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1. Is it just sexual attraction?

Sexual attraction comes from the reptilian brain and is automatic and powerful because it relates to our
survival. It's not always a basis for living with someone happily. Don't let it "hijack" you. Find out what else is there.

2. Do they like to touch and be touched?

This is important to your mental and physical health.

3. Do they look at your with affection and kindness?

Most communication is nonverbal.

4. Have you used your thinking brain?

EQ means using all 3 brains. Are you compatible in your daily habits? You'll be keeping house together. Do you have the same values and
priorities?

5. Does he or she have emotional self-awareness? How are they at empathy?

One of the most predictive traits for compatibility is if you can sense the other's sadness.

6. How optimistic is this person ?

Optimismis the facilitator of all the EQ competencies. In addition, optimists
live longer, enjoy better health, and accomplish more.

7. Are they intentional?

Intentionality,an EQ competency, is saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
Also being accountable for the motives behind your actions. If you have
commitment to the relationship, i.e., nobody's going to go away, you'll
work through problems differently.

8. How resilient are they?

How do they manage adverse events and setbacks? Have they been able to grow through adversity, not just go through it?

9. How do you and your partner manage anger?

Successful couples soothe one another instead of agitating and escalating.

10. How balanced is their life?

Resilient people combine learning, work and leisure throughout their lifetime.

They closed down the 3rd Mainland Bridge. All because a book of the president's Facebook quotes was being launched..

The president's Facebook quotes!

I don't want to go into the argument about the value of a compilation of Facebook quotes, but I must ask what they will add to the body of knowledge, and why the launch of such a book should be turned into such a humongous event?

For the record, 3rd Mainland Bridge at 12km is the longest bridge on the continent. Because of the number of areas in Lagos that can be accessed through that bridge, it services over a million people each day. The traffic on that bridge has actually gone up slightly since the road works at the Orile axis began. Driving at a constant 100km/h on that bridge will take you across it in 12 minutes. Now imagine the hell that people went through yesterday simply because of a political gimmick?

My anger however is not directed at Goodluck Jonathan. In my view, this event shows that he is absolutely no different from the politicians around him, and the vast majority of those who came before him. My anger is directed at Nigerians.

Why are we so tame?

When I complained about this incident on the Internet, a friend of mine admonished me that since he is president it is his right to close down traffic. Did I not grow up in Nigeria?.

Which leader has not done this before? Good question. My reply to that friend would be the fact that previous Nigerian leaders (most of them military dictators) did it, does not make it right? Why do we as a people have this really annoying tendency of defending what is wrong simply because other people are doing it or have done it before?

Being that this friend of mine lived in the UK for some years, I would point him to the outcry that followed Tony Blair. When returning from a trip to the US in 2006, Mr. Blair's driver decided to avoid traffic by driving on a bus lane! People screamed, Mr. Blair paid the fine and it did not happen again.

That, my people, is a leader who (at least on the surface), panders to the wishes of the electorate who voted him in.

They have been criticising Jonathan for kneeling before God and now saying it is a political gimmick .

The Man is not the messiah neither is he a mess ! Our Take on this on 9jabook..

It takes guts for a man with so much power to go before another man whom he apparently has power over and ask for the blessings of a being whom he cannot see but whom we know exists . If a man with such Power can do this he must be aware of the consequnces of using it as  political gimmick .Jonathan is not the messiah but he is better than the mess of panderers, atikus and so called freedom activists whose agenda has long ben exposed. Buhari i wish for but he wont win. he knows it .it is bw atiku & Goodluck .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The admiralty confiscated most of the booty and auctioned it off to

defray the costs of the expedition, although a sizeable group ended up

in the British Museum. Among them is another of the same group of ivory

masks. The technical skill of these cast bronze and ivory ritual

sculptures astounded western audiences, and the dispersal of the Benin

treasures paved the way for a reassessment of African art by artists

and scholars. When Jacob Epstein saw this piece in an exhibition in

London in 1947, he asked the family if he could exchange it for one of

his sculptures. Its whereabouts remained unknown until the family

contacted Sotheby’s last year. Jean Fritts, director of African and

Oceanic art at Sotheby’s, said: “It has an amazing, untouched surface

which collectors love. Its honey colour attests to years of rubbing

with palm oil.” From the same collection, and offered alongside, are a

carved altar tusk, two ivory armlets, a rare bronze armlet cast with

Portuguese figures and a bronze sculpture usually described as a tusk

stand. A bronze head of an Oba of around 1575-1625 was sold for a

record $4.7m in 2007. The auction record for any African work of art is

€5.9m.

Oba Ovonramwen’s £4.5m mask for auction in UK

A Lagos High Court yesterday discharged and acquitted Hamza Al-mustapha, a major and former chief security officer (CSO) to the late military dictator, Sani Abacha, and three others standing trial for the attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian newspapers, Alex Ibru...

Those being tried alongside Mr Al-Mustapha were former Lagos State Police Commissioner, James Danbaba; former Zamfara State military administrator, Jubrin Bala Yakubu; and former head of the Aso Rock Anti-Riot Police, Rabo Lawal.

The presiding judge, Muftau Olokoba, in his ruling on the ‘no case submission’ instituted by Mr. Al-mustapha and others, declared that the evidence on all the counts preferred against the accused are thoroughly worthless, and that there is no evidence of conspiracy alleged on the first count.

“I hold that no prima facie case has been established against the accused person. I hereby acquit and discharge them.”

No case to answer

U.C. Ikegbule, counsel to the third accused person, had argued that where an essential element has not been proved, his client has no case to answer.

“In proving the allegation of attempted murder of Alex Ibru, the prosecution was not able to show that the defendant actually has the intention to kill the publisher of Guardian Newspapers.”

He urged the court to disregard the testimony of prosecution witnesses who have at one point or the other contradicted themselves during cross examination.

Mr Ikegbule also noted that none of the prosecution witnesses mentioned the name of his client in the alleged crime.

He also averred that, “The prosecution have failed to make a prima facie case against the defendants as to conspiracy to kill Alex Ibru and Isaac Porbeni, a former commissioner of sports in Delta State as alleged. The prosecution has also failed to produce the original tapes of the Special Investigation Panel that carried out investigations into the alleged crime in spite of long adjournments.”

He then urged the court to acquit and discharge his client.

On his part, counsel to the first accused, C.K. Nmakwe had on November 3, 2010 while adopting his written address prayed the court to acquit and discharge the 1st accused of all allegations preferred against him by the prosecution.

Mr. Nmakwe who urged the court to consider if the prosecution has established a clear case against his client, argued that the court cannot convict the accused on allegation of conspiracy when there is no evidence before the court to prove same.

According to him, “The prosecution was not able to establish that the first accused caused serious bodily wound on Mr. Ibru as was suggested by the prosecution. The burden of proof is solely the responsibility of the prosecution and not the accused.”

Even Olalekan Ojo, counsel to Mr. Al-Mustapha and Mr. Lawal, argued that it would be unjust if the prosecution continues to subject his clients to trial when it cannot prove that they committed the alleged offence.

“There has been no legally admissible evidence against the accused persons by the prosecution. The court should consider the failure of the prosecution to call on Investigating Police Officers (IPOs) who took statements from the accused to testify before the court,” he said.

However, prosecution counsel, Gbadebo Oshoala, told the judge that the accused persons knew about the attempted murder of Ibru and, therefore, has a case to answer.

He urged the court to discountenance the written submissions of the accused persons and rule against the accused accordingly.

Shortly after the court handed its decision on the matter, family members and sympathisers took to the streets around the court to celebrate the victory which they said has taken a long time to come.

Mustapha can’t go home

In a swift reaction to the ruling, Mr. Ojo said, “James Danbaba, former commissioner of police in Lagos State would go home, the third defendant, Colonel Bala Yakubu, former military administrator of Zamfara State would go home. But my client, Al-mustapha and Rabo Lawal can’t go because of the case before Honourable Justice M.A Dada.”

“It must be realised that it was the same set of witnesses that gave evidence before Justice Olokoba, were the same set of witnesses that gave evidence before Justice Dada. But I can say, that the evidences before Justice M.A. Dada who is handling the case of alleged murder of Kudirat Abiola by the defendants is even much more damaging, contradictory and repudiatory than what they had before Justice Olokoba.

“What I expect of any honourable prosecution is to throw in the towel and withdraw the case.”

Stiletto Heels, Uber Skinny Jeans, Heavy Bags- What NOT to Wear :One of the biggest fashion faux pas is wearing fashion that cause pain

By DENNIE HUGHES

Thanks to the towering stilettos being introduced this season, there were a multitude of models wiping out on the runways. Just check out YouTube to see some of the carnage. 

But crazy-high heels aren't the only treacherous fall trend: Such fashion must-haves as sewn-on jeans, hefty handbags, and oversize jewelry can also play havoc with your health. "All that squeezing, balance shifting, and heavy lifting can really take a toll on your body," says Bob Emery, Dr. P. H., an associate professor of occupational health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Fashionistas need not despair, though. A few minor adjustments to this year's looks can keep you in style— and out of the doctor's office. 

Designer Don't
Sky-High Stilettos
"This year's heels are taller than ever and offer less support— and the higher the heel, the more damage that can occur," says New York City podiatrist Johanna Youner, D. P. M. Over time, the extra weight on your forefoot can lead to pinched nerves and joint problems such as bunions or hammertoes (sexy, huh?). "I've also seen women who literally fell off their shoes, fracturing their foot or spraining their ankle," Youner says. 

Fashion Do Stick with a two-or three-inch heel and a rounded or open toe. This will distribute your weight more evenly and make room for swollen tootsies. "Instead of spindly stilettos, look for wedges, platforms, or thick, stacked heels—as well as a firm back or straps to keep your foot secure in the shoe," Youner says. For extra shock absorption, consider having a leather outsole replaced with a rubber one, and adding a thin gel or foam insole, such as Dr. Scholl's for Her ball-of-foot cushions.

Designer Don't
Skin-Tight Jeans
"Super-skinny jeans won't crush your organs the way corsets did, but they can irritate your skin and trap moisture, which can set you up for a yeast infection," says Elizabeth Kavaler, M. D., a urologist in New York City. A stiff denim crotch seam can also cause pelvic muscles to clench (in an effort to "push" the fabric away), making urination difficult. 

Fashion Do Choose skinnies made of stretch denim in a breathable cotton or linen, and make sure the seams are soft and pliable. When trying them on, take a seat: If you feel the need to unfasten, try another size or style. Looser boyfriend jeans or trouser jeans won't make you feel like a sausage in too-tight casing. 

Designer Don't
Monstrous Bags
The potential side effects of enormous arm candy: a stiff neck and shoulders and a pounding headache. Carrying a heavy shoulder load also restricts blood flow to one side of the body, causing muscle strain. 

Fashion Do With all the hardware, today's average bag can weigh 10 pounds empty. Look instead for smaller sizes in lightweight materials like silk, cotton, or nylon. Padded wide or short straps or longer straps worn diagonally across the chest can spread out the load on your shoulder. A bag with many compartments will distribute weight more evenly (and keep your stuff from pooling in one spot). And unless you want to develop a hunch, be sure to switch arms frequently. 

Designer Don't
Oversize Earrings
Wearing doorknockers can cause the holes in your earlobes to stretch or tear. Once that happens, the lobes may not heal on their own—then, to repair the damage your only option is cosmetic surgery (read: not covered by insurance) to remove excess tissue and stitch the hole shut. 

Fashion Do "Limit heavy chandeliers to only a couple of hours at a time, and never wear them around little kids, who tend to pull on earrings, which can speed up the tearing process," says John Canady, M. D., professor of plastic surgery at the University of Iowa. If you can't give up bigger, eye-catching styles, try lighter hoops, mesh metals, and wooden or plastic beads instead of heavy stones. For extra support, swap skinny ear wires for post styles that come with large plastic backs.

(Extracted from : http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/fashion-hazards )

JULIAN Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks, today launched a wide ranging series of attacks on both his enemies and allies as he defended his public and private conduct.

In his first UK newspaper interview since releasing hundreds of secret diplomatic cables last month, Mr Assange told The Times he predicts the US will face reprisals if it attempts to extradite him on conspiracy charges.

He accused his media partners at The Guardian newspaper, which worked with him to make the embarrassing leaks public, of unfairly tarnishing him by revealing damaging details of the sex assault allegations he faces in Sweden.


He insisted that the women behind the claims were motivated by revenge.

Mr Assange said he had enough material ready to destroy the bosses of one of the world’s biggest banks.

Speaking from the English mansion where he is confined on bail, the 39-year-old Australian said that the decision to publish incriminating police files about him was "disgusting". The Guardian had previously used him as its source for hundreds of leaked US embassy cables.

Mr Assange is understood to be particularly angry with a senior reporter at the paper and former friend for "selectively publishing" incriminating sections of the police report, although The Guardian made clear that the WikiLeaks founder was given several days to respond.

Mr Assange claimed the newspaper received leaked documents from Swedish authorities or "other intelligence agencies" intent on jeopardising his defence...

"The leak was clearly designed to undermine my bail application," he said. "Someone in authority clearly intended to keep Julian in prison."

He denied allegations of sexual assault and said that the allegations by two Swedish women he met in August "came from nowhere".

Mr Assange was arrested and held in Wandsworth prison after Swedish authorities issued an extradition request. He was released on bail last week on a surety of £275,000 ($US427,872).

He said that he still had not seen the full extent of the allegations against him, although he accepted that his Swedish lawyer had been handed many of the details.

When asked if he was promiscuous, he replied: "I’m not promiscuous. I just really like women."

Mr Assange also confirmed that WikiLeaks was holding a vast amount of material about a bank which it intends to release early next year..

Shares in Bank of America recently fell after speculation spread that it was the target.

"We don’t want the bank to suffer unless it’s called for," Mr Assange said. "But if its management is operating in a responsive way there will be resignations."

US officials are reportedly searching for ways to extradite him on espionage charges. Vice President Joe Biden recently called the WikiLeaks founder a "high-tech terrorist".

Mr Assange said that he believed that the US situation would "turn around absolutely" as a groundswell of favourable opinion grew in America.

"The people in power are organised and were able to respond quickly," he said. "But numerically they are not that strong and our support in the general population is tremendous."

Mr Assange's interview follows revelations that police feared he would be assassinated on the front steps of London's High Court.

He revealed earlier he was told to keep a statement celebrating his freedom brief due a perceived threat on his life.

The police concerns emerged as Mr Assange revealed further details about his prison stay - including that he was housed alongside paedophiles and found support among prison guards.

Lagos residents returning home after work were today held up in endless traffic congestions following the closure of all key roads, which lead to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from Victoria.

The roads closure was traced to the visit of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) to Lagos metropolis, a situation which sparked anger and pain among Lagos residents who were returning after their stressful day. .

There were fierce-looking officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) at different junctions of the closed roads, especially those leading directly to the popular Third Mainland Bridge, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Funsho Williams Avenue.

we gathered that the closures started more than one hour before the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the routes.

The roads were closed at about 6:15 p.m. by security operatives but were not opened until about 7:33 p.m. after the convoy of President Jonathan and his entourage had driven through the Third Mainland Bridge heading to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.  

Thousands of road users and motorists, who were held in the traffic, were visibly furious and angry; bitterly lamenting that such blockage or closure was unnecessary during a democratic dispensation.  

Precisely around 7:28 p.m. after the convoy had passed, a good number, who had alighted from their respective vehicles, were angrily booing President Jonathan, though security operatives scared them away. .

Before the roadblocks were dismantled, we spoke with a number of road users, who were held in the traffic jam, which covered a distance of more than five kilometers and in some cases more than that.

A banker in one of the new generation banks, who plead anonymity for security reasons over the situation, saying he was fortunate to have closed early, but the hold-up had shattered the plan of being with his family on time.

The banker expressed concerns about the capacity of President Jonathan “to guarantee fundamental human rights in different spheres of life. The idea of blocking roads because of the president is uncalled for.”
 
Another resident, Mr. Segun Balogun told us that the visit of the President to Lagos metropolis “has always been a source of concern and worry due to the tradition of road closure.”
 
Balogun condemned the tradition, which he said, had put road users and motorists under unnecessary stress.

In his response, Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) on Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa appealed to Lagos residents to bear with the state government after the hold-up eased few hours later.

Opeifa added that traffic congestion experienced “all around Lagos roads was due to road closure from Victoria Island to Murtala Mohammed International Airport arising from presidential visit and the consequent closure of Lagos roads by the security operatives of the Nigeria Police.”
 
The special adviser asked Lagos residents to be patient, saying the roads would be opened as soon as the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the Victoria Island en route the airport.

culled and adapted rom thewill

She was found in Ifo, Ogun State….

It is not Confirmed yet the circumstances that led to her finding as some reports claim that the Kidnappers were traced by their GSM number while Others claim her parents was called by the Kidnappers who handed her over.
The most Important News is That She is Back home, safe and Alive!

She was missing for 7days!!!
Her parents,family and friends did
not sleep at all.
Her mum was on her knees crying to God today Monday
december 20th,exactly one week after she went missing,when they
received an Anonymous call to come and pick up sharon from outside of
Lagos.

This is the good news people!!

Sharon has been
found thank God,her mum is on the radio now,she was kidnapped by the
Family friends "houseboy" who planned to phone her parents a few days
later and ask for a ransom but his partners backed out and he panicked
so he phoned her dad today to come pick them up at Ifo where he
confessed everything.
Please be careful with our young ones and trust
no one !!!

Thank God…..i had almost postphoned Christmas this
year!
Welcome home Sharon….Welcome!!...

Cameroon and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o set a new landmark for individual success in African football on Monday after being named the continent's Footballer of the Year for a record fourth time.

The 2010 award came five years after his last triumph and capped a year of unprecedented club success in which he also extended his scoring record at the African Nations Cup finals.

The Cameroon captain finished ahead of Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba and Asamoah Gyan of Ghana in the polling for Africa's top individual prize, awarded at the Confederation of African Football's awards gala in Cairo.

"It is a pleasure to be a winner again, to take it for the fourth time against such top opposition," Eto'o told a news conference after the ceremony.

"It is true now that Africa has so many good players and there is lots of talent coming up, so this might be a last chance for me."

Eto'o was African Footballer of the Year from 2003-05 and his fourth award surpasses the three titles won by Abedi Pele in the early 1990s.

Eto'o's goal-scoring form helped Inter Milan to a triple of titles last season, including the UEFA Champions League in which the 29-year-old took a winner's medal for a second successive year.

He scored on Saturday as the Italians beat African champions TP Mazembe Englebert in the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

Photo2:Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o (R) holds his 2010 African Footballer of the Year award while standing with Asamoah Gyan of Ghana in Cairo, December 20, 2010.

Eto'o scored twice at the Nations Cup in Angola in January to stretch his tournament record tally of goals to 18. He also netted at the World Cup finals but later described Cameroon's poor performance in South Africa as the biggest disappointment of his career.

REUTERS

A Nigerian, Zainab Suleiman,62, on Sunday died onboard an Ethiopian airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Abuja..

The deceased’s husband, Suleiman Abdulra’uf, a Kano based businessman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent in Addis Ababa that they were returning from New Delhi, when they transited to Addis Ababa and boarded another plane for onward journey back to Nigeria.

‘‘We travelled to New Delhi for treatment. She was discharged and on our way back,

we stopped over here in Addis Ababa where we changed planes, but one and a half hours after take-off, she died and the plane returned to Addis Ababa,’’ Mr. Abdulra’uf said.

He described the death of his wife as the will of God and that the corpse had been deposited at a morgue, while Ethiopian immigration and airline officials were making necessary arrangement for its transportation to Nigeria.He said he took the deceased to New Delhi for a cancer treatment.

NAN reports that some senior officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia, headed by John Ejinaka, the Charge de Affairs of the embassy, had on Monday met with the deceased’s husband at the Chancery in Addis Ababa.

Another Nigerian was also reported to have died last week onboard an Ethiopian Airline plane from Abuja to New Delhi. The deceased was also going for medical treatment in India.

Mr. Ejinaka told the NAN that the embassy recorded six of such cases in 2009.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) will be the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate for Lagos in the 2011 general election, THEWILL can report.

Sources close to the ACN National Secretariat told THEWILL that all the issues, which pitched Mr. Fashola against some powerful interests in the rank of the party have been totally resolved.

But Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan may not run as Mr. Fashola’s deputy as the current Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefilure is being seriously considered for the position, checks revealed over the weekend.

We gathered that Mr. Fashola "is still making a case for Sosan on the ground that both have had a robust relationship short of conflict since 2007" when the Fashola administration came on board, a top ACN chieftain told our correspondent.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed confirmed to another source that Fashola has been given the governorship ticket as the ACN flagbearer for the 2011 Lagos guber race adding that the ACN primaries for the governorship ticket would just be a formality.

Commenting on the friction between Mr. Fashola and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, our source said the ACN leadership has also resolved the differences between both men. The resolution was responsible for the ‘top of the roof’ reception accorded Mr. Fashola during the presentation of the 2011 budget proposal at the House of Assembly.

After the budget presentation, Speaker Ikuforiji described Fashola as Governor of all governors, a comment, which elicited mass applause from a sophisticated gathering of party leaders, political stakeholders, lawmakers, investors and almost all members of the State Executive Council (SEC).  

Ikuforiji also commended Fashola and his team for the achievements they had recorded in the past years, though he said the Assembly “considers budget a very important tool for nation-building, accelerated growth and rapid development, especially in the face of disaffection and discontentment everywhere.”

we also learnt that the friction between Fashola and Ikuforiji was settled on the eve of the state congress of the party, which was held penultimate Saturday, the day the supporters of the former were billed to stage a protest at the state secretariat of the party over what they described as irregularities in the ACN congresses.
 
Recall that the protest did not hold as earlier scheduled and no reason was given for the cancellation though security at the state party's secretariat was beefed.

But on the same day of the state congress, Fashola surprisingly arrived at the state secretariat of the party in the same Land Rover SUV with former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who many believe was behind Fashola’s woes over disagreement on tax commission due Tinubu’s Alpha Beta, a revenue collection company contracted to collect taxes on behalf of the state government.

After a close-door meeting, the state party’s Chairman, Otunba Oladele Ajomale told journalists that there was no point changing a winning team, which was the first signal that the party had settled for Mr. Fashola as its choice.

Analysts have argued that the ACN will be defeated in the 2011 Lagos governorship election if the party dumps Mr. Fashola for another candidate following the friction between the Tinubu and governor.

Agitations have been mounted on Governor Babatunde Fashola to create a new state to be called Lagoon State out of Lagos State, South West Nigeria .

This time around, the agitation is coming from lawyers as they joined the leagues of prominent Lagosians championing the call for a new state to be created out of the state .

The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ikorodu Branch, said it has become necessary to create Lagoon State because many Lagosians were championing the cause.

Speaking at the 6th Annual Babatunde Olusola Benson Lecture to commemorate the branch’s 2010 Law Week held in Ikorodu yesterday, the Chairman, NBA, Ikorodu Branch, Prince Kazeem Adebanjo, said the move would bring about greater development, economic advancement and prosperity of Lagos State as a whole and the proposed Lagoon State in particular.

According to him, the Ikorodu NBA chapter would convene a special forum to discuss the possibility of the creation of Lagoon State , urging all stakeholders to give support to the agitation.

Also, the chairman decried the congestion of cases before the Lagos and Ibadan division of the Court of Appeal and called Fashola to fast track the creation of an additional Court of Appeal division in Ijebu-Ode or Ikorodu.

“There is need to arrest this trend by increasing the number of court rooms and/or panels to guarantee the appearance of more lawyers at the appellate courts as well as ensure speedy dispensation of justice at the appellate courts so that the efforts made at the High Courts to achieve quick conclusion of cases could be completed at the appellate court level”, he said.

Speaking at the event, Fashola did not comment about the agitation for the creation of Lagoon State, rather his speech, was anchored on taxation.

He advocated the need for voluntary tax payment, saying it is rooted in the essence of representative and good governance.

“Tax gives us the choice of the type of life we want to live”, he said, adding that it also helped government to fulfill its part of the Social Contract.

According to the governor, the landmark achievements credited to his administration across the state in the last three and a half years could not have been possible without the people fulfilling their own part of the social contract by paying their taxes as and when due.

Explaining the correlation between Politics and Law, Fashola said as the various political parties began to contest for power, all their engagements and processes being used by them were founded in law.

Also present at the occasion which took place at the Ikorodu Town Hall were President of the Appeal Court, Justice Isa Ayo Salami; his immediate predecessor, Justice Umar Farouk Abdullahi; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Mr. Olasupo Sasore; the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, His Royal Majesty, Oba S.A.A. Oyefusi; and his wife, and the Chief Host, Chief Babatunde Olusola Benson, among others.

Highlight of the event was a lecture with the topic, “Taxation and Good Governance in a Developing Democracy”, given by Special Adviser to the Governor on Revenue and Taxation, Mr. Ade Ipaiye.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga

Gunmen in two speedboats in the early hours of yesterday invaded the country home of Governor Timipre Sylva in Okpoama, Brass local government area of Bayelsa and whisked away the site engineer in charge of the construction of the house, Mr. Jude Abaokpore.

The fate of Abaokpore is still at press time, unknown as his abductors are yet to make any contact or make any demand.
This is coming on the heels of the vandalising and setting ablaze of the posters and billboards of PDP governorship aspirant, Timi Alaibe by some people.

The gunmen were said to have invaded the sea view residence of the governor at about 01.00 hours yesterday, but after a thorough search of the building which is at the finishing stage of construction, they moved to the engineer’s residence located within the premises where he was picked up and whisked to an unknown destination.

The gunmen were said to have picked the man amidst sporadic gun shots, which forced the patients of a private clinic within the vicinity to flee immediately after the operation ended.

Confirming the incident, the spokesman for the state police command, Eguavoen Emokpai, (ASP), said crack detectives have been deployed to Brass to fish out the gunmen and rescue the engineer.

Also reacting to the kidnap, the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Chief Nathan Egba condemned the action of the gunmen whom he called “common criminals.”

“Government condemns the actions of these common criminals whose activities will only help to pull back the hand of progress in the state.”.

He confirmed that the police have swung into action in order to effect the immediate release of the ‘’innocent man to enable him join his family for the festive season.”

Meanwhile, political thugs in broad day light, on the streets of Yenagoa, have started pulling down the posters of Alaibe.

Disclosing this to newsmen yesterday, Mr. Douye Diri, a former commissioner for sports in the state said the thugs were aided by a vehicle belonging to the “Famou Tangbei,” a police outfit set up recently to combat rising crime rate in the state.Contacted, the police said that they were yet to receive any report on the alleged vandalism.

While his body remains at the mortuary, the above riddle is at the center of the death of Haruna Shaibu at Obangede, Okehi Local Government of Kogi State. He was alleged to have committed suicide in the cell when he was in custody of the police there.

The family is, however, not convinced Haruna hung himself. Despite the overtures made to them by community leaders, council chairman and the clan chief, the family has refused to collect Haruna’s body which lies cold at the Obangede General Hospital.

According to Haruna’s brother,Ayodele Shaibu, otherwise known as Pastor Joseph Onono, who doubles as the family spokesman, the family is now being persecuted for refusing the overtures of community leaders to collect and bury his brother.

“The chairman of Okehi LG, Alhaji Ibrahim Adagu, gave us N10,000 and ordered us to collect the body. We refused because the police and other accomplices are yet to explain to us how my brother died. And for refusing to accept his body, thugs were sent after us. They invaded our house to disperse and harass us. I had to call the police before they allowed us to live in peace.”

Haruna’s journey to death began on September 17, 2010 when he was arrested on allegation of theft. In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, the lawyer described those who arrested Haruna as a group that is in charge of an “illegal security outfit ”. He was taken to Obangede Police Station and detained. Few days after his arrest, the police claimed the deceased committed suicide in their custody.
Onono told Daily Sun that until the circumstances surrounding the death of Haruna are established, he would not collect his brother’s body.

He hinged his assertion on allegation that his brother’s death must have arisen from police’s complicity with local politicians to use his corpse for ritual purposes. He also alleged that, the other man accused of the same offence and arrested along with his brother was released immediately after his family paid some money and wondered how anybody in police custody could have access to a belt which the police claimed the deceased used to hang himself.

He also faulted the picture of his brother that was shown to him and the narration of the police: “How would a hung person’s feet be on the ground instead of being suspended?”
The petition to the IGP bythe family’s lawyer said: “our client’s complaint is yet to be looked into namely, that a post-mortem examination be carried out to ascertain the cause of the death of the deceased...

The need for a post-mortem exercise becomes the more real as the medical officer in the General Hospital, Obangede who received the corpse of the deceased into the mortuary was baffled at noticing some blood stains on the make-shift stretcher. This is aside from the fact that the police building at Obangede is decked.”

The family’s solicitors therefore asked that a post-mortem be done to determine the real cause of death with a view to bringing to book anybody that might be involved in the death of the deceased.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Prof. Tam David-West yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for kneeling down to receive blessings from the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

David-West said: "I ‘m forced to react very negatively to President Jonathan kneeling down to be blessed by Pastor Adeboye pointedly for election 2011.

"President Jonathan has not gone to the Congress to be so advertised, except now. There is no record available to me that he has been there for any of the revivals. I respect Pastor Adeboye. He is one of the serious ones of the multitude of new evangelists sprouting like mushrooms on the field. I’m sure the great pastor knows that I respect him and I have evidence for it. But his picture (showing him kneeling down and being blessed by Pastor Adeboye) publicised by many newspapers today offends my fundamental Anglicanism. .

" Nigeria is a secular state. We have two major religions – Christianity and Islam. Will Jonathan also go to an Imam to kneel down to be blessed? This is where he has run foul of the Constitution. I’m not against any Christian going to a pastor to be blessed with a caveat that I hope the person who is blessing is chosen and anointed by God because the Bible says God knows who worships Him sincerely. "

" What Nigeria needs for 2011 and beyond are leaders who sincerely believe in God and because of this belief in God they live uprightly. Nigeria needs leaders of integrity, discipline not corrupt. Without these ingredients for god governance, God will not hear the prayer of corrupt politicians. "

I think He should find out how many Imams & Alfa's IBB and Co. have knelt down before. Then he should shut up !

Word is that Timaya just sealed an Endorsement deal with Telecoms Giant GLOBACOM....

The deal is said to be worth #87 million Naira and runs for the next two years...

Tongues are wagging that he was recruited in place of Dbanj, whose contract has expired and wont be renewed!

What did the kokoaste do ?

The Arewa support group for IBB has declared its support for the presidential ambitions of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja, the coordinator of the group, Hajia Mariam Abdullahi said that the declaration for President Jonathan became inevitable when Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged the northern consensus candidate for the 2011 presidential election.

Hajia Abdullahi lamented a statement credited to the president aspirant, where he was alleged to have called for violent change if necessary.

Meanwhile, the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization has launched a new campaign strategy to ensure victory for President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 election.

The strategy code named �Neighbour to Neighbour� aims at recruiting volunteers who will engage their neighbours to vote for the president during next year�s general election.

Jonathan goes spiritual on insecurity
Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that natural and acquired intellect, strategic plans and formidable defence were altogether insufficient to tackle the alarming rate of insecurity in the nation, except by divine intervention.

The president assured that his government would employ all means to ensure that the alarming incidents of kidnapping and threat to lives and property in Nigeria became a thing of the past, before the end of the first half of next year.

President Jonathan, while speaking at the just concluded annual Holy Ghost Congress of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, on Friday night, held at the Redeemed Camp, Lagos- Ibadan Express Road, reiterated that his government was committed to phasing out kidnapping in Nigeria and assured the people on security of lives and property ahead of next year’s general elections.

He stated that his government was a.ware that there would be no meaningful economic development in Nigeria if incidents of kidnapping persisted.

“I promise you that we will do everything to phase out kidnapping in Nigeria by the first half of next year, this is because there cannot be any development in a nation with high rate of kidnapping. Nobody will want to do business where there is no safety.

“Safety in Nigeria is the priority of our government, just pray for us that God should give us wisdom. We will work hard against robbery; we are committed to tackling corruption and mismanagement of public funds and we are also committed to education development. But I must tell you that none of these will work if God is not there for us. Pray that God should guide us.

“It is only God that can help me to change things. Pray for me now that I am the sitting president of your country. Pray for me not to deviate from the fear of God,” the president stated.

Speaking on the 2011 general elections, President Jonathan, who enjoined Nigerians to pray against any self- imposed leader at all levels, stressed that the stability and expected meaningful development in Nigeria could only come with the emergence of true leaders in the coming elections.

“I have discovered that whenever the country is drifting, Christians will always rise to pray and ensure stability. I am here tonight to submit myself to you and God for prayers. My political history was just like that of David in the Bible who did not know that he would become a king. I did not struggle for political position, it is never my efforts, that is why, anything I have to do, I do with the fear of God. Therefore, pray for me not to drift from His fear,” he said.

Based on his request, president Jonathan knelt down before the congregation and he was prayed for at the Holy Ghost Congress.

While commending Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the church, President Jonathan, who was attending the programme for the first time in its 13 years of existence, noted that when he visited the pastor in 2007 in company of his late boss, Musa Yar’Adua, “he prayed for us and all he told us came to pass.”