the House in plenary to confirm the veracity of their claims that the National Assembly gulps 25 per cent of the recurrent expenditure of the country.

Meanwhile, official figures released by the Federal Government showed that its total recurrent spending this year has risen above N2 trillion.

It also emerged that only about N351.59 billion out of the N749.74 billion cashed back for projects included in the 2010 budget has been utilized by ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs).

Also to appear along with the duo before the Senate committees is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mrs. Amina Azubair, who is expected to put the records straight about the award of MDG projects, which the senators said had been erroneously placed on the shoulders of the lawmakers.

Contributing to a motion on urgent public importance raised by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross River), majority of the senators described the statements made by the two officials as a deliberate distortion of facts to bring the National Assembly into disrepute.

While the senators were unanimous on the need to summon the federal officials, there was, however, a division on whether they should appear before the relevant standing committees, those on Appropriation, Banking, Finance and MDGs, or before the plenary.

Presenting the motion, Ndoma-Egba noted that the allegation credited to the CBN governor that the National Assembly gulps 25 per cent of the national budget was false and misleading.
He said it was a calculated attempt to bring the National Assembly to disrepute.

Senator Bode Olajumoke, in his contribution, lamented that the false information published in the Nigerian media was always relayed and reviewed by international media, saying this had gone a long way to damage the integrity of members of the National Assembly, portraying them as “rogues”.

In his contribution, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu blamed the misinformation on ignorance on the part of those who should be aware of the facts.

Senator Patrick Osakwe (PDP, Delta) described the allegation as an issue of “calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it”.
He said Sanusi and Aganga should appear before the Senate to state the sources of their information, adding that the Senate and the National Assembly should no longer take such false allegations lightly in the future.

Senator Dahiru Umar informed his colleagues that the presentation of the news on BBC Hausa Service was severe and damaging, as some commentators called for the military to sack members of the National Assembly.
On his part, Senator Anthony Manzo said the Senate should not hesitate to sack the CBN governor if there were reasons to do so, since it has power to do so with two-thirds majority.

According to him, a situation where those who were screened and approved by the Senate were always turning round to attack it should no longer be tolerated.

Senate Spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, said the repeated publication of falsehood against the National Assembly was becoming embarrassing to the families of lawmakers.
He said the allegation amounted to treason, as it was calculated to bring down the National Assembly, which is the symbol of democracy...

Senate President David Mark said no lawmaker was involved in contract awards, stressing that the continued attack on members of the National Assembly would no longer be acceptable.
He said: “We have said this over and over, and yet they still keep repeating it. Once they hear it, they jump at it. I think we need to invite them to explain to us on live television.”

Chairman, House Committee on Air Force, Hon. John Halims Agoda, paved the way for the decision to summon Aganga and Sanusi when he moved a motion expressing concern that the utterances of Sanusi had denigrated the National Assembly and brought the lawmakers to ridicule in the minds of the public.

Agoda said the allegations made by the CBN governor could not be substantiated both on the grounds of budgetary facts and moral inclinations of the National Assembly towards the total regeneration of the Nigerian society.

He argued that the utterances could not be swept under the carpet considering the weight of the allegations and the damage they portend for the institutional image of the National Assembly.

According to Agoda, “there are grave implications for the electoral values of members who have now been cast in the image of rapacious financial scavengers of the national treasury.”
The motion was unanimously adopted with several lawmakers initially demanding the resignation of the CBN governor, while the moderates among them said they should be invited to enable the House to do a forensic analysis of their allegations.

The House resolved among other things to henceforth scrutinise the budgets of about 31 MDAs including the CBN to ensure that there were no leakages.
The N4.6 trillion 2010 budget has a capital vote of N1.7 trillion or 30 per cent of the appropriation.
The record, however, showed a sharp rise in personnel cost from N966.742 billion in 2009 to N1.1 trillion in September 2010, while overhead was estimated at N633.128 billion in 2010.

Inspection fees gulped N45.141 billion, while external debt was put at $0.462 billion by September 2010.
The 2010 utilization rate of 46.9 per cent is considered unimpressive by experts when compared to the N913.36 billion put forward in last fiscal regime.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwaabo, told journalists at the 2009/2010 score card on the activities of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) briefing in Abuja yesterday that the low utilisation might have been caused by delays in the release of the funds to the MDAs.

He said he was hopeful that the capital budget performance would show remarkable improvements before the end of the year.
He also tied the low utilisation to the political crisis occasioned by the poor health of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The accountant-general also disclosed that the total statutory disbursement to the federal, state and local governments between 2009 and September 2010 stood at over N5.5 trillion.

This, he said, was in addition to Value Added Tax (VAT) of about N865.09 billion distributed in the period under review.
He said: “The sum of N1.19 trillion was cash backed in year 2009 of which N913.26 billion or 76.6 per cent was utilized. For 2010, the sum of N749.74 billion was cash backed of which N351.59 billion was utilized as at 30th October 2010. This translates to a capital performance of 46.9 per cent.”

He said statutory allocation amounting to N2.7 trillion had so far been released between January and September 2010.
“This year is a special one in the sense that we encountered some challenges. We had a new president; the Federal Executive Council was reconstituted. But it is not too bad that we have that type of utilization rate considering the political challenges that we had,” he said.

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Atiku: Lets debate ! Please where dis man come get brain now ?

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on September 22, 2010 at 11:03pm
A Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called for a debate, on the economy, among all the presidential aspirants on the economy.Photo Atiku ? this man looks like a Hitman sha



Abubakar, a former vice-President, made the call after submitting his nomination form at the PDP national secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja.



The Adamawa State- born politician said the economy should be the main issue in the 2011 election campaigns.



“The issue of economic recovery for Nigeria cannot be a matter of wishful thinking nor of rhetoric. It is a subject for rigorous analyses and provision of well-thought, viable, practicable and sustainable strategy,” he said.



Abubakar said that all aspirants must be able to tell Nigerians how they intended to confront the challenges of the economy and reposition it for the benefit of all at the shortest possible time.



He said, “Of all the aspirants that have declared interest in the presidential election, I consider myself the most qualified to address the daunting economic challenges facing the country.



“I am the only one who has successfully managed a business and you need extensive knowledge of the private sector to combine its potential with the authority of the public sector to address this challenge.”



The former vice-president said his approach to resolving the economic crisis in the country was contained in a 47-page Policy Document he presented on August 15, 2010 while announcing his intention to contest the 2011 presidential poll.



He said, “We are faced with a job crisis of monumental proportions. Unless we evolve strategies to dealing with the teeming population of young people churned out almost on a daily basis, we may risk the destruction of the next generation.



“If we fail to channel the energies of this huge population, they could be a potent force for instability and social unrest.”



Abubakar, however, stunned journalists when he said that he was not aware that the President had declared his intention to vie for the PDP ticket.



“I didn’t see it (declaration). Honestly, I didn’t watch it,” he said.



Twenty seven out of the 28 PDP governors were among thousands of people that attended Jonathan’s presidential declaration at the Eagle Square on Saturday in Abuja. The event was shown live by some public and private television stations nationwide.



On the reported move by some politicians to produce a consensus presidential candidate among the Northern aspirants, Abubakar said, “There is a process for the emergence of a consensus candidate in the North. It shows that North is even more united if “they” agree to bring out a consensus candidate.”



He also said he was not aware of the support that Jonathan was getting from the northern states.



Reacting to the challenge, the Presidential Adviser to Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, said the President was ready for such a debate.



“We are ready for it (debate) anytime. The President has talked about all the aspects of the economy when he declared. If they want more, we are ready for them,” he said.



Another aspirant, who is also the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, also expressed readiness for the debate.



“We are ready for the debate. That is what we have been calling for. Without such an issue-based debate, we will not be able to get the best candidate. Saraki is ready for it,” one of the governor’s aides, Mr. Billy Adedamola, said.
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IBB "bribes" Journalists

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on August 31, 2010 at 11:25pm

Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

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Drama as task force arrests ex-director, call girls

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on August 9, 2010 at 4:07am
The Federal Capital Territory Ministerial Task Force on Sunday arrested a retired director in one of the federal ministries for allegedly patronising a commercial sex worker on a street in Abuja. The task force was constituted by the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Muhammed, to clear Abuja’s streets of commercial sex workers, after the expiration of the ultimatum given to them to quit the city or face prosecution. Also arrested along with the director were 60 commercial sex workers, who were picked up at different spots in the city during a major raid that lasted about five hours, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. During the exercise, the team raided areas such as Lagos Street in Garki 11, Rita Lori, Gimbia Street, Ibiza and Wuse Zone 4, especially opposite Sheraton Hotel, as well as Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse 2, among others. The retired director was arrested on Gimbia Street, Garki 11, where he was allegedly sighted negotiating with a call girl for about five minutes.. NAN reports that as he was negotiating with the commercial sex worker, he had no idea that members of the task force were standing in front of his Toyota RAV4 Jeep, which had tinted glass. Upon his arrest, the unnamed man claimed that the lady was his daughter. At Wuse Police Station, he changed the story, claiming that she was his fiancee. He was, however, furious at the police station and accused the FCT Minister of going beyond his limits. “When I was a director, I knew Bala (FCT minister) then. He was a deputy director. How come now he wants to decide how we live our social life in the FCT? “Bala should concentrate on the Abuja Master Plan and forget about the sexual lives of residents,” he said. However, there was a twist to his fate when he attempted to call his wife on the telephone to contact his lawyer. Commercial sex workers, who were listening to his conversation on the phone, interjected, shouting, “Madam, no mind your husband, na asewo he come look for wey dem arrest am.” His wife immediately terminated the call, NAN reports. One of the call girls, who gave her name as Kemi, an indigene of Kogi, told journalists that she had contacted a senator, whom she described as her “regular customer.” She said he had expressed readiness to secure her freedom. But immediately she told the senator to hurry up because journalists were interviewing her, he switched off his phone. NAN reports that relatives of the detained prostitutes, who flooded Wuse Police Station, instantly withdrew to the main entrance of the Wuse General Hospital on sighting journalists covering the spectacle. Most pathetic among the arrested call girls were three pregnant ladies. They were said to be carrying pregnancies between two and four months old. They lamented that their boyfriends denied the pregnancies leaving them with no option than to fend for themselves and their unborn babies. The ladies were dragged before the Abuja Environmental Mobile Court but the presiding judge granted them bail as first-time offenders. He warned warning that he might not be so lenient the second time they were caught and brought before the court. The 60 ladies, however, expressed their willingness to be rehabilitated and trained by the FCT minister. They also filled rehabilitation forms, while promising to quit the trade.
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BlackFace Interview I discovered 2Face but now call me BlackFace Naija

Posted by NollywoodMohits on March 23, 2010 at 7:19pm
Augustine Amedu popularly known as Blackface of the Plantashun Boiz fame is back on the block. The Benue State-born musician has made it known to all and sundry that the launch of his new album, billed for next Saturday in Lagos, is going to be the bomb.
For sometime now, Ahmedu, who would now love to be referred to as Blackface Naija, has been a scarce commodity in the music scene, making tongues to wag that he has nothing more to offer and has thus gone underground.

But speaking exclusively to nigeriafilms.com, Blackface says his critics are wrong, adding that his latest effort will shut their mouths permanently.

He also revealed for the first time the reason he went underground, why his new album is the bomb, his life with marijuana and on many more issues. It’s da bomb. Enjoy:

Growing up
Since I’ve been a kid, I have always listened to music as one of the things I found when I was growing up. I just followed it from there. I listened to a lot of people, so many singers from Bonny M to Sledge Sisters and Whispers.

Then I decided to write my own music. Overtime, I started listening to hip hop, and people like Tupac, Nas, Methodman and Redman inspired me. Then I started listening to dancehall of Sizzler, Elephant man and also R&B. That is why when I bring out my music, it’s a whole lot of musical idioms.

Environment inspires me
I derive my inspiration from the environment generally. I have a new song on radio, Gen for my Head, as you are sitting down, you can hear the sound of generator. It is constant. We don’t need that noise to create. So, I keep asking myself, what is the reason for that generator on my head? Why? There must be something wrong and whatever is wrong, we have to put it right. But it is killing me. You never thought about it until I point it out to you.

So, a musician has to be creative in his environment. The generator gives me a new sound, reasoning and melody. So, the environment basically is what I use to sing my song. If I am writing a love song, I must be feeling love and am married to the best woman in the world, and my woman gives me so much love in so many ways. I can write about it in several ways. And some friends are backbiters, that would give me another inspiration and some ladies would want to come and get your pulse and get out, I write about that also and some haters don’t want to see you, I write that also. What I see, I write about.

Dancehall Business
Before now I had an album, Me, My Music and I that has tracks like Erima, Ghetto girls, The Way You Move, and If You Leave Me. After that, I went on tour of Europe. I went to Switzerland and Italy. In Italy, I played in Modina and Torino. I also went to Palma de Mayoka and Malaga in Spain. This was one of the times that I was able to reach out to my fans in some other parts of the world.

Right now, I’m back home and since December that I came back, I have gone back to the studio. I have finished the recording of my next album, Dancehall Business. I already have some singles out on the radio and people are feeling some of the sounds and I’m feeling some of them too. I know when the album comes up that’s when they are going to feel it more. I’m just like getting ready till I put the album out and the release date is March 27. From then, I’ll start showing the videos.

What to expect
Nigerians know what to expect because it’s got to be the next stage of Blackface Naija since they have been following me for sometime. When I came out with Ghetto Child, they were there for me, I dropped Evergreen and Jungle Fever, they were there for me. I went to Me, Music and I, my fans were still there for me. After that, I gave a two-year grace before I came out with the new album. So, you can imagine how long they can wait to get a hold of some lyrics from me. It was not deliberate but I was getting ready for them like they want to hear from me and I got caught up with the tour. The new album features some artistes like Spiderman, Rocksteady, Oti and Ruffman, among others.

I discovered Tuface
I am the CEO of Loudhouz Entertainment. I have discovered a lot of talents because it is not for me to tell you that I discovered this or that. And if I tell you that I discovered Tuface Idibia, you will say it’s a joke. Most of the songs that he rendered were songs that I created and most of the songs that he delivered are songs that I have decided that this was the way it got to go for this artiste.

So, it’s just about me being the CEO and to know who’s good and who’s not but in between I still got myself as Blackface Naija. However, Tuface is my friend and brother. Sometimes you are closer to your friend more than your brother. Sometimes you are closer to your neighbour than your brother because your brother is not there but your neighbour is there, and he’s always asking you how you are doing.

You can be close to your neighbour because he is talking to you more and you are both relating more. So being my friend, being my brother has got nothing to do with it. For me Tuface is a friend, he is my buddy and we’re just moving forward.

Re-uniting Platashun Boiz
The Platashun Boiz is a group that was formed by me. Tuface and I were the ones that said it’s cool to have somebody else in the group so as to bring out a different kind of opinion, a different kind of vibes. It’s possible to get together once more. I’ve been in the Plantashun business for a very long time. We’ve had times that we were supposed to be taking decisions together and we are not doing so because of distractions from different places. I remember all the works that I did for all the time we were together as Plantashun Boyz like building the group, writing the songs that the group sang, writing the songs that made the group famous.

We never had videos but we have the sounds and that is the issue but then the video is very important. Now it’s time to get the videos done and nobody is sitting on the table, so what’s going on? I’ve been worried about that for too long and I don’t want to put my mind to it any more. So, I feel its time to do my thing. It is not that I do not have love for my brothers like Tuface and Faze but they are doing their own thing. They are the ones that have the big videos but it’s time for me to do my own thing. It’s time for me to kick start my career once again.

Celebrating 10 years in music
I have been in music for about 10 years. I don’t have to celebrate it because a lot of people have been celebrating it already. People that have my albums in their homes have been celebrating the fact that I’m still there to give them more. When we get corporate bodies that are trying to work with us, then we can showcase one or two things about ourselves. But for now, we are just getting the fan base ready. A lot of people have been doing music, enough respect for them, but we know that when the masquerade comes out, the vibe is going to be different.

Music then and now
When we started, we didn’t use to do like copycats, trying to copy somebody’s lyrics and all that. We used to create something new that if someone that is creative hears it he would know that it’s something done out lots of thinking. Right now, everybody just creates from what has been created. I got to spend sometime to create music that is mine and with a landmark that this is my song but everybody is just jumping into other people’s song, they jump into me, they jump into foreign artistes. You have to take your time as a musician to create. Nobody says you cannot dribble like Ronaldo but dribble like Ronaldo with your own style. Everybody wants to be Kaka and Gerald. But it’s better to be yourself.

Me and marijuana
Weed, marijuana, ganja, can you ask yourself a question? The most prominent people in the society do they smoke weed? If somebody as great as Malcolm X could make a change in the world so why do you think he shouldn’t. Asking me about marijuana is like asking why a footballer uses boot, because it is to prevent him from getting a bad foot. Both of us are under a building which can collapse now. Let’s just live and give praise to the Most High and stop asking ourselves questions like why are we watching TV. You drive in a car, there is hazard, you send your children to school, there is hazard, you go to your office, there’s hazard. We all live with the hazards of life.

On my dreadlocks
My dreadlocks are gone. I came back from Europe and couldn’t stand the heat. I had to cover my head all the time. My kids never really saw me without my dreadlocks. So, I guess it’s time to see what daddy looks like. It still doesn’t mean I am not a Rasta man, I am still one, I still believe in Jah. I believe that the only way to achieving good life is through revolution. I still believe in the teachings and projections of Emperor Haile Selasie.

I’m a sports freak
Aside music, I love sports. I love playing football, basketball, table tennis, badminton, handball and volleyball. I’m also a ballet dancer. Sport is just another part of me but I can only let people feel the music part of me.

Regrets
I don’t have any regret. The only regret you can have is when you have not achieved anything. I have achieved a lot that I can beat my chest and say thank God for this. Before, nobody knows me. I couldn’t have a reporter ask for my opinion but now they do. I couldn’t have people say hello to me in the streets but now they do. I didn’t have people ask me what’s up, what is the problem? Now they do, which means God has taken me to another level because of the talent He has given me.
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SSS interrogate Arthur Nzeribe over call on the military to take over

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on March 21, 2010 at 9:03am
Indications emerged in Abuja on Friday that the State Security Service would interrogate Senator Arthur Nzeribe following his recent call on the military to take over.


Nzeribe:
pix200608054532017[1].jpg


It was gathered that the SSS had collated newspaper publications where the maverick politician made the call.

A security source told our correspondent that Nzeribe's statement had been analysed and that there were enough reasons for him to be questioned on the motive behind his statement.

The source said, "Yes, we have seen the publications and I can tell you that action is being taken on the issue. We have also seen the advertorial placed in a national daily after the man addressed a press conference. This shows that he is determined in this unpatriotic call to truncate this democracy."

Asked when Nzeribe would visit the security office, the source said, "I have not even said he was coming. Anyway, we will keep you posted anytime he comes."

Nzeribe had at a media briefing on March 9 said, "For how long will the military take all these praises for doing nothing? How long will soldiers accept praises for merely sitting by and watching as their old relatives are kidnapped in their villages and they are asked to pay ransom?...My position is that the military should strike if they think the environment is ripe for that."

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My Heart is Breaking Pls advice me :Will my parents ever forgive me for the pains I caused them?

Posted by cozzy webtatafo on December 2, 2009 at 8:03pm
Dear Readers, Many things happen to us in life that is beyond us, or should we call it fate? Our writer today has disappointed her parents and she needs your advice in order to make things right. Read and advise her. Thanks. your 9jabook advertisement here call 07083793511 Dear Readers, Please, help me. I don’t know how to clear this mess I got myself into. I hate to cause my parents pains, but what I have done, or should I say what I did, is causing them more than pains. It has become a serious heartache. I love my parents dearly, and they love me too, they have done too much for me. I have no option but to be a good child. Please, help me. If I say I am like the proverbial child born and raised with a silver spoon, I would not be wrong. My parents have just two of us, my senior sister and I, after they had waited on the Lord for the fruit of the womb for 10 years. My sister came at a time my father's family had given up on mummy and they had encouraged him to take another wife. Instead of taking another wife, daddy stood by his wife and directed all his energy into making his business work; that was why he had enough to give us the best when we came. My sister and I had the best any child could ask for. When I was born, I learnt, dad was away from the country on a business trip and his best friend, Uncle Macaus, who we all call Unce Mac, came to the hospital to take mummy and I home. In fact, mum told us that during my christening, he stood by her and did not allow her to miss daddy too much. Uncle Mac and dad are childhood friends, people who really did not know where they were coming from thought they were related and, most of the time, neither of them bordered to correct the impression. Uncle Mac and his wife, Aunty Tina, did not wait on the Lord like our parents did, their kids came faster than we did and they are blessed with two kids too, a boy and a girl. Their children were like our big brother and sister. Unfortunately, Aunty Tina, who had also become mummy’s good friend, died about seven years ago and Uncle Mac refused to take another wife. Because of the relationship Uncle Mac and dad had, he was always in our house and sometimes, he would take my sister and I out when we were growing up. By then his own children were away in the boarding school and later, they went to high school. When I finished my secondary school, just like my sister, I went to the US for my university education, where I read Economics. My sister finished before me and came back to Nigeria for her youth service and started working. It wasn’t a strange thing for my uncle to stop over and check on me whenever he came to the US and he happened to be close to me. Aunty Taiwo, I don’t know, how or when or what brought it up, but I discovered that Uncle Mac and I became attracted to each other. Initially, I felt it was a childhood fantasy, of course, I was no longer a child, I was in my late teens, but how else can I describe what I felt for the man who could more or less be called my father? I tried all I could to fight this feeling, but all the while I was trying, I never knew Uncle Mac felt the same way. As I stated earlier, I really cannot remember who made the first move or how we started, but I started to date my father’s best friend or should I say my father’s brother. In fact, he deflowered me, and because of this singular action, he loved me very much. Having an affair with him when I was in the US was very easy, because my parents were not there and everyone who saw us together never gave it much thought, as no one would think being with my uncle all the time was a big deal. Just like mummy asked me a few weeks ago, “why did you do this to us, what can Mac give you that we can’t give you, even more?” I did not go into the relationship with Uncle Mac for financial gains or whatever he would give me. My parents are comfortable enough to give me the best of every thing, but something, call it fate, call it anything, brings us to do things for which others or rather people will look us you and think we have actually gone crazy. When our affair started, Uncle Mac became a frequent visitor to the US. The first person who guessed that there was more to our relationship was my sister, when she came over for holiday. We stayed together in dad’s house. She asked me some questions but I lied to her. I really did not know why I lied to her, because we were so close and we did tell each other everything; but I kept this to myself. Maybe, if I had told her, she would have opened up to me, she would have told me Uncle Mac had made a pass at her too, but she refused to fall for him. That is another angle to my tale of woe. I finished my course and came back to the country for my youth service. Initially, I didn’t want to come home but daddy insisted. I wanted to stay back and start my Masters Degree immediately, but dad refused to bend the rules. When I came home, I was not lucky in Port Harcourt, and I am not so sure that my parents did not have a hand in that. Well, after orientation, I started my NYSC and seeing Uncle Mac became a little difficult. Guess you know what it is like when you love someone with your whole heart, but you have to keep your feelings to yourself as your little secret. Uncle Mac and I started travelling out of town to see each other. Sometimes, I would leave work to meet him out of town. I could remember a particular day that I almost missed my flight back to Port Harcourt when I came to Lagos with Uncle Mac. I did not tell my parents I was travelling, I wondered what would have happened if I had missed my flight that day. Do not let me bore you with these little details, but I loved Uncle Mac. I really do not know how my parents got to know, but on a day after I returned from the office, mum called me and spoke with me about this issue. I denied, of course, I couldn’t have admitted or confided in her. She told me in strong language that she and dad would be very disappointed in me if they discovered it was true. Mum went further to tell me that Uncle Mac was a womanizser and that young girls were his speciality, but to my ears, she sounded funny because I had never met any other lady with Uncle Mac, I felt she said this to paint him black before me. I honestly do not know who fed my parents with stories of my movement with Uncle Mac; the second time they spoke with me about him, dad even told me the name of the hotel where I went to with him, but, of course, I denied that, too. My parents were to travel to Lagos for a cousin’s wedding. Infact, we were supposed to travel together, but I told them I would stay back. Uncle Mac had travelled to Abuja on a business trip and I knew he would come to town that week-end. As soon as my parents left, Uncle Mac and I spoke on phone and he told me he had made arrangement for hotel accommodation for us for the two days my parents would be away. I checked into the hotel without delay. He came straight to meet me. The unthinkable happened that night when a knock at the door ushered my parents into the hotel room. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Uncle Mac was as shocked as I was. How did my parents know I was there with Uncle Mac? Were they not supposed to be in Lagos? What happened? Daddy has not said a word to me since three weeks ago. The only thing he said to Uncle Mac was: Why, Mac? Why did you do this to me? You know I loved you like a brother and I would not have done this to you? His words to Uncle Mac almost broke my heart. Dad was almost sheding tears. I would have made a case for myself, before him and everybody if I had not later learnt that Uncle Mac had asked my sister out once and that he had actually slept with and even impregnated our house maid, Aunt, Julie. I was not too young when it happened. Auntie Julie had an abortion which almost claimed her life. I thought he loved me. He had even asked me several times to be his wife. When I raised the issue of age difference, he would always tell me it didn’t matter as love is no respecter of age. Uncle Mac has disillusioned me, I am really hurt about his deceit. I would have been dwelling on that now, if I did not have to contend with my daddy. Although mum is equally angry with me, she let out her anger by giving me a piece of her mind. But dad’s silence is killing me. I really think he is dissappointed in me, I have always been his favourite. Please, advise me on what to do. Maryan. originally written by Monica Taiwo and culled from the The Tribune
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Nigeria: NGO call for end of GAY discrimination LGBT

Posted by Charles Attah AccraNews on May 20, 2009 at 6:32am
Nigeria: call for end of LGBT (lesbians gays bisexuals and transexuals) discrimination on the International Day against Homophobia and TransphobiaWed, May 20, 2009NIGERIA 18 May 2009: Two non-governmental organisations in Lagos urged the three tiers of government to stop discriminating against homosexuals, lesbians and gay people. Officials of The Independent Project for Equal Rights (TIPER) and The International Centre for Sexual Reproductive Rights (INCRESE) made the appeal at a news briefing. They explained that the briefing was part of their preparation for Sunday’s celebration of the annual International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). They regretted that discrimination on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity had become a major concern for human rights organisations in Nigeria. Mrs Dorothy Aken Ova, Executive Director of INCRESE urged the protection of the fundamental rights of homosexuals and lesbians. She also urged the enlightenment of Nigerians to enable them to realise that gays had a right to life. “Research findings have shown that four per cent of the world population is gay and should be recognised by government through adequate representation, good education and acceess to the basic necessities of life. These people, though in the minority, did not create themselves. They should, therefore, enjoy the right to live their lives. The public must learn to respect them for who they are because if we begin to feel bad for one another, we will be calling for the destruction of some people, thus inviting genocide” she said.Ova noted that homosexuals, lesbians and the gay formed part of the electorate that voted for the various governments, charging them to take care of them. She urged the Federal Government to domesticate the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Mr Joseph Akoro, an Executive Director of TIPER, also urged the Federal Government to consider its commitment to the protection of all Nigerians from all forms of discrimination. He said the NGOs were collaborating to create awareness about the existence of gays in the country. Mr Victor Ogbodo, a member of the NGO, said the society would benefit more from accepting them. “If they are accepted by the public for what they are, there will be less marital problems because members of the opposite sex will have known before getting married to them. But if the society fails to accept them now and the issue begins to rear its head after marriage, we may only just be postponing the evil day,” he said.Ogbodo charged the government to protect the rights of all its citizens since the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians were enshrined in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution. He said that the groups were not considering sponsoring any bill at the National Assembly on the issue for now, “but we will begin to kick against any further restriction on our rights. “In future, should the need arise for us to sponsor a bill on their behalf, we will surely do so” he added.
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