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Easter Sermon: He Died and Rose up ! Payment of Sins Paid in Full by his blood !

Posted by frank adeche Mr Netchurch on April 3, 2010 at 11:52pm

The Singular Reason he died was that by his blood we would accept salvation not by our WORKS !

The Greek word used here for "doctrine" means "teaching" and occurs a total of 30 times in the New Testament. The four gospels refer to Jesus teaching 43 times and preaching 19 times, and six verses refer to Him preaching and teaching in the same verse. This would indicate that Jesus spent twice as much time teaching as He did preaching. Jesus' teaching is the basic building block of making disciples and a stumbling block to the religious.

Why is it that a person who is seeking so hard to please God can be rejected, while a person who has not sought God at all can come into a righteous relationship with Him? This is an important question and its answer is one of the most profound doctrines in scripture. The answer is faith and its object.

The Jews were zealous for the things of God, but their faith was in themselves. They were trusting that they could earn God's favor by their acts of righteousness. On the other hand, the Gentiles had no holiness to trust in. So, when they heard the Gospel message that Jesus paid our debt for us, they readily accepted His "gift" of salvation, while the religious Jews could not abandon their trust in themselves for salvation.

The same problem exists today. Millions of church people are trying to live holy lives, but they do not have a true faith in Jesus as their Savior. If they were to stand before God and He was to ask them what they had done to deserve salvation, they would immediately start recounting all their acts of holiness such as church attendance, giving receipts, etc. Regardless of how good our actions are compared to others, they always come short of the perfect standard of God. The only response to this kind of question that would grant us entrance to heaven is to say, "my only claim to salvation is faith in Jesus as my Savior." Let Him be the object of your faith today. He is all you need.

HAPPY EASTER !

Pepper as a Weapon of Mass Confusion (WOMC) as Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili

Posted by 9jabook.com on March 23, 2010 at 7:02am

Naija man go first think of peppersoup !
GAUHATI, India – The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili.

After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.
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The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.

"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.

Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.

Mr. Del, Former Member of Hardcore Rap Group Three 6 Mafia,

Posted by NollywoodMohits on March 21, 2010 at 4:52am

Mr. Del, former member of the multi-platinum, hardcore rap group Three 6 Mafia, will release his third solo album, THRILLA, on June 30th. The highly anticipated project will be the first release through Holy South's new major distribution partnership with Universal Music Christian Group.

The Memphis-based rapper is widely recognized as an innovator in the genre, both as an artist and a producer. Mr. Del's first solo effort, 2005's The Future(EMI Gospel), debuted at #15 on Billboard's Gospel Chart. In 2007, he followed it up with the equally successful Hope Dealer (Holy South), which featured a collaboration with jazz master Kirk Whalum.

In addition to his solo work, Mr. Del put together 2008's Gumbo Red, an extraordinary collaboration with Canton Jones, Lisa McClendon and newcomer Ramona Jones. He has also worked with multi-platinum artist Salt of Salt-n-Pepa and Dove Award-winning Christian pop group Out of Eden.

THRILLA is Mr. Del's most musically diverse project to date. The project includes a collaboration with rap mate Mali Music on the reggae-infused “Spread the Gospel,” as well as the high energy “Rock it Out,” which features performances by IroCc and Canton Jones.

“THRILLA shows more of a deeper, transparent side of me,” says Mr. Del. THRILLA, which is an acronym for THE REAL ANOINTING, allows the listener to submerge into the heart of an artist who has overcome weakness and insurmountable obstacles, and is now refined and stronger through Christ.

“Life motivates and inspires me to write,” says Mr. Del. “My lyrics aren't just for entertaining, but for piercing the heart of the listener and igniting life-changing actions.”

Mr. Del opens his personal journals on songs like “Don't Do It” and “My Life Rated ‘R' (Real),” using his lyrics to tell of life growing up with an abusive stepfather, life in the streets and living with a wounded soul.

“Beyond the beats and lyrics, God's grace is sufficient enough for your weakness,” reminds Mr. Del. “And through your weakness and pressing, out of that comes an anointing.”

With THRILLA, Mr. Del hopes to cross borders and break down barriers that still exist within the Christian community.

“I want this industry to not be so segregated,” he stresses. “What we see is that Christian represents Caucasian, and Gospel represents African-American. This isn't a true representation of the Kingdom.”

The Christian Hip Hop genre is still viewed with skepticism by many in the church, which can affect the promotion and visibility of the genre.

“The biggest misconception is that what we do is not of God,” states Mr. Del. “But I don't let those small hurdles limit my ministry and mission. I am not bound to the Christian and Gospel box. My orders are from God himself. With Him there is no limit. I didn't come here to lose.”

It's with that same tenacity and determination that Mr. Del has reached into his local community with a powerful ministry that far exceeds the confines of the “Christian rapper” title. He is known throughout the Memphis area as a powerful minister, serving as the pastor of the church he founded, City of Refuge. City of Refuge started as a Bible study on the campus of the University of Memphis and truly meets a generation where they are as a non-traditional, non-religious radical youth movement that empowers, uplifts and edifies the body.

When not tending to his pastoral duties at City of Refuge, Mr. Del will spend much of 2009 on the road promotingTHRILLA. An aggressive touring schedule is in the works, as is a July/August media tour.

I slept with an average of 7 men in a day

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on March 14, 2010 at 12:28pm

I slept with an average of 7 men in a day

When 33 strip dancers were arrested in Lagos recently and their half-nude pictures splashed on the pages of an evening newspaper, not a few people condemned the dancers and the operators of the night club in which they operated.

Agatha

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But many people seemed to have failed to reckon that the business could not have thriven without patronage from members of the public, or that many of the dancers were forced into the trade by circumstances.

For instance 17-year-old Agatha found herself in prostitution as a result of circumstances beyond her control and she is now full of regrets for the unseemly experience. ''My father had three wives and my mum had three daughters for him. I am the last of the three girls,'' said the Enugu State born girl. ''I lived with my maternal grandmother. Sometime in March last year, I was on my way to my father's house when I was accosted by a lady from my village. She asked me why I wasn't in school.''

The lady, called Mama Ify, lived a distance away from Agatha's father. Believing that Mama Ify was genuinely concerned about her welfare, Agatha explained that she had to stop going to school for lack of funds. ''I didn't go back to school after my JSS III exams because my father had no money. When I said so, she told me she had a sister in Ibadan who sold provisions, and the sister was in need of a sales girl.''

Agatha was overjoyed at the opportunity to escape her life of poverty. After all, there was nothing left for her back at the village except a life of penury and obscurity. ''I couldn't tell my father anything. I knew he would object to my leaving the village, more so when I had to go with someone he didn't know. I just made up my mind that I would leave without telling them.''

On the morning of March 25, 2009, left for Ibadan. ''My grandmother was at home on that day. She asked me where I was going with my clothes, and I told her I was leaving without any plan to come back. She pleaded with me to stay back but I refused.'' Agatha went to meet her new found benefactor at home, anxious to begin a new life. ''Mama Ify told me to go down to the expressway and wait for her there. She said she would join me after a few minutes.''

The motive, of course, was that Agatha's disappearance would never be traced to her. But if Agatha noticed the implication, she certainly wasn't cautious. Leaving the village was uppermost in her mind. ''We boarded a bus to Enugu Park. From there, we took another bus to Onitsha. It was at Onitsha that we took a luxury bus to Ijebu Ode.''

All through the journey, Agatha harboured no fear. For some reason, she implicitly trusted Mama Ify's intentions. ''I asked Mama Ify for her number just in case her sister misbehaved and I wanted to return to my village. She obliged me and confided that her daughter was ill and badly in need of a surgical operation. She said she was actually going to get some money from her sister and decided to get her a sales girl in return.

"When we got to Ijebu Ode, Mama Ify called her sister to tell her that we were around. They arranged to meet us. We took another bus and stopped under a bridge.''

It was at that location that Mama ify's sister came to meet them in company with a man in his forties. Agatha's new guardian was introduced as Madam Best. She was to learn later that her male companion was called Akin, Madam Best's boyfriend. Almost as soon as introductions were over, Mama Ify excused herself, claiming she had to travel back to the village immediately, because her sick daughter needed her. ''She assured me I was in safe hands and to call her if anything went wrong,'' Agatha said.

Agatha parted ways with Mama Ify unaware that the money supposedly borrowed from Madam Best was in fact payment for slave labour. ''I took a bike with my new boss while Mama Ify boarded a bus back to Enugu. At a point, we stopped, took a bus and alighted at one filling station in Ibadan. I couldn't really say exactly where we were because that was my first time of travelling to Ibadan," she said.

The trio walked a short distance to a hotel that was being renovated. The hotel was in a bushy area. It was quite isolated. ''Madam Best and her male companion asked me what I wanted for lunch. I told them I wasn't hungry. They later went away to get a room.''

Minutes later, Agatha was ushered into what would be her new home. ''They called me into a room and said I would live there. I was so surprised. I asked Madam Best if she herself lived in the hotel.''

It was at that point that Agatha learnt the ugly truth. ''She (Madam Best) asked me if Mama Ify didn't tell me what I would be doing in Ibadan. I told her she said I would work as a sales girl in Madam Best's provision store. It was then Madam Best told me I was in Ibadan to work as a prostitute.''

Terrified, Agatha broke down in tears and pleaded with her captors to call Mama Ify on the phone. Her request was declined and instead, she was told to repay the money that was used in transporting her from Enugu to Ibadan. ''When I kept crying, Akin threatened to kill me with a knife. I was locked up for three days. I was given neither food nor drink. Madam best said if I so much wanted to eat, I should sell my body and feed myself.'' On March 28, 2009, desperate for food, the terrified teenager gave in to her captors' demand. Even at that, she had to be beaten with a shoe into final submission. ''I had to sleep with about six or seven men every day. I was never paid anything. All the men paid the money to Madam Best. I was only fed thrice daily.'' With the increasing scourge of HIV sweeping across society, one wonders if Agatha had not contacted any STD. Fortunately, she was able to allay fears on that matter. "All the men that slept with me used protection." Agatha continued in her despised profession for about a month and a half. She couldn't leave her room, so she remained a prisoner there. None of her male patrons ever saw in her the reluctant and terrified child yearning for freedom. She was simply a thing of entertainment.

It wasn't until May 23, 2009 that respite finally came from the most unlikely person. ''There was a boy called Saidi who played music at the hotel every Sunday. One day, he came in with his friend Wale, who demanded for me. When we were alone in my room, I started crying.''

It was the 23-year-old man who eventually offered Agatha a ray of hope. ''He asked me what the problem was and I told him everything. He was really sympathetic and promised to help. He left and came back with a trouser and a top.'' The young man went further to speak with the hotel manager, Alashe. ''Wale told Alashe that he would be spending the night with me.''

Alashe threatened to harm Wale if Agatha should disappear overnight. Perhaps the unscrupulous businessman had smelt a rat. Recalling that eventful night, Agatha said, ''We both couldn't sleep that night. I was very scared, even Wale was scared too. Later, I dozed off. At about 3am, Wale woke me up. He said he had to start going.''

Luckily for both of them, no one stirred while they made good their escape. There was even no fence; just the eeriness of the surrounding bushes. ''We ran until we came to a music studio close to the road and waited there till 5 am. We flagged down the first bike that came our way. The bike took us to Ekiti bus stop. From there, we took a bus to lloro, Ekiti State. It was around 12 mid day when we got there.''

To avoid being tracked by Alashe, Wale took Agatha to his father's house instead of going straight to his brother's home where he normally lived. On their way, they stopped by a stream so Agatha could wash her clothes. ''I had just finished with my washing when Wale's sister- in -law came to inform us that Saidi was with a friend at Wale's brother's house. Both men had come from Ibadan.'' Understandably, Wale was scared to go back. And even when Agatha urged him to do so, he refused. While they were still debating the issue, Wale's brother sent another person to call them. ''I told Wale that I wasn't scared. Since I was no more in that hotel, I knew I could confront whoever it was that had come for me. I was finally able to convince Wale that we should go back.''

They discovered on their arrival that it was Akin that had been sent to bring back Agatha to Ibadan. ''They quarreled for a while in Yoruba. I didn't understand a word of what they were saying. When they had reached an agreement, Akin told everyone that had gathered that I was his sister and Madam Best my mother. He told them Wale had taken me without permission from my mother.''

Seeing her chance at freedom fleeing before her very eyes, Agatha wept profusely, denying Akin's claims. Unfortunately, instead of investigating the matter further, those gathered urged Agatha to go back home with Akin. ''They were all telling me to go back to Ibadan and settle with Akin, that I could come back to lloro after I had done that.'' All this while, Wale did not say a word. He had been sufficiently threatened by Akin.

At this point, Agatha made up her mind to frustrate Akin. ''I decided I wasn't going to make it easy for him to ruin me. When we got to the bus stop, Akin negotiated the price while Wale looked on. When I saw Akin was distracted, I ran. Akin ran after me and caught me. He warned me not to attempt an escape.'' No onlooker bothered to question Agatha on why she tried to run away from Akin. ''Akin got another bus and started haggling afresh. When his eyes were not on me, I ran again. This time, I ran across the street straight into a provision store.''

Agatha held on to the lady store keeper, begging her for help. ''The woman was alarmed and by the time Akin ran into the store, she was terrified." The lady fled her store with Agatha holding on to her for dear life. The struggle continued until the storekeeper's husband stopped them all. ''When he started questioning us all, I burst into tears. Akin quickly intervened and gave his already prepared story of me being his sister. He said all this in Yoruba.'' Fortunately for Agatha, the storekeeper's husband took more than a passing interest in the whole drama. ''He asked me what the problem was and I told him everything. Luckily for me, he was also from Enugu State.''

They were invited back into the store, presumably to settle the matter but unknown to them the police had been notified. ''Two men came in some minutes later and asked us all to explain ourselves. When I finished my tale, they mentioned trafficking and held on to Akin. It was at that point I realised they were policemen.''

They were all taken to Iloro police station. The police tried to mediate in the matter but the store keeper's husband was adamant that Akin and his accomplices be prosecuted. On June 1, 2009, they were moved to the state CID in Ekiti State. ''We spent 10 days there. After our first week there, the police raided the hotel where I used to live. All the girls were taken away. Madam Best usually stayed at Queen's Rema Hotel but I couldn't direct the police there. I only knew the name. It was an Okada operator that directed us there. The police had to check each hotel on that street one after the other because I couldn't identify the particular one.''

As it turned out, Madam Best was not around, so the hotel owner's wife was arrested. ''We couldn't get the owner of the hotel. He was called Alhaji. The police told his boys that if Alhaji wanted his wife out of police custody, he should aid them in tracking down Madam Best. '' Madam Best was caught on the day she tried to flee the town to Benin, Edo state.

Head of the Lagos Zonal office of NAPTIP Godwin Morka said the matter was in court and efforts were being made to reunite Agatha with her family through the NAPTIP zonal office in the East. ''It was the Ekiti state CID that brought Agatha to NAPTIP. She was very much traumatised when she was handed over to us. We had to put her through counselling and some medical treatments.

"Parents have to be more careful and watchful of their children. Young girls can be so easily deceived and recruited into prostitution, especially when they are not highly enlightened

London:Dog & Man murder 16year old 9gerian as Man found guilty of gruesome killing

Posted by 9jabook.com on March 19, 2010 at 5:00am

Man guilty of killing Nigerian in London

BBC
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A 22-year-old man, Chrisdian Johnson, has been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old Nigerian, Oluwaseyi Ogunyemi, who was mauled by a dog before being stabbed in south London, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports.

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Johnson used his dog as a weapon on Ogunyemi before stabbing him in an attack in a park in Stockwell, the Old Bailey heard.

Oluwaseyi was brought down by one of the dogs as he tried to jump over a fence. He was then stabbed six times.

Johnson's brother Shane, 20, was cleared of murder.

The murder was described in court as unique because dangerous dogs were used as weapons to savage their victims before they were knifed.

Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, told jurors, "At the time of the attack, both dogs were unleashed, and chased and then brought down and savaged their victims, giving their human masters an advantage, enabling them then to access their victims in order to stab them with knives."

One witness said the behaviour of the youths in the attack was "vicious" and "mirrored the behaviour of a pack of wild animals," Mr. Altman told jurors.

Johnson was arrested as he fled from the scene of the murder in Larkhall Park bare-chested and covered in blood.

Johnson, of South Lambeth, south London, had been allowed to keep the animal only when a court imposed strict conditions on his ownership in late 2007.

He was also convicted of the attempted murder of the victim's 17-year-old friend, Hurui Hiyabu, said to have been lucky to survive after he was knifed nine times.

Detective Inspector Mick Norman said, "Seyi Ogunyemi was a young man of slight stature, suffering from Crohn's Disease.

"He was attacked by a dog released by Chrisdian Johnson and taken to the ground. While on the ground, he was stabbed where he lay. He didn't stand a chance."

Johnson was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Friday (today).

Speaker impeached as Edo State House of Assembly in free for all (PICTURES)

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 23, 2010 at 11:10am

Edo State House of Assembly in free for all (PICTURES)

By Simon Ebegbulem

* Speaker impeached

Hon. J. E. Oghumah, member of Edo State House of Assembly, who was allegedly injured during the fracas, and Action Congress supporters jubilating outside the Edo State of Assembly complex, after a fracas between PDP and AC lawmakers in Benin-City. Photos: Barnabas Uzosike.

HELL was let loose at the hallowed chambers of the Edo State House of Assembly Monday, when members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress (AC) members in the House, threw caution to the winds in a free for all fight.

The Action Congress lawmakers resumed sitting after the fracas, impeached the Speaker, Zakawanu Garuba and swore in Mr Peter Aliu, representing Etsako East as the Acting Speaker.

Three AC lawmakers Shuaibu Philip, Johnson Oghuma, Kabiru Adjoto sustained serious injuries in the fracas. One of the lawmakers used axe to cut Oghuma’s head while they were struggling to get possession of the mace.

However, Zakawanu who addressed newsmen after the AC lawmakers concluded proceedings, described the impeachment as laughable, saying that he still remains the Speaker of the House. The PDP in the state through its chairman, described the action as “a failed coup”, saying that “they need 16 members to impeach the Speaker but they were not able to get it and they decided to cause trouble in the state”.

The state Government through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Mr Charles Idahosa, absolved the state government from the fracas, saying that “it is an internal affairs of the lawmakers to change their leadership any time they want. Thank God the Governor is not even in town when this thing happened but you will see them running their mouth that it was the Governor who instigated it”.

Trouble started when Speaker Zakawanu said that all that was read by the Clerk of the House, Bar. Egbe Evbuomwan was a true reflection of what transpired in their last proceedings and that they should proceed to the next item on the list.

But Bright Omokhodion, a PDP lawmaker and other AC members disagreed, and told the Speaker that what was read was not the true reflection of what happened.

There was pandemonium at this level, the AC lawmakers went for the mace, and in order to stop them, a lawmaker brought out an axe and another one brought out a tear gas canister and the lawmaker with axe rushed Oghuma and cut his head with the axe. Oghuma is the AC lawmaker that recently won the House of Assembly re-run election in Etsako Central Local Government Council of the state.

One of the injured House Member being rushed to a hospital

There was blood stain every where as the lawmakers engaged in a free for all fight. After the drama, the PDP members left the House of Assembly premises. But the AC lawmakers and a PDP lawmaker, Bright Omokhidion who immediately defected to the AC, continued proceedings.Omokhodion’s defection now gave AC 13 member majority while PDP now has 11.

However, the lawmakers who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the Central Hospital for treatment.

They joined their colleagues after receiving treatment at the hospital. Oghuma came back with a nurse standing behind him while proceedings were on. Shortly after the Clerk of the House, Barr. Evbuomwan swore in Peter Aliu as the

Acting Speaker, Mr Omokhodion informed the House of an impeachment notice on Speaker Zakawanu Garuba and his deputy Levis Aigbogun, quoting section 92 sub section 2© of the 1999 constitution, “ and rule 66 of the Edo state House of Assembly”.

“This petition contains numerous allegations bothering on abuse of office, misconduct, tyrannical tendencies on the part of the leadership of the House and it is signed by 16 members of the House”. He consequently presented the report to the Acting Speaker.

The members suspended Frank Okiye, Blessing Aigbaku, and Zakawanu Garuba. Blessing and Okiye was accused of being suspended for bring in arms into the House. A three men committee was set up to investigate the allegations against the suspended members and report back to the House next Monday.

Reacting Zakawanu said that “ it was not surprising that hoodlums came inside here to take control of the House. No body saw any impeachment notice. I am still incharge you can see that I am still in my office. We must bring order to this state”. However the Clerk of the House, came later to say that he swore in Aliu under duress when he spoke to newsmen.

Four bundles of goodluck: Okada rider gets more blessings; car, house, scholarship for quadruplets

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on March 10, 2010 at 3:09am

Four bundles of goodluck: Okada rider gets more blessings; car, house, scholarship for quadruplets

From KASSIDY UCHENDU, Nsukka

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Four months after Mr Mathew Amoke and his wife, natives of Akpa Edem in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State were blessed with a set of quadruplets, two males and two females, the couple have returned the children to God, Who has brought new hope to them through the babies. Already, they have received God’s favour with their new kids given scholarships, and their one-room apartment changed into a flat, as well as a car donated to them.

The quadruplets in church

Daily Sun had broken the news of the arrival of the quintuplets to an Okada rider father who had appealed for help from public-spirited individuals.

As the quintuplets were dedicated to God at the Winners Chapel, Nsukka, their father said: “I am grateful to The Sun newspaper, Winners Chapel.”

The quintuplets were delivered through a caesarean section at the Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka.

The four new born babies christened Mathew, Mark, Miracle and Favour were ushered into the church which perches atop the Nsukka hills with tumultuous ovation from the enthusiastic congregation who had been waiting eagerly for their entry.

Describing the kids as international children, the officiating pastor in charge of the Church, Peace Efemena, thanked God for the children and called on the congregation not to relent in their support and assistance for them, describing them as rare gifts from God.

He disclosed that a scholarship scheme has been endowed for the babies courtesy of some members of the Church who have also relocated the family from a one-room apartment to a two-bed room flat.

Pastor Efemena also told Daily Sun that a car has been donated to the kids by philanthropists.

His words: “Our founder Bishop Onyedepo has a very large heart for welfare of the people, so in our branches we emulate him. That is why some of us here have decided to give scholarship to the quintuplets. Besides, we also relocated them from their one room apartment to a two bed room flat. We are very much concerned about the lives of the kids because they are God’s special gift and we see them as future pastors. I urge the couple to stop getting more children. They should concentrate on giving them proper up bring both spiritually and physically.”

In a chat with Daily Sun, the father of the babies said: “I cannot thank God enough for what he has done for me. May his name be glorified forever. I thank him for opening my eyes to choose where to worship him. It is only him that can adequately compensate our pastor and my brothers and sisters in the church for their love and assistance to us.

“My gratitude goes to The Sun newspapers for exposing us to the global community from where we have been getting assistance. In fact, somebody in Europe called us, saying he saw The Sun publication about the quintuplets in the Internet.

“Caring for four kids at a time is an enormous task, but by the Grace of God, we are coping, we are still appealing to the Nsukka Local Government to come to our aid. The kids are yearning for favour from the state governor, Dr. Sullivan Chime and his wife whose love for the under privileged is unequaled. Any financial help to us can be paid to the kids account at the Intercontinental Bank, Nsukka Branch number – 0012110000558931.

South Korean Internet addicts accused of starving baby

Posted by jackie webLondonGirl on March 6, 2010 at 1:46pm

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean couple addicted to an Internet game about raising a virtual child were arrested for neglecting their real 3-month-old daughter and letting her starve to death, news reports said.

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The couple spent between four and six hours every day at Internet cafes in Suwon, a city just south of Seoul, and bottle-fed their baby only once a day, the Yonhap news agency and other South Korean media reported, citing police.

The couple found their baby dead on Sept. 24 when they returned home after playing online games at a nearby Internet cafe all night, Yonhap reported.

The 41-year-old father and his 25-year-old wife, both jobless, went into hiding at a relative's home north of Seoul after a police autopsy found the baby died because of a long period of malnutrition, the report said. Police arrested the couple on Wednesday, it said.

“I'm sorry to my daughter and hope she doesn't get sick in heaven,” the father was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

News reports said the girl was born prematurely, weighing 5 pounds (2.25 kilograms), and had spent one month in an incubator.

The couple, who met each other through an Internet chat site, was reportedly obsessed with a role-playing game called “Prius Online” in which they nurtured a virtual girl dubbed “Anima.”

Calls to the Suwon police team handling the case rang unanswered Saturday..

An Internet-game craze has swept across the nation of South Korea. Some players have died after playing computer games for days-on-end without getting out of their seats to use the bathroom, to eat or to sleep. Others have lost their jobs by continuously playing the game 'Warcraft,' instead of fulfilling the responsibilities of their jobs. Computer rooms all over South Korea are filled to capacity, 24/7. But, now innocent infants have been vicitimized by the 'virtual-game addiction.'

The Houston Chronicle reports that, "a South Korean couple addicted to an Internet game about raising a virtual child were arrested for neglecting their real 3-month-old daughter and letting her starve to death, news reports said.

Excuse me, but this is foolish. South Korean parents are playing a game about raising a 'virtual' infant, and it doesn't enter their minds that they too have a real baby who needs to be fed, bathed and properly taken care of.

Sadly, the judicial system is weak and too accomodating to criminals in South Korea. The accused parents stand a good chance of not serving any prison-time if they are convicted of killing a 'real' baby. In similar cases, some parents, who killed their children through woeful neglect, were only forced to serve one-to-three years in prison after being judged guilty for their crimes.

According to the Chronicle, "the couple spent between four and six hours a day at Internet cafes in Suwon, a city just south of Seoul, and bottle-fed their baby only once a day, the Yonhap news agency, and other South Korean media reported, citing sources."

On Sept. 24, the married couple found their baby dead, when they returned to their residence after playing the so-called 'virtual' baby game at a nearby Internet cafe all night, as disclosed by Yonhap.

Sunday Sermon: The Pursuit of Happyness

Posted by frank adeche Mr Netchurch on February 27, 2010 at 10:33pm

I have never pursued happyness, I dimly recall going after love not happyness, I became aware unknowingly that happyness was a figment of my mind state and I rarely pursued it .I went after love because it made more sense .but I went after the wrong kind of love and it almost killed me .

I learnt about love from one source first .The love of a creation .It took me a while to realise that this love was not my one true love , when I found this out i decided to go after the love of truth , the truth of completion the holy grail of my existence .

Good things they say come to those who wait but waiting was not in my dictionary . A virtue is a big thing to ask for especially when that virtue is patience .

I write to explain to myself my existence I write because I think I might be good at it .a writers life can be a sorry life .Iit is a life that is usually mixed with sorrows and lows and at the same time joys and highs .The original book the Bible is interspersed with such because the fruits of writing are always hidden in the way it is birthed.

As a creation it sounds really weird to create stuff because if you are a writer after completion then the truth you seek has to be an image of yourself .Hence the Cats and kittens theory not the Dogs and kittens relationships, we experience daily.

Relationships , wow ! what a word, it lives within the essence of our lives, no man is an island but in birth we are like small atolls congregated in the same idea , the idea of birth is not optional in death we return within these atolls as separate islands .

Our relationships will hence transpire into the singularity our ourselves. Naked I came naked I return .Alone I came, alone I shall return.

The body makes it easier for us to appreciate our existence it is the graphical interface for the operating system called life and there is no open source solution and microsoft,facebook nor google cant explain our purpose nor our lack of it .

The truth is certain , many have run away from it , sometimes it is a blessing not to be aware of it but like a sure constant, it exists and will for all time .

To pursue happiness within this GUI (pronounced G.U.I not Gooey, ew ! ) is like pouring butter into a hot plate and expecting it to freeze .it will never happen.

The bible calls it the flesh, and using my old church mind the word flesh sounds weird, It sounds so spiritual so carnal like as if it is some strange distasteful lifeform .An absence of life means that the body exists in vitro but the life has gone into the ether .To pursue happiness inside this body is ignoring the obvious, they do not mix.

When they mix something eternal obstructs their satisfaction and this belies the truth of completion .The body must therefore be the paradox.

What if we did not have bodies ? this is not a sad piece, it is a revelation of the limits this body has strung us from time. It shows our limitations and our absolute helplessness as long as we are within its shell.

The famous writer paul sighed out once “who will deliver me from this death.” like new born babies that know nothing else but “waa waa ! feed me! “The body also screams its own selfishness. Clothe me, house me ,marry me ..

It is the quintessential nuisance as its existence limits the joys of a Happy pursuit.

The Will Smith movie showed a will smith I have never known, a sad, sorry, unlucky man that the possession of two extra bodies in his wife and his son was a reason why happyness should become something we must pursue. He is not only one of the funniest “arrogantest” movie man I know but he is also a very gifted actor to boot.

Another rendition of that movie could be the pursuit of God .

Just as someone coined Godchasers which I am certain ( I hope ) is a dire misnomer by man as God can not be chased except he wants to nor can he be seen except we are certain we can recognize, you can only recognize someone you have met Before. It is he who lives in us and vice versa and in him we have our being .

The Rat race used to be a depiction of the poverty of recycled hours , the happiness pursuit race is the one that should have hope or is it ?

To get out of “bof of yers” we have to die in the sense of real death which is the death of self and this will lead us into the truth of happiness which we pursue fervently and which whilst we are resident pursuers we will never get.

I wish for a body that will lead me to the truth of happiness , that will explain clearly what exactly it means to be happy .I found that in the bible .

Encryptions and decrying words like Davinci codes as if it is even any ones business if Jesus had a wife ! Does it suffice that the bible insinuates he had a mommy ? Folks actually think that the preservation of the bible was an effort of human will . Yikes to that it is like turai Yaradua telling us Yaradua is well .It is no wonder that God allowed our downgrade to just three score and ten years and also introduced a myriad of languages else we would do even worse than even old evilness, the Devil himself ! I aint joking.

Our bodies define a lot about us , they contain the clearest devices that enable us to search for happiness ,even animals respect these laws as their constitiution enables them to pursue happiness from their own perspectives.The joy of a full stomach. They have no understanding of sin except maybe my dogs who have this uncanny ability to pull a guilty face when I tell them what bad dogs they are.

Their abilty to survive is based mainly on their ability to use their bodies just as well as we do.

I am a star, I am a genius, a being of gifts , my existence has been blessed by my gifts .If I use them I will become a star. If I don’t well ….. what is the opposite of a star ?

Happiness means you are part of the crowd , the rich crowd that is , exemption from this means I have not utilised my gifts which are inherent within me .Why ? I have a brain .

The brain is the citadel of the body it operates on the premise that it is a controller a cpu , a vast memory bank that rules the body .

What if we did no have brains ?

Next time. We might talk about the brain , The body that is, yet is not ! huh ?

Frankly yours

Frank

The Ides of March

Posted by 9jabook.com on March 15, 2010 at 6:48pm

The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martiae) is the name of March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other months.[1] The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 709 AUC or 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and 60 other co-conspirators.

According to Plutarch, Caesar was warned by a seer to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated), Caesar saw the seer and joked "Well, the Ides of March have come," to which the seer replied "Ay, they have come, but they are not gone."[2] This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned to "beware the Ides of March".[3][4]

Homosexuality, juju, and ritual ceremonies are the bane of Nollywood -Ernest Asuzu

Posted by NollywoodMohits on March 7, 2010 at 7:03pm

Homosexuality, juju, and ritual ceremonies are the bane of Nollywood -Ernest Asuzu

Ada Onyema

You have been out of circulation for a long while. What happened?

I am not out. But you have not been featuring regularly in Nollywood movies

I don't have to be regular nor do I have to have my face in every movie. I should'n be doing all the junk they call movie because, as far as I'm concerned, I am a brand that nobody can change, even with controversies. I took sometime out to do a lot of things: my movies, TV programmes, and music album. Forget the controversies; they were only trying to tarnish my image. I have been going out with people that do not love me, but I loved them. If there is anything I can't joke with, it is my God. He is the reason why I'm still here today.

What is new about Ernest Asuzu?

Everything about me is new. Ernest Asuzu is ahead of his generation and that is why a lot of people misunderstand him. I have worn my jersey of movie, music and everything God has destined for me.

You just launched your maiden music album?

Yes, my first album was supposed to have been released in 1988. But didn't come out By the grace of of God, this is the year that dream was fulfilled.

So how was it?

It was awesome. I had a lot of people in attendance; actors, musicians,and other personalities. The event was high and I'm so grateful to God that I saw a day like this. It was a glorious day.

Is it passion or money that made you veer into music?

Well, like I said before, my first album was supposed to be released in 1988 and that was definitely before I joined Nollywood. I joined Nollywood in 1996. I have always loved music and I would say that music is my first love, but acting is my passion. I think music chose me, not for the money; but for the love of it. All my life, I think I have always wanted to do music and now that I have launched my album, I think I have been launched into the music market.

Most people that switched over to music have not profited by it. Do you see that kind of thing happening to you?

No , I don't think so. Now that my album has been released, people are going to listen to it and they will know that Ernest Asuzu is talented. My album is going to go places. I want to erase the notion that all the Nollywood actors that switched from acting to music have not been successful. I will break that jinx with my album. Music must be in your blood before you can make an impact. It is not all about what people say, or money; but how many people that feel your music. This is what I have heard. Nobody has ever said any negative thing about the album. That is where my confidence lies because I know that the album is a hot one.

What do we call your kind of music ?

I do a blend of hip hop and African touch.

Do you have plans of doing a collabo with other music artistes?

Yes, I just did with few people because I believe more in carrying up and coming artistes along. I did some songs with new acts like Mocs and also I have Black face and Snows in some of my songs too.

How many tracks is in the album?

It is a seventeen-track album.

Do you intend to take your musical career seriously?

No, nothing is part time. I'm going to take it professionally. As we speak right now, many marketers are on my neck. I have marketing deals in and outside the country. I want to take my game to the next highest level.

So how do you intend to combine music and acting?

I will combine the two perfectly because you are not going to find me in every Tom, Dick and Harry movie. I will only act in movies that will send real messages across to the audiences. You don't need to feature in many movies in order to be successful. Just like what is done abroad, you can do two movies in a year and get paid enough cash that will last you for a lifetime. You don't need to kill yourself doing one million movies to survive. I must have an alternative because if Im not well paid for any job, I don't see why I should be doing it. The only way to balance the equation is if I'm not acting. I will be definitely on tour promoting my music or doing shows. Besides, I run an entertainment outfit with my partner Charles Adedeji (Flex) called Samba Unit. We 've got all our strategies mapped out. If I am not shooting another person's movie, I will be doing mine. Pretty soon, I will be shooting my own first ever movie. I'm ready for the world in terms of entertainment.

Which movie launched you to the limelight?

It was 'Rituals' by Kenneth Nnebue and about that time, I was the first new comer that his face was used on a poster. Normally before your face can grace a film poster then, it must really be a well known actor. But I think it was just a favour from God that NEK just saw me and liked me and thought of the concept on the poster, which sold everywhere. That also encouraged me to get popular.

How much were you paid then?

I can't remember, but I'm sure I was paid peanuts. Really what mattered wasn't the money, but the fact that it made me famous and fetched more jobs.

Is it true that you had mental disorder?

Well, people will always want to throw up stones at a fulfilled tree. Whatever they said about having a mental disorder; I think my destractors were trying to stop me from getting to my destination in life. If I had a mental disorder, you would not be here sitting next to me. Secondly, I wouldnt' haave done some of the things I have done successfully. Okay, I was insane and everybody out there is insane. Why must my own become a wahala. People should just try and do the right thing and not go about saying bullshit about others.

Did you say it was a spiritual problem and not madness?

God forbid! I don't know where they got their stories from. The other day somebody was trying to define me and he said, ' Ernest I have been looking at you for years and the only way I can describe you is that you are far ahead of your generation and that is why people can't understand you'. Why should I be bothered when they say such things. People said worse things to our Lord Jesus Christ when He came to the world. They called him many names. Who am I then? Everybody is free to say anything but the truth is that anybody who has a mental disorder cannot get married or release and make movies. When they were busy speculating, this Ernest Asuzu was doing well. I have made more than thirty home video films since then. So tell me can a mad man so much?

If it was not madness, what was it then?

I can't explain the intentions of the evil ones, niether can I explain what they are thinking. As far as I'm concerned, I am just myself and nothing is wrong with me. I mean an evil person will always have a reason why he must do evil. I can't explain their intentions and that is why by now they have been put to shame and cannot talk anymore.

You said it was the imagination of your enemies. Have you been having problems with anybody in the Nollywood?

You see, you don't have to have problem with anybody before they start to criticize or pull you down. They may be intimidated by your personality. Also they may be unhappy with what God is doing in your life and the only way they think they can stop you from getting to your destination is by spreading malicious rumours to tarnish your image. As far as I'm concerned, I am a free minded person. Even I dine and wine with my enemies, but they only understand why they are doing what they are doing. I don't have enemies. Even if I have, I know how to keep away from them.

Some people have said your problem emanated from the failed relationship you had with a Nollywood actress. What do you say to this?

Well, I just want to move on with my life. If I had relationships in the past and it went sour, I think it is one of those mistakes you make as you travel through life. Whoever thinks that she must hold me down because I had a relationship with her, I'm sure she must have regreted her actions. As far as Ernest Asuzu is concerned, I'm out to achieve a lot from this wicked world. I'm here to achieve and bring a change to this generation, to be an ambassador of aesthetics, love, Christ, the depressed and the less privileged. That is why I'm created in this world and you don't expect me to accomplishe them without having hiccups. When Jesus came for our salvation, it was not easy for him. He was criticized and even called a mad man.

Why is it that are you known to fight, even at the slightest provocation?

I will say that was in the past. I easily get angry with people for just one reason and that is when I find out that you are a hypocrite, a pretender, fond of spiting people uneccessarily. Anger is not a sin. It is a spur of emotions. It is only when you take it to the next level that it becomes a sin. I can get angry with you now and the next moment I become your best friend. That is to tell you that I have the heart of a baby. If you don't get angry at certain things and it gets out of hand, it might come back to haunt you.

Is it true that you once walked out of a movie set because you wanted to play the lead role?

That was because we had already had a deal with the producer and he changed his mind at the last moment.

Also is it true that you fought the owner of Murphis club over a matter?

The Murphis incident took place a long time ago. I got angry with them because they took me for granted. When they tried what they did with me and it resulted into a fight, I called the Police and was going to take them up legally. My Lawyer was going to sue them for damages because I did practically nothing to them. But one spirit told me that vengeance is of the Lord and I left vengeance to God . About that same time too, I went to Murphis and told them that they have shed the blood of an innocent soul and told them that God would not be happy with them. A short while after the incident, Murphis was shut down and it ceased to exist.

How about the MITV robbery incident? Do you mind sharing with us what really went wrong?

I would not like to say anything concerning that issue for now. At the right time, I will say something about it.

Why?

For a special reason.

Don't you know that by not commenting on this issue, you are giving room to more criticism and suspicion?

People can believe anything they want to believe. I have passed that realm of caution , as regards what the world thinks. The world is so wicked that even when they think this is right they want to believe the wrong thing. Sometimes, I shed tears for this world. God said that the heart of man is desperately wicked. People are so wicked that everybody is like looking for the next man to eat and to survive. Sometimes they know that this is not right, but they want to do it because they feel that it is right. I have passed that realm of what people think about me. As a matter of fact, it is what God thinks about me that matters and not what anybody thinks. If the whole world says I'm wrong and God says I'm right, that's fine by me. So that is my take on it. Forget all those controversies, they never happened. In no distant time, I'm going to speak on those rumours. They were never investigated because they never wanted me to move forward.

You sound quite religious. Are you born again?

Don't call me born again because that is a tag. I don't want you to see me walking down the street with a girl that is not my wife and they will start drawing into wrong conclusions. Just know that I believe in God, Jesus is my best friend, and the Holy Spirit is my comforter. Even Jesus was surrounded with a lot of controversies when He came into the world. They said so many evil things agaisnt Him. It does not matter what the world says about you; what matters is what God thinks about me.

So you mean the controversies were false?

They never did happen. They just created a beautiful story out of nothing. The world cannot throw a stone at a fruitless tree. I'm a fruitful tree and that is why they formulated all that. They are all rumours and like I said, they were never investigated. I called my lawyer Festus Keyamo to write them, which he did. But I decided to leave it to God because the Holy Bible says that vengeance is the Lord's. I will call all those rumours back to table.

When do you hope to do that?

I will do that very soon. Although I don't have the resources to do it now, I will definitely do it.

How did your parents feel about all this?

Naturally they felt bad. But they know how much God loves me. Before my father died he told me that a time will come in my life when I will see them no more. The only person I can't do without is God. God has celebrated me when the world thought I was not good.

You secretly got married few months ago. What attracted you to your wife?

She is humble. The easiest way to get to me is by being humble. My wife is very humble and I love her for that. I am a very humble person and the reason why I have not passed out with all I have gone through in life is because of my humility. My wife is also hardworking and she believes so much in me. Even when a lot of people thought that I colud not make it anymore, she said no that I was designed for greatness.

What is your take on the entertainment industry in Nigeria, especially Nollywood?

Nollywood needs re-orientation. In the first place, we need God so much to right the wrongs. We were supposed to rule the world, but after sometime Nollywood's fortunes nosedived and it was caused by some entities that just want to see the industry as their own empire and heritage. I believe by the time we come back in the new dispensation, everything will be sorted out.

We have so many factions in Nollywood these days. Which of them do you belong to?

Yes, there are many faction in Nollywwod. But I don't believe in factions. I believe in doing what is right. If I find any of the factions doing the right thing, I will join, but for now none; I'm minding my own business.

We hear sexual harrassment and other societal ill is the order of the day in Nollywood. How true is this?

Well, they say it happens and as a matter of fact, it happens. It is so painful that ladies think it is only when they sleep with the director, producer, and an actor that they will get lead roles in the movies. I think the problem is that more of the upcoming actresses do not know why they are there. There is homosexuality, juju, rituals and what have you in the industry. If nobody is saying it, I will say it. They are some of the things that God had seen and made the industry to nosedive. Nollywood is like Sodom and Gomorrah but I believe in no distant time, God is going to cleanse the industry. I'm sure those are the tools that the devil is using to destroy the industry because we are more like social crusaders, pastors and preachers. By the time the children of God mounts the helm of affairs of the industry, all will be cleansed and the industry will soar higherthan before.

Do not resign, governors tell Yar’Adua Accuse Akunyili of being overly outspoken !

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on March 3, 2010 at 5:59am

The Governor’s Forum, in a meeting with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, said it does not want President Umaru Yar’Adua to resign.

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The meeting, which held at the Aguda House, the residence of the Acting President, lasted for almost two hours, with all 36 state governors in attendance.

As they trooped into Mr Jonathan’s residence from the venue of an earlier meeting of the forum, their faces were bright and the banters were light, indicating that all was well. But when the governors left after their meeting with Mr Jonathan, they all looked grim, and a source close to one of the governors said the meeting had not been devoid of argument.

While briefing newsmen after the closed door meeting, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, said the group did not discuss the hundred days of Mr Yar’adua’s absence and that the issue of his resignation was also not touched upon.

He said: “We did not discuss that. We noted that the president has returned to the country and we noted the need for him to recuperate and get better soon, before he can think of assuming duty. For us the issue of his resignation is not an option for now. For us what is important is for us to be compassionate, to be sympathetic and to realise that anybody, no matter highly placed, even if you are a Christian and you are a Pope can get ill. Thank God he is back now and he is recuperating and we are satisfied that recovery is on the way. We are praying for him.”

Governor of Kwara State and head of the Forum, Bukola Saraki also said “We congratulated the Acting President towards stabilizing the polity of the country at the moment and we also in return pledged our support to the Acting President during this trying time. We encouraged him and said he is doing a good job and he has the full support of the governor’s forum in this exercise.”

Akunyili went overboard

Mr Saraki said Mr Jonathan gave reasons why he set up the presidential advisory council. He, “educated us on a number of issues, for example the advisory council that was set up and the reason behind it and other things,” Mr Saraki said. “By and large, we emphasized the need for the government to work very hard to ensure that we all play our role to provide leadership at this crucial time and to talk to members of government to ensure that the comments made are well guided. At the end of the day we acknowledged what he is doing and we appreciated it and the 36 governors will continue to support the Acting President for this country to move forward.

“We have expressed that we are happy to see that the president is back in the country, we have also said that we should separate the two issues. The return of the president to the country is an indication that there is progress in his recovery process and that does not deviate at all from any decision we took as a forum, where we all decided that a political solution to provide a resolution for Mr. Vice President to act as the Acting president and that is still the position.

Mr. Vice President acting as the president is still running this country and we are wishing the president speedy recovery. Our resolution was taken not because Mr. President was out of the country, but because he was ill and that has not changed.”

Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva however condemned the public statements making the rounds by public office holders. He picked issues with Information Minister, Dora Akunyili’s whom he said “went overboard” with her statements.

In Oriki, relentless documentarian digs into root of a dying heritage

Posted by NollywoodMohits on March 18, 2010 at 8:55pm

AKEEM LASISI

A documentary film by award-winning filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi, directs attention to threatened Yoruba praise poetry, Oriki, writes AKEEM LASISI

As the tape rolls over, prolific chanter, Suleman Ayilara, popularly called Ajobiewe, zooms into view with his gripping voice. The artist that has navigated the length and breath of Yoruba theatre and film industry relishes opening his performances with homage chants and invocation on his Ila Orangun, Osun State root. In Oriki, however, he begins by singing the oriki of the Elese lineage.

By the choice of the artist who released an album titled Oriki Yoruba about two years ago, the producer and director, Femi Odugbemi, is able to capture the viewers' attention while also registering the import of the documentary. And while the didactic essence of the documentary is sustained throughout its about 25-minute duration, it is such dramatic interjection that keeps the viewer waiting for more even at the end of it.

As compact as it is, for instance, celebrated Yoruba actors such as Lere Paimo, Kola Oyewo and Peter Fatomilola, are made to play different roles to buttress the exposition that Odugbemi's resource persons offer on oriki, the Yoruba praise poetry, in the film. Among the most memorable scenes here is the one in which Paimo, otherwise called Eda Onileola, dances grandly to portray the overall concern of the researcher in the film - the desire to save African culture from unbridled westernisation.

The work is predicated on the fact that among the Yoruba and a lot of other cultures across Africa, a name is more than a means of differentiating one person from another. It is a serious and time-honoured means of giving a newborn child an identity. Amongst Yoruba families, a name communicates the rich, colourful and vibrant heritage and history of families. It also informs their hopes and aspirations for the newborn. Oriki is the oral Yoruba poetry chanted in salute of history and heritage often reaching back hundreds of years.

Globalisation trends have led to the blurring of borderlines, geographically and culturally. "Indigenous cultures are dissolving, clearing the way for one unified global phenomenon. Increasing urban shifts and a strong emphasis on global compliance have left important aspects of cultural identities under attack. And as more people adopt western ways of thinking and understanding, the threat of extinction becomes more glaring, more imminent, more inevitable," the producer asserts in an introduction to the documentary.

As Odugbemi's resource persons, which include writer and actor, Adebayo Faleti, culture scholar and promoter at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adetoun Ogundeji, and a legal practitioner, Mr. Dele Farotimi, note in the documentary, Oriki has serves multiple purposes among the Yoruba. Apart from being a piece of poetry that excites and inspires the hearer, it harbours cultural and historical information about the person or community being celebrated. They identify four major types of Oriki - the one for individuals, one for prominent people like kings, one for a particular lineage and one for communities or towns.

According to Ogundeji, the Oriki usually reflects the circumstance of one's birth. It reflects the heroic deeds of one's forebears, just as it may indicate their weaknesses as well.

"Ãn Yorubaland, you don't just give names to children," Ogundeji says. "The elders would, in those days, consult the heritage as represented by Ifa. And in the case of oriki orile, it reflects connection between various families of the same lineage but who live in different towns."

Although Odugbemi secures another commentator who expresses grave concerns over fetish tendencies he locates in some elements of oriki, his sources are generally passionate about the orature. In the case of Farotimi, he recalls how he gives his children names that relate to his family chain, as exemplified by his naming a daughter of his Igbayilola, an invocation of his mother's name.

He notes, "When people say our names are demonic, I remind them that the English names many of them give their children have meanings they don't seem to know. 'Diana', is, for instance, actually the name of a goddess."

They all fear that westernisation is fast eroding the Oriki phenomenon, but Odugbemi cites a little hope in the fact that some modern musicians have begun to experiment with the praise forms in their works.

On the making of the documentary, he explains that his choice of the resource persons is based on those who not only have a deep knowledge of it, but also feel strongly that it should not die. "One thing about a documentary is that it must be based on facts. That is why your research must double-check facts because the preponderance of opinions must be in favour of the stated facts."

Odugbemi's exploits as a documentary film producer has been recognised in many places. Another recent work titled Bariga Boys is on the nomination list of the African Movie Academy Awards for 2010. In terms of what motivates him to work in this area, he says the need to spread information and preserve heritage is paramount. As a result, he adds, he often gives the documentary films to television houses to air. Ãt is more of a labour of love than anything," Odugbemi says.

The boys from Brazil who rule Rio’s ‘Corner of Fear’ gun-toting kids of brazils slums

Posted by jackie webLondonGirl on February 26, 2010 at 4:56pm

Dom Phillips in São Paulo

A boy steps boldly into the night traffic and waves a gun to bring the cars to a halt, clearing a path for a motorcycle which screeches into the intersection. Riding pillion is another boy, brandishing a machinegun.

Later two teenagers, also riding pillion on motorbikes, flash their guns at other motorists; nearby, a boy can be seen taking aim with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Other youths wander the street smoking crack.

For residents, the junction between the busy Dom Helder Câmara and dos

Democráticos, in North Rio de Janeiro, has become known as the Corner of Fear — and video footage of daily life there has shocked a nation already familiar with guns and violence.

PHOTOS:Youths flaunt guns on the streets of Rio de Janeiro

The latest images, captured by undercover journalists from the Rio tabloid Extra, have exposed the city’s criminal youth culture in a manner that echoes the journalistic investigation featured in the film City of God.

The age of the criminals — one pistol-toting boy is 12 — is obvious cause for alarm, but so is the seeming impunity with which they act.

The video footage has provided a glimpse into the city’s underworld that hardly touches Rio’s wealthier citizens.

Local newspapers rarely show at first hand the violence that permeates the city’s slums (favelas). Since the brutal torture and murder of the journalist Tim Lopes — who was caught filming secretly in the Vila Cruzeiro favela in 2002 — Brazilian reporters have been reluctant to take their cameras into slum areas. Any reports that are filed tend to come from correspondents talking from inside armoured cars, or are images showing the aftermath of a shooting.

“What is shocking is this parallel power, the fact that they are very young,” said André Cabral De Almeida Cardoso, 41, a teacher. “They are so brazen about it.”

Valera dos Santos, 34, a maid who lives in a favela in São Paulo, said: “My God, I’ve never seen pictures like this. It’s absurd, they’re just boys.”

The journalists who captured the images were also taken aback. “Even knowing the reality of what could happen, you are still shocked by the glamour that these weapons represent in the arms of minors,” said Fernando Torres, 27, one of a team of three who spent four nights undercover at the Corner of Fear.

“These images are desolate,” said Lucy Petroucic, 56, a translator. “These boys have become little Taleban who think they have nothing to lose.”

Within hours, police arrested one of a group of bandits shown in the video and promised that changes were on the way. Luiz Fernando Pezão, Rio’s Deputy Governor, told reporters that a new police base would open nearby in May.

Lawmakers want corps members out of Plateau

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on March 11, 2010 at 6:32pm

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed an order suspending further drafting of fresh graduates to Plateau State to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in the state..

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This order came in the wake of the devastating violence that claimed hundreds of lives in a neighbourhood of Jos, the state capital, last Sunday.

The legislative resolution, the second in the week after the massacre, also called on the management of the NYSC to re-deploy serving corps members in Plateau to neighbouring states, even as the government attempts to restore peace to the area.

Saving the people

“I am not a pessimist,” said Ekperikpe Ekpo, a member from Akwa Ibom state, who sponsored the resolution. “But we cannot say as of now, total peace has returned to Jos. We have to find a way to save these people in the event of reprisal attacks.”

The resolution will empower calls from Nigerians who have asked that youth corps members be re-assigned from Plateau state.

However, a few members of the House of Representatives, mostly from the affected state, opposed the proposal. They complained that such an order will imply a failure of the government and a total breakdown of law and order in Plateau state.

Leo Dilkon, who represents Pashkin, Kanke and Kanam Local government areas of the state, said the crisis was concentrated around Jos, and it will be undue punishment on the rest of the state if the youths are withdrawn.

Support for motion

But the motion gathered rapid support after the mention of several cases of slain corps members in several parts of the north including Grace Ushang, whose murder in Borno State last year drew international condemnation, and three members of the scheme who died during the December 2008 fighting in Plateau State.

In the aftermath of such deaths, the government has been advised to reconsider the continued relevance of the scheme and the NYSC has been urged to restrict its posting to certain states.

After the killings of last Sunday, the NYSC Director General, Maharazu Tsiga, reportedly announced that his office will reassign serving members from the state pending the restoration of normalcy.

Lawmakers said although they are aware of the decision, they will push for a legislative resolution to compel the director general to act fast.

“I will be surprised if anyone will oppose the fact that the situation in Plateau poses a clear and present danger, said Patrick Obahiagbon, who represents Oredo in Edo state. “Whether there are newspaper reports that they will be redeployed or not, we have to rise up and make it known that this parliament says no. We cannot send our brothers and sisters to go and pay the ultimate price.”

Women in black

Meanwhile, hundreds of Plateau women clad in black dresses and placards showed up at the premises of the National Assembly, where they held hands, singing sombre songs to protest the latest killings.

The women, who said they will seek the intervention of the United Nations (UN) if they fail to get justice from the Nigerian government, called on the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, to remove the current General Officer Commanding the 3rd Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army, located in Jos, Plateau State, who has been accused of negligence as the crisis erupted.

“We want a change of the security chiefs in Plateau State, they have not guaranteed any security on us, we have lost confidence in them,” the group’s spokesperson and its secretary general, Zipporah Kpamor, said.

The women also accused the Chief of Army Staff, Abdurahman Danbazzau, as well as the Bauchi State government of complicity in the mayhem in Jos.

“If the FG cannot stop the premeditated genocide and ensure peace in the state, then we will be compelled to go to the United Nations (UN) for intervention on the matter,” Ms. Kpamor said.

Yaradua Update: Return of the King ? Who is the king ?

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on February 23, 2010 at 8:29pm

Ministers who travelled to Saudi on monday a Decoy !

Exactly three months after he left Nigeria for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in a most dramatic twist, returned to the country in the early hours of today.

THISDAY learnt that the President, whose prolonged absence had generated considerable heat in the polity, left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 8.22pm Nigerian time last night and arrived at 1.46am today.

About 30 minutes to his arrival, the source of power supply to the airport was switched from public to generator.

After the first, small aircraft arrived, another one, a bigger aircraft, landed a few minutes later. Both were unusually parked on the runway - virtually in the bush - instead of the parking area, for a very long time. It was not clear which of the two aircraft carried the President as the entire area was covered in darkness.

An ambulance was seen moving towards the two aircraft shortly after the arrival of the second one. A bus also moved in a few minutes later.

At the airport to receive Yar'Adua were Governors Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Namadi Sambo (Kaduna). They had earlier met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Dimeji Bankole, at his residence in Abuja.

Soldiers were deployed on the route from the airport to the Presidential Villa. They all took strategic positions, fully armed. The trucks that conveyed them bore the sign of Brigade of Guards.

THISDAY learnt that all the soldiers, who came in two companies, were asked to drop their phones, thereby rendering them incommunicado.

Airport staff were also ordered out of the presidential wing as soldiers took over the place. The only thing that could be gleaned from the aircraft was the flashing beacons.

At 2.56 am, the ambulance left while a convoy of about eight cars drove towards the aircraft. After 3am, the cars left the airport. They drove at moderate speed on the way to Aso Rock. There were about 16 cars in the convoy that headed for town.

The presidential jet eventually moved to park at its usual place at 3.20am while the unmarked smaller aircraft, presumed to be an air ambulance, also parked at 3.25am.

Yar'Adua returned to the country in company with his wife, Turai; his Chief Security Officer, Yusufu Tilde; and Aide-de-Camp, Col. Mustapha Onoedieva.

The President’s return came as a complete surprise as the public had no prior notice or indication to that effect. The six-man ministerial team set up by the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) to pay him a visit only left for Saudi Arabia Monday night.

A source said yesterday that the ministers flew directly to Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, and met with a representative of the King, Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, to “express deep appreciation for the excellent and generous attention the government and people of Saudi have given to the President”.

However, before the team could move to Jeddah – about one and a half hours by flight from Riyadh – the President had begun his journey back to Nigeria.

There were unconfirmed reports, however, that Yar’Adua flew in an air ambulance provided by the King of Saudi Arabia.

The presidential jet that flew him out of the country on November 23, 2009, was still at the Jeddah International Airport after he left, but it was believed to have taken off shortly after.

The air ambulance had been on standby for the past five days to bring the President back, THISDAY learnt, and airport authorities in Nigeria had been put on alert in the last two days to prepare for his return.

Members of the ministerial team, namely the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin; Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN); Agriculture Minister, Dr. Abba Ruma; and Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, are expected to return to Nigeria this morning straight from Riyadh.

Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Abdullah Garba Aminchi, had said on Monday that doctors were preventing visitors from having access to Yar’Adua.

Aminchi said he himself had visited Yar'Adua on Saturday and that the condition of the president was improving after treatment for a heart ailment.

"I saw him the day before yesterday... He's really feeling better now," Aminchi had told AFP.

The fixing of Mr fix it Chief Tony Anenih

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 1, 2010 at 9:22pm

Charity, as they say begins at home, but for Chief Tony Anenih, it should now begin abroad. After all, a few months ago he exerted his influence of fixing PDP primary (s)election of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as PDP gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State. advertisement You will recall that on that occasion the Uromi born Chief who is schooled in the act of politics threatened to change his name from Anenih to Anene; an Igbo name, which if properly translated would mean: let’s watch! The logic was to rub it on the highly republican Anambra people who were still seething in anger over Soludo’s imposition. Soludo’s imposition was so damning that the Vice-President, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan have had to wail at the back page of Thisday newspaper’s Missile space of November 14, 2009 thus: “Mr. President felt so sad that our own party, PDP, couldn’t conduct primaries in Anambra State_We are quite sad because we believe that PDP being the ruling party should lead by example. The PDP, like a house built with spittle which collapses under the morning dew has manifestly caved in to the forces of nature and found itself disgracefully depleted by and by. It has been losing a chunk of her following to other political parties by the reasons of its high-handedness, arrogance of power, autocracy, and deceitful party leadership, prated on the imperious lordship of a few godfathers. Their patronage is evidence in their ability to single-handedly select the highest bidder for political office. The people of Etsako Central have demonstrated, in full freedom, that Mr. “Fix it is no longer a force to reckon with in the emerging political evolution in Edo State. The re-run election was the needed precursor that made the bold statement that the strength of the mass of our people is the weakness of the godfather, and that the strength of the godfather has been the weakness of the people all along. But more worrisome is the height with which these ruinous cabals have been held and patronized over the years; unknown to the people that the deification of mere mortal as Anenih is absolutely at the heart of our fragile efforts for Electoral Reform; more also our feeble quest for liberated democratic space. Edo State, pathetically, has suffered a great deal from gross imposition, judging by the poor representations which led to the pillaging of resources over the years. While the valiant people of Etsako Central are celebrating their escape from endured political, social and economy distress; savouring the ultimate triumph of liberty, Dan Orbih, the factional chairman of PDP is double speaking, gnashing his teeth and nursing his wounds. In one breathe, Orbih collaborated the stance of INEC, AIG Felix Ogaudu, PDP candidate, Chris Umogbai and Independent Election Monitors and journalists as the fairest and freest election in recent times, both in Edo and the nation at large. Do you blame a group of self-collected thugs whose only understanding of politics is brigandage of monumental proportion? This is one election the PDP will live to remember. Their plans and games fell on its face. They also advocated for the deployment of 3000 Mobile anti-riot Police men, all of which they got. But their major undoing was that they could not also import the electorate to vote for them! Their strategies worked against them. The Mobile Police they brought from Abuja and other neighbouring states did their job. They kept PDP thugs out of circulation. The Police, for the first time, applied decorum and utmost neutrality common only among the British Bobby. The people hated PDP with disdain. PDP’s eight years of the locust under Chief Lucky Igbinedion and 18 months of Prof. Osarhemen Osunbor’s illegal residency at the State House was worse than unleashing technology muster, bulldozer on the state. They ran the state aground on the auspices of the now rested godfather. Granted that no matter how you deodorized horse that the stench remains, but we shall say, never again like the children of Israel by the River side of Babylon. Never again shall we be enticed by the uselessness of arrogant lot who see the appropriation of the people’s civic right as given! Never again shall we genuflect at the patronage altar of a leaser being for our political salvation!! The muster has fallen to rise no more. • Akhabue Okogie a Social commentator Lives in Uromi.

The Van Vicker interview:Now a film producer "planning" own line of designer perfume,and maybe condoms !

Posted by NollywoodMohits on February 1, 2010 at 8:27pm

He is humble, very humble. He is also behind many charitable causes. Van Vicker is his name and he is insatiable. He believes he cannot be fulfilled until death. For him there is still much to be done and can be done to improve life. Viker, apart from producing films is into advertising and promotions, a feat he achieved through dint of hard work and persistence. He loves his family, but craves to spend more time with them. Read all about him. Excerpts:Van VickerWe learnt that before you do any movie in Nigeria you insist that you get the distribution right in the US. Is this true?

It is not true. I don’t insist on being in the movie before I distribute. If I’m doing any movie and I think it will be a hit movie I will discuss with the producer or the EP… my guy, I want to buy this movie after we are done and he either says yes and then we negotiate or no I already have my own distributor. I have been in several movies and I didn’t get the right to distribute them in the US.Again I have distributed some that I featured in and I distributed them in the US. But me insisting that before I’m in your movie, I must have the distribution right, that is so natural. I do not say give me the movie. I pay for them.... I pay cash, so if they are going to charge me whatever the figure is, I pay. So it is not free. I don’t act for free. I never insist that if I don’t get the right in that movie I won’t feature in it. I will just be stifling my own career if I do. So, that’s not the way it works, its negotiable. We talk.We learnt that you are not just an actor… you are beginning to venture into movie production and directing as well?I don’t know if branch will be the very right word. I think it’s more of an addition. I have always had the passion for being behind the cameras. Actually that’s where my career began. I worked with a TV station for so many years and I was trained as a production assistant and then I went as far as being the assistant head of entertainment. I very much know how TV works and how camera works.When I started acting, it didn’t take away that passion, it was just more of something I wanted to explore so I decided to direct and produce. I did my first in 2007, my second production in 2008 and I am doing my third and fourth this year. It’s more of a passion… like the way acting is to me and that way it gives me control of the product I’m putting out there, who I want to be in the movie, what message I want to send out there and not be at the beck and call of the producer all the time. I want to have my own say in what people see and how they are entertained.Does that mean we will see more of you as a producer this year?Yes. I will produce two for a start and probably the last quarter of this year I might just do another one. Let it not be that Van only produces and directs his movies. I will direct anybody’s movie too, if I’m given the opportunity. I have already had two requests and I know with time we will get it done.What is the big deal about RAJ The dancer?I think it’s an excellent movie. Some of the love stories we do are not just about them being love stories. They become a little bit monotonous, the same old crap; get married to this person, don’t get married to that person, mother says this, father says that. I think it’s over flogged. It’s easier for us to shoot love stories, because of lack of equipment and budget. If we are doing a love story, I think we should add some extra spice. I was in a movie titled Beyouncé, a name that I created myself but it is not my production and a lot of people started calling me Raj. After that, I decided to capitalize on the popularity of that name and I want to do sequel to it.When is it coming up, who are the stars in it, why is it different?It will be coming out in Africa by March and in the US and Europe in February . We have Kofi Ajolo from Ghana and the other person is Nana. She is a new actress. The movie is about wife battering but the spice again is the dancing part. So it’s not just the usual thing. I think this movie will be better than my first which was Friday night; the movie I did with Nana Amama. I want to believe that this will be a step-up and I know the future ones will also be something to cheer.Does that make you a dancer?I was trained. I did weeks of training to do that part. I don’t dance but I have got a professional, a choreographer and everything and in my basic schedule I got it done, so I tried.So we see a lot of dancing from Raj?I wouldn’t say a lot of dancing. The first dancing was in the gym where I was competing with someone. The second dancing was the steatites I did for the girl in the movie and the third dancing was the saucer dance that the girl and I performed. So we‘ve got three dances i.e one at the beginning, the next in the middle and the last one at the end.Who wrote the story?I wrote the story. I screen-played the story and I directed it alongside a Nigerian director, Kalou Aryan and I produced it. I was the executive producer. My production company Sky Orange Production was quite involved.People say you are becoming bigger in the Ghanaian movie industry because you are the biggest star… how true is this?I think if you know me, you will realize that I’m a really humble person. I don’t think it is wise for any human being to think that he or she is the ultimate. You know you might have been able to achieve so much people have not been able to attain. It doesn’t make you the ultimate. I think one of the best things in life is for you to have everything and still be very humble. Still be down to earth. For me it is the most important venture that I cherish. Them saying Van is acting like he’s big, that is a terrible perception. Some people try to be mischievous, some because of bad belle. Any how you want to put it … but I totally disagree with that. Whoever knows me will testify that Van is a very humble person.So what happened between you and Abudulsalam?I keep saying that nothing happened between me and Abudulshalam, the CEO of Venus. It’s just a little misunderstanding that has do with scheduling. As a matter of fact he called me up and said he wanted to do a production. He asked if I was in Ghana. I said no and asked him when he was coming down. He said “I’m not too sure yet I will let you know anyway what it is about. I want to shoot a film”. I said Salam don’t tell me you want to shoot next week. He said “yes I want to shoot next week”.Then I said it’s not possible because you need to get real, get used to the idea that people grow in life, they have more responsibilities, their schedule gets tighter. You need to understand that and stop this child’s play. You called me up today and you want to shoot a movie next week, 4, 5 years ago I could afford to do that because I was working for myself and I wasn’t shooting a lot of films, now I can’t do that because I have schedules. I have commitments. I can’t disappoint another man to satisfy you that won’t be fair. That’s bad for business. So he said “okay fine, so when is your schedule” and I said it has to be around the 3rd week or 4th week in March.Then he said “ Ah that is too far… well then you can go ahead and shoot when you are ready we can schedule something, you know I shoot every month”. I said fair enough. But are we going to shoot in March, is it confirmed with you that we will shoot in March because you will wait one week till you shoot and call me up. It still will not work even though you did tell me you will shoot in March because you are not confirming it now. By the time we are in March my bookings would have moved to May, so you need to tell me now.He couldn’t give me a confirmation date and you know two things come to play. I need to see the script to know if I want to do the job for whatever reason. After I’ve seen the script we need to negotiate, then we confirm a date then I know we are in business. Yes! Because he has disappointed me three times. It was all over the papers. Whatever they said ... he came to my office and then he said Van let’s talk this thing out and I said okay.Is it true that Van is the most expensive actor in Ghana ?I wish. Well I don’t know. I think I get what I am worth. I don’t know about the others but I get what I am worth. If I’m the most expensive I thank God for that. I think it is a blessing but I can’t agree because I don’t know what my colleagues earn. They can be earning far more than I do but I am contented with what I have because I know I am getting my worth.So you are saying you are not too big for your industry?Impossible. I am not too big for my industry and I think I love my industry and I know there are lots of people out there who love and support what I do. I am sure a lot of people know that Van is not big… he is just maybe busy, maybe producers are not meeting the protocol to get him to be in their films. Period.How close are you to other Ghanaian stars?I am close to all Ghanaian stars. There is something I have noticed; it has nothing really to do with Van. It seems a lot more guys are closer to the ladies and the ladies are closer to the guys. It is not common to see two, three, four artistes that are of the same sex close. So as it is, I’m closer to more ladies than to the guys and I think the reason is because we almost every time get paired up with the opposite sex so we tend to spend more time together than with the guys and the same thing goes for the ladies.You are close to Nadia?Yes I am close to NadiaJackie?Yes.What about Mama Brown?Yes. We did a movie; she did my first movie for me.What about Majid?You know something? I know Majid, I was going to do a series, before I was directing that series. I actually shot some scenes and Majid was in my movie but I have never released it and he was in that series. Yes Majid is my friend .Let’s talk about Nollywood. Is it true you put yourself in the same class with RMD and Ramsey Noah?That will be a very annoying thing to do. Hollywood’s Brad Pitt is a good actor, Clooney is a good actor but there’s no way Brad Pitt will put himself on the same level as Clooney because Clooney has been there for a while or Albert Ino because they’ve been there. You just have to acknowledge the fact that this person has been there… you need to give them credit, you need to acknowledge them, you need to give them due respect. So if anybody said Van said it, it’s even annoying to the ears… it is ridiculous.Honestly. It is not like we had a beef, I don’t have a beef for any of them.. Maybe if we had a beef, you might say probably he said it, I don’t have a beef with any of them. I met RMD for the first time at Solo Amaku’s birthday party in Asaba.... I think almost two years ago and I said cool dude. We sat, we talked, we laughed and I never met him again. As for Ramsey, before we met, I called him four, five times because I wanted him to do a movie as a brother with him in Liberia. So I spoke to him several times more and not only about the production; there was a time I was in the US and I called him on some other issues I have forgotten. But we have met twice in Abuja. The first meeting was at the location of Reloaded. The second movie we did was when Stephanie called me for Izu Ojukwu’s movie. We had two or three scenes together in the movie..What happened on that set?I got a call from Stephanie when I was on my way to Ghana from Lagos. Stephanie told me that a producer, Izu , would call me for a job and I said fine. So he called me a few minutes later and he wanted me to do a job and I said I am already on my way to Ghana. He told me later that Ramsey could have been on that set but there was a little issue they needed to trash out. I think it was a monetary stuff so I think Ramsey didn’t have the time and he had already been paid and they were already on set.They needed to move on. So that was how they fell back on me. Then I was like let’s do it. I dropped everything and I went to Abuja the next morning .Then I was told Ramsey was coming. So they said there was this other role they wanted me to play, but I said that was not why you called me, somebody must have misread the situation and said I didn’t want to act under Ramsey. But they don’t know the story, you get what I am saying? So I said but I have already been told that he wasn’t showing up that I should come. I’m actually your savior right now and now you want me to look bad.So I went back to him and said my guy I don’t want to play this particular role; but after so much talk I eventually played the role. I thought about this same thing as in if I no do am they go say I no wan play under Ramsey. We spoke on that set for over 40 minutes and it didn’t seem that we had any problem.. I think he is a cool dude, so there is no way that I would ever say that I’m better than even the worst actor.So what happened to Desmond?Concerning this story, I called him after I received your call. I said Desmond, what’s up? He said, fine. I told him how they alleged that I said I won’t play under him and he said no, that is a lie. And I told him that a Journalist was going to call him to clarify the issue, and he said, okay, make dem call. That was it. Honestly, until I read the story, I didn’t remember the incident but I do remember that I have done two movies with him.I don’t remember having such issue with him because for me, it wasn’t an issue. I was given a role like Ikechukwu rightly said and Desmond was also given the same role. Until I got on set I didn’t realize we were given the same role. I don’t know if he got the role then or earlier but I was given the role earlier. I told them that I was already prepared for that role, how are you going to go about it? If I can’t play this role, then you just carry your thing because I don’t want to strain myself and read something new.Let’s just forget it. So, whether they decided to compromise or whether it was a lie, I won’t freaky know; but until I read it, I didn’t remember that particular incident. The story made me look like I intentionally didn’t remember but Ikechukwu remembered. That is the way it was interpreted. The way Ikechukwu’s line was written, If Van no remember, person remember. That was the way it came out. If only you told me about the incident, I would have confirmed it, that yes, I remember something like that but this is what happened but like I said, I didn’t see it as an issue anyway.So, Van is not arrogant?At all, that is impossible. I think I am a very jovial person and as much as I am jovial, I am also quite blunt. I know it is bad sometimes to be blunt but it is also good in a way, so that you don’t look like you are deceiving somebody or being an hypocrite. It has got its negative side and sometimes, it has helped me as an individual to be blunt. So, I have been able to control how blunt I can be, but I don’t think I am arrogant. I don’t think I blow my trumpet, that to me is ridiculous.How have you been maintaining a silent family?It is amazing how strong my wife is because I know many African women might not be able to hold this down. Divorce is everywhere even in Hollywood but the African marriage is way different. I am so proud of her …every time I go home she’s there. I am sure she’s had sad moments and terrible days and nights especially when her friends call her and say, have you seen this movie? Did you this girl kissing Van? Not did you see them kissing?. I know she’s had terrible times over rumors in the papers...Van is doing this to a person, actresses wanting Van in their beds and all sorts of crap. I appreciate her so much. God knew what my destiny was so He gave me the right person to marry. Having said that, juggling family life and my traveling is crazy. On her birthday I wasn’t there. I called her up at midnight because I told her that if anybody calls you before I do, please don’t answer it. I wanted to be the first to say happy birthday. I called her around 10:00 PM . Last year, I wasn’t there, this year I am not there.I know she’s making a lot of sacrifices. So am I, but we must make sacrifices to get what we want in life sometimes and I know it will pay off. My kids, they miss dad, every time I call home, they ask “when are you coming home”, “I want you to come home now”. Those are some of their lines and it breaks my heart. But, I think I am doing it for their future and they will understand.How long have you been married?I have been married for six years. This year, precisely October 17th will be my seventh year of marriage but I have been dating my wife for sixteen years. We have been together since 1994.Do you get scared when you read about and see celebrities breaking-up?I don’t think it bothers me because for me, my wife is not just a wife. I think she’s more of a friend to me than a wife. So, I am not frightened by what I read in the papers . I am not bothered about all these break-ups and make-ups. I am comfortable knowing that everything is going to be well and I know she believes that I am her husband and I am going to be there for life in good times and bad times.So, you are doing all these things to make your marriage work?Yes. I do all I can, and that is why I seem not to be very social because I spend every little time I have with my family. I either go out with my family or go out with my wife and spend quality time with them because I am not always there. People call me and say, Van, I don’t see you at occasions, what’s up? The longest time I spent with my family the whole of last year was 14 days... I mean at a stretch. Before that, 2 days, a day, 3 days, hours.What’s her occupation?She is a Human Resource Manager at Camelot Ghana Limited where they print checks.How many actresses have you dated?None.What happened?Nothing happened. We might be good friends but that does not give room for any intimacy.What happened with you and Nadia?We never dated. As at 1999, we were close, now we are not so close and that is the truth. We were close because we started acting together way back in Ghana and we were paired up a lot of times. I think for the first five movies I did, she was there and so, we became close. I didn’t get close to Jackie like that because Jackie was always on the other side of the film.You know it was usually Nadia and I that were having the love thing going, but until she got involved with ACN, she started traveling a lot and doing other stuff. So that bond was lost because she is on a different level now. At a point in time, she wanted to stop acting, whether it’s true I don’t know.But for me, she just disappeared at a point in time. I didn’t know what was happening and now, we have never been able to get back so close because everybody is getting busier and busier.So, you never dated Nadia?No, we never dated. Several websites said that we went for the Fifth Continent Awards in US and that I was acting as a body guard to Nadia that I wasn’t wearing my ring or hiding my ring. Why would I be hiding my wedding ring when the whole world knows I’m married? Some people even said, Tonto and I were caught in bed. Actually they cut the picture off a movie and pasted it and they said we were dating. People just like to be mischievous and I don’t know why.Does this things get at your wife?If I were her, it will get to me.So, it doesn’t get to her?It does…. it definitely does but if it were me, I would have done worse than she does. She’s human, she’s feminine and that is why I said if I were in her shoes, I would have done worse.What does she do when she sees stuffs like that?I am not going into details of what she does but I am saying that she’s human and she flips sometimes.But does she believe you every time you say it’s not true?Well, my wife trusts me. It is not about believing, it is about how true people want to make it seem that becomes a question.Are you saying that Van is a faithful husband?Yes. I am a faithful husband.How did it all start?It started way back in 1997 when I went for an audition for the post of a presenter in a newly opened T.V. station, TV3 Network, still TV3 Network till date. She saw the advert in the newspaper and told me about it. I did the first audition, the second, the third and I was hired. That was the genesis. I did presentation and production work. Then I resigned and moved on to a radio station, Groove FM. . I was hired to do the drive time program.. That TV station was changed to a local station and because I don’t speak the local language, I had to move on. Then I went to another TV station, Metropolitan Television, MTV for short where I started producing and presenting programs. As a staff, I did uncountable programs, from live to recorded, what have you.I presented and produced a lot. That was where I rose to be the assistant head of entertainment. And while I was there, I went to another radio station, Vibe 91.9 Fm, and then I was presenting a night program, so I was doing the radio work and the TV as well. Then I had it on television series. I was a star in it. I started over in Sun City and then it moved on and that was when I thought about doing a movie. The first one I did was Divine Love; I did that with Majid and Jackie around 2004. I actually stopped radio before I started the film because the series was not giving me time. I later resigned from TV and started running my own advertising agency I named Sky Orange. I did it for a while. Then, the movie thing started getting bigger and bigger and I had to let my partner run Sky Orange while I did other stuff.How has your academic adventure been so far?One of the biggest regrets I have in life is the fact that I never went to the university. I am not going to go into details why I didn’t go but I didn’t go and it is something that if I could turn back the hand of time, I would do anytime. I attended one of the best boarding schools in Ghana, Mfantisipim School but having said that, despite the fact that I didn’t go to the university, I did several courses… I did one in marketing, I did another in accounting but I didn’t really like it, then I did stuff in production. So, I’m looking at upgrading myself. I went to the New York Film Academy because I wanted to upgrade myself.The things you learn in school many times is not the same thing you learn on the job. So, I thought that I have been practicing acting; I needed to learn the book side of it and truly, it has being really helpful. It has opened my eyes to see the things I have been overlooking or things I didn’t even know, or that I have gotten to know how to apply . It has been really helpful. I also intend to do courses in directing, producing and script writing probably this year or next year but I am happy to know that a few of my colleagues are also going to NYFA.Are you fulfilled?I don’t think I’ll be fulfilled till I go six fit deep because for me, there is so much to achieve in life.What are the things you still want to achieve?I still want to do movies. I don’t think I have gotten the kind of movies I want to do yet and even starring. I don’t think I have done a film that will wow me, it hasn’t hit me like that yet and until it does, I don’t think I have achieved anything yet.Some people say you are Liberian, others say you are Ghanaian, where are you from?I am a hybrid of three backgrounds. My dad is Dutch; my mom is part Ghanaian, part Liberian. So, that makes me quarter Ghanaian, quarter Liberian and half Dutch. I was telling my wife what if you weren’t a Ghanaian? Let’s say you are from Nigeria , our kids will be a fraction of one country and one fourth of another country. It is funny. For me, I see myself as a global citizen. Whenever I find myself in Liberia , I tell them I am from Liberia . When I am in Ghana and they ask me where I come from, I will tell them I am from Ghana and when I am in Holland , Amsterdam or wherever, I tell them I am a Dutch man because that is the truth. I can’t run away from it. I have their blood running through me. I might not have spent much time in these places but at the same time, there might be lapses here and there but I do have that blood and I am proud of that .So, how did you get to Ghana ?My dad met my mom in Liberia . He used to work with an electric corporation then. He passed away when I was six. Before then, we came to Ghana a few times but we actually moved here just before the war, because the war hadn’t really broken out like that but we knew it was going to be bad, so we just moved out and we had to basically start from scratch.How .....?We came to Ghana in 1991 and because of the war, it has never been ideal to go back even though some people have gone back. But for me, Ghana is home, Liberia is home, Holland is home. My mom is retired.How close are you to your dad’s family?Whenever I talk about my dad, tears flow from my eyes. I always say, the fact that I didn’t grow with my father made me very strong. It got me determined because I knew there wasn’t a father there to point you out. Mothers will point you out but because she is a single mother, she’s got a lot of responsibility in her hands and she might neglect certain areas . So, it made me very strong.I am not close to my father’s side because you can imagine it, in the 70’s the black and white thing wasn’t really a good topic especially from the Dutch. So, we did not have that raport . He was actually like an outcast because he got married to my mom. I don’t have a link with them because he became an outcast and we didn’t have that relationship as a family. Black and white wasn’t a favorable topic in the 70’s, so it just didn’t work.So, what was his name?Vicker.How come you bear Van Vicker?Van means the son of (Mr. Vicker). So, I can continue to call my boys Van Vicker, so it is the son of that Vicker.What is your full name?Joseph Fhiphi Van Vicker. Fhiphi means, born on Friday; it is a Ghanaian name.After three children, should we expect more?I am done having children. Two girls and a boy are wonderful. I thank God because it is a blessing.What do you expect in 2010?I expect to boost my Foundation some more because I think I have gotten to a stage where a lot of youths look up to me as a model and I will love to encourage them in the best way that I can. I am going to boost my Foundation some more and I am going to reach out to more youths and helping them attain what is possible. I started off by donating to New Life International Orphanage .That for me was to kick start the whole thing and I am in collaboration with Nations Children in the US and a few other companies to be able to have a lot of them donate to my Foundation and in turn donating it to the orphanages in Ghana and possibly Liberia and Nigeria as well. So, my Foundation is paramount to me in 2010. It is unfortunate what has happened to Haiti . It could have happened to any other country. So, it is important that we all show our sympathy.I could have been in Haiti in the middle of January because I did make a pronouncement last year during my premier of Raj The Dancer in the US that I was going to shoot a movie in Haiti with a Jamaican star, a Caribbean star and an Asian star plus Africans and it could have been January 2010. I thank God for my life because I could have been in Haiti at about the time of the earthquake. I thank God but my sympathy goes out to all those who have lost their loved ones, families and relations and I am doing the best I can to help raise funds for Asians because I know I have a lot of Asian fans. My Foundation will raise funds and I also know that Nollywood is trying to raise funds and I am going to be part of that.I also want to be part of the benefit cause in Miami to help raise funds for Asians. Still speaking of 2010, I will produce more movies this year than last year because I also want to also push my directing and production career. It doesn’t mean I will not direct any other person’s movie. I will if I am approached. In 2010. I want to see Van in box office movies, be it mine or any other person’s and I still have a passion for shows and for showbiz. I love it and I will continue to do the best I can.... Are you doing condom indeed?No, I am notIt is something I am also planning to do in 2010. I will be coming out with my own merchandise which is a 2010 calendar. This is my first merchandise , my brand. I intend to come out with a perfume line, as well as clothing… who knows what else it could be? But the calendar is coming up in February and I am sorry for the delay but it’s got to do with the print delay in the US. My calendar will be sold all over the world. The US , Canada , Europe and Africa . So, that is the first of my merchandise but there is more to come. I want the Van Vicker brand to attain the highest height ever.

Mother of five dies in hotel after sex romp

Posted by Jane Okinedo on February 1, 2010 at 7:48pm

A 52-year-old housewife simply identified as Folorunsho was on Friday found dead in a guest house where she lodged with a male companion.advertisement hereFolorunsho, a mother of five, was said to have arrived Ayoola Guest House on Old Ota Road, Isale Odo, Agege, Lagos with the suspected lover at about 10pm.The man, whose identity is still unknown, was said to have sneaked out of the guest house apparently when he discovered that the woman had died.The corpse of the woman, who was said to be a mother of three sets of twins, was later discovered in one of the hotel rooms by attendants who were on routine check.At the time of the discovery, the deceased was said to be almost stark naked.The hotel management later reported the case at Elere Police Station from where detectives were drafted to the scene.The Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Sunday.Mba, a superintendent of police, said that the woman died "in very controversial circumstances."He said it was suspected that the deceased and the male companion had lodged in the guest house for "some amorous games."The police spokesman said that the corpse had been deposited at Isolo General Hospital for autopsy.He added that the police had already launched a manhunt for the fleeing man.Our correspondent learnt that some hotel attendants who saw the man when he came in hand-in-hand with the deceased were said to have described him to policemen and were helping in the investigation.

Of Wolves Shepherds and Men, Fashola & Mega Corruption: The true face of Lagos

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on January 29, 2010 at 8:18pm

Some revelations will SHOCK you but this publication is genuine and has been circulating on the Pages of Media Websites . READ ON !

We are tax payers residents in Lagos who are desperately desirous of accountability since taxes have recently become major revenue of Lagos State government. In the developed societies where a similar revenue regime operates, associations such as ours have acted as Government Watchdogs, which is why some of us have decided to take up the gauntlet of championing the cause of taxpayers in the state. After all if we don’t pay our taxes, government can charge and eventually jail us. In the last ten years, tax revenue has come to constitute about 75 per cent of government revenue base, yet, the government never bothers to render account to tax payers in Lagos . In the last three years alone, a colossal sum of 1.1 trillion naira was budgeted by Fashola’s government with the government itself affirming that it has consistently recorded a minimum of 75 per cent of budget performance out of which 80 per cent came from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). This is 30 per cent more than the entire budgets recorded by successive governments between 1992-2007-a period spanning 15 years. Today, the total tax revenue of Lagos on a monthly basis hovers between N14 and N17 billion naira while federal allocations come to N6 billion Naira monthly. This is more than the revenue of seven states put together on a monthly basis. But how has the governor been spending the money? While we note the heavy investments in roads and environmental infrastructure mainly and commendably so, there is the need to question some of the ways the governor has been expending tax money which in our opinion reflects financial recklessness, mismanagement, gross constitutional violations and abuse of office.

Set below are some of the expenditures which the government claimed to have incurred on behalf of ‘Lagosians’ and which we feel were mere avenues to corruptly enrich some privileged individuals in and out of government and to which the state House of Assembly under the tutelage of ‘governor emeritus’ otherwise known as the Lion of Bourdillon has become an accomplice covering up a lot of misdeeds on the part of the executive. Just last week, it was alleged that each member of the House was given a sum of 20million naira through a lawyer member of the House from the Lagos west senatorial district, the constituency of the governor emeritus himself. When this was about to be leaked to the press, the Lion of Bourdillon used his powerful media contacts through two of his former aids who are media chieftains to suppress the leakage. Were this not to be the case, we would have otherwise sent these complaints to the House of Assembly. But since we no longer trust this pliant House of Assembly, we have decided to go public with the following: 1. Last year, Fashola (BRF) gave N250 million to Rotimi Akeredolu led Exco of NBA for the NBA conference held in Lagos . At a time when Lagos teachers and doctors were on strike for improved welfare package. 2. The BRF government within 6 months, January to June 2009 spent N420 million on hiring of private security – to guard who – despite his heavy investment in the Police Force through the State Security Trust Fund. 3. BRF spent N1.5 billion to demolish the Bank of Industry (BOI) building, paying a company introduced by one Tunji Olowolafe in cash transfer only for him and his cronies to claim the land adjacent to it. 4. BRF government awarded part of Western Avenue ( Funsho Williams Road ), about 2 kilometres road for N7.7 billion just between Abalti Barracks and Costain. And without the construction of any bridges, the project was carried out by Julius Berger. This project must certainly be investigated. 5. Between January and June 2009, the BRF government claimed to have fuelled 225 vehicles in his office alone with N135 million. These figures amount to about N800, 000 per day, at a time that petrol was sold for N65 per litre and government always get it cheaper, but BRF claimed to have bought it at N85 per litre. 6. Also between January and June 2009, BRF’s Chief of Staff and PAs expended N290 million in sending TEXT Messages and phone CALLS on their lines. 7. It is also very sickening to know that the BRF government awarded the construction of a road and drains inside Gbagada General Hospital for over N1.8 billion to the same Tunji Olowolafe’s company (DEUX Projects Limited). 8. The sum of 1.5 billion naira of un-appropriated funds, without approval was claimed to have been spent on demolition of Oshodi. 9. The Helicopter Deal – was a big fraud. The helicopter was not built for any kind of emergency evacuation, rescue or to even combat urban fire. Over N5 billion has been spent on the two helicopters. And, the seal of Lagos State is not on it, and it is not even in Lagos but in the Niger Delta making money for some private people in government. The whole helicopter deal stinks to high heavens; it constitutes the biggest governmental fraud of all times and confirms the rot in the State. See ThisDay December 19, 2009 10. The SSA (Media) to BRF spent N183 million in 6 months on press coverage and on editors outside the approved budget but funded directly from the Governor’s Office. 11. In a State where children are sitting on the floor in classrooms, where unemployment is rampant and poverty pervasive. BRF paid a lady wife of a controversial pastor over N600 million in 2 years for Xmas Decorations for about six streets in Lagos. 12. In Six months between January and June 2009, BRF spent on several faceless organisations, subventions, grants and donations and they quickly pocketed N2 billion. THE RIPPING OFF OF LAGOS – ESSENTIAL DETAILS

1. The BRF government recklessly increased and paid over 60% increase on the LASU – IBA road awarded by the Bola Tinubu government for N6.2 billion but was jerked up to N10 billion less than 2 weeks that BRF came on board. 2. Also, the Tinubu administration awarded the construction of City Hall for N2.3 billion. BRF only changed the floor tiles to marble tiles and increased the contract sum to N5.2 billion. This project was increased by 126%. 3. Publishing of INDICATOR Magazine, is falsely presented to the public as a private magazine but is actually co-ordinated by Tunji Olowolafe and Hakeem Bello, SSA (Media) to BRF with government money. 4. BRF recently gave a media-related Permanent Secretary, and some others the sum of N100 million to do a soap opera on himself. They are presently in London recording the film. 5. The BRF government has failed woefully in the area of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in three years. Yet, BRF is paying the PPP boss in Lagos State N2 million per month in violation of the Constitution, when even commissioners recognised by the Constitution are receiving N300,000 per month. The PPP guy is the highest paid government official presiding over a non-performing and failed parastatal. 6. The Beautification Programme of Fashola administration is reeking with corruption. In a State where there is no water, where over 90 per cent of the road in Lagos is in a deplorable state of disrepair, he is spending over N13 billion on planting grass and flowers. Most of the money was spent to import Palm trees from Niger Republic , a sahel region when Lagos is in the rain forest which explains why most of them have dried up... 7. Also, it is important to note that the renovation of classrooms of usually 12 blocks plus one which was done for N26 million by the Tinubu administration up till 2007 was increased to N53 million with the collaboration of the housing commissioner who is supervising projects in the education ministry. 8. CCTV project was awarded to BRF’s relation who claimed to be acting for CISCO. The contract was awarded for $62 million dollars, while the rejected quote for the contract was $30 million. It is important to note that this is only a pilot scheme. 9. BRF’s wife travels abroad once bi-monthly and takes N30 million per trip from the State coffers, apart from her monthly running cost. 10 The mother of all rip off is the award to DEUX PROJECT LIMITED, a company owned by the powerful Tunji Olowolafe 11 out of 19 contracts in the Lagos State Ministry of health between January and August 2009. Out of N5.6 billion naira contract in the Ministry of Health, Olowolafe alone collected N5.1 billion worth and was paid 70% upfront in cash. OTHER QUESTIONS 1. Why did BRF divert N1.85 billion in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to a project that was not originally provided for in the budget and promptly awarded to Olowolafe? 2. Why is Lawyer BRF’s administration illegally deducting funds from the statutory allocation of the Local Governments in Lagos State ? 3. Why was the Mayegun Scheme which was sold to Olowolafe and other friends and cronies against public interest without any independent valuation by relevant agency of government? Why is the size of the scheme shielded in secrecy? Why was N5.2 billion for which the land sold untraceable? Where is the over N2 billion loan borrowed to sand-fill the place? What is the fate of the Tourism and Art-craft sellers chased away from the place? 4. Pinnacle – why did the governor and his cronies engage in questionable transfer of 400 hectares of land to Pinnacle, South Africa, when it is known that the company is almost bankrupt and the ABSA Bank now owns over 60% of the Company. What nature of PPP is this? The world is watching! 5. Why was the illegal sand-filling of about 1 km in the Badagry – Marina awarded for N1.5 billion out of which N700 million has been paid and yet the contractors and the Tourism Ministry have completely destroyed all the historical relics and artefacts in the area? It has also created an environmental disaster for West Africa because of greed. And it appears the Commissioner has been settled. FASHOLA AND CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS 1. Flagrant and deliberate disregard for the Appropriation law passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly, in violation of Section 120 of the 1999 Constitution. 2. Criminal diversion of funds without due approval of the Lagos State House of Assembly, in further violation of Section 120 (3) of the 1999 Constitution. 3. Indiscriminate award of contracts without due process, without following the laid down financial regulation as well as the public procurement guidelines. The payment of such contracts is in violation of Part (E) Section 120(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 4. Most Ministries, Departments, Parastatals sometimes do not know when contracts are awarded in their names and for what purpose, they only find out later. And they don’t know when payments to contractors are made by the State Treasury Office. This is in further violation of Section 121(2) of the 1999 Constitution. 5. Illegal and unwarranted deductions from the statutory Allocation of the local governments. This is in direct contravention of Public Revenue Provision of the 1999 Constitution and in violation of Section 162 sub-section 6, 7 and 8. 6. Opening of illegal and unconstitutional Dedicated Accounts which is contrary to the provision of the 1999 Constitution and which Revenue Monitoring Agency is unaware of. This act is in direct violation of Section 120(1) of the 1999 Constitution. 7. Office of the Chief of Staff which is unknown to the Constitution has more staff than any other Ministry in Lagos State . This violation is very grave as it is in direct breach of the Governor’s Oath of Office in the 7th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution Section 13 and a gross violation of Sections 192, 193 and 208(2d) of the 1999 Constitution. 8. Indiscriminate borrowing by the Ministry of Finance without legislative approval, which the Finance Commissioner calls Bridging Loans, is a grave assault on Fiscal Federalism, a coup against Financial Regulations and a shameful and criminal violation of Section 120(1), (2), (3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution. 9. Concentration of over 70% of Lagos State Government contracts in the hands of one Tunji Olowolafe. This is the clearest indication of the betrayal of trust by Governor Fashola, it is against the Oath of Office he swore to, it is a violation of Sections 14(4), 15(5) and 17(2a) of the 1999 Constitution on which social objective of a just, free and equitable social order is founded. 10. Arbitrary use of Special Expenditure Vote for activities not originally provided for under the Appropriation Law. This is a further betrayal of Fiscal Federalism and a violation of provisions of Section 120(3) and (4), and Section 123(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution. 11. Payment of 70% up-front to persons and cronies for contracts not yet executed. Similarly, this is a contravention of Section 120(4) of the 1999 Constitution. 12. Giving arbitrary donations to selective professional associations and faceless organisations for acting as sycophants without appropriate authorisation by relevant constitutional bodies. This is a clear violation of sections 120(4) and 123 of the 1999 Constitution 13. The fraudulent purported acquisition of 2 Bell 412 EP Series Helicopters from a Canadian firm constitute a flagrant violation of Section 123(1) and (2) and Section 120(4) of the 1999 Constitution. 14. Furthermore, the award of contract of courts and other Judicial Infrastructure as well as procurement for the Judiciary in Lagos State by the Attorney-General, Tunji Olowolafe and Governor Fashola is in gross violation of Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution. In all these aberrations, the Lagos State House of Assembly has kept mute, and the House has become inept, achaic, drab, docile and inefficient. All the noise by Mr. Speaker about accountability and probity be only to enable house members line their pockets and feed fat on the sweat and toil of the people of the State? Is it also true that they have been given their own share of the loot, they are maintaining undignified silence over the report of the ad hoc Committee set up to look into the books and activities of the Lagos State Government pursuant to Section 103 of the 1999 Constitution with powers expressly provided in sections 1a, b(i) and (ii), as well as Section 129 1 a b c and d. We are aware that the report has been submitted since November 2009, so why is the Lagos State House of Assembly still sitting on the report? This is just a tip of the ice berg of financial recklessness by the Lagos executive led the seemingly performing governor Fashola! More soon .

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.