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Naija UK Mother Jailed 8 months for "Deporting" Son to Naija for Bad Behaviour

Posted by 9jabook.com on February 15, 2011 at 8:20pm

12166300266?profile=originalA London woman who sent her teenage son to their native Nigeria because she disapproved of his lifestyle has been jailed for eight months, the BBC reported.

Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, from Newham, flew from the UK to Nigeria last July.

His parents Lydia Erhire and John Idogun were issued with a court order to return the boy, who is believed to be with his father in Lagos.

When they failed to do so, Mrs Erhire was convicted at the Old Bailey of being in contempt of court.

Edirin was born in Nigeria but moved to London with his mother seven years ago.

He had been studying for his GCSEs and had been due to transfer to a college in Hackney to study business and media.

Last year he feared he may be taken to Nigeria and forced to marry against his will, his solicitors said, and a Forced Marriage Protection Order was issued on 8 July.

He attended school for the final time on 12 July and it is thought he flew to the African country about four days later.

The High Court ruled Edirin was a resident of England and was entitled to continue to live there.

Photo:Missing: Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, claims he was beaten and forced to undergo exorcisms because his mother disapproved of his lifestyle

His removal from England was contrary to the protection order and he was at “significant risk” while in Nigeria, it decided.

The Boys Story:

The mother of a teenager who claims he was forced to undergo exorcism to purge him of his disobedience has been jailed.

Lydia Erhire has become the first person in the UK to be jailed under forced marriage laws after Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, was sent to Nigeria on holiday and is still there.

He claims he has been subjected to beatings and religious-style ceremonies in the African country to get rid of his behaviour which his mother did not approve of.

Erhire is a devout Christian who had tried to instil a strong sense of discipline in her child and does not approve of his lifestyle, the court heard.

The 17-year-old is still being held against his will – and it is unclear exactly where he is, the High Court in London was told.

His mother was ordered to have her son brought back to Britain but she obstructed efforts and was jailed for eight months yesterday.

Edirin had flown out to Nigeria, where his father John Idogun is a special adviser to the governor of the Delta State, in July.

The teenager, from Newham, east London, was expected back in August to start a college course in Hackney.

He had been given a protection order under forced marriage laws by a judge last year and provided with emergency accommodation before he disappeared.

Mrs Justice Macur said: 'Edirin told his litigation team he had been forced or subjected to procedures which were meant to exorcise him from his disobedience to the will of his parents and to remove him from what they regarded as unsatisfactory friendships.'

In November, after a hearing before another judge, Mrs Erhire signed a letter instructing her sister to facilitate the return of Edirin from his Nigerian boarding school.

TIMELINE

  • July 8, 2010 - Forced Marriage Protection Order issued as Lydia Erhire fears he is going to be sent to Nigeria for an arranged wedding
  • July 16 - Teenager is sent on holiday to Nigeria
  • August - he fails to return to London where he is due to start college
  • February 14, 2011 - his mother is jailed after being found guilty of contempt of court

But it later emerged that she had immediately sent another letter countermanding the demand.

In February, Edirin attempted to leave Nigeria but was intercepted by immigration officials and taken off his British Airways flight from Lagos.

Mrs Justice Macur ruled Mrs Erhire was not responsible for the February incident but had found she was complicit in November in ‘thwarting’ the court's efforts to have Edirin returned.

Members of the Urhobo tribe appeared before the court and said that his mother was concerned he would become involved in gangs.

The teenager was issued with a Forced Marriage Protection Order last July because he feared he was going to be sent to Nigeria for an arranged wedding.

Jailing the mother for contempt of court, the judge said: ‘I am not satisfied that she is truly remorseful for the imperilment of Edirin's welfare..

‘I am not satisfied that she has shown any indication of a willingness to co-operate on anything but her own terms.

‘The chronology has shown beyond peradventure that this woman only co-operates in the face of a prison sentence and then begrudgingly.’

She ordered that Mrs Erhire should be committed to Holloway Prison immediately for eight months, but said she would have the opportunity to apply to purge her contempt.

The student, who was due to study business and media after finishing his A-levels, came to Britain with his mother in 2004 and had settled in Newham.

 

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Naija Woman gives birth to 6 kids in 18 months Moves to Lagos from Kano

Posted by Akin Osunlaja WebLagosian on January 2, 2011 at 10:54pm

Donations flowed freely from passersby into the coffers of a destitute with six children begging for alms at Ikeja area of Lagos State Southwest Nigeria.

Twin-448x336.jpg

The woman with her six children

The woman, Mrs. Aisha Ibrahim, 30, from Kano State, it was gathered, gave birth to quadruplets in 2008 and a set of twins in June 2010 in her village in Kano and came to Lagos to beg for alms when she and her husband could not cope with the feeding of the children.

The woman was seen on Awolowo Way, Ikeja where a crowd gathered around her and six children (three boys and three girls).

Many passersby pitied her and gave her money freely. They called on the Lagos State Government to come to her aid by providing for the children.

Speaking , Aisha said she left Kano for Lagos when the suffering became unbearable and there was nobody to run to.


She gave the age of the quadruplets as two years old while the twins are six months old.

She described her husband, Ibrahim, as a peasant farmer who cannot cope with the upkeep of the children...

Aisha was accompanied by a woman and her sister, who help to carry some of the children while she begs for alms.

She received money ranging from N10 to N500 and even more from passersby.

Aisha who stays at the Lagos Central Mosque, Lagos Island, appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola to come to her aid by providing her accommodation and job to take care of her children.

She also appealed to Nigerians to assist her take care of her malnourished children who are living on the benevolence of the public.

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IBB "bribes" Journalists

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Revealed! Why Gov. Fashola Resigned twice in last six months

Posted by Akin Osunlaja WebLagosian on December 7, 2009 at 12:12am
“Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold. Turning and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the earth.”The above quotation is from the novel written by literary giant, Prof. Chinua Achebe, Things fall apart. It, perhaps, aptly captures the shenanigan and scheming that has pervaded the seat of power in Lagos State. And the war of attrition that will shake the foundation of Lagos State politics in 2011 has started in earnest. It is going to be a straight fight between the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and his overbearing godfather and predecessor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is spoiling for a war over contract and political patronages. What started as a minor disagreement between the duo over the award of contracts to the companies that Tinubu has substantial interest in or those of his cronies has snowballed into a battle royale. Sources said that while Fashola wanted to follow due process in the award of the contracts, his godfather would not take that “nonsense.” On many occasions, Tinubu reportedly told the governor point blank that he spent billions to install him and that he must recoup the investment. When it became obvious that Fashola was not the “robot” they thought he would be, some of the commissioners who are stooges of Tinubu, started undermining him. It became the norm for them to come to the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) meeting after the governor must have been seated, a trend that runs contrary to the order of protocol. Infuriated by this ugly trend, the governor was said to have locked out the Commissioner for Environment, Muiz Banire, for coming late to one of such meetings without prior notice. When it dawned on Tinubu that his godson had weaned himself from his apron string and may not take nonsense from anybody, sources said, the battle shifted to the state House of Assembly where 35 members were relied upon to checkmate the governor and probably go for his jugular, if need be. But to his traducers’ amazement, Fashola’s seeming performance appeared to have endeared him to all and sundry. Beside the fact that the law provides that anything the lawmakers deem “gross misconduct” could not be faulted, they were afraid of swimming against the tide by moving against the governor whom they considered sufficiently popular to attract public sympathy. Part of the intrigues, it was gathered, led to the fall of Funmi Tejuoso-Smith from her exalted position as the deputy speaker of the House of Assembly and the reprisal attack from her. Tejuoso-Smith engaged her successor, Bola Badmus Olujobi, in a show of shame within the Assembly complex after the presentation of the 2010 budget by Fashola two weeks ago. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the unassuming Speaker of the House, had passed comments that were considered out of place concerning Fashola. Ikuforiji warned Fashola to beware of sycophants. Sources said the remarks by the Speaker, who is seen as the “heir apparent or khalifa,” was to spite the governor. Indeed, his comments drew a loud ovation from Tinubu and his men in the assembly chamber. Ikuforiji, in a bid to deal with Fashola, who has no right of reply after the budget presentation, said, “They will flatter you to no end. They will like to isolate you from your roots. They will want you to believe that your administration is the first in the world to hit the ground running and achieve like no one else. But like Danny K. Davies (Jnr), a United States Congressman told us at the convention of Eko Club International last month in Chicago and I quote: “Flattery is like a good perfume, it is to be smelt, not to be swallowed. You will be judged by the amount of resources at your disposal and the prevailing conditions and environment under which your government operated and what you make of those resources.” Town hall meeting! What Is Ikuforiji up to? The recent town hall meeting embarked upon by the Lagos State House of Assembly has continued to generate controversy and is already causing disaffection in the state. This stems from the innuendos that the arrowhead of the parley, Ikuforiji, has been accused by a section of the ruling party in the state, the Action Congress (AC), of using the forum to gain more followers and sensitise the people ahead of his governorship ambition in 2011. But before the recent tour, there were insinuations last year when the Speaker put together a micro credit scheme for his supporters in his Epe constituent that he was up to something. The recent town hall meeting, which attracted a large number of the party’s stalwarts and Tinubu, was described as a defining moment in the ambition of Ikuforiji to govern the state. He was said to have come off with the impression that the governorship ticket was up for grabs despite the power of incumbency that Fashola has and should enjoy. At the meeting, Tinubu, who was alleged to be grooming Adeyemi in case Fashola reneged on their agreement before he was chosen as the AC candidate in 2007, was infuriated that party supporters were hailing the governor who was not at the forum. Tinubu was quoted to have said that he coined the saying, Eko o ni baje, that has now become Fashola’s slogan, threatening to change it if he so desired. He reportedly said these in reaction to the decision of some party members who shouted the slogan in appreciation of Fashola’s achievements in the state. That incident, analysts believe, clearly sent out the message that Tinubu, who is seen as the political godfather of the AC in Lagos State politics, may have found a worthy son in Ikuforiji. Besides, there is the other angle to the development in Lagos State. That is the fact that Tinubu has an unwritten political arrangement for Ikuforiji to contest in 2011 as a payback for passing the pension bill that makes the former governor to be on the same pedestal in terms of salary and allowances with the incumbent. Though he is not entitled to security votes, but sources within the party said that the N2.1 billion monthly commission paid to his consulting firm, Alphabeta, is well over the governor’s security vote. Ikuforiji on his own seems to be telling people that he might join the governorship race sooner than later. At the town hall meeting held at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area recently, the Speaker laid it bare. Apparently reacting to those who have faulted his parley that it was meant to shore up his popularity in the state, Ikuforiji said that he is unmindful of those saying that the town hall meeting was a 2011 agenda. He said, “I will continue with the tour irrespective of what people say and we are not unmindful of those who are saying that it was part of 2011 governorship campaign.” But a source said, “If there was nothing to it, why is the town hall meeting being held in all the 20 local government councils? This should have been held in the three senatorial districts or better still the five divisions that make up Lagos instead of having it in all the 20 constituents. The situation is compounded by the fact that the recent statement credited to Tinubu after the Ibeju-Lekki rerun election has also exposed him to attack by those who felt he should have known when silence is golden. What did he want to achieve by saying that the PDP (the Peoples Democratic Party) won fair and square? Was he trying to placate (President Umaru) Yar’Adua who many say is angry with him? Indeed, the timing of that statement was said to have infuriated many who had thought that the former governor has let them down.” The import of the town hall meeting was not lost on Fashola who confided in some of his loyalists that his predecessor could not have allowed such under any guise. To show his disdain for the tour, the governor put together a one-day economic summit to feel the pulse of Lagosians. Again, the statement credited to Tinubu last year during the local government election was instructive. At the stakeholders meeting convened to reconcile some aggrieved aspirants, Tinubu told the bewildered crowd of party supporters that Fashola was not a card carrying member of the AC when he made him the governor. The party stalwarts, who were then opposed to the emergence of Demola Doherty as the chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area, were forced to eat the humble pie. Today, Doherty is the chairman. He won without going through the primaries, courtesy of the godfather. This has also heightened tension in the AC that there may be surprises in the offing as the 2011 general election draws near. Tinubu’s confirmation about the cold war At last, Tinubu had confirmed the obvious that indeed all is not well between him and Fashola. Although Tinubu had, some months ago, as a preemptive strike, paid Fashola a courtesy visit at the State House in Ikeja where he debunked the rumour making the rounds that some contractual agreement in the state had caused a bad blood between them. He attributed the rumoured crisis to the PDP that he accused of planning to take over the state at all cost. But Tinubu had hardly left the State House when another tsunami swept its first victim, Tejuoso-Smith, like a volcanic eruption. She was removed in a controversial manner. Even Ikuforiji, who was alleged to be close to tears because of the turn of events in the House, which had hitherto enjoyed good working relationship, admitted that his hands were tied. Was it a sheer coincidence that Tejuoso-Smith was impeached the day Tinubu travelled to the United Kingdom to see his children? Informed sources within the Alausa seat of power said the treatment meted to Tejuoso-Smith was meant to send a strong signal to some people that though they may be in power but they are not in charge. This was premised on the fact that despite the alleged overbearing attitude of Tejouso-Smith over the year, her colleagues have chosen to work with her. In fact, when she went with Banire to beat up the Chairman of Mushin Local Government Area, Seye Oladejo, a protégé of Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon at the Acme Secretariat of the AC, the House did not sanction her for making it the laughing stock of the public as its principal officer. Besides, sources within the state government insisted that those who are underrating Fashola in the supremacy battle with his former boss would soon know who actually holds the ace. The sources, who craved anonymity, maintained that Tejuoso-Smith was axed because of her loyalty to Banire and Tinubu and not the other way round. The source said, “What people don’t know is that Fashola may be humble but those who thought he would be a robot to do their bidding would soon know that he is a SAN with a sound mind. If it is true that Tejuoso-Smith had joined Fashola’s caucus, why then did Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola and Cardinal Omolaja Odumbaku make spirited efforts to reinstate her? At least these are known Tinubu die hard loyalists. Why did they come to beg the House to reverse itself barely 12 hours after the removal of the deputy speaker?” Will Banire dare Fashola? Before the resignation of Segun Ayobolu last Monday, sources further disclosed that Fashola would soon follow with the sack of some commissioners, especially those considered as Tinubu’s loyalists. It was said that this was to send the warning signal that contrary to the insinuation that he was not in charge, he actually holds the ace. To this end, some commissioners last week pledged their loyalty to Fashola and have also promised to stand by him come rain or sunshine. One of the commissioners, a former prominent member of the PDP, who is the head of a ministry that is very dear to the heart of the governor, told those who cared to listen that Tinubu’s attempt to continue dominating the politics of the state would fail. More worrisome is the new dimension that Banire is likely to challenge Fashola. The succession plan has caused a running battle between Tinubu and Fashola. While the former governor is supporting Banire, other stakeholders in the state are of the opinion that the sitting governor is doing a good job and that there is no point changing a winning team. Aregbesola is against Fashola’s second term Bilesanmi Samson, the Executive President of Raji Fashola Fans Club, said that much in an interview with the Nigerian Compass recently. Samson said, “It is the people that would determine his second term. This is beyond anybody. In fact, some people are calling on him to come and be the president. If it were to be a saner clime, his performance in Lagos State with about 18 million people is enough to show that he has what it takes to govern Nigeria.” Though Samson did not agree that the fans club is a campaign team for the governor, he said it has the governor’s blessing. He maintained that it was Aregbesola, the patron of Lovers of Raji Fashola (LORAF), who ordered that the group be disbanded when it was growing in leaps and bound. He said this was to curtail the growing popularity of the governor and make him subservient to their whims and caprices. Samson told the Nigerian Compass that Aregbesola gave them a very tall order. He said, “Imagine Aregbesola told us to announce that LORAF would not be used as campaign group for Fashola in 2011. We smelt a rat and discovered that it may be a booby trap for the governor, hence we agreed that the group should be dissolved.” But he said the group was not relenting in its membership drive, with the slogan, “ if you like Fashola, join us.” As such, many are of the opinion that it may not be long for those who hold the view that the governor was not a politician to know that he would swing the public opinion in his favour when the time comes. He also believes that the over 1,000 members per each council area may be the starting point for what will eventually be known as the campaign group to spring up. Head or tail, the days ahead may witness more of the political intrigues and brinkmanship that led to the exit of Tejouso-Smith. According to analysts, “One thing is clear: the state will never be the same again. It is a question of who blinks first.” Questions are now being asked all over the state: Will Fashola carry out his threat and change his cabinet to assert himself politically? Or will he continue to groan under his overbearing godfather? These are some of the posers begging for answers as at press time. But those who understand the dynamics of power said that since the buck stops on Fashola’s table, those who see him as a kid governor may be in for a shocker, at least given the pace at which he has confronted some knotty issues in the state in the last 800 days. Tinubu’s men on the prowl There is a crisis of confidence rocking the AC in Lagos State over who will occupy the governor’s seat in 2011 and the centre seem not to hold any longer. Fashola, Tinubu and Banire are at the centre of the crisis. Infuriated by Tinubu’s effrontery and alleged machination, Fashola, it was gathered, reportedly stormed out of the former governor’s Bourdillion residence recently when the defacto AC leader told Fashola that he had not got the power to sack Banire when the issue of the latter’s governorship ambition cropped up. The governor was said to have resigned twice in the last six months in anger over how the state is being run by Tinubu and his cronies. Though prevailed upon to continue because of the backlash and the controversy his ouster will generate, many said he had decided to plunge head on into the 2011 battle no matter what it takes. Banire, buoyed by Tinubu’s support, was reported to be always late to the SEC meeting, held on Mondays, until recently when he was locked out by Fashola. Pronto, he called Tinubu who put a call through to Fashola to allow Banire in. This did not go down well with Fashola’s loyalists who insisted he must be man enough to assert his authority or be prepared to be shown the way out by Banire’s group. Fashola, who was reportedly livid with anger, told his godfather that his agreement with him was that he would drop non-performing aides, especially those who were in Tinubu’s cabinet for several years. Fashola was reported to have told Tinubu, “What we agreed was that a year after I can change my cabinet. I will not fold my arms and allow Banire to amass the wealth to contest against me. I know he is interested in the race. I think he should resign now and we shall meet on the field.” At this juncture, Tinubu was said to have intervened and told Fashola that he could not change his cabinet for now because of the contributions of the appointees to his electoral victory. But Fashola, having seen the handwriting clearly, told Tinubu that he was ready to drop those he considered a spent force in his cabinet. He then stormed out of the former governor’s residence. The hostility was taken further when they tried their popularity. Tinubu had called a stakeholders meeting to discuss the burning issue and Fashola in defiance also called a SEC meeting, thereby paving the way for the eventual showdown. A source close to the seat of power maintained that “Tinubu might have underrated Fashola who seems poised to take his own pound of flesh from the overbearing godfather who wants to corner everything and render him ineffectual.” Besides the fact that his godfather has said at different fora that he never attended AC meetings before he emerged governor, Fashola has been kicking because he sees it as an attempt to rubbish him. The grand plan, it was learnt, is to cripple Fashola financially before the 2011 election and enrich Banire to be able to confront him at the AC primaries. Already, Aregbesola, the AC gubernatorial candidate in Osun State, who is still holding the jugular of the state as the unofficial Commissioner for Works; Odumbaku; the boss of the Highway Managers, Alhaji Faud Oki; and other powerful elements in the state have been positioned to ensure that Fashola does not return in 2011. This was reportedly perfected during the last council polls in Lagos State when Aregbesola, who still maintains his Oduduwa Guest House, singlehandedly picked all the chairmen and councillors to the detriment of Fashola. The Chairman of the AC in the state, Henry Ajomale, who is not a part of the shenanigan to oust the governor, is reportedly solidly behind Fashola in this supremacy fight. But the party has not empowered him to be able to muster the financial resources or dispense patronages that will give him the following necessary for the eventual showdown. A privileged source who craved anonymity told the Nigerian Compass that the time has come for Tinubu to be exposed and reduced to size. The source said, “What does he thinks he is? All the money he has looted from the treasury will be taken from him when the time comes. We know their front and what happened in the case of Royal Garden Estate between Wale Tinubu and a frontline Oba in Lagos who is part of the pilfering.” This latest imbroglio has continued to generate controversy in Alausa as commissioners, special advisers and special assistants are discussing the issue in hush tones. None was willing to comment on the festering crisis. A source who craved for anonymity said, “I don’t know how they arrived at the choice of Fashola in the first place. So, I don’t have anything to say if he decides to take on his godfather. He (Fashola) was the least qualified among the contestants then and he was imposed on us. So let them fight. That serves Tinubu right because he thought he could control BRF.” The governor, who is aware that his predecessor might have decided to fight dirty, is also reaching out to some stakeholders in the state across political party divides to take on Tinubu headlong. As part of his strategy, Fashola, apart from planning a cabinet reshuffle soon, is also considering how to stop the N2.1 billion monthly consultancy fee being paid to Tinubu’s Alpha Betta. By the end of Fashola’s tenure, the amount that would have gone to the company would be in the region of N52 billion. Fashola was said to have complained to one of his aides recently that the money that had accrued to his godfather monthly through various contract sum was outrageous. He was particularly piqued with Alpha Betta and has reportedly stopped the N2.1 billion monthly consultancy fee in the last few months, insisting that the state government has to renegotiate the contract sum. Fashola had tacitly refused to advertise all the programmes being handled by Tinubu as part of his achievements so that if eventually it backfires he would wash his hands off it. His worry stems from the fact that he may not be able to defend some of the contracts being executed across the state by Tinubu’s construction company, Hitech, and some concessionaires, including the Lagos Concession Company (LCC), with the contract sum shrouded in secrecy. For instance, the Managing Director of LCC, Opuiyo Oforiokuma, said that the 49.4 km road from Lekki to Epe would cost the concessionaire N50 billion. That means N1 billion per kilometre. Yet, the company would operate on the road on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) for 30 years. The contract was signed in 2006 by the Tinubu administration. Another sore point is that LCC is erecting a toll plaza on the road already and will start collecting toll even before it completes the project. That is beside the fact that two more plazas would also be erected to make it three. The money spinning project is expected to give Tinubu hundred of millions every month. Though the President of Eti-Osa Heritage, Adewale Sanni, has vowed that over his dead body would Tinubu’s company start collecting tolls before the completion of work, the former governor appears unperturbed. At a recent stakeholders meeting in Eti-Osa by the state government to mediate in the face-off with the company, Sanni said the people of the community would rather die than watch the state suffer from the concession arrangement. The community decried the insensitivity of the state government to its plight, saying it was ripped off and was not carried along before the idea was imposed on them. In the ensuing melee, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning, Francisco Abosede, was almost lynched. Who blinks first? Opinion were divided last week as a cross section of people believe that Fashola’s two years in office has dwarfed Tinubu’s “politics of sharing of eight years” that were said to be full of unnecessary bickering and grandstanding. A source said, “If he musters the courage to tackle him, the people would support him. I can tell you for a fact: Tinubu has outlived his usefulness and nemesis seems to be catching up with him. He used his money to dismantle the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere. Now, the house he built is crumbling before his eyes. What a tragedy!” As a prelude to the final onslaught, Tinubu has threatened to remove Fashola’s pals who are council chairmen. This is as Fashola has also beamed his own searchlight on a council chairman who is loyal to Tinubu and seen as the arrowhead of the council chairmen warming up to stop Fashola in 2011. Can Fashola stop Tinubu? The die is cast and the fight may linger as Fashola has said that it is service delivery to the people first as opposed to his godfather’s position that funds be shared to the detriment of the masses. Unfortunately for Tinubu, he has other forces to contend with. Some powerful stakeholders in the state are eagerly waiting to take their own pound of flesh from him. They have been described as very powerful elders. Why Fashola is angry with Tinubu Many reasons have been adduced for Fashola’s decision to stamp his authority. The lekki/Epe Expressway has become a sore point in their relationship because Fashola does not like the idea of the 30 years concessioning to LCC. The Alpha Beta Consulting is also another drain pipe, which sources said bothers Fashola. The last straw The 10-lane Mile 2/Badagry Expressway that was awarded to construction giant, Julius Berger, by the Fashola administration reportedly made Tinubu livid. Tinubu wanted Hitech to handle the job. Sources said that when Tinubu confronted Fashola on the failure to award the contract to his company, the governor reportedly told him that the Lekki/Epe Expressway that the LCC in conjunction with Hitech is handling has become an albatross for the state government. Fashola, who said that people were complaining about the fact that most projects in the state have gone only in one direction, said there was the need to “democratise” even contract awards. Tinubu reportedly said that Fashola had betrayed the trust he reposed in him. Yomi Edu’s treatment for Fashola? The group is also considering fielding a popular candidate in the mould of Jimi Agbaje in 2011. Unknown to many, Agbaje, who contested on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in the 2007 elections, has one leg in the AC and the other in the DPA. By virtue of his position as the state chairman of Tinubu-propped Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), a breakaway faction from Afenifere, Agbaje has been meeting secretly with the Tinubu group over the possibility of fielding him. The plot is that in case Ikuforiji and Banire become hard to sell, he would be propelled to run on the platform of the DPA. This, sources said, would be to create the impression that Lagosians truly do not want Fashola to continue in office. The scenario would look like the Yomi Edu/Michael Otedola election in 1991. The defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was the dominant party in Lagos State then, fielded Edu. But because the Alhaji Lateef Jakande group, The Loyalists, did not want Edu, it struck a deal with Otedola, the National Republican Convention (NRC) candidate. For the other positions at the state level, the SDP won. It thus paved the way for a new vista in Lagos State politics, with the SDP in control of the House of Assembly and the NRC the governorship. This was preceded by a bitter governorship primaries between Femi Agbalajobi and Dapo Sarunmi, two prominent leaders of the party, a development that factionalised the party. Will Agbaje be AC’s consensus candidate? It has remained a conjecture because nothing is impossible in politics. Segun Ayobolu’s resignation Before his resignation last Monday as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Fashola, Segun Ayobolu was one of the members of the inner caucus of Tinubu’s media team. Unknown to many, Ayobolu’s resignation was part of the media war being planned against Fashola. At a news conference to announce his resignation, Ayobolu, a die hard loyalist of Tinubu, said he had to leave because of ill health. But sources within Alausa said he resigned in protest because of the disdain with which Fashola now holds Tinubu’s loyalists, especially during the weekly SEC meeting. The argument was that Ayobolu, a workaholic, could not have resigned on such flimsy ground. It was learnt that during one of the SEC meetings, Fashola chatised those who usually thronged Tinubu’s Ikoyi residence to report developments in Alausa to him or risk being sacked. Ayobolu, who could not take this anymore, confided in some people that he prefered to be sweeping the floor in Tinubu’s residence than pander to Fashola, who has dared his benefactor. Ayobolu’s case is similar to that of the former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Edun, who resigned because of the manner Tinubu was handling the finances of the state. But Dele Alake, Tinubu’s spokesman then, prevailed on Edun to recant. The following morning, Edun, who claimed to be ill, was found playing polo at the Awolowo Road playing ground. A privileged source in Alausa said it has become a norm for Alausa politicians to resign on health grounds. One of the sources said of Ayobolu’s resignation: “It is all balderdash. Is his illness a life threatening one? I think these people should know that their game is up and stop heating up the polity. In the weeks ahead, many articles calling on Fashola to take the Nelson Mandela option of ruling for only one term will be churned out in a media where the godfather has substantial interest and others sympathetic to their cause. The writers will enjoin the governor to bow out at the end of his tenure in 2011. The orchestrated media attack is being coordinated by Alake and other hack writers.” Fashola: I dey kampe Fashola seems to be watching the macabre dance with admiration. Last week, the governor finally replied his godfather tacitly when he said that he did not sign any agreement of a single term with anybody. Although, he has said repeatedly that his work would qualify him for a second term, Fashola is said to be poised to take the initiative and assert himself politically. Who blinks first? Those who are close to Tinubu said he is a fighter that could fight dirty. They argue that with the N2.1 billion monthly income from Alpha Beta, the 30-year multi-billion naira concession project of the LCC, the pension he receives and other interests in the oil and gas, hospitality and property businesses, Fashola will, surely, have a Herculean task contending with him. With the legion of Tinubu’s loyalists spoiling for a showdown with Fashola, it may be difficult to predict who blinks first. But one thing is certain: the political landscape in Lagos State will never be the same again based on the battle for the number one political seat. (The Compass)
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Heartbreak: Dear readers, Carrying his baby months after I left him!

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on December 9, 2009 at 10:00pm
Dear readers, Carrying his baby months after I left him! Dear readers, I am in a very difficult position. One I would find extremely difficult to explain to my former boyfriend. I honestly don’t even know how to explain it to myself let alone any other one, because it is a very strange thing. advertisement My ex-boyfriend and I went our different ways about five months ago, and since then I haven’t slept with another man on account of the way we separated. I caught him with one of my very good friends. For me, it was the height of it all. Prior to that time, we have had issues concerning his ability to keep his pants zipped up. Because I have always been told that relationship takes time to form, I kept enduring the situation for four years. But catching him with my friend was more than I could endure. I didn’t give him the chance to explain anything and told him in clear terms that I don’t ever want to see him. Even when some of his friends came to beg and explain that I should give him a chance to explain what really happened, I ignored them all. My parents also tried to speak on his behalf, but backed off when I made my stance very obvious. I honestly thought I was rid of him until I discovered that I am about five months pregnant. The shock isn’t the pregnancy, but the way my body concealed the knowledge from me. Like I said, we have gone our separate ways and I am carrying his baby inside of me. How do I convince him that the child is his? How do I present the case to him and his family after telling him I am through with him? Will he believe me? Will he ever accept the child as his own? How do I bring a child whose birth would be clothed in controversy into the world? How do I explain the whole matter to my parents or his for that matter? Would he believe I didn’t know about the pregnancy until now? At 32, who would believe I didn’t know I was pregnant till now? The few friends I told are divided in opinion. While some think abortion is still possible at this stage of the pregnancy, some think I should go ahead and have the baby on my own, since I have a good job without telling the father. Yet others think I owe myself and baby the responsibility of informing the father. And that even if he denies, at least, he would be aware of the existence of the baby. I am in a very tight corner. Please help me. I love to have a baby, but not in this controversial manner. A doctor I contacted said it was too risky to abort the child at this stage. He also explained that some women don’t experience the usual signs and agrees it is inexplicable. I am so confused because even if he accepts I don’t want to marry him again. There is no way I can marry a man I don’t trust. And I don’t want to be a single mother either. Iremide. Dear Iremide, I don’t subscribe to you aborting the baby whatever the situation. A child is a gift from God and only He has the right to touch a life. He takes and gives as He pleases. It isn’t in your place to do that. The fact that He didn’t allow you the pleasure of experiencing the natural signs a woman notices when she gets pregnant shows that this child is meant to be. What this means is that this child is very determined to come and any attempt by you to terminate its life could result in your death too. So, be careful. At any rate, have you bothered to consider God’s reason for making all these happen? Naturally, when a woman takes in, her flow is expected to stop even if she is one of those lucky women who don’t experience nausea, spitting and discomfort associated with the early days of pregnancy. That none of these happened shows the benevolent hands of God at work. Rather than worry at what this man would say, why not begin by thanking God for this special gift? I know and understand all the different shades of feelings you are going through as well as the attendant confusions, but going first to God would help you put things in their proper perspectives. First, you have to accept the reality of the baby growing inside of you. That is not negotiable. You must have the calmness of mind to accept that no matter what happens between the father and you, this baby has come to stay and for a while may be your sole responsibility. Once you have the grace to accept the baby as part of you, the attendant strength to face the hostility, condemnation as well as all the other negative attitudes from people around you would come from nowhere. This will help you know what advice to take and those to ignore. For instance, you will learn to shut out from your life those friends asking you to terminate this pregnancy. This is particularly necessary, because you caught your man with one of these so-called friends. Only the spirit of God can tell you the truth at all times. Those urging you to abort a five months old pregnancy don’t mean well for you. A lot can go wrong even if you entrust your life to the best doctor in the world. What would be your story if you end up having damaged womb? Would say you lost your womb due to fears of raising a child alone? Would any of these friends give you any of their children to call your own? At 32, are you not old enough to be a mother or make your decision? Besides, have you stopped to consider the viability of your biological clock? What about the spiritual angle, the destiny of the individual? What if God reveals to you that child is meant to be your only child in life? Would you still be ashamed to care for it or make excuses for your reason to get rid of it? If you have never given him cause to suspect you, lied to him, he would believe you. Only a man who doesn’t trust his woman or running away from responsibility would deny a woman he has slept with. Don’t judge or condemn him even before giving him a chance to defend his honour as a man. Yes, he may appear irresponsible to you on account of his behaviour, but when it comes to the issue of knowing that he is about to be a father, don’t deny him his rights. Your body may be incubating the child, but he is the father. Hence he has the right to know because you didn’t make the baby alone. Even if he doubts the paternity of the baby, modern medicine has made such thing so simple. A DNA could be conducted on the foetus to determine the paternity or on the baby after birth. Telling him doesn’t mean you have to go back to him if you don’t want to, but it would give both of you the chance to discuss the well being of this child God has graciously given to the two of you. Overtime, it would also give you two the chance to re-assess your relationship. This child could be God’s way of forcing you to listen to the wise counsel of all those who tried to talk you out of your decision. There is no way you both won’t talk about the past if both of you plan to play prominent roles in the life of this child. Until you listen to him, you won’t know how your friend ended up in the position you caught both of them. Have you ever tried considering the fact that your friend out of jealousy may have planned everything to ensure you broke up with him? You will never know the true nature of some of your friends or motive of their friendship unless you hear this man out. Listening doesn’t mean you should forgive him, but knowing what actually transpired that day would go a long way in helping you understand a lot of things happening around you. Whatever happens between the two of you, the interest of the child should always come first, because at the end of the day that is what would count the most. Good luck.
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I can end Niger Delta crisis ! •in six months –Achuzia

Posted by 9jabook.com on June 9, 2009 at 10:58am
Nigeria civil war hero and former Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Joe Achuzia, has faulted government’s strategies for solving the Niger Delta crisis insisting that both the Federal and the governments of the South South zone have been parochial in their handling of the problem. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Asaba, Chief Achuzia said the Nigerian Government was yet to pursue the right option for ending the tension and hostilities in the oil-rich region. The former Biafran warlord who confessed that he introduced setting oil fields on fire as a war strategy, offered to solve the Niger Delta problem in six months. He urged both in governments to humble themselves and seek the help of more knowledgeable hands Excerpts: Military incursion right option? What you should really ask is, ‘Is Nigeria government pursuing the right option?’ My answer is ‘No’. You see, the government of Nigeria, the government of Delta State and all the governments in South-South are seeing the problem with a jaundiced eye. It is for that reason that Obasanjo made a terrible mistake at Odi. I operated within the whole of these Creeks during the war and if there is anybody that taught them in Nigeria, how to set fire on crude oil, I am the one who did because, it is not easy to set fire on crude oil unless you know how. That I did during the war but the terrain from the West to Burutu and so on, is still the same. When Gowon declared 12 states and created Rivers State, part of why I did not fight back into Rivers State is that I had hoped that Diete Spiff and the rest would be able to transform the area. But having lived long enough to see Saro-Wiwa lament the decadence and bad situation existing within the Creek area, I realized that our people have not learnt a lesson. Why the crisis has persisted The problem is straight forward. They say those who must come to equity must come with clean hands. The governments that govern within our state and the whole of the South- South region have people with tainted hands. They are unable to come to equity with clean hands. Centrally, efforts have been made to give us certain concessions. If the 13 percent concession given for each state is devoted to develop the region, what is happening today wouldn’t be happening. Those areas would have become an Eldorado. But greed which is characteristic of Southern politicians has made it impossible and unless you belong to that club, you have no voice within the activities of governance. Way out of the mess Even if you ask me today to give an advice on how to bring the whole problem to a halt, it wouldn’t be MEND that would be pursuing me; it would be our own government. So, it will be senseless to ask me what should the government do. If I was able to go into Liberia at the height of their war to help solve their problem, I went to Kinshasa when Kabila was on his way to Kinshasa to make sure that Mobutu was not killed at the time that there is a peaceful transition of government, how much more the problem that is here. But it suits the present government to brand us as those the Federal government has rejected and as such, they don’t seek our advice. Rather, children, some whom my children are older than, look upon us as renegades and rebels forgetting that what affects me affects them, what affects them affects me. And the reason for their thinking that way is greed, as if you were coming to take part in what they call their own special preserve. The leaders of those South South governments will not tell you that they were not party to the creation of those people called MEND and the others across the Creeks. I Can fix it Any day they want me to prove it, call on me and within six months, this rubbish would stop. I don’t boast. When they were taking us when the war ended, one of our officers said that we would be killed. I told him not a hair of one person will be pulled. We were interviewed and I was sent to detention for seven years. My seven years I spent in Katsina Prison. Everybody thought I was dead but I can assure you I was treated like a Head of State. The North knows the value of valour. The country belongs to all of us, It will be in my interest to see the oil flowing again. False mediators I read about people who call themselves mediators. Foul. All these are pretenders. I don’t have to sit with Yar’Adua to tell them what to do. All I have to do is to tell them … … . We have armchair Generals and we have field Generals. I am not an armchair General. I ended the war as a Brigadier General but I chose to be addressed as a Colonel. Me and my convictions I don’t care what other people think. All I know is that once I am convinced, I believe God is with me and nothing will change it. People ask me that, “you said during the war, ‘not for me, not for my boys”. I said, Yes. I didn’t create the war; I didn’t invite them to come to fight. They came on their own. Whatever they are doing wouldn’t touch me. We wish them no evil, we have nothing against them, and I pass any person on my way and do my best not to hurt any person.
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