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At a church service on Sunday at the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos, father of 10-month-old Enioluwa Odegbaike recounted how the family got him back from the kidnappers.

According to him, they had done everything asked by the kidnappers, yet the kidnappers refused to return the boy. He said that the kidnappers had contacted him severally on the phone promising to release the baby but would again call to postpone until he received a text message on February 26, around 6pm ordering him to get to Benin Republic before 7pm. On arriving at the designated point in Benin Republic, Mr Odegbaike said the kidnappers told him he got there too late and was subsequently diverted to another location. He was told to get to the new location via a commercial motorcycle by 2am in the morning.

He said that a woman also arrived at the same location on a motorcycle with Eniloluwa strapped behind her. She was guarded by around 10 men, none of who covered their faces. As Enilouwa was being handed over to Mr Odegbaike, one of kidnappers said to him, “I took care of your boy because you were nice to my staff.” Mr Odegbaike did not state categorically if a ransom was paid, but added that he did “everything they were asked to get Enioluwa back.”

History

On February 13, Enioluwa Odegbaike went missing from their Magodo home while in the custody of a nanny they hired two weeks before. The baby was believed to have been abducted by the nanny, whose name was given as Victoria. Meanwhile, police spokesperson, Samuel Jinadu, said information concerning the kidnap would soon be released to the public. “The public should not hesitate to give information to the police about criminals living within their immediate milieu so that the police will be able to work for them very well,” he said.

Oronto Douglas, the special assistant to the president on strategy, expresses optimism that his boss has done enough to win.

Why Jonathan deserves the votes of Nigerians

Because his story is one that most Nigerians can relate to. It is also one that best illustrates the positive attributes of this nation. He never had opportunity of shoes when he was going to school, just like millions of Nigerians. He had no school bag to put his school notes in. He had to trek kilometres to get to school. Yet he never despaired, in his words. He showed fortitude, like millions of ordinary Nigerians. There are problems besetting Nigerians, but they continue to strive to better their individual lots. So a man of that pedigree, who did not allow the circumstance of his youth to stop him from achieving his goals in life, represents the best aspiration of Nigerians. Of course, he also enjoys the support of God, without which most of his achievements would not have been possible..

There has been a visible hand of God in Jonathan’s life. I think 99.9 percent of Nigerians can identify with that. He is a president that every household can look up to and be filled with hope, that their child who is today selling akara or carrot can tomorrow be president of the country. Mr. Jonathan has also promised to make sure that the infrastructure that will make that possible is put in place in the next four years that he will be in power. His emergence has rewritten the story of who can lead Nigeria. He has shown that Nigeria is a nation for all, rather than for a section or a clique. I also think if you give Nigeria to people who will sell the destiny of the country, then we will be in bigger trouble. The president has consistently said all he has is in Nigeria. He schooled in Nigeria and his children are being schooled in Nigeria. This is not to disparage those who schooled abroad, but it is where your heart is that you will defend at all cost. So in terms of commitment, I can confidently say there are few Nigerians as devoted to this country as President Jonathan. I respect all the other presidential [candidates], but we are saying at this time in our history, this man that has been in office for the past nine months and has laid out plans to rescue the nation is best placed to execute the plan and that man is President Jonathan.

Friction within the PDP following the primaries

The PDP is seen by many as a party whose ticket is halfway to getting to office. But people should know that this is a new PDP, where the most popular and competent candidates are picked to run elections. However, in places where there are constitutional issues, the strategy that President Jonathan and the PDP are adopting is dialogue. I can tell you that with respect to Ogun State, there was a time the president did not sleep for two days. He held meetings with the Jubril Martins Kuye and Gbenga Daniel groups and, at a point, brought all of them together at the Villa. The president is a man of peace and always tells people, “I have no enemies to fight. I want all of us to work together.” You remember that after presidential primaries, which he won, he still went out of his way to drive to Adamu Ciroma’s house to have a discussion with a view to keeping the party together. His view was that a statesman of Ciroma’s stature cannot be ignored. He also wants to be president of all, not president of a section or region.

Criticism of president’s ‘rascal’ comment

In the statement, the president praised southwesterners for their sophistication and high level of education. If a statement regarding that is being taken out of context and used for political purpose, it is unfortunate. The President, as a true statesman would came out to say, ‘I take responsibility for this statement, I offer my sincere regrets in this regard, that what I meant is to celebrate the excellence, greatness and leadership of South-West people. It is unfortunate that one or two individuals are appropriating it and pushing it to mean insulting the most educated and sophisticated people. The president will never insult his elders and leaders. If you knew the president well, he always answers ‘sir’ to anyone who is older than him. He will never insult the elders, leaders and people of the South-West. Take note that the president is educated, he did his NYSC in the South-West, has friends from the South-West and is one person who never forgets. Some of those he did youth service with from the South-West are now working with him.

The scanty crowd at the presidential Kaduna rally

My observation is that the crowd in Kaduna had been sitting there from 7am. As at the time the President and the dignitaries arrived, people were very tired. Take note, they were zonal rallies and most of the people had to return to their homes. People came from Sokoto, Kebbi and Kano and I believe that in a place like that, it is like what happened in Port Harcourt, when the occasion ended, people wanted to go back to their buses and travel. So, if the day is getting dark, you will want to get back home. The zonal rally was organised by the zonal coordinator who is from Kastina. The president won 53 percent of the votes of the North-West delegates at the PDP rally. He may have lost in some states, but he won with 53 percent over all, meaning that he had overwhelming support of the people. Democracy is about majority. At the election proper, what the president needs is 25 percent and he got more than that in majority of these states. Ordinary people in the North-West love Jonathan. Why would they not love him? He relates with them.

Challenges of the northwest for PDP

Every other candidate has work to do in every zone. Buhari has work to do in the South-West. He has work to do in the South-East, South-West and in the North-Central, North-East and North-West. Is it everybody in the North-West that loves Buhari? Nuhu Ribadu has work to do in every single zone. So, the challenges are challenges that are not restricted to one person. Let me just say that we have a lot of people who will like to identify with the president, his history and all that.

Alleged poor performance of the PDP in the last 12 years

The president came to transform Nigeria. We believe the place to start is transforming the PDP and the president has started that work. The PDP as a party has been in office for close to 12 years. There are perceptions about the PDP that may not be salutary to Nigerians. However, the determination of President Jonathan is to transform all aspects of our lives. The opposition has been very careful not to attack President Jonathan as a person. So they have been attacking the PDP. Well, if I was working for the opposition, I would probably adopt that strategy because Jonathan is popular with the Nigerian people. So he is fully aware that the PDP will be attacked and at some point the opposition will also attack him. Look at the statement he made in Ibadan, for example, that was blown out of proportion. I am a beneficiary of Obafemi Awolowo’s free education. If I am advising the president, would I tell him to do anything against the South-West? The president did his NYSC in the Southwest and has a lot of friends in the zone. Would he now do anything against the people?

The alleged mismanagement of the economy by the federal government

The President has been in the office for nine months. He promised what we call the three Es. He looked at Electoral reform, Electricity and Energy security. He believed there cannot be good government if you do not have constitutional and robust process for selecting the leaders who will govern the country. In practical terms of electoral reforms, he decided, ‘let us practicalise what we are preaching.’ When the first bye-election came up in the Edo Central, he said it was one of the first test of free and fair elections. He told INEC and security agencies that what he wanted was one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote. The president insisted on free and fair election and the ACN won. Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole flew from Benin to Abuja to congratulate and thank the president for standing on the rule of law and insisting on free and fair election. That is the benchmark for this election.

On energy security, it is important that we note that before now, people stay on the queue for hours, while some people sleep overnight in filling stations. People were sleeping three days, three nights in filling stations. Now, that is a thing of the past. Secondly, the same amount you pay for a litre of fuel you buy in Lagos is what you are going to pay if you buy in Maidugiri. There has also been improvement in power generation and this will continue to be improved upon over time.

what if my girl was called aharit instead of arit



My girl has always been my closest friend but not one day has she ever told me her

real name . She said her name is arit and many times i go Aight ? and she says Right

. Not one day has she dared to put it all together and say AHARIT !

I wondered why she would never tell me her real name . I wondered not for long as I

asked her to marry me . to which she immediately agreed . She had been waiting for

this for ages .


Now we are about to get married it is just a few days or even weeks away .



And I asked her for the last time What is your name Arit

And she said AHARIT and I looked at her and understood . AHA RIGHT !


He sold his birthright for a meal of porridge He ignored the 'Aharit' . That which

comes After . Show me Temptations and I will ask for the AHARIT .

Now we shall soon be together for ever even after the AHARIT !

Happy Valentine

Ephesians 4:2

The Pope says children should be given truly Christian names. But why have some saints and biblical figures inspired baby names, but not others?

Our playgrounds are blessed with a multitude of Daniels, Sarahs and Adams, but not quite so many Amminadabs, Zipporahs or Habakkuks.

The names of saints Andrew, Catherine and Frances might echo down the ages, but the phone book is not exactly bursting with Abbos, Etheidwithas and Leocritas.

But could these holy, if inexplicably unfashionable, titles be due a comeback?

In a speech, Pope Benedict XVI urged parents to name their offspring in the Christian tradition, and bequeath "an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit will allow the person to blossom in the bosom of the Church".

In doing so, the pontiff has reiterated the Catholic Church's canon law, which cautions against baptising children in a manner "foreign to Christian sensibility".

He has also surely tapped into a growing public backlash against celebrities burdening their progeny with such profane appellations as Brooklyn, Peaches and Princess Tiaamii.

Should the British public choose to follow his Holiness's advice, there are plenty of names of saints and from the Bible's Old and New Testaments from which to choose - but, for whatever reason, some have proved more enduring than others...

Here are 10 rarely-adopted names from this Judeo-Christian tradition.

1. The name of Jezebel, the Queen of Israel, later became shorthand for a fallen woman. "This is a case of a name attracting a degree of notoriety," says social psychologist Dr Martin Skinner of Warwick University. "No-one is going to give their child a name that has taken on negative associations - in this case, with a certain type of woman. To most people, this is better known than the fact that Jezebel was, in the Old Testament, like Eve, Ruth or Naomi."

King Nebuchadnezzar II

2. Nebuchadnezzar was king of the Babylonian empire. His exploits, which are recounted in the books of Daniel and Jeremiah, were praised by Saddam Hussein, to whom he was a hero. Mr Skinner believes in this case there is also the phonetic difficulty that puts people off. "It sounds very harsh with all those zeds. It's not very easy to pronounce, either."

3. Dorcas was a faithful female disciple "full of good deeds" whose death prompted much weeping, according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament. She is also known as Tabitha, a name that is much more commonly heard.

4. Saint Philemon was the recipient of an epistle from Saint Paul in the New Testament. But whereas the name Solomon, from the wise king, is often heard, Philemon rarely is.

5. Gomer was the wife of the prophet Hosea. "To Anglo Saxon ears, there's a sort of masculinity about the sound of Gomer," says Mr Skinner. "Feminine names tend to be lighter - Nicola, Pamela and so on. Men's names tend to be sharper, like John, Jack or Sid."

6. The oldest person named in the Bible, Methuselah, is said to have lived until he was 969. "If we know one thing about him, it's that he was ancient - we use the phrase 'as old as Methulselah' and so on. When you have a baby boy, you aren't going to picture him as a Methuselah. It also sounds quite Dickensian to modern ears, as do a lot of Old Testament names which were popular in the Victorian period like Ebenezer and Ezekiel."

7. Achsah was the daughter of Caleb, who offered her in marriage to Othniel in the Old Testament.

8. According to a story dating back to the 14th Century, Saint Wilgefortis took a vow of virginity when she was promised in marriage by her father. Following her prayers for help, she grew a beard and moustache.

9. Zipporah, wife of Moses and daughter of Jethro, was mentioned in the Book of Exodus.

10. Radbod, or Radboud, was Bishop of Utrecht around 900 AD. "This is another Anglo Saxon-sounding name that you might expect to catch on," says Mr Skinner. "Maybe it just sounded too familiar. When you have a diversity of names, people sometimes pick sounds and concept they've never picked before. These days, this process has become a celebrity phenomenon."

what is in a name ? King of Kings, Lord of Lords,Counsellor,El Giboah (The Mighty One) Wonderful One !  

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

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

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

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

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

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

THIS seems to be the month of spies. Almost daily, the air waves are taken over by their stories. A couple has just been convicted in America for being Cuban spies; a Russian spy ring smashed; it is like the spy diet is inexhaustible.

Like a kid attracted to toys, I find the world of spies quite fascinating. Except that it can be quite deadly, leading to horrendous loss of lives, spying is basically a game; almost like the hide -and -seek children play.

There is the case of the Iranian ‘nuclear’ scientist, Sharam Amiri who went on pilgrimage to Mecca and disappeared. The Iranians accused the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the kidnap.

Now 14 months later, Amiri resurfaces making claims that the CIA with Saudi Arabian connivance had kidnapped and tortured him before his release in the US.

He received a hero’s welcome in Tehran. On the other hand, the Americans claim that Amiri had willingly sought political asylum, had a nice stay in America before changing his mind and asking that he be allowed to return home.

Who is lying? That is almost impossible to say; the Americans are notorious for kidnapping innocent people across the world and dumping them elsewhere.

They call it extra- ordinary rendition. But why go to such lengths with a “regular” Iranian scientist who does not appear to be involved in his country’s nuclear programme? Perhaps it over-valued Amiri.

The American story of Amiri seeking asylum is not implausible. Back in 1985, Vitaly Yurchenko, a brilliant Soviet spy defected to America. He exposed some Soviet spies like Ronald W Pelton and Edward Lee Howard, a CIA official who had given the Soviets a list of American spies in Moscow..

The spies had been rounded up and mainly executed. When the Americans went for Howard, he escaped and resurfaced in Moscow. Inexplicably, Yurchenko three months later decided to return to Moscow.

He grinned as he waved America goodbye. If he genuinely defected and exposed Soviet spies, why would he happily return to Moscow where he would certainly be executed? We may never know; nothing in the spy world is certain.

There are also the ongoing attempts at the United Nations to sanction North Korea for sinking a South Korean warship, the Cheonan in which 40 sailors died.

The former protested its innocence claiming that the crime was committed by the CIA which wants the world to punish it. North Korea is a supremely confident country known for owning up to its actions, so if it denies attacking the ship, it is likely to be so.

On the other hand, the Americans are known to play such dirty tricks. For instance when it needed an excuse to invade Vietnam, the US attacked its own ship, blamed it on the Vietnamese and on that pretext, declared war on Vietnam.

The world has just been treated to an opera by the Russians and the Americans. It began with America rounding up 10 Russian spies and rushing them to court. They included a couple, Mikhail Kutzik who lived under the name, Michael Zotolli, and Natalia Pereverzeva, better known as Patricia Mills.

One of the spies, Juan Lazaro readily admitted his crime while two others, Peruvian-born journalist, Vicky Pelaez and travel agent, Mr Semenko joined the others in court. An 11th suspect, Christopher Metsos who was arrested in Cyprus was granted bail there and promptly disappeared.

The American public brazed itself for a case that had all the trappings of an Hollywood movie. But while the trial was being staged in the courts, American Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Williams Burns was locked in negotiations with the Russian Ambassador in Washington, Sergei Kislyak which were to render the court process a farce.

The next stage was the airport in Vienna where the Americans had brought the 10 Russian spies in exchange for four Russians convicted for being American and British spies.

Igor Sutyagin, a Russian arms control expert was detained in October 1995 and convicted in 2004 for passing classified information to America through a front British company. Sergei Skripal a colonel in the Russian military intelligence was recruited by British intelligence in 1995 and arrested nine years later.

Alexander Zaporozhsky a former deputy chief at the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) began spying for the Americans in 1994 and was jailed in 2003. Gennady Vasilenko’s case has not been made open, nevertheless all four were pardoned by President Dmitry Medvedev and swapped with the Americans.

Except for the hype, this is a routine spy game. One of the most famous spy exchanges involved Francis Gary Powers, pilot of the US U-2 spy plane shot down near Sverdlovsk, central Soviet Union on May 1, 1960.

He was exchanged on February 10, 1962 with Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, director of a Soviet spy ring in United States who had been arrested in 1957.One of the largest exchanges involved 29 American, Soviet and polish spies on June 11, 1985.

Some of the high profile CIA agents in history are King Ibn Talal Hussein of Jordan who was known as Agent Norman. He spied for the CIA for 20 years before his exposure in 1977.

The other was Bashir Gemayel who was elected Lebanese president in 1982 but was killed in a bomb explosion on September 14, 1982, nine days before he was to assume office. I liked CIA agent Philip Agee whose books such as Inside The Company: CIA Diary fired my interest in spies while my favourite spy is the KGB’s Kim Philby who led the famous “Cambridge Spies” which included Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean. Philby, perhaps the most successful spy in history penetrated at the highest levels, British intelligence and the CIA. He was so convincing that after he was fingered, the British government went before parliament to vouch for his innocence!

Whatever the drama being enacted today over spy rings and swaps, the fact is that spying is a profession being practiced every second; even friendly countries spy on themselves.

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday made a stop in Saudi Arabia to thank the King Abdullah led government for the first class medical attention it rendered the late Nigerian President Musa Yar’Adua while he was hospitalized at the Kind Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Islamic nation.

A report in Thisday, a Nigerian newspaper said the President and some members of his entourage including Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) left France on Tuesday morning at the conclusion of the 25th Africa-France Summit in Nice for Nigeria and made a stop in Riyadh before returning to Abuja on Tuesday night.

We could not reach presidential spokesman, Mr. Ima Niboro for further details on the stopover before going to press..

The President is expected to preside over the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday..

"I took [President Obama] to various locations while he was looking for campaign funds. Vera accompanied him to each meeting.

"About 10:30 pm, I drove them to the hotel and they went in together. She didn't ask me to wait or to be taken back to her friend's home - or to her home"

President Barack Obama “is in excellent health” and likely to remain able to carry out his duties for the rest of his term, his doctor said on Sunday after completing Obama’s first routine medical checkup since he assumed office.

But Obama, 48, continues to struggle to stop his 30-year smoking habit and needs to modify his diet, said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, a Navy captain who led the medical team that performed Obama’s physical.

The examination also found that Obama’s cholesterol count has risen to borderline high levels since his last publicly released medical records, though his pulse rate and blood pressure remain normal.

Obama exercises at least six mornings a week and plays basketball and golf. But the president has chronic tendinitis in his left knee area, occasionally takes a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for that condition and needs a modified exercise regimen, including a lower leg muscle strengthening program, Kuhlman’s report said.

Obama’s cholesterol increase comes at a time when his wife, Michelle, has started a program to fight childhood obesity.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said the increase was attributed to the president’s diet. While Obama often eats healthful meals prepared by the family’s chef, Sam Kass, he also takes advantage of around-the-clock food available to him during long workdays at the White House, Gibbs said.

“I think it’s a few more burgers and a few more desserts over the past year,” he said.

Cholesterol measurements can vary among laboratories.

Presumably, Obama’s cholesterol has been tested at other times. But the findings and the laboratories that performed the tests are not publicly known.

So it is possible that Obama’s cholesterol has fluctuated over recent years and represents such a variation.

Doctors see a rise in cholesterol like Obama’s occasionally, said Dr. Martin L. Kahn, a professor of cardiology at New York University who is not connected with Obama’s case. “Usually that is a lever for the doctor to recommend more aggressive dietary changes and cigarette cessation to warn a patient, ‘Look what you are doing to yourself’,”’ Kahn said in an interview.

“Nutritionists tell us that a very little extra food each day adds up to a measurable amount at the end of a year,” Kahn said.

As for Obama’s smoking, Gibbs said the president had tried to quit, but had “admitted lapses.” It is not known how frequently Obama smokes, or what the figure is for his total “pack years,” a standard measure of a smoker’s risk for diseases like lung cancer.

Gibbs referred reporters to the president’s own words from last June, when he was asked about his smoking addiction while signing a law aimed at keeping children from starting to smoke. The president noted that 90 per cent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.

“I know - I was one of those teenagers,” Obama said. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.” He added: “I would say that I am 95 per cent cured, but there are times where I mess up.” Michelle Obama admonished him to quit smoking when he started his campaign in 2007, saying, “He couldn’t be a smoking president.” Obama chews nicotine gum to cut down on his smoking.

“Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes,” Obama said last June at a White House news conference. “Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Kahn said he might recommend an exercise stress test “as a baseline” for the future but would not do further procedures “unless he had a calamitous stress test.” Obama showed no evidence of heart disease from an electrocardiogram and a test known as an electron beam CT scan that looks for calcified areas in coronary arteries that may be evidence of coronary artery disease.

“The CT heart scan findings are somewhat reassuring” because if it were positive, “it would be a worry,” Kahn said.

Other standard blood tests showed no evidence of diabetes, heart and metabolic disease. They included triglycerides, 46; high density lipoprotein, 62; and low density lipoprotein (so-called bad cholesterol), 138. These can be compared to 44, 68 and 96 in 2007.

The president’s pulse rate of 56 and blood pressure of 105/62 are normal.

Kuhlman, who is physician to the president, chief White House physician and director of the White House medical unit, said that Obama agreed to release the results of his checkup, which took place at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

While there, Obama visited 12 military service members receiving treatment and rehabilitation for injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House declined a request to interview Kuhlman.

Another CT scan known as a virtual colonoscopy or CT-colongraphy showed no evidence of colon cancer. Gibbs said that no sedation was required during the test, so it was not necessary to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would have temporarily transferred power to Vice President Joe Biden. A previously undisclosed medical examination of Obama in July 2008 by a congressional doctor was not conducted for any specific issues, Gibbs said. It came one month before Obama formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.

A standard group of tests, including those for thyroid function, were normal. A PSA test for prostate cancer was normal: 0.70 compared with 0.6 in 2007.

Kuhlman recommended that Obama get his next routine checkup when he turns 50 in 2011.

One oddity of the report: Obama weighed 179.9 pounds with his shoes and workout attire on, which is not the usual way to measure a patient’s weight.