The Lagos State House of Assembly has given the assurance that it will continue to carry out its deliberations on Thursdays in Yoruba.

The Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Kolawole Taiwo, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Ikeja, Lagos.

This is just as Governor Babatunde Fashola said on Sunday that he had granted a state pardon tyo six convicts currently serving life sentences.

Taiwo was reacting to speculations that the assembly was not serious with deliberating in Yoruba, and may dump the idea soon.

However, Taiwo told NAN that the House had put adequate measures in place to sustain deliberations in Yoruba every Thursday.

He said one of the measures was the planned training of the House members and legislative workers in the use of the language.

The majority leader did not disclose when the training would be done, but said the Clerk of the House, Mr Adewale Olatunji, would determine that.

He said that members House were still at a learning stage with the use of the language for deliberations.

“If we have issues that are germane to us, we revert to English. We do that to give lawmakers the opportunity to discuss freely, especially when the report was prepared in English.

“It is so difficult translating reports into Yoruba but we are working on it,” he said.

Taiwo noted that the House had passed a supplementary budget, using Yoruba.

Meanwhile, those pardoned were above the age of 50 and had served a minimum of 20 years out of their jail terms.

Fashola, who made the disclosure in Lagos during a dinner party in commemoration of the third year of his administration named the beneficiaries as Lateef Alabi, aged 60; Sunday Oladapo (58) and Sunkanmi Alao (55)..

Residents and companies in Lagos and Abuja are soon to enjoy 16 and 24 hours power supply, according to a proposal by the Presidential Action Committee on Power.

Also to have 16-hour minimum electricity like Lagos are cities with what the committee called “stranded generation capacities.” The cities are Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Onitsha and Nnewi. The cities were chose because they are regional industrial and commercial hubs.

Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Aba, Abia State; Uyo, Akwa Ibom State are grouped by the committee alongside Abuja for 24-hour uninterrupted power supply

These are the highlights of a proposal by the PACP Action Plan that will alter the electricity supply system operated by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

Under the system, all generated electricity in the country would be transmitted to the National Grid and distributed by the National Control Centre, Osogbo, among the 11 electricity distribution companies.

The system would make it impossible for states that have built their own independent power plants to get steady supply because the electricity they generate is put into a pool instead of being used directly by them.
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A report on the preliminary presentation of the proposal by the Prof. Barth Nnaji-led committee obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, showed that Abuja is to enjoy 24-hour regular power supply because of its closeness to the Shiroro hydro plant.

Port Harcourt is also privileged because of the Rivers State-owned independent power plants in Trans-Amadi and Omoku. Uyo is benefitting due to Akwa Ibom State-owned Ibom Power Plant and Aba because it hosts the Geometric IPP.

According to the report, state capitals, urban and semi-urban areas are to enjoy 18-hour electricity while remote communities negatively impacted by transmission from Maiduguri, Kastina and Sokoto are to get about 12-hour supply.

The PACP also suggested that rural communities connected to the national grid should get 12-hour supply of electricity.

Recalling President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise to Nigerians to improve on electricity supply within a short time, the presidential committee said it understood the promise to mean fast-tracking improvement and predictability in the availability of power to Nigerian homes and businesses within three to six months.

The committee added that it plans to take irreversible steps to promote medium to long term sustainable growth of the Nigerian power sector within three to 12 months.

The PACP report, which was prepared by the secretariat of the committee, stated that the strategy would be to focus on all initiatives on customer- service delivery, which are availability, quality and reliability, with a strong presidential oversight.

It added, “We will simultaneously implement short, medium and long term solutions that make electricity availability predictable in Nigeria and fast-track the implementation of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005.”

The report also listed the objectives of the Action Plan to include making every electricity consumer a customer that is responsible and that complies with tariff and service obligations.

It said, “We will identify all sources of available excess captive generation in the country and develop a fast- track framework for making such accessible to customers.

“We will establish and sustain effective communication with power stakeholders and the Nigerian public across the entire span of the Action Plan.”

The PACP further claimed that the analysis of Nigerian electricity crisis indicated that “the problem is more process and management-related than capacity and equipment-related.”

The committee listed the management-induced problems to include poor fuel-to-power strategy; poor and irregular maintenance of power plants and installations; absence of strategic support agreement losses due to theft; sabotage; and vegetation interference with lines.

It also catalogued the commercial problems to include “lack of commercial framework for private sector participation/investment; ineffective and non-responsive regulation; and price adjudication mechanism, which results in inadequate tariff regime.

The report noted that there was “poor payment culture among Nigerian electricity consumers, poor revenue collection and non-responsiveness to consumer needs.”

According to the committee, labour issues believed to be hindering the performance of the power sector include “legacy” union problems, which prevent the reforms of the PHCN successor companies; inadequate manning level, whereby 90 per cent of revenue was spent on manpower costs; and inadequate capacity development.

Nigerian-born former Togo international and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor is due to arrive in Lagos on Tuesday at the invitation of the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and his football preparatory school, the BRF Youth Football Academy.

According to the Head, BRF Board of Trustees, Yomi Pearce, Adebayor‘s visit to the Nigeria is in fulfilment of his partnership with the academy.

The former Arsenal star is expected to train with the students of the academy and give them inspiration talks on Wednesday at Campos Square, Lagos, after which he will visit the Lagos Youth Correctional Centre at Oregun to talk to the housemates.

”Adebayor is well celebrated international football star with well known Nigerian roots. He is from a humble background from where he has grown to achieve success in world football. He serves as an example to many young men and women on the possibility of great achievements, ones circumstances notwithstanding,” Pearse said..

Nigeria is not left out of the wave of child sexual abuse sweeping across the Catholic Church worldwide, as a serving Irish Bishop and Archbishop of Benin City, Richard Burke, yesterday resigned over child sexual abuse he allegedly committed while serving as a priest in the Warri Diocese..

According to the Irish Catholic website, the Pope accepted the resignation of the Tipperary-born Archbishop, on Monday, saying “the reason for his resignation was his failure to observe his vow of celibacy.”

Mr. Burke of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, had initially relegated his office as Archbishop of Benin by stepping down in early 2009, after an allegation of child sexual abuse, which he denied. The allegation was by one Dolores Atwood, (a woman) who claimed she was sexually abused by Mr. Burke when she was 14 years old, while the Archbishop was serving as a priest in the Warri Diocese of the church.Photo:The Pope has accepted the resignation of Tipperary-born Archbishop Richard Burke, a member of the St Patrick’s Missionary Society and Archbishop of Benin City, Nigeria.

Acceptance of guilty

According to the website, Mr. Burke admitted having a sexual relationship with Mrs. Atwood but claimed adamantly that “she was over 18.” An investigation into the abuse claims by the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, according to a statement released yesterday, “found no evidence to corroborate the allegation of child sexual abuse.”

“The case has now been taken over by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and is still with that department of the Vatican,” the statement read.

In his resignation statement addressed to the Pope, Mr. Burke apologised for the “pain and hurt” he has caused Mrs. Atwood, who is now based in Canada, and her family, stating that “she and I had a caring relationship that began in the latter part of 1989, when she was 21 and I was 40. I was posted back to Ireland in March 1990, and returned to Nigeria in April 1996.”

The embattled bishop further described the sexual escapades he had with Mrs. Atwood as against the Catholic’s celibacy doctrine, stating that “in the last 20 years, Mrs. Atwood and I met on seven occasions. On three of those occasions, our relationship was again expressed sexually. This was entirely inappropriate behaviour and it is something for which I am truly sorry,” he expressed in the statement to the Vatican.

“I apologise to my family, to my relatives, to my friends, and to my fellow members of St Patrick’s Missionary Society. I also ask the forgiveness of the people, religious and clergy of the Diocese of Warri and the Archdiocese of Benin City. I am very aware that I have hurt many people and I ask their forgiveness and prayers,” he said.

The Catholic Church has being under immense attack, with Pope Benedict XVI coming under pressure for concealing some of the alleged abuses.

HER STORY:

Money on it's own is a useless asset, useless object and therefore a useless possession. But that it is a medium of exchange or a purchasing power, it has assumed such importance that people value it higher than the human life and are therefore worshipping it.

This perception of money informed pastor and George Buthrick opinion that "of all the masters the soul can choose, there are at least only two- God and money." Pastor Buthrick's opinion is a truism, and of practical relevant to our present day world; such that many have doggedly enslaved themselves to their master-money. This master-slave relationship is not without problems. But come to think about it, who is the real master?; money is an object created by man-while man is in turn created by God. Who then is the better master?.

The mastership of God is without problems, but the mastership of money is full with problems of varying dimensions.Therefore, the distinctive difference between God's mastership full of blessings as against the mastership of money full of problems that the Bible warns against serving God and mammon (money) (Mat. 6:24) Furthermore, the danger of serving money is emphasized in the Bible (l Tim. 6:10) where many have departed from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Money is a difficult master to serve, because too much of money or too little of it has created many problems for man. Therefore, when money is poorly handled in matrimonial homes, it has precipitated serveral problems especially in marriages, See below...:

1. My husband spends lavishly, he spends too much.

2. My husband is selfish and spends on himself only.

3. My wife spends food money on her personal needs and blames it on inflation-that things

are expensive in the market.

4. My wife spends carelessly and finishes a month feeding money in two weeks.

5. My husband does not give me food money in bulk for the month but in bits on daily basis, he is a

miser.

6. My husband does not give me pocket money, he is very stingy.

7. How can I tell my wife how much I earn, only fools do that, she will finish my money.

8. My husband spends his money on his relatives, but none for my people.

9. My wife insists on separate accounts, I do not know how much she earns.

10. Since I became unemployed, and my wife is the only one working, I am starving.

11. I do not know how much my husband earns, therefore I do not know how much I should ask him

for somethings, for the children and myself.

12. My wife insists that as the man, I should finance the home alone.

13. Inspite the fact that she works, my wife demands for money for everything in the house.

14. It was a big mistake to have a joint account with my husband, he cheats me so much.

15. My wife does not respect me because of lack of money.

16. My husband does not take care of me, the last clothes he bought for me were during our

traditional wedding.

17. My husband does not care how we feed though he works, the responsibility of maitaining the

family falls on me.

18. I am fed up, her demand for money to buy the latest fashion has no end.

19. Since my husband bought a car or built a house etc, we are suffering.

20. Because my wife bought most of the properties of the family, I have become an errand boy in the

house.

21. Since my husband got a new job which he earns higher, he started drinking and goes after other

women, am fed up with him.

These are some of the problems that have torn so many families and marriages into shreds or broken so many homes. It is in this wise that there is a big need to manage 'MONEY" very wisely, either plenty or small of it in a home, to avoid the above pitfalls.

Do not allow neighbours, friends and relatives to manage your home for you.

Do it yourself, and do it very wisely.

"GOD BLESS YOUR MARRIGE AND HOME"...!!!

The 2010 World Tobacco Day (which is today) focuses on the need to ban all forms of

promotion of tobacco even with a new direction to fight the recruitment of the womenfolk into smoking, In clubs,bars,malls & even some schools Ladies are not just boozing like the guys they are also puffing and beating the guys at it says the World Health organisation .

It may sound odd, but the World Health Organisation says more girls than boys smoke tobacco; giving new reasons why the anti-tobacco crusade must now address the womenfolk.

When on Friday, WHO called for a special protection of women and girls against tobacco, it was not as if the organisation had assumed the other members of the society needed not to be shielded from the harmful effects of what is perceived globally to be an addictive consumption.

It was because global researches have indicated a growing, worrisome trend in the habit of women and girls who take tobacco as a thing of glamour and status. WHO’s new direction of campaign is to press home the focus of this year’s World Tobacco Day..

WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said, “The trends in some countries are extremely worrisome,” adding, “Tobacco use is neither liberating nor glamorous. It is addictive and deadly.”

This 2010 campaign theme, “Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women, focuses on the harmful effects of tobacco marketing towards women and girls. It also highlights the need for governments to ban all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship and to eliminate tobacco smoke in all public and work places as provided in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” according to the global health body.

Nigeria, where the campaign against smoking has been gaining ground through the efforts of the Environmental Rights Action, is ranked among countries which WHO Director-General said the trend is pretty worrisome.

Smoking may be one habit that is generally perceived to be rife among males, but a recent survey, according to WHO, shows that there is a growing rate of tobacco use amongst girls and women. Women and girls are said to represent 20 per cent global smoking population.

“In half of the 151 countries recently surveyed for trends in tobacco use among young people, approximately as many girls uses tobacco as boys. More girls use tobacco than boys in some of the countries, including Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria and Uruguay.

“Women are a major target for the tobacco industry in its effort to recruit new users to replace those who will quit or die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases. The leading preventable cause of death, tobacco use kills more than five million people every year, about 1.5 million of whom are women,” says WHO on Friday.

And what is the nexus between tobacco and women? Or better still; what is the attraction? After strategic manners in which the anti-smoking campaigners across the world had tackled the recruitment of youths into smoking by tobacco manufacturers and marketers, there is said to be a new path manufacturers and marketers are following to force smoke down the throats of women. By linking smoking with beauty, young girls are easily fascinated and are consequently recruited into the habit.

Analysts are of the view that the same method employed in using the media to present slim girls as paragon of African beauty is being promoted to make young girls believe that their beauty is incomplete without tobacco addiction.

But it is not only those who engage in the practical habit of direct smoking that are considered to be smokers. Passive smokers abount through their inhaling of smokes in public places.

The inclusion of Nigeria amongst countries considered to be having a disturbing rate of smoking girls further reinforces the points being raised by Nigerian crusaders that the government needs to act fast before tobacco-related diseases add to its alleged unenviable record in health management.

Programme Manager of the Environmental Rights in Nigeria, an affiliate of the Friends of the Earth, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the focus on the need to save women and girls from smoking, which is the theme of this year’s tobacco day, should compel some persons in high places to act fast.

“It will interest you that the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, is a woman. And we believe that where the interests of women are concerned, a woman in the status of the senator should use her position to ensure the welfare of her fellow womenfolk,” say Oluwafemi.

His call is on the strength of a bill which was said to have been presented to the Senate by a member, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora which, according to him, is yet to be passed into law.

Among other things, the bill seeks to ban smoking in public and end all forms of promotion of the product in the country.

Mamora, who spoke with our correspondent on Sunday, said there had been deliberate moves to scuttle the bill at the National Assembly, adding that some of his colleagues who swore to defend the wellbeing of Nigerians were engaging in acts that are inconsistent with their oath of office.

Mamora said, “No amount of propaganda; no amount of purported job creation by the British American Tobacco can justify the number of lives being destroyed through the use of tobacco. This is because certain incontrovertible evidence have been established linking tobacco use to various diseases.”

In a separate statement on the 2010 World Tobacco Day, Oluwafemi called for the passing into law of the bill as a sign of government’s readiness to recognise the global concern for the health of its citizenry.

He stated, “It is a fact that dangers are associated with smoking. The World Health Organisation estimated that 5.4 million people die every year due to tobacco-related diseases, with majority of these deaths happening in developing countries.

“Tobacco is the only consumer product that is guaranteed to kill half its consumers if used according to manufacturers’ intention. It contains more than 4,000 dangerous chemicals harmful to the body.

“It is also a fact that stringent measures aimed at reducing smoking in Europe and America have driven the tobacco industry to developing countries like Nigeria, where the industry continues to flout regulations, marketing to young and impressionable youths, and hooking them on smoking.”

Indeed, another recent survey, according to Oluwafemi, also shows that two persons die each day in Lagos hospitals as a result of tobacco-related ailments.

With the theme of this year’s event, many expect that the focus will now shift to demystifying those messages being sold to girls which make them embrace smoking as a way of upping their beauty profiles.

Perhaps, that will compel manufacturers and marketers to also review strategies. But then, the health of the citizenry is at the centre of it all.

A total of 10 youths have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to smuggle 12.33kg of narcotics out of the country..

A statement by the spokesman of the agency, Mr. Ofoyeju Mitchell, on Sunday also revealed that drug barons were now targeting Nigerians living in Europe, because they possessed travel documents.

The NDLEA stated that apart from two of the suspects residing in Lagos, the others were residents of European nations. It said that 12.33kg consisted of 1.115kg heroin and 11.215kg of cocaine.

The Airport Commander of the NDLEA, Alhaji Hamza Umar, gave the names of the suspects as Osaze Monday, 37, who allegedly ingested 60 pieces of cocaine weighing 1.010kg; Izevbokun Kelvin, 22, who ingested 111 pieces of cocaine weighing 1.610kg; Joe Favour, 26, who ingested 82 pieces of cocaine weighing 1.300kg; Nwodo Oscar,34, who swallowed 95 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.515kg; and Chinedu Okeke,40, who swallowed 69 wraps of heroin weighing 1.115kg.

Others are Obarisiagbon Marvis, 32 who ingested 77 pieces of cocaine weighing 1.445kg; Liasu Ajadi, 41,who ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.190kg; Ejiro Henry,19, who ingested 73 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.285kg; Lever Ehigie,21, who ingested 66 pieces of cocaine weighing 900 grammes; and Omorose Kingsley,28 that swallowed 960 grammes of cocaine.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, in a goodwill message on Democracy Day charged youths to shun for illicit wealth.

He charged youths to take advantage of the numerous windows of opportunities in the economy to reposition themselves for leadership responsibilities.

Giade, who identified indiscipline and greed as the factors responsible for the involvement of youths in narcotics trafficking, urged them to “positively rebrand” themselves.

“Drug traffickers usually act on impulse as a result of greed and indiscipline. Unfortunately, many only have a re-think after they had been caught,” the NDLEA boss stated.

American cage fighter 'rips out still-beating heart of training partner after fearing he was possessed by the devil'

A truly heartbreaking & Frightning Story .

Jarrod Wyatt also cut out Taylor Powell's tongue and ripped off most of his face in a brutal assault that police said looked like a scene from a horror film, officers said.

They claim they found the 26-year-old standing naked over his friend's body with parts, including an eyeball, strewn around the blood splattered room in Klamath, California.

Wyatt allegedly told police he had drunk a cup of tea spiked with hallucinogenic mushrooms and became convinced Powell was possessed.

According to an autopsy Powell, 21, bled to death after his heart was ripped out..

The coroner said Powell had been alive when the organ was ripped out after his chest had been sliced open with a knife.

Wyatt told the police he thrown the heart into a fire along with other organs that he had removed from the body, it was claimed.

He allegedly told investigators he cooked the body parts because he was fearful Powell was still alive and he ‘needed to stop the Devil’.

Police had been called to the grisly scene after a third friend had witnessed a sudden mood change in Wyatt after they had all ingested wild mushroom tea.

Photo: Arrested: Jarrod Wyatt was allegedly found standing naked over his dead friend's body in a room bathed in blood

Justin Davis told police he returned to the flat to find Wyatt naked and covered from head to toe in blood.

He noticed an eyeball lying in the middle of the floor and saw Powell's mutilated body.

A lawyer representing Wyatt has claimed the wild mushrooms caused him to act in such a violent way and had not control over his actions.

‘My client was trying to silence the devil,’ said James Fallman.

‘I think he was having a psychotic fit based on the mushrooms he had.’

Wyatt has been charged with first degree murder and torture.

Prosecutors added the torture charge as Powell was still alive when his heart was removed.

Lukman Haruna scored a second-half goal as World Cup-bound Nigeria salvaged a 1-1 draw with Colombia on Sunday.Photo:Obafemi Martins of Nigeria (L) chases Mario Yepes of Colombia (R) during a friendly international football match at Stadium:MK in Milton Keynes on 30 May, 2010. The match was played without spectators with many fans unhappy of the lack of access to the game.

Carlos Valdes gave Colombia a lead in the 12th minute of Nigeria's next-to-last warmup game ahead of the World Cup.

Haruna tied it in the 69th minute..

Nigeria also faces North in a friendly in Johannesburg June 5 before meeting two-time champion Argentina in its tournament opener on June 12.

Meanwhile the colombians were recently robbed in their South African Hotel by hotel employees see article here

President Goodluck Jonathan is to join other world leaders to participate in the 25th Africa-France Summit, which holds from Sunday to Tuesday in the Southern French city of Nice.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jonathan is expected to depart Abuja for Nice today.
Jonathan is attending the Summit on the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy and in his capacity as Chairman of ECOWAS.

NAN correspondent, covering the event in Nice reports that Governors Gabriel Suswam (Benue) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu), were among dignitaries who arrived Nice yesterday.
The President is expected to meet with the Nigerian community in France on Sunday to discuss issues relating to the progress of the nation and Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The Summit, according to the convener, Sarkozy, is intended to reshape relations between Africa and France and the growing awareness of the changes in Africa..

Heads of States and Governments are expected to converge on Nice Acropolis Convention Centre on Monday for the opening session.
The world leaders are also billed to hold meetings to discuss Africa’s role in global governance as well as issues of peace and security on the continent and the world at large.
The Summit is also to discuss climate change and the need for a development leap in Africa as well as the continent's economic challenges.

The wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, was on Thursday in Lagos announced as one of the winners of the Union Bank Plc savings bonanza.

She was declared as winner of a motorcycle (okada) in the grand finale of the bank’s savings bonanza, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Jonathan’s wife, with ticket number 387492, operates a savings account with the Yenagoa branch of the bank.

The Managing Director of SO and U Advertising, Mr. Udeme Ufot, after confirming the account, announced the President’s wife as the winner of the bonanza.

The Managing Director of Union Bank, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, said on the occasion that the bank would not relent in its effort to support investment in the real sector.

She said the development would facilitate the nation’s rapid economic growth.

“With the conclusion of the draw today, we would have given out the prizes earmarked at the beginning of the savings promo, thereby fulfilling our promise to the public,” Osibodu said..

She said it was important for the bank, because “it is a mark that will remain reliable as a financial institution.”

The bank chief said the promo was aimed at strengthening retail and consumer behaviour to mobilise deposit from the savers, especially the small scale ones.

NAN reports that the bank gave out 18 cars, 60 motorcycles, N8.6m cash and three Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps to winners.

Gary Coleman: The Child Star Who Never Had It All

Gary Coleman was taller than you might've thought. He was world-weary for longer than you might've feared. And he was not the former child star you might've imagined.

The quintessential former child star is a person whose early success is a curse, who gets it all—fame, wealth, influence—only to lose it all, mugshot by mugshot by Cash Call commercial.

Coleman looked as if he fit the bill better than anyone. But not if you know the whole story.

Now, even though I wrote a book on former child stars, I don't pretend to know the whole story. I don't know what happened to Coleman's millions. I don't know why a joint autobiography written with his parents discussed the night his mother gave birth to him, even though she evidently didn't—he was adopted.

But I know this: Coleman, who died today at age 42, couldn't lose it all if he never had it all.

When he was just 22 months old, it was learned a knotted-up ureter tube had blocked off, and essentially killed his kidneys. Until the age of 4, he relieved himself through two holes that doctors cut into his stomach. For a time, he was equipped with a pouch that the preschool-aged Coleman could manipulate to make it look as though he was peeing just like all the other boys. When he was 5, he underwent kidney-transplant surgery.

So, no, Coleman never had it all.

Even when you thought he had it all—when he was the biggest child-star of the late 1970s-early 1980s, when he was the kid who saved the then-struggling NBC, when he was earning as much as $3 million a year from Diff'rent Strokes and his far-flung enterprises—he didn't.

In fact, he only appeared to have it all precisely because he never had it all.

Following the kidney transplant, Coleman was put on a steroid regimen to guard against organ rejection. The treatment had two side effects: One, it stunted his growth; two, it made him the Hollywood ideal—the performer who can play younger, much younger. That Coleman could sell a punchline made him a talent. The fact that, as a 10-year-old, he could sell a punchline looking like a cherubic 8-year-old made him a phenomenon.

Hollywood has probably never taken more advantage of a disadvantage.

Diff'rent Strokes curse? Child-star curse? Coleman wasn't one for self-pity or excuses, and he didn't do curses. "I just happen to be one who has survived, who has survived being chewed upon," he told me in 2001.

Coleman's determination was double-edged: Because he perservered, he spent more years as a former child star—as the ultimate former child star—than he did as a child star. He spent more years living down Arnold Jackson than he spent living it up as him.

One thing Coleman never seemed to spend time on, however, was trying to get back what he once had. Sure, he'd appear on your TV show or do your movie if the money was there, but he never seemed desperate, as former child stars can be, for a return to the spotlight. For a return to the good old days.

Maybe he knew he they were never that good to begin with.