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Jonathan meets Obama

Jonathan meets Obama
By Olusola Balogun

Sunday, March 14, 2010Image5.jpg
The Presidency of acting President Goodluck Jonathan seems to be getting more international acceptance and support as American President, Barrack Obama, is reported to have invited the Nigerian leader to an international summit scheduled for next month..


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Although the agenda of the said summit is still very sketchy, it was gathered that Obama personally called up the former Bayelsa governor asking him to attend the conference.

According to a source at the Presidency who confirmed the development, “it is true that the acting President will be going to the US in April and he will be attending a summit. They called it a nuclear summit.

He was personally and specially invited by Obama to attend the meeting.”

He disclosed that Jonathan is already making arrangements to attend the meeting, hinting that the acting President might use the opportunity to further press for the issue of delisting Nigeria from the list of terror nations that it was included soon after Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempted suicide bombing on American soil.

Political analysts view the development as a major boost for the Jonathan administration that is facing some acceptability challenges from some quarters in the country.

It is also seem as a clear departure from the era of ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua who seldomly attend international summits and is in the habit of sending representatives to such meetings even before he took ill in November 2009.

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Why am I getting married again – Charly Boy

Saturday, March 13, 2010
…For 32 years I lived in sin with lady Diana


Charly Boy
charlyboy11[1].jpg
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What possibly could be said of Charles Oputa a.k.a Charly Boy today that would make an astounding headlines, you may ask?

But on a day this musician, revolutionary activist, a general of the people’s army and an acclaimed area father stormed Vanguard’s corporate office, in Apapa, Lagos, it was with a pinch of salt that the Showtime crew gave him audience.

Soon, Charly Boy settled down to unwrap yet another bag of his mythic life. He astounded the crew when he announced his plans to marry again. Charly Boy admitted that for 32 years, he had lived in sin with his American born Lady Diane. Who is he taking to the altar? Why the sudden realization of the fact that he had been living in sin for the past 32 years with belovest Lady D? Find out this and more as we bring to you, Charely Boy uncensored for your weekend delight..

We read you’re separated from your wife. Is it true it?

Eeh! I’ve not heard about it. I never read am too. I’m yet to be informed about it.

Are you saying that your marriage is intact?

No be dis issue we come talk about….

Na part of am. We can’t talk about you and not mention your wife…

Yes, okay. I’m getting married again on May 25th.

What happened to your marriage?

Nothing happened.

Are you tired of her?

How can I be tired of her when we’re the best of friends?

So are you still married to her?

Well, spiritually, yes.

Romantically?

Yes.

So, is she going back to her country?

I’ve not said she’s going back to her country. After staying in Nigeria for 28 years, I mean she has no other country.

So, who are you getting married to and where is she from?

Whether she’s from Jamaica or Imo State, doesn’t count. All that matters is that I’m getting married again. I’m happy.

So, are you going to keep your first marriage intact?

I’m an African man and polygamy is allowed here.

Were you married to Diane in the Christian way? Did you wed her in the church?

No, we weren’t even married in the first place. There was no marriage certificate. We’ve just been living together for 32 years in sin because if you’re married but not wedded in the church, you’re living in sin.

You’re talking like a man who just woke up to realise that he’s been living in sin…

(Laughs) Is this why I’m here?

Living with Diane helped to stabilise the man called Charly Boy because behind every successful man is a woman. So, it’s heart breaking to hear that you’re separated from her…..

If I hear that it will be heart breaking for me too, so I can understand why it is so for you.

Where exactly is she now?

She’s in Lagos now. If you go to my house, you’ll find her there.

What about your kids?

Most of my kids are abroad, except the last one who’s still in school.

How does she feel about the next marriage?

You can ask her when you see her. And the truth is that we are not living together. She lives in Lagos and I stay in Abuja, but we visit each other. Sometimes, we equally arrange to meet in a hotel for short or long time. It doesn’t really matter.

I know that you have really come a long way with your wife. So it’s sad that you’re separating.

I know that there are some married people who are living together but they don’t talk to themselves, which is a crime. I also know there are so many women who’ve been battered by very irresponsible men but they still live together, and that for me is a crime. And I also know that the friendship which I share with Diane cannot be compared to all the rubbish I hear out there.

You said both of you arrange to meet for short and long time. Do you still have sexual intercourse?

Laughs. Wetin you think say we dey do for short time and long time? You think say we dey go there go look ourselves? We’ll keep having that because she’s my friend. That was the kind of friendship I had with Tina but it wasn’t anything sexual. You know friendship is misused in this country. People meet today and begin to introduce themselves as friends, which is wrong, or you see people who are in no way related and they call themselves brothers. I’ve grown past intercourse. I can have sex without penetration.

What does that mean?

Well, if you don’t understand then you’re analog. That means you’ve been going about things the old fashion way. For me, I’ve gone digital now.

Is this gold ring you are wearing a wedding ring?

Which one?

This one. (Pointing to the gold wedding ring among many others on his fingers)

Yes.

With Diane or the new woman?

No comment.

Why would you want to leave Lady D for another? Is the new one digital and Lady D analog?

No, Lady D is very digital.

Is she not sexually creative anymore?

How can? It’s just like saying I’m not creative anymore. She’ll always be creative till she dies. At 56 years, I’m still very creative.

You have been everything from the street boy, the musician, the writer, the photographer, a music director and most recently a publisher. And this is the first time in this country a man would decide to publish a magazine in his own name…

I’m always the first. But, I’m not interested in how much it will sell. It’s like when I go into the studio and produce a song and someone is asking how much it sold. It doesn’t matter to me. The connect is that each time I set a target for myself, I go out and achieve it, thanks to God Almighty. My joy is that I have fun doing these things and they give me fulfilment, I also learn from doing it. So, by the time I finish doing it, if you like, you buy. If you like o no buy. My joy is that I did it. Anything I set out to do, I do it. Like right now, I want to build a centre that can house 10, 000 disenfranchised youths. And I know it will cost mega bucks and I don’t know how it will happen. But I’m a dreamer, even the concept of Charly Boy started by dreaming. So, I don’t calculate my gains before doing things.

One thing I’m confident of is that the brand, Charly Boy, can never be ignored. It’s either you like it or you hate it so profusely. Some people will definitely pick up the magazine just to see wetin this craze person wants to say. I’ve equally tried to go round and ask other publishers how they’re doing theirs and I’ve learnt a lot from that.

I’ve always told people that I’m really not a musician but an intellectual, an entertainer. But people are just too busy looking at gimmicks that they miss the point. You can’t see Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa until you can see past the piercing, the rings and all the ratzzmatazz. And that is not what Charley Boy is all about. He’s about consistency. I urge every youth to go after their dreams and whatever that makes them happy.

Do you know that I am a soul winner. Do you know how many youths that come to me for inspiration? Just for hope, just because somebody like me was able to walk into that bush and come out successful.

It means nobody should have any excuse for failure because as long as you believe in your dreams and follow it with aggression…. I chase my dreams without minding anybody, therefore, no one can stop me and nothing can discourage me. Whether your papa is poor or rich doesn’t really matter. What matters is whether you believe in yourself.

Charly Boy is really difficult and confusing because, like you were talking about the youths, So, I still wonder what the youths will learn from you?

What have all these got to do with the man Charles Oputa? I ask you. What has the shape of Coca-Cola got to do with the liquid content? Will you eat the bottle?

But that forms the whole character of the person.

If you recall in the beginning, I said this concept was created for dumb and shallow minded Nigerians who’re timid and myopic. I represent the things that I stand for and the things that I’ve fought for. That is why we have the kind of government we have sitting for too long in power. Is it the agbada or tie that we’re interested in or what that person can offer this country?

When you emerged during the military in a rebellious way, it was acceptable. Are those things you were known for still part of you?

My dressing is all about style. I wasn’t rebelling against anything. My take is that every human being should be a free thinker as long as it doesn’t affect others negatively. Tying your tie around your head instead of your head doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s all about style. And I won’t judge you by that; remember never to judge a book by its cover.

What are we expecting from your publication? What sense will it make to the common man?

I’ve never done anything that didn’t make sense. In fact, my problem is too much sense that some people don’t understand. You have to have depth to be able to understand what I do. The things I do are not for Standard six or WAEC people. I wanted to do something like Readers Digest. I didn’t want something that would limit me in anyway. I wanted to do something that can be published in January and still remain fresh in December. I wanted to do something that will motivate and inspire people, something that can talk about other peoples life in the way that it will inspire people.

My reason for existence is to ginger people and make them understand that everything is possible.

The magazine represents the values that we have forgotten- hard work. I want to interview someone who can tell me where he’s coming and he’s success story so that I can learn from the story. At the same time, we’ll try to build new role models and also entertain people.

You’ve spent about 17-18 years of your life in Lagos. One now wonders why you decided to relocate to Abuja? Is it because that is where the money is?

No, that is another misconception. I remember those days it used to bother me a lot about how I’m going to make my own name because everywhere I went, people talked about my father and I was wondering, can’t they see me as ‘Charly Boy?’ They should talk about me when they see me and not my father. In fact, I thank God so much that I didn’t study Law. I would never have been able to leave that shadow because people would have trailed my success back to my father, Oputa.

I don’t want to be tied down in the shackles of competition. I don’t want to buy hummer jeep because people are buying it and na im make I dey ride motor bike, nothing spoil. I’m comfortable as long as I have enough to pay my rents, children fees and other bills.

What drove you into music?

I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself, simple. So, after youth service, I didn’t want to work for any establishment, having to do a 9-5 work hours. I had too many creative things in me that wanted to burst out and there was no other place to be than in entertainment business which will also afford me so many excuses as regards my style.

Again, I wanted to be famous. But not too long after I became famous, I found out that I didn’t have respect and money. You can imagine someone as famous as myself that time jumping from bus to bus. Not because I wanted to but because I didn’t have money. I couldn’t even penetrate the corporate organisations because they had no respect for me.

Which was why I consistently involved myself in continuous metamorphosis and rebranding. From Charly Boy Show, which had a lot of civic message then but people missed the message because they were looking at the ratzamattazz. I did it for 12 years and discovered that these Nigerians are really…. o!

Then I rebranded and gave them Zoom Time, bringing Babangida, different ministers to the show. That was when I started gaining some kind of respect because it wasn’t easy to put up all those people on stage. People started wondering why all these people opened doors for me.

Maybe because of your father….

Who’s my father? My father is retired, he’s become my baby.

In fact, he doesn’t even recognise one person from another. He’s out of the generation.

Maybe his name….

No, I have a bigger name because my father is known by people in the judiciary and the elite class but I am known by all. There’s hardly anybody who doesn’t know me. From truck pusher, militant, children and so on.

You went through a lot of difficulties in life. Can you share some of them with us?

When I came back from America, I had to do my youth service and when I finished, there was a job waiting for me. A PR job in Mobil Oil company but my father was scandalized when I rejected the offer and said I wanted to be an entertainer.

He asked, ‘ how can you go to school and come out to be an entertainer? There’s no future in that and that was where our problem started from. That was the time he was made the Supreme Court judge. So he moved to Lagos and I moved down to the village. Initially, when I moved to the village, it wasn’t too bad because I had to put some few things together and called it a studio. So, people were coming and patronising. But after one year, everything closed. I was in the village with Lady D, a place where there’s no light, no water.
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Forty seven passengers and five crew members narrowly escaped death yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when a Nig.erian Air Force plane veered out of control after landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.


The passengers, comprising journalists, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency as well as other agencies responsible for rescue operations in the country, ironically, were taking part in a simulated exercise to demonstrate the responsiveness of the relevant agencies to emergency situations.

Although no death was recorded from the incident, 10 of the passengers on board the flight sustained injuries, eyewitnesses who emerged from the crash said
Mr. Onyebuchi Ezigbo, the THISDAY Abuja Bureau correspondent, who emerged from the crash unscathed but traumatized, confirmed that only one of the passengers sustained a fracture to his hand and was immediately rushed to Teme Clinic, Port Harcourt for medical attention.

The fuselage of the Air Force plane, he said, was damaged beyond recognition and was left inside the bush where it skidded to a halt in the mud.

The passengers, most of them officials of the Nigerian Air Force, Federal Fire Service, N.igerian Police Force, National Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Commission and journalists were flown to Port Harcourt from Abuja aboard an Air Force Plane 950 of the G888 series.

Ezigbo explained that the plane landed safely but instead of decelerating a few seconds after hitting the tarmac, it kept accelerating at terrific speed until it overshot the runway.

Ezigbo and other passengers were thankful that the plane did not burst into flames, disclosing that the fire fighters at the airport responded promptly to the accident.

The Port Harcourt airport, located in the Omagwa community, some 30 kilometres away from the city, was immediately closed to traffic.

An Arik Airline aircraft from Abuja that wanted to land was turned back midair, however another Arik aircraft a few hours later was given clearance to land and take off from the airport.

Only last month, an Augusta reconnaissance helicopter belonging to the Ni.gerian Navy crashed at Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government, Rivers State, killing all the occupants.

NEMA’s director, Search and Rescue Operations, Air Commodore Yomi Bankole who later addressed the press at the airport said the exercise was meant to be a simulated one as they set out hoping to take steps to move from the textbook approach by getting some practical experience before the unfortunate incident occurred yesterday.

“It was an unfortunate incident. A plane we used veered off the runway,” he said, but promptly refused to speculate on the cause of the accident.

“In the aviation industry, we do not run into hasty conclusions until after investigations,” but he assured that a team of investigators from the Air Force has already taken over investigations and at the appropriate time the Air Force would provide insight into what caused the incident.

The director general of NEMA, Alhaji Audu Bida who was billed to be in Port Harcourt but had to go to Kano due to a fire incident in the northern city, when called on the phone said, “it is a sad event but we are only happy that no one lost his life.

“This is why we should all be very proactive. Incidents like this can never be predicted but it is always good that the country prepares very well to handle them whenever they occur.”

According to him, it was due to events like this that prompted NEMA into planning the exercise which was interrupted by the near mishap and led to the cancellation of the exercise. He promised that NEMA would review the entire incident and plug the loop holes.

Senate Committee chairman on NEMA and other search and rescue agencies, Senator Smart Adeyemi who was at the airport after the accident said the incident has “exposed how unprepared we are given the equipment on the ground.

“It is unbecoming that we have only fire fighting vehicles in the airport. Our only luck was that the plane did not burst into flames, otherwise, the equipment on the ground would not have contained the disaster.”

All 47 civilian passengers flew back to Abuja yesterday on board a 6.30pm Arik Airways flight, while the five-man Air Force crew was flown aboard a helicopter to the military hospital at the Air Force base, Port Harcourt.
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Sad news is in abundance this week, starting with the former prince of pop Chris Brown. Brown, who has been vying for a way to revitalize his career following his 2009 assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, has resorted to desperate measures to stage his comeback.
539504828_773336.jpgThe 20-year-old singer-dancer, who plead guilty to felony assault and is on probation for five years, recorded an audio message Wednesday on Say Now asking his fans to "bring [him] back." A humbled Brown said he needs his fans' help. "Some radio stations aren't playing my records," he said. "They're not being that supportive and I wouldn't expect them to. But it's on the fans...It's in your power to bring me back.".

Brown said he is doing everything he can do. He refers to himself as a "better person" and said he is doing his music for the love, but added that his career is in jeopardy.

"It won't be possible for me to be an artist if I don't have support from people who give me an artist outlet," Brown said. "I can't be an underground mixtape artist."

Brown sounds stressed out. After releasing two previously successful albums, it has got to be tough experiencing such a decline in support for his current album, Graffiti.

I know it's been a year since the incident, he has accepted his sentence, and was previously praised by the judge for following through with his community service, but he needs to relax. It is going to take some time for him to repair his reputation. He needs to be patient. He just re-emerged on Twitter at @ChrisBrown and is keeping it positive so far. He Tweeted about reading to 3rd grade students at a school in Harlem. This feels like a better plan. Releasing a new album just eight months after the altercation was just too soon.
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Have you ever been mad at God? Certainly, everyone has had anger rise up against a person. And there are a lot of people who are angry with themselves. Anger is a problem all of us have to deal with.

Many people come from backgrounds where strife was just normal. Our culture is so full of envy and strife that it's become part of life. We don't realize how deadly it is. But realize it or not, strife will kill you. Listen to what James had to say about envy and strife:

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." (James 3:16)

but if you're living in strife, you are opening the door to poverty. You could be trying to take care of your body and meditating on healing scriptures, yet envy and strife will negate all of that and bring sickness and disease. No one who is trusting God for victory in any area of their life can ignore dealing with anger and expect to succeed. It's that important.

This doesn't mean we are supposed to be emotionless or totally passive people. There is a proper use of anger. If we don't understand this and try to completely do away with anger, we will not succeed, and we will become passive in a way that allows Satan to run over us. There is a godly purpose for anger.

GODLY ANGER

Think of this: Every person on the planet has a temper. Why do you think that is? Do you think the devil created anger? No way! Satan never created anything. He doesn't have the power to create. All he does is pervert the godly things God created.

It's God who gave us the capacity to get angry. Anger has a godly function. But with most of us, it's been perverted. We don't need to get delivered of a temper; we need to learn how to manage that anger and direct it the way God intended — not toward people, but toward the devil and evil.

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil".


Paul is saying there is a godly anger that is not sin. God gives us a command to get angry with a righteous anger. Then he says, "Let not the sun go down on your wrath". What happens when the sun goes down? Typically we stop working. The day winds down, and we rest and go to sleep. Paul is saying, "Don't let this godly anger ever stop working. Keep it awake. Stir it up and keep it active!" Then verse 27 continues, "Neither give place to the devil". If we don't keep a godly anger active within us, we are giving place to the devil. What a revelation!


esus was sinless, but He had hate and anger. In John 2:14-17, which took place at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, and then in Mark 11:15-17, which took place the last week of Jesus' earthly ministry, Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple. He didn't approach them meekly and say, "Guys, I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt any of you, but I have to do this to obey my Father." NO! He made a whip and beat the people and animals and turned over their tables. He was mad.



UNGODLY ANGER

Have you ever prayed that the Lord would remove someone from your life who makes you angry? Have you ever prayed that your circumstances would change so that you would be delivered from those things that make you mad? If you have, you are not alone. But it's not what others do to you that makes you angry. You will never be able to remove all aggravating things and people from your path. That's unrealistic. Satan has more than enough people under his control to keep an endless parade of annoying people coming across your path.

That's the example that Jesus gave us. He was able to look at the very ones who crucified and mocked Him and say,

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do". (Luke 23:34)

Paul commanded us to do the same thing in Ephesians 4:32:

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you".

Not only are we supposed to resist anger, but we are commanded to forgive those who trespass against us


"Only by pride cometh contention".

It's not what others do to us that makes us angry; it's the pride inside of us that causes us to get mad. I know that's not what most people believe, but that's what God's Word says. This verse doesn't say that pride is one of the major reasons for anger — it's the only reason. What a statement!


So, pride is not only thinking we are better than others; pride can be thinking we are worse than others or just being self-conscious. It doesn't matter if self is always exalting itself or if it's debasing itself. It's all self-centeredness, which is pride. Like it or not, understand it or not, pride is the source of all of our anger. As we deal with our own self-love, anger toward others will be defused. The only reason we are so easily offended is because we love ourselves so much. As we die to ourselves, we will be able to love others the way that Jesus did.

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A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday nullified the election of Aliko Dangote as the president and chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This was the ruling in a suit filed by some aggrieved shareholders of African Petroleum (AP).
“An order is hereby made nullifying, vacating and setting aside all steps taken by the 13th defendant (NSE) in purporting to elect the 11th defendant (Mr. Dangote) as the president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, including but not limited to the entire purported election held on the 6th day of August 2009, during the pendency of this suit and in disregard of the positive order of this court made on 4th of August 2009,” the justice, Akanbi Lambo, said while delivering the judgement.

Aggrieved shareholders

15 shareholders of AP had filed a legal action against Mr. Dangote, Nova Finance and Securities Limited and 12 others over an alleged massive manipulation of AP shares. In addition to their originating summons, the applicants urged the court to grant an order of interlocutory injunction.

Accordingly, the shareholders approached the court for an order restraining the NSE and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) from retaining Mr. Dangote as the 1st Vice president and member of the council of the NSE, pending the determination of the suit. They also sought an order restraining Mr. Dangote from remaining the 1st Vice President and member of the council of the NSE.

However, during the proceedings in the suit on 4 August, 2009, the court presided over by Mohammed Liman ordered all parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing of the suit.

Noting that Mr. Liman could not continue in the matter because an allegation of bias was levied against him by the defendants, the suit was transferred to Mr. Lambo, who is now presiding.

Election despite court order

At the next court hearing, the applicants filed a motion on notice praying for an order of court nullifying the election of Mr. Dangote as president of the council of the NSE, during the pendency of the suit by the aggrieved AP shareholders. The election was allegedly conducted on 6 August 2009, before the next court sitting.

The motion of the applicants was predicated on the fact that despite the order of the court asking all parties to maintain status quo, the defendant went on to elect Mr. Dangote as its President.

Ruling

While ruling on the motion filed by the applicants, the court held that there was indeed a positive order of this court made on 4 August 2009 commanding parties to maintain status quo. Mr. Lambo held that the 13th and 14th defendants deliberately defied the order of the court.

“The 13th and 14th (SEC) respondents, in spite of that order and in flagrant and reckless disregard of same, went ahead not only permitting the 11th respondent, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as a member of the council, but also putting him up to contest election as the National President of the council. That is certainly a deliberate and contemptuous disregard of the order of the court.” Justice Lambo said.

He added that “I see the deliberate act of officials and executives, who operate the NSE and SEC as a subtle strive and exploration by devious or dubious way to circumvent and render nugatory the true intention of the order of the court.”

In the ruling, Mr. Lambo urged the government to look for ways to punish any of it agents that default in carrying out court orders.

“The government should also look inward for a way to sanction domestically, any government functionaries found in disobedience of the court’s order,” he said. “This is the only way ‘the boys’ and those claiming to be close to power and who are laws unto themselves can be checkmated, so that genuine desire of the present administration to enthrone true and genuine democracy can be attained.”

After the ruling, the matter was adjourned to 16 March 2010, for continuation of the substantive suit filed by the shareholders.

Reactions

Sunny Nwosu, national coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), while reaction to the ruling, described the removal of Mr. Dangote as triumph for the rule of law.

Fola Sowemimo & Co, the law firm representing Mr. Dangote, in it’s reaction to the court ruling, said “Our client is obviously dissatisfied with this ruling. His position remains that he believes in the Nigerian judicial system and what it stands for, and he is confident that justice will be served and he will be vindicated. Tempting as it is to join issues and give the background to some of our concerns, the dignity of our profession requires that we follow a certain course of action. We will abide by that and as such a notice of appeal as well as application for stay of execution of the order has been filed this afternoon. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
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The Monster Within

The Monster within

he's been with us

since the taking of commercial cities

and decommercialization of our oil wells

The Monster within

he infused his virus

into our brains and twisted our tongues

so we speak in languages no longer our mother's

The Monster within

he magically change our senses

so we see absurdities in our morality

while embrassing his indignity

The Monster within

he taught us

to abandone our crowns

and embrase demo-crazy

The Monster within

about two and half score

he left us

but his offsprings has grown fat

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Kills, Maims, Murder
Shout of Horrors
Runs of Panics
Cries of Sorrors

Bodies drop
like strings from feathers
houses destroy
like heap of beach sands

Sons mourn daughters
Children cry for mamas
Mamas sob for papa
while papas bitter for lost families

Oh ye with Laws and Order
do tell the morality of our lives

for heaven weep with disdain

and earth melts with disgust

Oh ye with Know Hows

do tell the criticality to our raesons

for religions become opium

the masses inheritance

Oh ye with Power and Might

do tell the magnitude of our followership

for voters are minority

guns win elections

Oh ye people

do tell of the giant questions

hanging on each of our foreheads

answers exist not here

Prince Mcroyale

(c) 2010

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Telephone scam: Nigerians urged to be on alert

Telephone scam: Nigerians urged to be on alert| Print | E-mailWritten by Joseph AjayiNIGERIANS have been advised to be very wary of fraudsters who now use telephone calls to deceive people and dispossess them of their money.According to a statement monitored online, a man who preferred anonymity was called by someone who claimed to have come from a telephone service provider and asked to shut down his phone for two hours for an update to take place.The man, the statement read, quickly shut down his cell phone and on suspicion that the caller did not even introduce his name immediately turned it on only to be inundated by calls from his terribly-worried family members asking him if he was safe or not.The parents alleged that they had received a call from someone claiming that they had the man in question with them and asking for money to set him free, adding that the call was so real and convincing that they even heard the man’s voice crying out aloud for help.“My parents were already at the bank waiting for the next call to proceed for money transfer. I told them that I was safe and asked them to lodge a police report.”“Right after that, I received another call from the guy asking me to shutdown my cell phone for another one hour which I refused to do and hung up. They kept calling my cell phone until the battery ran down. I quickly lodged a complaint to the police and was informed by the officers that there were many such scams reported and in most of the cases, the victims had already transferred the money,” the man stated.He urged every Nigerian to be careful as those guys were so professional and convincing during calls, advising further that anyone asked to shut down his cell phone for updates by the service provider should ask round as his family members or friends might receive the same call.
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Man marries pillow

True love can take many forms. In this case, it has taken the form of a Korean man falling in love with, andeventually marrying, a large pillow with a picture of a woman on it.

Lee Jin-gyu fell for his 'dakimakura' - a kind of large, huggable pillow from Japan, often with a picture of a popular anime characterprinted on the side.

In Lee's case, his beloved pillow has an image of Fate Testarossa, from the 'magical girl' anime series Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.

Nowthe 28-year-old otaku (a Japanese term that roughly translates tosomewhere between 'obsessive' and 'nerd') has wed the pillow in aspecial ceremony, after fitting it out with a wedding dress for theservice in front of a local priest. Their nuptials were eagerlychronicled by the local media.

'He is completely obsessed with this pillow and takes it everywhere,' said one friend.

'They go out to the park or the funfair where it will go on all therides with him. Then when he goes out to eat he takes it with him andit gets its own seat and its own meal,' they added.

The pillow marriage is not the first similarly-themed unusual marriage inrecent times - it comes after a Japanese otaku married his virtualgirlfriend Nene Anegasaki, a character who only exists in the Nintendo DS game Love Plus, last November.

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The Vatican's Chief Exorcist says the sex abuse scandals that have rockedthe Church are evidence that the devil is at work in the Vatican.

Inside his small third floor office at Vatican City, the Rev. Gabriel Amorth prepares for his next client. In the corner, is a bed with restraining ropes. On the walls, pictures of the Virgin Mary. Near an armchair there is a Bible and other copies of prayers.

http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/hr-gray_dot.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); width: 322px; background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; ">The Rev. Amorth, Chief Exorcist in the Vatican, Says He's Treated Over 70,000 Cases
The Rev. Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in the diocese of Rome and the president of honor of the Association of Exorcists, is shown in this file photo. Amorth says he has treated over 70,000 cases of demonic possession.
(GIULIO NAPOLITANO/AFP/Getty Images)

Looking his 85 years, the priest is still dressed in his pajamas, but his face shows signs of energy that has helped sustain him as the chief exorcist for the Vatican during the last 25 years.

In a rare interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, Amorth strongly defends his work and that of the Association of Exorcists.

"The devil is not everywhere," he says. "But when he is present it is painful." He says he has treated over 70,000 cases of demonic possession..

"The devil is pure spirit, invincible. He is shown with the painful blasphemies coming from the person which he possesses. He can stay hidden. He can speaks different languages. He can transform himself," Amorth says.

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Islamic Republic uncovered in Ibadan
From YINKA FABOWALE, Ibadan

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Barely a week after the gory massacre of 500 souls in Jos, Plateau State, some Islamic fundamentalists are again at work to stage a similar pogrom on Christians in Ibadan, Oyo State capital...

Akala

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Daily Sun investigation shows that some people have been distributing and dropping anonymous and inciting leaflets, calling for Jihad and attacks on Christians, in mosques within the volatile capital city and its environs.

Aside of this is emergence of a fanatical Islamic sect in Beree, a suburb of Ibadan in Oluyole Local Government Area, which is now under close watch of security agencies in the state due to its intolerance of other religious groups in the area.

The group was said to have established a village called ‘Madina’ about six years ago, where its followers camped.

It was learnt that the group was fond of destroying and defacing Christian crusade/revival posters in public.

Last Thursday, the extremists were also said to have threatened to attack Ogun (god of iron) worshipers in the community while the latter were celebrating their festival.

It took the intervention of elders of the community to pacify them and put the situation under control.

A police source told Daily Sun that the command has set up a dragnet for the group’s leader.

One of the inciting leaflets circulating in mosques urged Muslims to rise up against Christians in a holy war on the ground that they were losing their brethren to Christianity.

It said the attack must be carried out on a Sunday when their targets would be in church to worship.

One of the grouses of the author of the leaflet is that the ‘most educated’ Nigerians and ‘hypocrites’ in the country are Christians.

The leaflet writer regretted that Muslims in the southern part of the country had not been as militant as their counterparts in the North, stressing that they must now take a cue from past Jihadists in Kano and other northern states.

Intelligence reports on the development, Daily Sun learnt, was responsible for an emergency meeting the state Commissioner of Police, Adisa Bolanta, had with leaders of religious groups in the state last week.

At the meeting were: Rev. Bola Ajibike, who represented the Chairman of the State Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Archbishop Akinfenwa; leader, National Council of Muslim Youth Organizations (NACOMYO) Alhaji Kunle Sanni; Dr. Dawood Alaga; Serikin Hausawa and representative of the Chief Imam of Ibadan, Alhaji Busari Suara.

The police boss was said to have intimated them on the existence of the hate letters and warned them against acts that could cause disharmony and crisis within the state.

Daily Sun learnt that the Muslim delegation complained about a certain Christian home video, featuring a Muslim called ‘Alfa Sule,’ it claimed, was provocative.

To this, the CAN leaders were said to have declared the body’s efforts at disciplining its erring members but called for maturity on the part of viewers of such productions.

The police commissioner calmed frayed nerves but reminded the meeting of constitutional freedom of expression and worship.

He, however, promised to request the film censor board to look into the complaint, adding that the video producer would be invited and cautioned.

The meeting ended with a resolution for the setting up of an inter-faith committee to meet quarterly to resolve issues of conflicts that could breach public peace.
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The Supreme Court on Friday declared the sacking of Bernard Longe as Managing Director/Chief Executive of the First Bank of Nigeria on June 13, 2002, as unlawful and void.

George Oguntade, who gave the lead judgment, said in his 28-page unanimous judgement, concurred to by four other justices that Mr. Longe's removal by the management of First Bank violated the provisions of section 266 (1) and (2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

"A declaration that in particular the decision of the defendant's board of directors held on 13th June 2002 to revoke the plaintiff's (Bernard Longe) appointment as Managing Director/Chief Executive is wrongful, unlawful, invalid, null and void, and incapable of having any legal consequence," Justice Oguntade ruled in the judgment.

Mr. Longe was consequently granted the five reliefs sought as grounds of his appeal, including that the board of directors erred in its decision to hold a meeting where Mr. Longe was sacked, without notifying him; and that any decisions taken at the meeting including any appointment to the office of Managing Director/CEO, was unlawful.

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***Judgement delivered by George Adesola Oguntade

***Judgement delivered by Francis Fedode Tabai

***Judgemet delivered by Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad

***Judgement delivered by Olufunlola Oyelola Adekeye

***Judgement delivered by Dahiru Musdapher

First Bank, the respondent in the case, didn't make an official statement as at the time of going to press, as a senior official promised that the bank will issue a formal statement later.

However, Celine Loader, the chief marketing officer for the bank, in a text message response to NEXT enquiries, said, "As you know, a prior judgement had been in favour of First Bank, but of course, the bank respects the Supreme Court and we are internally discussing the implications of this latest ruling."

Also, their lawyer, Richard Akinjide, a senior advocate and former Attorney General of Nigeria, refused to comment saying, "I have not seen the judgement. I was not in court today so I can't comment."

Seeking redress

Mr. Longe had gone to court to challenge his sack in 2002 for granting $131.7 million to Investors International (London) Limited (IILL) in the company's bid to purchase 51 per cent equity stake in Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), which the bank board said did not to follow due process.

In addition, the amount was said to have exceeded the bank's single obligor limit at the time, even as the London telecoms firm lost out on the bid to acquire NITEL and so lost the non-refundable sum after the firm failed to secure the $1.185billion balance within the 90 days deadline set by the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).

While the bank blamed Longe for the heavy loss it incurred in the deal, Longe in his statement of claim, said all the decisions taken in the failed deal, including the loan, was with the full consent and approval of all the directors of the bank.

He, therefore, prayed the court to declare his removal after the bank's extraordinary board meeting on June 13, 2002, null and void.

Victor Ogiemwonyi, managing director of Partnership Investment Limited, a stockbroking firm, described the judgement as wonderful news, saying, "They will have to pay him damages now. He cannot become managing director again."

Meanwhile, Femi Awoyemi, a financial analyst and chief executive officer of Proshare, said the landmark judgement will provide new insights into the relationship between employers and employees.

"It represents a major dimension in human relations law in Nigeria," Mr. Awoyemi said.

"That means those who were removed by the Central Bank of Nigeria also have a case," Mr. Awoyemi said, adding that both parties are likely to settle out of court.

He can't go back

At the time of going to press, it was still unclear what this judgment means in practical terms for both Mr. Longe and First Bank.

Bismarck Rewane, managing director, Financial Derivatives and a member, National Economic Steering Committee, said that the development will not negatively impact on the company's reputation.

"He cannot go back. They would pay him," Mr. Rewane. "No, no, no, this would not have implications or otherwise on the bank; he would just get paid for the damages," he said.

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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.

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Prostitute kills client over infidelity

Prostitute kills client over infidelity
By Femi Ogbonnikan, CORRESPONDENT, Lagos..

“He ignored me and wanted to have sex with a colleague. He pretended as if he did not know me when he walked into the hotel. He neither uttered a word nor complimented me. And his strange action prompted me to stab him in his left arm until he gave up the ghost shortly after.”


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Hope Nkechi Okafor made these disclosures when she was paraded before newsmen at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti Street, Yaba, Lagos, on Monday, March 8, 2010.

The 26-year-old suspect, currently in detention, admitted knowing the deceased, Biodun Samuel, popularly called ‘Abbey’ as a regular and familiar client at their brothel, Nice Time Hotel, located at Iyana Ipaja, an outskirt of Lagos.

“Abbey was a nice man. Whenever I cooked foods he would eat from them. Virtually, everybody in the hotel knew him,” offered the Oboh, Imo State-born suspect.

But last Monday, March 1, 2010, at about 12a.m., Hope, who until the incident operated as a prostitute at the brothel, stabbed the cobbler to death with a broken bottle. “On that fateful day, Abbey walked into the hotel and ignored me where I was sitting to compliment me. The next thing, he went to the room which is next to mine and knocked the door. Initially, I did not want to say anything, but I took courage and told him that the person staying in the next room had a visitor and he should not disturb them. The lady occupant of the next room just joined us and I do not know her name. He asked, ‘what concerns you? But I told him that the person he had come to see was with me, discussing together before she went in, to attend to her customer. He did not take to the advice and when he had no response, he faced me. Instead, he rose up his hand and rained a dirty slap on my face and subsequently, on my mouth. I became furious and broke a bottle of soft-drink I was drinking before he came in, and I stabbed him on his left arm. He fell down and bled until he was rushed by his friends, who were also regular callers at our hotel to a nearby hospital for treatment. It was later I learnt he had passed on, but I never meant to kill him,” she narrated.

She continued, “Boys, who were around, were attracted by the incident and they descended heavily on me. They beat me white and black until I was rescued by ‘Aji White,’ the hotel’s ticketer. He rushed me to the director’s office where I was kept for few hours until the dust settled. It was from the office the news filtered to me that Abbey had died. Also, it was inside the office that detectives came to pick me up and whisked me to Gowon Estate Divisional Police Station. And from the station, I was brought down to this place (SCID, Panti Street, Yaba),” she narrated.

Recalling how she joined the trade about eight months ago, she said, “I grew up in Benin, immediately after my secondary school education and subsequently, learnt a vocational trade in hairdressing. I was convinced that I would be brought to Lagos to work as a cook in a restaurant by one Aunty Evelyn, but the offer later turned out to be prostitution. I was staying in Benin, Edo State capital but soon had a problem because I took in, for one Lucky in year 2007. The man refused to accept responsibility for the pregnancy and soon gave birth to a baby boy. The hardship was too much. To eke out a living was hard before I was introduced to Aunty Evelyn by a sister who promised to assist by taking me to Lagos. Two of us, including a lady (names withheld) were brought down to Lagos, but what we met on ground was different from our discussion. We were taken to the ‘Nice Time’ Hotel, Iyana Ipaja and conducted round everywhere within the brothel. When I could not hold my breath I had to call the attention of the Aunty to it and she advised that if we did not like the job we should arrange on how to return to Benin. We had no money on us and decided to settle for the job. We were given a permanent room each in the hotel, where we attended to our customers. The first two months, Aunty Evelyn would collect all amount realised except that she was only providing for our meals. Soon afterwards, she relocated to Benin while we stayed behind. And from everyman that slept with me, I collected N1, 000. At least, I made N6, 000 from the trade on a daily basis,” she added.

On whether her parents were aware when she took to prostitution, the suspect stated, “My parents were not aware until this incident occurred. They thought I was working in a good restaurant in Lagos, making good money, which I sent home to them on a regular basis. I left my village immediately I completed my secondary education in year 2002 and settled in Benin. My intention was to ensure that, I worked hard and became successful in life, because my parents are poor,” said Hope.

Frank Mba, Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, while parading the suspect corroborated the confession of the 26-year-old whore whom she said stabbed the 32-year-old victim in his left arm, with a broken bottle.

According to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Biodun gave up the ghost when he was being rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

It was gathered that the corpse of the cobbler was taken to an undisclosed mortuary in Lagos, where it was established through postmortem examination that he died as a result of a stab inflicted on him by the prostitute.

He added that the homicide detectives at the SCID, Panti Street, Yaba, had completed investigation into the matter, while the case file is yet to be sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Alausa, Ikeja, for advice before the suspect would be arraigned before a competent law court
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Jos: We were sponsored, suspects tell police Jude Owuamanam The Acting Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, has said that some "faceless influential persons" are behind the March 7 killings in three villages of Shen district in Jos South Local Government Area of the state... advertisement Aduba, who briefed the press on the latest development in the state, said that confessional statements extracted from the suspects indicated that while some of them volunteered to take part in the massacre, others had influential sponsors. The commissioner said, "Our joint efforts after the said incident of March 7, 2010, had yielded good results wherein some 200 people were arrested. They cut across two categories of offences. "The first category comprises some 49 Fulani who were arrested immediately after the incident of Dogo Na Hauwa, and in their various statements (they) owned up that they carried out the invasion and killings in the aforesaid villages. "They further stated that they were on a revenge mission, being a fall-out of the event of January 2010 whereupon some villages, namely Tim-Tim, Von and Kuru-Jenta were attacked and some of their inhabitants and cattle destroyed. "Investigations have also revealed that some of the Fulani were paid while some were volunteers, but so far, they have not revealed the identities of their chief sponsors. "The second category was made up of 151 people arrested at Mangu and other surrounding villages for the offences of unlawful assembly. "Investigations have further revealed that they took the laws into their hands by taking up arms in apparent defence of their communities against possible reprisal attacks." Aduba said that some of the weapons recovered from the suspects included four double-barrelled guns, 35 single-barrelled shotguns, two locally-made double-barrelled guns, three locally-made single-barrelled pistols, making a total of 44. He added that five 9mm ammunition, five AK-47 ammunition and 35 live cartridges were recovered from the suspects. Other weapons recovered from the suspects, the acting commissioner said, included 26 bows and arrows, 14 machetes, 12 knives, three axes, four spears, charms and 129 swords. Aduba also said that a body count of those given mass burial showed that they were 70, made up of 12 males, 26 female children, 19 female adults and 16 male adults. He said 18 were privately buried at Barkin Ladi, 12 by relatives at Dogo Na Hauwa and nine others died in the course of treatment at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital. He said that the dead were from four villages of Dogo Na Hauwa, Zot, Ratsat and Kutgot. Meanwhile, a group, the Joint Revolutionary Council of Niger Delta, has condemned the killings of innocent people in Jos. The group, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr. Bakabio Walter, and made available to THE PUNCH, said the tragedy was a reminder of the "severity of internal colonialism in the entity called Nigeria." It said, "How can we explain that the Nigerian military, led by the Fulani aristocracy, was informed of plans by Fulani militants to invade indigenous settlements in Jos and environs, yet there was no response. This is totally unacceptable and must be condemned by all genuine advocates of peace and justice. "This is a litmus test for the Jonathan administration. The sack of Nigeria's National Security Adviser who used his inaction to support the Jos massacre might be a welcome development but it is definitely not enough. No amount of soldiers sent to Jos can bring an end to this conflict. "If the Jonathan administration is committed to resolving the recurring ethnic violence in Jos, Niger Delta etc, the only logical thing to do is to convene a Sovereign National Conference of all the ethnic nationalities that were forcefully conscripted into Nigeria. "However, we wish to state in unambiguous terms that our mission is to achieve independence for a Niger Delta Federation and not to seek relevance for the sake of patronage. We shall continue to strike until we achieve our ultimate goal. "We note with curiosity, the continuous denial of knowledge of our attack on oil installations by the management of Shell and Agip and the Joint Task Force. "No amount of money you give to them will prevent us from striking you more. Our actions will be sustained and will differentiate us from the criminal pretenders who are negotiating currently with the management of Agip.
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A northern Mississippi school district will not be hosting a high school prom this spring after a lesbian student sought to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

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The Itawamba County school district's board decided Wednesday to drop the prom because of what it called recent distractions but without specifically mentioning the girl's request, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The student, 18-year-old high school senior Constance McMillen, said the cancellation was retaliation for her efforts to bring her girlfriend, also a student, to the April 2 dance.

"A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this, so in a way it's really retaliation," McMillen told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. Calls to McMillen by The Associated Press late Wednesday went unanswered.

School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex. The ACLU of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to change that policy, arguing that banning same-sex prom dates violated McMillen's constitutional rights.

Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

The statement didn't mention McMillen or the ACLU. When asked by The Associated Press if McMillen's demand led to the cancellation, school board attorney Michele Floyd said she could only reference the statement.

"It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors," district officials said in the statement. "However, at this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District, after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students."

Kristy Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, said the district was trying to avoid the issue.

"But that doesn't take away their legal obligations to treat all the students fairly," Bennett said. "On Constance's behalf, this is unfair to her. All she's trying to do is assert her rights."

Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It's near Pontotoc County, Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and Bible classes.

Anna Watson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, was looking forward to the prom, especially since the town's only hotspot is the bowling alley, she said.

"I am a little bummed out about it. I guess it's a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed — either Constance was or we were," Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

Other students are on McMillen's side.

McKenzie Chaney, 16, said she wasn't planning to attend the prom, but "it's kind of ridiculous that they can't let her wear the tuxedo and it all be over with."

A Feb. 5 memo to students laid out the criteria for bringing a date to the prom, and one requirement was that the person must be of the opposite sex.

The ACLU said McMillen approached school officials shortly before the memo went out because she knew same-sex dates had been banned in the past. The ACLU said district officials told McMillen she and her girlfriend wouldn't be allowed to arrive together, that she would not be allowed to wear a tuxedo, and that she and her girlfriend might be asked to leave if their presence made any other students "uncomfortable."

McMillen said she feared she would be thrown out of the prom because "we do live in the Bible Belt."

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The last time Marion Jones played competitive basketball was in 1997. Now, 13 years, five stripped Olympic medals and one prison termlater, the former track star will make a return to the sport

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Jones signed a one-year contract with the WNBA's Tulsa Shock on Tuesday. In December she announced her intentions to play in the women's professional basketball league, but assumed she'd haveto play in Europe first as a tune-up. Shock head coach and generalmanager Nolan Richardson didn't think so. He worked out Jones over theweekend and signed her to the rookie's minimum, $35,000, today.

"Watching her go through drills, I saw a player who's perfect for our system,"Richardson said at the news conference. "The one thing I do know is shecan run, and any player on my team who wants to be successful needs tobe able to run."

Richardson used his press-heavy "40 minutes of hell" basketball to lead the Arkansas men's basketball teamto the national championship in 1994. He plans to use the same style inthe WNBA, hence the necessity to run.

The same year Richardson and the Razorbacks were cutting down the nets, Jones was the freshmanpoint guard on the North Carolina women's basketball team that went33-2 and won a national title of its own. She started all four seasonsin Chapel Hill before leaving the sport in 1997 to focus on her trackcareer.

Jones went on to win five Olympic medals in sprints and long jump but was later stripped of those after admitting to usingperformance enhancing drugs during her career. During a federalinvestigation into the scandal, Jones lied about doping and her role ina check-fraud scheme. She served six months in a Texas federal prisonfor the offenses.

Her comeback is a boon to both her career and the WNBA. Though playing in Tulsa for a mediocre team is far removedfrom being a star of the Summer Olympics, Jones can rehabilitate hertarnished image with a good showing in the league. PEDs or not, she wasone of the best athletes in the world. Even after prison, pregnanciesand inactivity, it's hard to believe the 34-year old has slipped toomuch.

The WNBA needs Jones just as much as she needs it. The league has been floundering in recent years and any publicity theformer Olympic champion can bring to women's basketball will bewell-received.

If Jones starts the season on the roster, she'd make her WNBA debut on May 15.

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Oyo State lawmakers BAN ‘okada’ Bikes

Residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have bemoaned the state government’s decision to enforce the law banning the commercial use of motorcycle (popularly called ‘okada’) along state and federal roads across the state.

The law, recently passed by the state House of Assembly, took effect last Monday. It prescribes two months jail term or N10,000 fine for first offenders - and four months jail term for second offenders.

The state government, which sent the bill to the House, said it wanted to use it to curb evils associated with the use of commercial motorcycles in the state.

There had been cases of robbery and other crimes reportedly perpetrated by men riding ‘okada’ in the state. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) had also warned that most of the road accidents recorded in the country was caused by motorcyclists’ recklessness on the road.

As at yesterday, scores of motorcyclists were arrested and convicted by a special mobile court detailed by the state government for the enforcement of the law.

Though the state promised to try and find alternative jobs for the motorcyclists before enforcing the law, residents believed it had not done enough.

The ‘okada’ labour was a means of livelihood to quite a munber of men. Many artisans forced out of job by epileptic power supply in the country found solace in ‘okada’.

Saheed Folaranmi, secretary of the Okada Riders’ Union, the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) in Oyo State, said the ban does not go down well with his association.

Mr. Folaranmi said the government should have consulted his group on ways to resolve the issues associated with the business.

“Which one do we know as the state and federal government roads in the town? The state government has only used its power against us. They should know we have dependants too and we have helped in reducing the effect of unemployment foisted on us in the country. Soon, we will make our views known on the issue in a non-violent way,” he declared.

Mr. Folaranmi, who insisted that the ban will not solve the crimes the government is associating with ‘okada’, said the ACOMORAN had forwarded a letter to the state House of Assembly on the need to involve the association in its treatment of the bill.

Unfulfilled expectations

What may have represented the government’s efforts in cushioning the effect of the ban was the 500 cabs it sold to some residents of Ibadan recently on installment. But, besides the widespread complaints of exploitation by the supposed beneficiaries, the number of supplied vehicles is deemed too few to serve a city like Ibadan. Some of the new cab owners said they could not ply the city’s outlying districts where demand for the motorcyclists is high.

Checks by NEXT in the ancient city on Tuesday suggested that the ban does not enjoy the kind of popularity the government expects.

Some residents of Ibadan are of the view that the government could have found better ways of addressing the problems purportedly necessitating the ban first, before the hammer.

Aina Badejo, a school teacher, said the ban on commercial motorcyclists will even impact on the school system. The easiest means of transport for a lot of people, including teachers, is ‘okada’,” he said. “Some teachers also ride these after school hours to make ends meet. The ban cannot work.”

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