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

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

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Read the:

***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.

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..

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.

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.

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."

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

.

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.

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.”

Ryan O'Neal says he has been so estranged from his daughter Tatum that he hit on her at Farrah Fawcett's June funeral because he didn't recognize her.

"I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me," Ryantells the September issue of Vanity Fair."I said to her, 'You have a drink on you? You have a car?' She said,'Daddy, it's me--Tatum!' I was just trying to be funny with a strangeSwedish woman, and it's my daughter. It's so sick."

Tatum says she wasn't creeped out, either. "That's our relationship in a nutshell," says the actress, who won an Oscar at age 10 forstarring with her father in Paper Moon. "You make of it whatyou will. It had been a few years since we'd seen each other, and hewas always a ladies' man, a bon vivant."

Tatum had struggled with addiction growing up and hadn't spoken to her father in years. Penning her 2004 memoir A Paper Life didn't help their relationship, either.

"She wrote a book--b***!" Ryan recalls thinking. "How dare she throw our laundry in the street for money!... Tatum says her father "hasevery right to be angry about the book; no parent wants to hear theirkid saying s**** things about them... But what I wrote in the book wastrue. I've got a battle with drugs, but I'm a strong, independentperson, and I fight for myself, and my father and I butt heads."

"When I was 16 years old, he and Farrah moved in together, and after that I saw my dad periodically, and that took a long time for me to getover," she says. "Would I do that to my kids? No, but I don't thinkFarrah was responsible for that. I truly thought Farrah wasinspirational and beautiful and kind. Anyway, it's past; I've moved on.I'm older now, and I forgive him.".

Wednesday’s weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation was cancelled at the instance of the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, after two delays.

The announcement was made by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ahmed Yayale, who said Mr. Jonathan had been on his feet since the day before, and still had some state matters to attend to.

The meeting was initially shifted from its original 10am to 2pm because of the Acting President’s busy schedule, but it was eventually called off.

The FEC, a meeting of cabinet members and heads of the civil service, sets government policy and spending agenda.

This would have been the 10th session of the cabinet meeting for the year. It is, however, the second to be cancelled since the return of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who returned into the country two weeks ago..

There had been fears that Mr. Jonathan might dissolve the cabinet yesterday, following the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Council headed by Theophilus Danjuma.

It was also gathered that the Acting President may be fatigued after having a long meeting last night with the president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Ba Koroma and the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete; continuing this morning with an international conference, both of which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

This may not be out of place, as the Acting President has, for the past two to three weeks, in a bid to cover up lost grounds, increased his working hours to both include Saturday and Sunday.

Waiting on the Acting President

The meetings, which held on Tuesday night, had dragged on till about 11pm and was reconvened on Wednesday, from 9am till about 2pm.

“Attention ministers, the Acting President is just closing, coming from an international conference on Agro Allied Business seminar, coming back to the residence; he is equally engaged with other state duties. So, he has asked me to convey to you that this executive council meeting is cancelled.

Next week, Insha Allah, it will be convened or any day the Acting President deems it fit to reconvene,” Mr. Yayale announced.

Carlos Slim Helu takes No. 1 spot on Forbes World's Billionaires list as a record 164 10-figure titans return to the ranking amid the global economic recovery.

For the third time in three years, the world has a new richest man.

Riding surging prices of his various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil (AMX), Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has beaten out Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth and nab the top spot on the 2010 Forbes list of the World's Billionaires.

More at Forbes.com: The World's Billionaires

Cost of Living Large

Women Billionaires

Slim's fortune has swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which Slim owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35% in a year.

That massive hoard of scratch puts him ahead of Microsoft (MSFT) cofounder Bill Gates, who had held the title of world's richest 14 of the past 15 years.

Gates, now worth $53 billion, is ranked second in the world. He is up $13 billion from a year ago as shares of Microsoft rose 50% in 12 months. Gates' holdings in his personal investment vehicle Cascade (CAE) also soared with the rest of the markets.

Buffett's fortune jumped $10 billion to $47 billion on rising shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK). He ranks third.

The Oracle of Omaha shrewdly invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs (GS) and $3 billion in General Electric (GE) amid the 2008 market collapse. He also recently acquired railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) for $26 billion.

In his annual shareholder letter Buffett wrote, "We've put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. When it's raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble."

Many plutocrats did just that. Indeed, last year's wealth wasteland has become a billionaire bonanza. Most of the richest people on the planet have seen their fortunes soar in the past year.

This year the World's Billionaires have an average net worth of $3.5 billion, up $500 million in 12 months. The world has 1,011 10-figure titans, up from 793 a year ago but still shy of the record 1,125 in 2008. Of those billionaires on last year's list, only 12% saw their fortunes decline.

U.S. billionaires still dominate the ranks — but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world's billionaires, down from 45% a year ago.

The U.S. commands 38% of the collective $3.6 trillion net worth of the world's richest, down from 44% a year ago.

Of the 97 new members of the list, only 16% are from the U.S. By contrast, Asia made big gains. The region added 104 moguls and now has just 14 fewer than Europe, thanks to several large public offerings and swelling stock markets.

The new billionaires include American Isaac Perlmutter, who flipped Marvel Entertainment (MVL) to Disney (DIS) for $4 billion last December. The Spider-Man mogul netted nearly $900 million in cash and 20 million shares of Disney in the transaction.

Also new to the ranking: 27 billionaires from China, including Li Shufu, whose automaker, Geely, announced plans to buy Swedish brand Volvo from Ford in December. The deal is expected to close in March 2010.

Finland and Pakistan both welcomed their first billionaires.

For the first time China (including Hong Kong) has the most billionaires outside the U.S. with 89.

Russia has 62 billionaires, 28 of them returnees who had fallen off last year's list amid a meltdown in commodities. Total returnees to the list this year: 164.

Eleven countries have at least double the number of billionaires they had a year ago, including China, India, Turkey and South Korea.

Thirty members of last year's list fell out of the billionaire's club. Moguls who couldn't make the cut: Iceland's Thor Bjorgolfsson, Russia's Boris Berezovsky and Saudi Arabia's Maan Al-Sanea.

Another 13 members of last year's list died. Among the deceased: real estate developer Melvin Simon and glass tycoon William Davidson.

The Top 20 Billionaires in the World

AP Photo

1) Carlos Slim Helu

Net Worth: $53.5 billion

Source: Telecom

Residence: Mexico

• Telecom tycoon who pounced on privatization of Mexico's national telephone company in the 1990s becomes world's richest person for first time after coming in third place last year. Net worth up $18.5 billion in a year.

• Recently received regulatory approval to merge his fixed-line assets into American Movil, Latin America's biggest mobile phone company.

• His construction conglomerate, Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo, builds roads and energy infrastructure..

• Son of a Lebanese immigrant also owns stakes in financial group Inbursa, Bronco Drilling, Independent News & Media, Saks and New York Times Co.

• Newspaper outfit's stock popped in early March on talk he might buy a controlling stake; he denies the rumor.

• Donating $65 million to fund a research project in genomic medicine with American billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad.

AP Photo

2) Bill Gates

Net Worth: $53 billion

Source: Microsoft

Residence: U.S.

• Software visionary is now the world's second-richest man. Net worth still up $13 billion in a year as Microsoft shares rose 50% in 12 months, value of investment vehicle Cascade swelled.

• More than 60% of fortune held outside Microsoft; investments include Four Seasons hotels, Televisa, Auto Nation.

• Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft in 2008 to focus on philanthropy.

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation dedicated to fighting hunger, improving education in America's high schools, developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.

President Yar’Adua, 58, has not been seen in public since his presumed return to Abuja about two weeks ago in an air ambulance from Saudi Arabia, where
he was flown for medical treatment for heart and kidney conditions.

The secretive manner he was ferried into the country has raised suspicions that his kitchen cabinet led by his wife, Turai had planned to use him
as pawn in their power game to checkmate Acting President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan.

Barred from Aso Rock

Thousands who joined the Save Ni.ge.ri.a Group (SNG) to protest the continued absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua were stopped by the police from taking their protest to the Presidential Villa yesterday in Abuja. This is the second protest organised by group in Abuja,

“Section 144 must be invoked,” Yinka Odumakin, the group’s spokesperson, said. “We are tired of a president we cannot see. We need a president we can see, who can talk to us, who can govern. Not one they will be telling us that he said; somebody saw him drinking tea, somebody saw him playing with his grand children. We want to see him and if we cannot see him, we want a functional president.

Diary of a protest

The protesters had trickled in, first in dozens and then in hundreds, to the Unity Statue, beside the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to demonstrate their displeasure at the state of affairs in the nation.

Buses from Lagos later arrived, bringing in more protesters. Carrying placards with different inscriptions, such as ‘Jonathan, Get decisive now;’ ‘We must know Umaru’s health status;’ and ‘Turai, leave 9ja alone,’ the protesters patiently listened to the speakers.

But just as they began their march to the villa, they were stopped. John Ahmadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, explained to the leaders of the SNG that the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, was on his way to the nearby Transcorp Hilton Hotel, and the protesters had to wait for his motorcade to pass. The protesters reacted with loud crises, but Mr. Ahmadu stood his ground.

“We are here to give you all the necessary protection while you march,” he said. “Because we want to take care of those who may want to hijack your good intentions for a bad intention, please we urge you to go with our people orderly. Until you leave, we shall not stand down.”

The march continued after Mr. Jonathan’s passage and the crowd, now split into about three sections, sang choruses to show their displeasure.

The protesters were, however, stopped again when they got to the Bullet Junction that leads to the presidential villa. They were told by the police boss that they could not go beyond that point.

After over 20 minutes of waiting at the point, and placating speeches by their leaders such as Tunde Bakare, Femi Falana, Najatu Mohammed, and Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, arrived to receive the protesters message.

‘This is our message’

“When we received your request that you will like to hand over a letter to Acting President Jonathan, he directed the Secretary to the Government, in my own person, to come and receive it. I find it very easy and natural to come and face you because yours is a demonstration of democracy in action in Nig.eria,” Mr. Ahmed said, despite being booed all the way by angry protesters.

“Your three basic demands are noted,” he said. “One, you want to know the status of your president; it is because you love your president that you want to know his status, because you elected him. Secondly, you want us to take constitutional ways of dealing with it. This government is a creation of the constitution and we will do what the constitution says. Thirdly, we are aware of your concern regarding credible election in this country. Only two weeks ago, the Acting President handed over, again, Uwais committee report unedited, to the National Assembly.”

An assembly of drama

The protesters then moved to the National Assembly to submit the same demands, only to yet again be stopped at the gates by stern looking mobile policemen.

Despite several minutes of discussion between the SNG leaders and the police, the protesters were not allowed into the compound of the National Assembly. But for the intervention of Messrs. Falana and Bakare, the protesters were ready to confront the police.

“Their (members of the National Assembly) days are numbered,” an angry Mr. Bakare declared. “Whether by election or by divine intervention, their days in the National Assembly are numbered. Since they refused to allow Nige.rians, for whom the institution is built, to enter their premises, they can die inside. Nige.ria will flourish again. Nig.eria will conquer our conquerors.”

When contacted, however, the leadership of the Senate denied issuing orders to security officials to bar the protesters from entering into the premises of the National Assembly.

The Senate’s deputy spokesman, Anthony Manzo, said “Certainly, Wole Soyinka and his group are welcome anytime. We are ready to receive anybody that embarks on meaningful protest.”

However, the police officers had claimed they were acting on the orders of the leadership. Two rows of the officers interlocked their elbows to form a formidable barricade.

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the National Assembly, Okere Emeka, who is in charge of the security of the complex, was not immediately reachable to clarify who gave the orders to bar the protesters.

One of the demands of the Save Nigeria Group is that the lawmakers should begin the process to remove Mr. Yar’Adua from office. Mr. Manzo however said the Senate is not contemplating that yet.