Gani rejected my advice to accept national honour from Yar'Adua -former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammed Uwais • He handled more than 5,000 cases free of charge - Aondoakaa
A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammed Uwais, has disclosed that the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi rejected his advice on the national honour, which Gani was nominated for in 2008.
Justice Uwais, while speaking with newsmen, on Wednesday afternoon, at the Ikeja home of the late Fawehinmi, stated that he had advised Gani to take the national honour.
Uwais, who desctribed the late Fawehinmi as a “principled and dogged fighter for the downtrodden, stated that Gani had on receiving the nomination letter of the honour, called him to seek his advice.
Uwais said: “Sometime last year, he was to be awarded a national honour and it was conveyed to him. He called me from London and asked for my advice. He wanted to know if he should accept or reject the honour.”
The retired chief justice further stated that he had told the late Fawehinmi that the honour was coming from the people of Nigeria and that he should accept it, to which he claimed the late Fawhinmi said, ”all right.“
He stated that it was surprising to him the following day when he received the news that the late Fawehinmi had rejected the honour through a press release that was made available to many of the major national dailies in the country.
Uwais stated that his encounters with Fawehinmi were friendly and were of mutual respect. He said that the only valedictory service attended by Fawehinmi was the one in his (Uwais’s) honour.
He stated that he would miss Fawehinmi’s friendship and kindness while also stating that the late lawyer was a very principled person, who fought for good governance.
Meanwhile, more people have continued to pay their respect to Fawehinmi as the chairman of DAAR Communication, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, Donald Duke Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and some other Nigerians were at his Ikeja, Lagos, home on Wednesday.
Dr. Dokpesi described Fawehinmi as a “great patriot, who led and defended the ordinary masses of Nigeria.” He also stated that Gani offered his legal services free of charge to both Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria and DAAR Communication “during their trying times.”
He prayed that the Almighty God should “grant Gani’s immediate family and indeed all Nigerians, the fortitude and courage to bear the irreparable loss.“
Dr. Braithwaite described Gani as a “colleague and brother” in their early days of their beloved profession. He said he particularly admired Gani’s “ultimate compliment” to him.
He stated that Gani had once told him that he (Braithwaite) inspired him (Gani) and that he appreciated his struggle for human rights. He said that history would judge the late Fawehinmi kindly. Rasheed Adegbenro, the Director of Corporate Affairs of MAN, who represented the president of the association to honour Fawehinmi, stated that the late legal icon “touched the conscience of the society and gave meaning to fairness and justice.
It was also disclosed that the late Chief Fawehinmi, SAN, handled more than 5,000 cases for many Nigerians at no cost.
The Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, disclosed this on Wednesday at a valedictory court session organised for him by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in conjunction with the Lagos State Judiciary at the premises of the Lagos High Court in Igbosere.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) described Chief Fawehinmi as a noble man, a source of hope to the masses and the pride of Nigeria.
The event which saw all the judges of the Lagos High Court and members of the bar, who were fully robed in attendance, was presided over by the newly sworn-in Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Inumidun Enitan Akande.
In her address on the occasion, Justice Akande described Chief Fawehinmi as a man of great passion who stood firmly and consistently on the part of justice.
She said although Chief Fawehinmi was no more, he left behind a worthy legacy, noting that he stood tall as an accomplished legal luminary.
Justice Akande, while expressing her condolences on behalf of her colleagues on the bench to Fawehinmi’s family, regretted that he died while a new chapter was being opened in the Lagos State judiciary.
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), in his speech entitled “Gani Fawehinmi: A Dogged Fighter Departs In A Blaze Of Glory,” lamented the loss occasioned by the death of the legal luminary and noted that the tribe of genuine activists and consistent advocates of the rights of the common man was dwindling in quality and quantity.
“That the gadfly chose this period when despondency hangs thickly in the Nigerian firmament to bid us farewell makes the impact of the departure debilitating,” he said.
Akeredolu stated further that amidst the torrents of encomiums from both Nigerians and members of the international community on the contributions of this icon in the field of law and, more importantly, on his relentless crusade for the emancipation of the downtrodden, the totality of all this was yet to define all the qualities of the late Fawehinmi.
“This selfless advocate of the masses, public litigator par excellence, philanthropist, who acted as if condemned to do good, the scourge of deluded potentates and megalomaniac pimps, pious, yet unobtrusive with hypocritical display of holiness, erected monuments in good deeds which promise to lock time in a fierce battle in the centuries ahead,” he stated further.
Akeredolu, while condoling with the family of the late lawyer, stated that those who appeal to the government to immortalise him should hold their breath, saying “the best form of reminding ourselves that this strange strand of the human specie passed through this place on the planet is to continue his good deeds.”
The chairmen of the three branches of the NBA in Ikeja, Lagos and Ikorodu also delivered speeches on the occasion.
Personalities at the event included the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais (rtd), Mr. J. B. Dawodu (SAN), a member of the body of benchers, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Mrs Priscilla Kuye and Mr. Femi Falana.
Neighbours, artisans and other sundry employees of the lawyer were full of praises for him on Wednesday as his remains were laid-in-state at the inner chambers of his sprawling law firm at Ajao Estate in Anthony Village area of Lagos State.
Pa Yemi Osobukola , one of the landlords and a close door neighbour to Fawehinmi said that the siting of the deceased’s law firm in the estate popularised the area.
Pa Osobukola expressed the hope that the late Chief Fawehinmi would make Aljana (heaven), saying that his law firm was a befitting legacy left behind for the residents of the estate who had great respect for him.
Another landlord in the estate, Ambassador Kunle Adeyemi, described the late fiery Lagos lawyer as a very good neighbour who performed his civic responsibilities creditably in the management of the estate.
Also, his security, guard for years, Mallam Abdulrhaman Sadidi, said he was encouraged to work for the deceased lawyer because he stood for the truth and he was always doing good all the time.
“I loved him because of what he did, both professionally and privately, for the less-privileged. And I was further encouraged because of what he did for people both legally and morally. Above all, he paid for my pilgrimage to Mecca in 2007,” said Abdulrhaman.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 11, 2009 at 3:09am
In this report, Efem Nkanga writes on the feat achieved by Globacom a few days ago, when its GLO-1 Submarine cable landed in Lagos and concludes that Nigerians are set to experience the benefits of available broadband capacity by the emergence of the cable.
The Nigerian telecoms industry, a few days ago recorded a milestone when, indigenous telecoms player and Second National Carrier, Globacom’ landed its Submarine Cable in Lagos.
The cable, which drained the company’s purse by a whopping $800 million dollars is the buzz in the sector today because it was done entirely alone by the Mike Adenuga led company. The company is known for its innovative style and has in the last six years of operations pioneered the introduction of several other innovative services in Nigeria including Per Second Billing, Mobile Internet, Blackberry, Vehicle Tracking, Voice SMS and In-flight Roaming.
The fact that the company, which came in six years ago after other players had had two years head start could achieve this has confounded friends and foes alike because it has gone down in history as the world's first submarine optic fibre cable to be built by a single individual company as opposed to the normal practice, where a consortium of players partner to build one. Sometimes nations even come together and partner to build one e.g., the popular SAT3 built by a consortium of 36 countries, including Nigeria.
Other such examples include the Eassy project, a project of a Consortium of regional incumbent telecom operators in East Africa at the cost $265 million with a target launch date of 2009. Another initiative is that of the profit association of the international satellite industry called Global VSAT Forum , a not-for-profit organisation that is working to double the number of earth station terminals operating in Africa by 2012. A worldwide Global body of firms are involved in the business of delivering advanced digital fixed satellite speed up development in Africa. The initiative plans to bring in more than 20 satellites which will be brought into service to connect Africa during the next five years. Aside from the satellites, complimentary capacity building will also be delivered to governments in Africa by the GVF and the “MaIN OnE” Fiber project of Main Street Technologies, which will interconnect countries on the Atlantic Coast from Morocco through to Angola with each other, and through Portugal to the rest of the world. All these projects which are expected to help Africa achieve maximum coverage are being done by a body of companies and countries partnering together. Globacom is the only one done by a single individual company.
The cable, 9,800km long stretching all the way from the United Kingdom across Mauritania, Morocco and 16 West African countries with dedicated extension to New York, was anchored at its Landing Station at Alpha Beach, Lekki, Lagos precisely on the morning of Saturday, the fifth of September 2009.
The Glo 1 cable will deliver transmission capacity that will radically change Nigeria and Africa's economic landscape by providing unprecedented high speed internet services and make telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers. The project was handled by Alcatel-Lucent, the world leader in submarine cable installation. The Intrepid, the ship which brought the Glo 1 cable has left for Accra, Ghana to complete the Phase One of the installation in other West African countries including Senegal and Cote D'Ivoire. The landing of Glo 1 in Ghana will also boost the preparation for the nationwide launch of Glo Mobile Ghana.
Glo also said that the phase 2 of the submarine cable project will connect South Africa through Angola.
The revolution of mobile technology especially in Nigeria has spawned successes driven largely by competition, but the irony of this huge success is that while the mobile arm is experiencing galloping growth, with accessible access across the length and breadth of the country including the urban and rural areas, the area of Broadband and Internet access has not kept pace with this growth and has been relegated to the background. Nigeria’s internet penetration is still a dismal 4 per cent compared to the 97 per cent access recorded in the country in the area of mobile technology. With Bandwidth demand rising across the African continent by 19 per cent in the 2001, 28 per cent in 2002 and 37 per cent in 2003, Africa and Nigeria needs to have more of such increases.
This is why the move of Globacom, to enable adequate broadband through its GLO-1 for West Africa project is a welcome development. Globacom which has shown its financial muscle, capacity and foresight through its recent foray into the Republic of Benin to provide mobile technology services in that country. The building of an undersea fibre optic cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria is the dawn of an era that many hope will ensure the spread of broadband across the country.
The GLO-1 project which has landed in Lagos was said to have experienced some challenges due to lack of political co-operation for landing rights etc. But despite all the challenges, the cable has landed and Globacom is said to be planning to offer its services at a very affordable rate that will be below the current SAT3 rates, it’s a move many are looking forward to and a welcome development that will help Nigeria’s economy. Nigerians have not forgotten the last SAT 3 outage which crippled the nation for almost two weeks and Globacom’s foresight is commendable and stakeholders have expressed the hope that arrival of GLO -1 will help ensure that such is never experienced by the country again. The current scenario, where West African countries presently have a high dependability on satellite based operators for fulfilling their bandwidth requirements and the fact that bandwidth providers are retailing bandwidth they procure in bulk, which invariably is very expensive is expected to be solved by the the entrance of GLO-1. Apart from the fact that the Widening Digital divide between Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the World will be solved, price to value issues as well as issues of reliability and availability issues on the side of the only provider of Capacity between Nigeria and the rest of the World will become a thing of the past. Globacom's Group Executive Director, Mr. Paddy Adenuga said Glo-1's current and ultimate capacity is enough to cater to the required broadband capacity of Nigeria for at least the next 15 to 20 years. Glo 1 has a current capacity of 640Gigabit per second and an ultimate capacity of 2.5 Terabit per second. Adenuga said, ”Glo 1 will provide the needed opportunity for West African countries and indeed Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent communication network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and the rest of the world". He added that “The facility will provide the most comprehensive international communication services on the continent to bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the World,’ he added.
Adenuga said Glo 1 has 99.9 per cent up time reliability, world-class long distance voice, video and data communication services for African customers, adding that the cable will support the large bandwidth requirements of direct consumers and other service providers.
He said the cable will free up resources for other forms of investments which governments and business developments need through broad market coverage at high capacity and at a fraction of cost and time.
Glo 1 will also facilitate foreign investment and employment opportunities in the sub region, he stated.
He emphasized that a new dawn has arrived for Nigerians because ‘’Glo 1 will stimulate a new era of prosperity in the sub-continent,” said Adenuga who added that the successful delivery of the cable has shown that Globacom has an awesome capacity to deliver complex projects.
Dwelling on Glo 1's specific benefits to Nigerians in particular and Africans in general, Adenuga said the cable will facilitate teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine among several other benefits for the people.
“The facility will aid on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research, while distance learning will be made easy by enabling the participation of a class of students and lecturers from different parts of the world in real time,” he explained.
Globacom and Alcatel-Lucent officials also disclosed that the facility will be live in about six weeks when all the connections have been effected.
Commenting on the Submarine cable while it was still being awaited in Lagos, the Group Chief Operating Officer, Globacom, Jameel Mohammed explained the seeming delay in Glo-1’s arrival. He disclosed that implementing submarine cable projects, particularly one spanning about 10,000 km from London to Lagos is an initiative that usually takes between two to two and a half years to complete.
Furthermore, he said that because the cable passed through various territorial waters and jurisdictions of several African countries, Globacom had to contend with lengthy approval processes.“We needed so much permission from all those countries to pass the cable through their territorial waters. We needed approval from security agencies, approvals from oil companies and from various bodies”, he said.
Gleefully announcing the imminent change that will hit the sector, Mohammed stated that the Glo 1 would deliver transmission capacity that would radically change Nigeria and West Africa's economic landscape. Emphasizing that Glo-1 was another milestone in the history of Nigeria’s communications industry, he added that the cable would provide unprecedented high speed internet services and make telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers. This information from Mohammed is a good one because the problem of bandwidth is a problem that the nation had been grappling with for a long time.
Glo 1 is expected to provide the needed Opportunity for West African Countries and indeed Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent Communication network and a Cost effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and rest of the world. It is also expected to enable the most comprehensive international communication services on the continent to bridge the digital divide between Nigeria/Africa and the Rest of the World. Paddy Adenuga pledged that it will offer 99.9 per cent up time reliability, World-class long distance voice, video and data communication services to the African customer. This is in addition to high speed and reliable data, voice and video connectivity to meet and support the large bandwidth requirements of direct consumers and other service providers. Amongst all other benefits of Glo-1 enumerated by Adenuga include free resources for other forms of investments, governments and business development needs through broad market coverage at high capacity and at a fraction of cost and time, as well as long term business Plans regarding communication strategies, and the facilitation of foreign investment and employment opportunities for Nigerians.
No doubt, Glo- will help assuage Nigerians hungry for Broadband Access. The benefits derived from mobile technology has whetted the appetite of the people for more. The benefits of Broadband everywhere in the country will accelerate development to unquantifiable levels. It will give a boost to productivity as people will be able to achieve more quickly and efficiently. In the area of medicine, the advantages of telemedicine newly introduced into the country will be consolidated for the benefits of rural folks. Economic benefits would accrue, allowing businesses to thrive as new frontiers are conquered. In the area of Education, elearning programmes would be easier to support. Socially, beneficial interactions will be enabled and a flexible working environment will make for a more productive and efficient workforce that will translate to a more vibrant economy.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 11, 2009 at 2:07am
Officers of the State Security Service (SSS) in Ondo State on Wednesday beat and detained a reporter with the Compass Newspapers, Babatope Okeowo. He was on his way to the governor's office around 3.30pm when he encountered the SSS who intercepted his car.
The State Director of SSS, Victor Duru, who ordered the release of the reporter after a five-hour ordeal said he did not order the arrest of the journalist.
"I didn't have any problem with Mr. Okeowo and I did not send anybody to beat him," he said during a telephone interview.
Narrating his ordeal after he was set free, Mr. Okeowo said he initially thought his abductors were kidnappers when they first approached him.
"At about 3.30pm, as I was driving from Alagbaka end of the road towards the governor's lodge, I saw an unmarked vehicle coming from the rear with siren blaring. I looked at the inner mirror and discovered it was just a vehicle, so I gave him the way so that it could overtake me.
"Instead of doing that, the driver of the vehicle slowed down and I decided to move on. On getting to the junction of the governor's lodge, I showed signal that I would be going to the left. The road to my left leads to my destination, which was the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
"As I made to negotiate the left, the driver in the vehicle overtook me from the driver's side, which was clearly a breach of the traffic rule. Instead of the vehicle moving on, it blocked the road and four men that I later realised to be men of the State Security Service disembarked and ordered me to enter their vehicle.
"At first, I thought the men were kidnappers from the way they overtook me at the governor's lodge junction. When they told me to enter their vehicle, I resisted and demanded to see their Identity Cards."
Threat of court action
According to him, instead of letting him go after showing them his Identification Card, one of the SSS officials slapped him on the order of a man he later realised was an Assistant Director of the service.
"The other men used the butts of their rifles to hit me on my knees," he said. "Another one threatened to shoot me if I refused to enter their vehicle. At this time, a crowd had gathered. The people around were asking the men to show their Identity Card and they did.
"It was at this point that they grew too angry and they forced me into their car and forcefully took me to their office. They left my car at the point where they forcefully took me away, with all the documents and materials in it.
"On getting to their office, they made me to sit on bare floor, molested me and made me to write a statement under caution."
Mr. Okeowo said that the Chairpersons of Nigeria Labour Congress, Mohamad Braimoh and Nigerian Union of Journalists, Dele Atunbi, pleaded for his release, as the SSS officials threatened to take him to court without stating his offence.
"It was one of the people that was around that reported the incident to Labour leaders," he said.
The reporter was released to the union officials on the order of the State Director of SSS, Mr. Duru.
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Posted by Jane Okinedo on September 11, 2009 at 2:04am
t is not news that Taraba State, located in the North-eastern part of the country, is not connected to the national grid. Neither is it news that power supply in the isolated state, particularly in the capital Jalingo, is nothing to write home about, due largely to the absence of a Transmission Station.The fact, however, remains that Taraba state which is sandwiched between Adamawa to the north and Benue state to the south, derives its power supply from Yola [Adamawa] and Yandev [Benue ].While Jalingo, the state capital, and other parts of the northern zone of the state are fed from the electric feeder in Yola, the Southern part derives power supply from Yandev in Gboko local government area of Benue state.Consequently residents of the state, particularly those in Jalingo, are consigned to darkness occasioned by epileptic power supply, for both domestic and commercial purposes.The Business Manager of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN] in Taraba, Amadi Uche, attests to the poor power supply in the north-east state. “Power supply in Taraba state is not good”, Uche said, attributing the situation to the absence of a Transmission Station in the state.Now the cheering news. The ongoing Transmission Station located at Mile Six in Jalingo, would be commissioned before the end of December this year. This assurance was given by the Minister of State for Power, who inspected the project during a recent visit to Taraba.Ironically, not many residents of Taraba state consider this as cheering news. Of course the poor power supply situation in Taraba State has never been without its beneficiaries. Like its twin problem of perennial water scarcity which has given a boost to water vendors, the scarcity of electricity in Taraba has equally served as veritable source of income to Generator sellers.To this category of businessmen the commissioning of the ongoing Transmission Station in Jalingo before the end of December, as promised by the Honourable Minister would be counter productive, as it would certainly throw them out of business.There is no household in Jalingo or small scale business outfit, that does not have a standby generator, due to the poor power supply from PHCN, an acronym which now translates into the wisecrack: Problem Has Changed Name.Little wonder that apart from assuming a pride of place among residents of the state, generators have become one of the most sought after commodities in Taraba, especially in Jalingo. This explains why every household or business premises in the state capital, has created a space at a corner where standby generators, otherwise known as I pass my neighbour’, are kept.Emmanuel Mbakwe of Emmabec Electronics located along Palace way, Jalingo, is one of those who sell generators in Jalingo. For over ten years Mbakwe has been in the business, and he is not in a hurry to quit. “I have recorded high sales and profit margins from generators, for the past ten years of my being into the business in Jalingo”, he said.This, Mbakwe attributes to the abysmally low level of electricity supply to the state. “Even with the current economic meltdown, the sale of generators in Taraba has not dropped significantly”, says Mbakwe who also deals in electronics.Like Mbakwe not a few other generator sellers in Jalingo who spoke with this reporter, expressed their readiness to remain in the business due to its high patronage in the state. To them therefore the proposed commissioning of the Transmission Station in Jalingo before the end of the year, as promised by the Minister of State for Power, is bad news for their business.Interestingly, a new dimension has been introduced into marriage by the locals in Taraba state to the advantage of generator sellers. Standby generators are now included in local marriages as part of the dowry. What this means is that every family which can afford to buy a set of generator includes it among the items the bride takes to her husbands house.Why is it so? Mallam Gidado Abubakar, a resident of Jalingo, explained that it was one of the changes that traditional marriages have undergone in the state over the years. “It is a common practice in traditional marriages in this part of the country, that when one is giving out his daughter in marriage certain items are required as dowry. These include beddings, furniture, cupboard and electronics such as Television and Video sets.Abubakar, who recently gave out his daughter in marriage with a standby generator in conformity with this new custom, said the inclusion of a generator on the dowry list of local marriages in Taraba State was a consequence of the poor power situation in the state.He said: “I gave out my daughter with a standby generator in order for her to be comfortable in her husband’s house. As you are aware the power supply in the state is pathetic. Out of the 24 hours in a day, people hardly enjoy power supply from PHCN for two hours.”Alhaji Saidu Ajiya Karim, a senior civil servant in Jalingo, also gave out his daughter in marriage recently, with a standby generator as part of the dowry. According to Ajiya who is the permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, generators have become an essential part of dowry in Taraba state.“In Nigeria, and Taraba state in particular, we have the enduring problem of power supply, hence the need for this new practice in Taraba State . For this reason as well as the sake of keeping abreast with the new world information order, the inclusion of generators as part of dowry, has become essential for local marriages in Taraba state”, he explained.The size of the generator presented as part of dowry and its capacity ,depends on the financial status of the family giving out their daughter in marriage. This ranges from the smallest size of Tiger-950 which goes for N12, 000 to the Sumec fireman brand which costs between N90, 000 to N95, 000.The new practice of presenting generators as part of dowry has also encouraged marriages among the youths of Taraba, especially those in Jalingo. Although not every family can afford to buy one for their daughter ,many youths are taking advantage of this practice to own a free standby generator from their prospective in-laws.Tukur Ado [not real names], a Jalingo based applicant who spoke with this reporter said: “I am planning to get married to a lady from a well to do family, so that my wife can bring such items as electronics, furniture, as well as a big standby generator.”But there is a caveat for those who are already beneficiaries of this free standby generator in Taraba: if the marriage hits the rocks, all the items provided are forfeited by the husband, including the standby generator.
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Nigeria should keep the players aside first and try to solve the problem of politics which has eaten us deep. d major problem lies wit our technical crew and the only good coach nigeria can ever produce for now is SIASIA bcos he is the only person who can handle those players well and put them in the right shape.
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Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: 11 Nigerians face federal charges for credit card scam
By BOB VON STERNBERG
leven people have been charged in federal court in the Twin Cities with fraud for a counterfeit credit card scam that allegedly netted them more than $650,000.
The defendants were charged last week with using the bogus cards to withdraw the cash from more than 170 automatic teller machines in the metro area.
According to the criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court, the defendants obtained personal information about customers of Capital One Bank from an online source based in the Ukraine.
With the stolen information in hand, the defendants allegedly manufactured the counterfeit cards with that information. They were then able to obtain new personal ID numbers from the bank which allowed them to withdraw $652,205 from the teller machines.
According to the complaint, some of the stolen money was converted into cashier checks and used to purchase vehicle parts or vehicles with salvage titles; the vehicles were then shipped to Nigeria, and sold at inflated prices.
Some of the defendants allegedly recruited Nigerian residents in Minneapolis to buy vehicles at auto auctions, giving them cash to make the purchases.
According to a U.S. Secret Service affidavit, one of the defendants bragged about how he could not "get caught conducting his illegal activity" because he was "very good at covering his tracks."
Charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of access device fraud are Adekunle Kayode Ayeni, 27, Yewande Mariam Sholebo, unknown age, Adewale Alba Alli, unknown age, Olayemi Lateef Banjoko, unknown age, Idowu Ayinla Sadiq, unknown age, Abiodun Banjoko, unknown age, and Oyetoyin Oseni Atobatele, unknown age, all of Fridley; along with Bashiru Adelumola Fowoshere, 36, and Titilayo Abidewi Fowoshere, unknown age, both of Ramsey; Oriyomi Enitan Olowosago, unknown age, Brooklyn Park; and Ajibola Alli Fowoshere, 34, address unknown.
Eight of the 11 were arrested last Friday, when they also made their initial court appearance. Three remain at large.
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A suspected robber has been arrested after he returned to his victim's home to ask her out on a date.
Stephfon Bennett, 20, was one of three men who robbed a couple at gunpoint in Columbus, Ohio.
Daniel Martinez Batista and Diana Martinez were held up outside their apartment block on Saturday night, according to police.
The three robbers fled when a neighbour threatened them. Batista's wallet was stolen, and Martinez's handbag was taken.
Less than two hours after the incident, Bennett returned to the property and asked the woman out.
Columbus police Sergeant Sean Laird said: ‘We are not exactly sure what he was thinking at the time.
‘She recognised him right away when he returned and was able to have her cousin call 911.’
Bennett was arrested in front of the house and now faces aggravated robbery charges.
He is being held in the Franklin County jail on $100,000 bail.
The other two men suspected of breaking into the house remain at large.
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it is not new that Ramsey Noah is a pretty actor that we all want to kiss, I mean ladies now. We bust him getting his kissing game on and we know who? In addition to that kiss, he decides (not sure if he really did) to wear a funny hair – one that helps him look like a geek. Enjoy the stills from The Figurine – Araromi movieHe shoot his last movie, Irapada three years ago and now Kunle Afolayan is gearing up to release another – The Figurine (Araromi) where he spent overN45 million. The Figurine – Araromi tells a story of two friends and a girl who picked up a figurine (called Araromi) from a shrine which bestowed that with seven years of fortune and another seven years of terrible misfortune.The movie was shot in Osun State where the cast stayed at MicCom Golf Hotel & Resort, The First sponsor to identify with the film and director, Kunle Afolayan – Ede, Erin Ijesha, Osogbo, Ada and Iragbiji and different other locations in Osun. Then in Lagos – Ilasa Bridge and other parts of themetropolis.The film has been invited for the London Film Festival and so it is premiering in London in from October 14. After which there are a plans for premiere in Ghana, Kenya,other African countries and the United States of America.The cast has Ramsey Nouah, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Omoni Oboli, Kunle Afolayan, Jide Kosoko, Yomi Fash Lanso, Wale Adebayo (Sango), Chief Muraino Oyelami, a chief in Osun State and an artiste; he is the Eesa of Iragbiji, who played a key role in the film.Read more…
Re-enter the Wu Tang Clan or could it be “Killer Bees” part three?Str8 Buttah – Str8 From Da ArtThe Most Indepent and Conservative Hiphop Album.Re-enter the Wu Tang Clan or could it be “Killer Bees” part three? When last did your hear a rap album where you can’t sayWhen last did your hear a rap album where you can’t say “Hey, that’s my favourite track”. Str8 Buttah blow doors off the hinges with their Album “Str8 from the Art”.Since rap’s East coast style is my favourite,I dare to say since it ain’t where you from it’s where you at then hip hop is definitely where Str8 Buttah is at. With an 18 track offering, XYZ, Teck, Deck, Mr. Rae, Enigma and R-Cube hit you with a sound similar to the abstract feel of the Wu Tang era fused with a lot of soul. It’s tough at this stage to not call it close to classic by Hip hop standards and at the same time, but if I were to be mistakenly quoted in the near future, I wouldn’t deny.The steady drums, kicks and soulful samples go a long to show their influences except of course you don’t understand the tenets of ‘94 type hip hop, you might not get with the program as you ought to. With lines like “I know who I rep man,Rakim in my left hand,Fela in my right hand, and in my past life, I was Shakespeare’s hype man” You get to understand the sincerity of their approach to hip hop /rap music.With skits and an album arrangement that would almost make producer RZA of the Wu Tang Clan blush heavily.For instance,listening to the hook and beat of “reunion’ gives you nostalgic feelings of the entire “W” era,unfortuanately more Nigerians recognise the Logo than ones who know what it rpresents.The Buttah crew run through an 18 track masterpiece that will put aspiring Nigeria Rap crews on their toes, it is hopefully geared towards a universal audience, a serious and seemingly ambitious step considering the rap scape in Nigeria. Coming fresh off their SMVA award winning video for Last Stand ,”this is how Hip Hop’s supposed to sound” Str8 Buttah show somewhat why rap is not necessarily American but universal so did I say before “it ain’t where you from, it’s where you art?” if rap/beats and lyricism is an art, then the Buttah crew studied well!!Downsides of the album would a relegation to the underground as a result of heavy samples apart from a lack of conscious attempts to reach the new mainstream Naija music consumer who is stuck in reggae-ton beats and “henessey”,”swagger” and ginger infested lyrics but that’s secondary,since “stra8 from the art” makes flawless listening to the Naija rap 1%(one percenters)…..“live ones” ,”showtime” featuring Kel and “Fly” feature MI-Fliss…adapt classic lines like “1 for the treble and 2 for the bass,” …..and if you didnt’ follow hip hop before 97,this album’s not for you, apologies due!
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While millions of Nigerians have been in grief mode since the Super Eagles' 2-2 draw with Tunisia put the nation's chances of qualifying for the South Africa 2010 World Cup in jeopardy, the players went partying all night on Monday, painting the city of Abuja red.Party like you don't careShortly after they were rescued from irate fans who threatened to deal with them at the National Stadium, Abuja, and then at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, where they stayed, the players shook off the experience and put on their dancing shoes.While some went to the nightclub at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, others went to Tukano, a members-only nightclub located in the Asokoro area of Abuja, where members pay about half a million naira annually. The players were allowed into the club on personal recognition.However, the team's captain, Nwankwo Kanu, and other players including Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo and Seyi Olofinjana stayed home.Mo' money, mo' problemsAlso, contrary to what the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) told the media, the players were not paid a $10,000 bonus after the 2-2 draw with Tunisia; instead, they got the money before the match. NFF officials say this was so because they wanted the players to be highly motivated.Some good that did us, as motivation was far from the pitch on Sunday. If anything, the Eagles played like nothing was at stake.The reason the NFF had to hire private buses to take players and officials from their hotels to the stadium has also been revealed.According to NFF sources, the players have been using ‘Ekene Dili Chukwu' luxurious buses all through their stay in Abuja because the two Marcopolo buses the NFF bought in the run up to this match packed up only days after purchase. Both buses were reportedly supplied by a friend to top officials of the federation.Efforts to confirm these stories yesterday were unsuccessful. The federation's secretary, Bolaji Ojo-Oba's phone rang severally, but he did not pick up, same as its image maker, Ademola Olajire. They also did not reply text messages.Together, foreverIn related news, the NFF's president, Sanni Lulu, has vowed to swim or sink with embattled Eagles' coach, Shaibu Amodu.Nigerians have called for the sack of Amodu; but, speaking at a seminar for referees in Abuja yesterday, Lulu said all hope of the Eagles qualifying for the 2010 World Cup is not lost, and that Amodu will not be sacked.Lulu also said he has no plan to seek re-election, as he is only concerned with the Eagles' qualification and the development of Nigerian football.Lulu and other officials of the NFF, and its supervising body, the National Sports Commission, will be at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja today to explain the Eagles' sloppy performance on Sunday and how the team can still qualify for the World Cup.Also, the technical committee of the NFF will meet today to review Amodu's match report.Tunisia currently tops the group with eight points; Nigeria has six. Both have games, home and away, against Kenya and Mozambique. While Nigeria will host Mozambique and play Kenya away, the Tunisians are away with Mozambique and will host Kenya.
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Posted by John Akukwe on September 8, 2009 at 9:00pm
MOST OF OUR WORRIES ARE UNNECESSARYMost of us worry unnecessarily about too many things. Do you know that much of what we worry about doesn't matter at all. Take a look at these statistics about worry:• 40% of all things that we worry about never come to pass.• 30% of all our worries involve past decisions that cannot be changed.• 12% focus on criticism from others who spoke because they felt inferior.• 10% are related to our health, which gets worse when we worry.• 8% of our worries could be described as "legitimate" causes for concern.• Worry and anxiety paralyses and hinders one from succeeding.• The devil’s sole aim of causing so much worry and confusion in our lives is to divert our attention from what the Lord has ordained for us.Beloved, do not allow worry, fear and anxiety to envelope your life.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 8, 2009 at 6:57am
A lot of criticism has trailed the “bitter truth” the United States Secretary of States, Sen. Hillary Clinton on the assessment of the Yar’Adua’s administration’s more than two year’s performance, some few days ago and to be sincere, some of the commentators
on the issue should better examine themselves before they come to Equity bearing in mind that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”
So many persons in government, politicians, activists and journalists as well has interpreted Mrs. Clinton’s message as either the bitter truth, outright rubbish or, as the case maybe, a ranting of a government that is somehow showcasing the theatrics of a ‘holier than thou’ attitude.
One of such comments on the issue which I find somewhat hypocritical as well as deceptive, if I should be critical in my analysis, is attributed by the Sunday Editor of the Sun Newspaper of August 16, 2009, Vol. 5 No 334 by Funke Egbemode.
In her column entitled, “And what exactly does Mrs. Clinton want?” the Editor begged to disagree with in more ways than one,” that the anti-graft Agency, the Economic and Financial Crime Committee (EFCC) has fallen offer over the past two years, as delivered by the New York democrat that contested quite keenly with the present President of the United States, President Barrack Obama.
I am exactly marvelled at the clean bill of health handed down by the editor, who if my memories serves me right, was at a time, an aide to the former first lady speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Patricia Etteh. For the benefit of those who might be suffering from the syndrome of forgetting events so soon, a disease that is one of the bane’s of this country, Etteh was sent parking from her hallowed office over discrepancies in her attempt to refurbish her official apartment with over N600m.
That is certainly no news again in Nigeria and the matter has since been swept under the carpet which holds various corrupt cases that needs immediate and radical actions should our dear country be great again.
Before I digress to other issues, I would certainly, in the most critical way, present what I call the anatomy of corruption and misrule of law that has become the second nature of both the present government of Nigeria and the supposed almighty United States of America which prides itself as being the epitome of good governance.
Egbemode in her piece, tried to unsuccessfully paint the former EFCC helmsman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as someone who acted first and read the law later and heralded the present EFCC boss, Madam Farida Waziri as a lawyer and seasoned cop of international repute. She did not stop there.
“As at today she has secured 65 convictions in 12 months which represent about a third of all convictions secured since the establishment of the commission in 2003. She has also made recoveries of over N50bn in the last 12 months,” she informed. This is stale news considering the statistics in a release by the EFCC to media houses.
I will not bother to authenticate these claims by taking a cursory look at the acclaimed convictions and ‘enormous fund’ recovered. I will like to deal on one or two persons referred to as being convicted by the anti-graft agency.
Egbemode mentioned, Boni Haruna, Rasheed Ladoja, Bode George, Prince Ibrahim Dumuje, Roland Iyayi, and so on as making up the list of the 65 convictions the EFCC has recorded. Interestingly, the columnist failed to inform her readers that most of the names she penciled are walking around and going about their business as free men; that is misinformation.
Even the former governors on the list, as we all know, are EFCC customers facing prosecutions. They are free men on bail ridiculing our judiciary system. A former Edo State Governor for instance, was given a soft landing despite his crimes, to pay N2m as fine for embezzling over N5b; that is the kind of convictions we have witnessed over the past 12 months under Egbemode’s famed Waziri.
However, Prince Ibrahim Dumuje though mentioned, was not a governor is connected with the infamous Police Equipment Fund (PEF) manned by Kenny Martins who outwitted all the law enforcement agents in the country with technical abracadabra that included taking refuge in a court.
Kenny Martins and his PEF robbed Nigerians and the international community of millions of dollars and these incriminating act was exposed by the human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo and the then EFCC led Nuhu Ribadu, alerting the world of the fraud. Kenny Martins and Dumuje have been entertaining Nigerians and exhibiting how our judicial system can be manipulated. EFCC declared Dumuje wanted for fraud and conspiracy in the third degree and he is still wanted by the Kirtland Police in the US where it was discovered that a Mr. Joe Hill had been wiring money fraudulently to Ibrahim Dumuje whose date of birth is 3rd March 1956 as indicated on Dumuje’s international passport number A1049251. Police investigations revealed that Dumuje got at least $398,195 wired to him in 235 installments. But the Farida Waziri’s EFCC is blind to this fact.
This charade smells of a government that is irresponsible and an incompetent judicial system that is handicapped. The government is not serious about tackling corruption and entrenching the “rule of law,” an anthem covering the nefarious acts of PEF actors. The question is, who is the unseen hand manipulating the system? Is it the hand of Farida Waziri, the famed cop, or Hilary Clinton, whose homeland security agencies have disregarded a court warrant hanging on Dumuje’s head. Where is the INTERPOL?
The results can be seen from the directives of a United Kingdom court that a Nigerian High Court judge should sign an agreement on the extradition process of one of Ibori’s accomplices in the massive looting of the Delta State treasury, a document signed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Mike Aondoakaa who the UK court passed a vote of no confidence to his maverick alliances towards ex-governors who are on trial in the UK.
In retrospect, the PEF affair, for those afflicted with amnesia, should recall that the PEF was conceived with a sincerity of purpose and a vision to consolidate and empower the Nigeria Police Force. Three Nigerians conceived the idea, and before gestation, one of the visionaries was edged out under very bizarre circumstances which became the Achilles heel of Kenny Martins and Dumuje. Within a few months, N7.7 billion was deceptively withdrawn from all the 774 local governments’ councils in the country; millions of dollars were gotten from the international community financial institutions invested in the project.
Many heralded the dawn of a new and equipped Police Force. Nigerians felt that at last, trust police to serve them better but none of the objectives of the basic principles that established the fund was fulfilled. Instead, Kenny Martins, who hitherto was living like an ordinary citizen, was suddenly swimming in affluence.
He became a Father Christmas of sort and started doling out cash like has never been witnessed before. He sponsored a boxing bout, spent millions during his son’s wedding and was alleged to have acquired a vessel.
Suddenly, cars bought in the name of the Nigeria Police Force were distributed amongst his friends and other security agencies to indirectly secure an insurance against prosecution lest the files were opened.
In all these brazen display of ill gotten wealth and frantic mismanagement and misappropriation of state funds, Nigerians were alerted, the police were aware EFCC was petitioned and the presidency notified both the upper and lower houses were in the know of the corrupt practices being perpetrated by Kenny Martins and his lieutenants but nothing happened. The media investigated and reported the fraud and it took a while for the wool to be pulled off the eyes of the police. A helicopter was paraded at Louis Edet house as part of the so-called largess of the PEF to the police but after the show, it was never seen. Only then did the law enforcers act. The drama changed venue and act two of the unfolding theatrics continued in the courts.
The court and lawyers who appeared too involved them should be started the antics best known to them. Investigations of the cases which should have provided enough evidence for prosecution became wanting. The drama has since been on and Funke claims the EFCC Waziri has secured 67 convictions. Can these convictions please be published on the pages of Newspapers than being mentioned in secluded press releases? Kenny Martins has been blabbing about accusing the EFCC of inability to prosecute him and neither the police nor the EFCC under Waziri has proven him wrong.
At a time, the Cop of unblemished record, according to Funke, announced that beneficiaries of the car gift splash from Martins should return such gifts but it is more than a year since that order was given. Can Farida let Nigerians know how many of those Greek gifts have been returned to the EFCC? It has not bothered Farida to get the customs, another government agency that stinks of corruption, to show how the waiver gotten over the cars were utilized; information that would help her in prosecution.
The ALGON which were robbed of N10m each have not been contacted by the EFCC under Farida to explain under which circumstances a criminal withdrawal was made from their respective allocations yet, Funke is of the opinion that the EFCC has not fallen.
As if the PEF scam was not enough, at least, Kenny Martins who discovered he was somehow above the law, went on to take his notorious trade outside the shores of the country.
Recently, even while still facing charges of corruption, mismanagement of funds of the PEF, Kenny Martins, using the PEF which still bears the name ‘Police’ to defraud a company, Calvary Group of $400, 000. He was said to have illegally represented the Federal Government to defraud the American company the huge sum, an act punishable under section one (sub-section 3 and 10) of the Advance Free Fraud Act 2004.
He was also alleged to have entered into series of agreement under false pretence for the right of benefit from accessing a loan of $97.5 million from Exim Bank.
Martins was also alleged to have illegally presented himself as an official of Nigerian Government for the procurement of $97,800 from Exim Bank.
These crimes, according to the charge sheet, were allegedly perpetrated by Martins between 2007 and 2008. The Federal Government was forced to embarrassingly send their defense team to tell the court and the US Bank that the loan being sought was not from the FG. With all these crimes committed so brazenly by Martins without the supposed long hands of the law catching up with him, how does President Umaru Yar’Adua expect to be invited to G8 Meetings of countries?
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Investigations investigated the activities involving the PEF and found that the monies collected from ALGON were obtained fraudulently and made a number of recommendations which included that the PEF should stop using the name Police to publicly solicit for funds and the name should be withdrawn with immediate effect; that the FG should freeze the accounts of the Presidential committee on the PEF; that a copy of the findings should be sent to the EFCC for further actions but the Demeji Bankole and the House of Representatives have failed to adopt the findings till date making millions of Nigerians keep wondering if the Demeji Bankole led House is assisting in upholding the rule of law. Instead, what Nigerians have been witnessing is a slow motion justice system where the alleged criminals are granted bail to go and receive medical treatment abroad and while the Waziri-led EFCC is barking and not biting hard as was the case when Nuhu Ribadu was there.
The recent shake up in the banking sector has all of a sudden brought the EFCC to limelight again with the arraignment of the sacked bank chiefs. Waziri may have gotten a life line but then, the whole exercise smells of suspicion as nothing has been heard of some of the companies allegedly belonging to James Ibori that is owing billions of Naira to these banks. Another episode of comedy has been unleashed on Nigerians but what we ask is what is happening to the many cases involving the ex-governors, Kenny Martins and the PEF fraud of which Farida Waziri has swept under the carpet. The Law is supposed to be no respecter of persons but it seems we still have highly placed sacred cows walking about and boasting of their connections in high places.
In all these, corruption has a face; we see them everyday in our television, on the pages of newspapers and hear their voices on the radio Their houses are in the choice areas in Maitama or Ikoyi and they are still the same people that have crippled our financial institutions. What worries me is that in all these embezzlement, fraud and mismanagement of public funds, we have never seen one of the faces of corruption convicted like we saw when a former Inspector-General of police was jailed yet Waziri and the EFCC is blind to all that we see and hear. Maybe Funke can better explain.
Let them that are evil know this, the evil that men do will certainly live after them and their generations to come.
God Bless Nigeria.
Edward Egbabera
Coalition for a Corrupt-free Nigeria (CCN)
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Posted by 9jabook.com on September 7, 2009 at 10:50pm
More banks are sacking their workers as they struggle to adapt to the new corporate governance instituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria in its move to clean up the industry.
Yesterday, Wema Bank Plc sacked about 500 workers nationwide, including 25 top management staff, while First Bank of Nigeria Plc is also involved in a dispute with a labour union for allegedly forcing workers to resign.
Tunde Olofintila, a spokesperson for Wema Bank, who confirmed that the bank had sacked some workers, said the number was less than 500. He however refuse to disclose the number of workers affected. "Some people have been disengaged already, and as I speak, some are still receiving their letters," he said. "I cannot tell you how many people would be affected.
This is because letters are still being distributed to various people and I won't want to give you a figure that would later be incorrect. The whole process would have to be completed before an accurate number can be gotten, but I can assure you that it is not up to that number that you are talking about" he said.
New management
Mr. Olofintila also said that the development followed efforts by the new management that resumed in June 2009, to sanitise the bank.
"When the new management took over, all the staff members were called together and addressed at the management's inaugural gathering. There, we were told that processes would be streamlined, and roles will be matched to ensure effective production," he sai.
"Apparently, there are roles that overlap, but we were assured that the streamlining process would lead to a more effective operation and service delivery."
On June 10, a new management team led by Segun Oloketuyi, who is a former Executive Director, Skye Bank Plc, took over to be assisted by Ademola Adebise (formerly of Accenture) and Taiwo Adeniji (of Africa Finance Corporation) as executive directors.
While emphasising that the immediate challenge facing the new management is the institution of corporate governance in the bank, Mr. Oloketuyi also said that the new team intends to pursue a strategic and sustained transformation plan, which will reverse the fortunes of the bank.
He said these would be accomplished in three phases - stabilising the bank, preparing it for growth and finally growing the bank to take its rightful place at the fore of the financial services industry.
First Bank denies allegation
First Bank, however, denied forcing its workers to resign under the guise of voluntary resignation. A top official of the bank who spoke under anonymity said, "nothing strange has taken place, only the usual movement because, some people just came in and some people have left; there's nothing extraordinary in staff movement so far."
The Union comes calling
In reaction to the development,bank unions have indicated their readiness to challenge any bank that indulges in indiscriminate sacking of its workers.
Peter Esele , the president of the Trade Union Congress said that the union had already issued a statement on the layoff, after hearing that First Bank was planning a huge staff lay off.
"What we addressed in the statement was on the basis that they were planning to. The management of the bank has, however, replied that there is nothing like that in their agenda," he said.
"One of the things that give us the leverage to challenge bank actions pertaining to their staff is that the bank staff must have an extension of this union in their bank. Bank officials must be members of the union before we can talk on their behalf."
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If you listen to a group of attractive, single
women talking alone over dinner or drinks, the
topic will always turn to MEN.
And in most cases, it will eventually turn into
a RANT session about how hard it is to find good
men to date...
Which will lead to a FULL-ON RAG SESSION about
men in general...
...And wind up with a detailed list of all the
traits guys have that are ANNOYING AS HELL.
The reality is that single women have an entire
laundry list of traits, qualities, and
characteristics that they HATE in single guys.
Did you know this?
I didn't think so.
Well, the truth is that up until a few years
ago, I didn't know this either.
So take heart in the idea that you're about to
learn something that most men on this planet will
DIE not knowing.
My hope is that what I'm about to share with
you will change how you interact with women
FOREVER... and help you meet and date more of the
kinds of women you're interested in.
Onward.
FRIENDSHIPS AND ROMANCE
For women, friendships and romantic
relationships are two separate things. They are
NOT the same.
One can lead to another, but it's RARE when it
happens.
Remember that.
One CAN lead to another, but it's RARE.
"Romantic" relationships are very different
from "friend" relationships.
While most men would sleep with most of their
female "friends" if the woman "came on" to them,
most women would NOT sleep with most men that they
consider "just friends".
But why is this?
How do women differentiate between "just
friends" and "I'll be intimate with you"?
And why is it so hard to become "more than
friends" with a woman you've been "just friends"
with for a long time?
The answer to this riddle is very interesting
to me.
I believe that the answer comes down to
understanding HOW women "know" when they want to
"be intimate" with a man... and, even MORE
importantly, understanding how women "know" when
they DON'T want to "be intimate" with a man...
The thing that tells a woman whether the guy
she's with is "friend" material or "lover"
material is how she FEELS.
It's a combination of EMOTIONAL feelings and
PHYSICAL feelings.
It is NOT logic.
She might USE logic to "rationalize" her
decision... or she might USE logic to SOUND like
she has a good reason for either "being with" or
"not being with" a particular guy.
But don't let that distract you.
Logic isn't important AT ALL in this context.
So let me say this another way.
A woman FEELS something emotionally and/or
physically, then she uses those FEELINGS as the
basis for her "decisions" and actions with a
particular guy.
If she feels that "Ewwww Yuck!" feeling, then
her "logical" conclusion will probably not be that
she wants to date the guy in question.
If she feels that "It's Gettin' Hot In Here"
feeling, then her "logical" conclusion will
probably be that this guy is interesting and
attractive, and a good "choice" to date. At this
point she'll take ACTION on her feelings and
thoughts...
It goes like this:
FEEL--->THINK--->ACT
First the FEELING, then the THOUGHT... and THEN
the action.
Now, with this in mind, let me ask you an
important question:
How do most guys behave around women that
they're "romantically" interested in?
And another:
What do they do to get the woman that's the
object of their desires to be with them?
Take a few minutes to think about this. Make a
list if you have paper and pen handy.
I'm serious. I'll wait.
Come back when you're finished.
Now take a look at your list.
I'll bet that almost every single thing on your
list was something "external".
In other words, your list probably contains
things like "Take her to dinner" and "Give her
compliments" and "Buy her flowers" and "Call her
often".
These are all things that demonstrate that he's
INTERESTED.
They are NOT things that trigger those
emotional and physical feelings inside of a woman
that tell her that THIS IS THE GUY.
In other words, men try to use "props" to LET A
WOMAN KNOW HE'S INTERESTED...
...HOPING that when the woman sees these
displays she'll be interested in him.
Almost NONE of the things men do to court women
make women FEEL ANYTHING even remotely similar to
"Attraction" and "Arousal".
Of course, you know this.
You've probably done this stuff about a
bazillion times. I have, too. I know what it's
like to try OVER AND OVER to let a particular
woman know that I'm interested... only to have her
NOT RESPOND in a "romantic" way.
The PROBLEM with this kind of thing is that it
makes TWO HUGE MISTAKES at once.
First, it's just the plain-old wrong way to go.
Telling or showing a woman that you "like her" has
no effect on how she feels about YOU.
In the moment it sure seems to make sense...
"If I show her how I feel, she'll return the
feelings".
Duh.
Like I said, it seems like the right thing to
do in the moment (when your inner little girl has
a big fat crush). But it's not... it will have NO
effect on her feelings for you.
And second, it communicates clearly that YOU
DON'T GET IT. It tips a woman off INSTANTLY that
you're not hip to what's going... and it kills
your chances with her.
Say what?
You mean that doing nice things for women, and
trying to show how you feel can actually HURT your
chances with a woman?
Yea, it can.
Look, if you've been dating a woman exclusively
for six months, and her birthday comes... it's OK
to buy her a gift and tell her that you like
spending time with her.
YOU'RE ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP.
But if you've known a woman for six DAYS and
you try this kind of thing, you're going to shoot
yourself in the foot.
Women are EXPERTS at recognizing men who DON'T
GET IT. And if you DON'T get it, PLUS you're
trying to compensate for the fact that you don't
get it with gifts and compliments, then you're
REALLY screwed (or not screwed, as the case may
be).
Remember what I'm about to tell you.
Burn it into your mind.
Write it on a sticky-note and put it on your
computer monitor...
SINGLE, ATTRACTIVE WOMEN WATCH MEN TRY TO WIN
THEM OVER ALL DAY LONG. THEY KNOW WHEN A GUY
DOESN'T "GET IT"... AND THEY'RE ANNOYED WHEN A GUY
WHO DOESN'T "GET IT" JUST KEEPS TRYING AND TRYING
AND TRYING.
Keep in mind that single, attractive women
watch guys do this stuff 24/7. They shake their
pretty heads and say "He doesn't get it... He
doesn't get it... He doesn't get it" over and over
and over.
The point is that if you DON'T GET IT, then
nothing you do is going to work for you.
The problem is bigger than you can imagine, and
you're going to need to take a totally different
road to get where you're going...
WHAT ATTRACTIVE WOMEN HATE MOST ABOUT SINGLE GUYS...
Let's return to where we started.
There are a few particular things that REALLY
annoy single, attractive women.
One of the reasons that these things annoy
women is because they're DEAL KILLERS.
A woman can like everything about you, but if
you do these things (or even ONE of these things),
it can DESTROY your chances of success with a
particular woman.
Here are a few of the BIG things that single
women hate:
1) Giving Up Your Status In Exchange For Her
Attention And Approval
If I had to describe the one single thing that
both annoys women and DESTROYS a guy's chances, it
would be this.
It has taken me a long time to see this
particular pattern, but it's EVERYWHERE.
Men, in effect, say "Hi, I want your approval
and attention. I'm willing to let YOU be the one
who's in control... and let YOU call the shots...
and do anything to please YOU... if you'll give me
your attention and approval".
But the problem is that women DON'T WANT you to
give up your status and "manliness".
Women aren't ATTRACTED to men who act weak and
tentative.
Women secretly HATE IT when a guy does
something to demonstrate that he'll give away his
power in return for approval.
THEY HATE IT!
I could literally write an entire book on this
one single concept.
Take a few minutes to think this one over, and
maybe write down the ways that you make this
mistake with women.
More importantly, think about how you're going
to STOP DOING IT IMMEDIATELY.
2) Being Needy, Clingy, And Insecure
When one person "clings" to another person
"psychologically", the person who is being
"clinged to" RESENTS and REJECTS the needy, clingy
emotional parasite...
This is WUSS behavior at its worst.
If a guy is on the phone with a girl he just
met, and she says "Hey, I have to go", he might
say "Aw, well... um... OK. Um, will you call me
when you get home?".
Or let's say a guy and a girl are out on their
first date, and they're walking around in a large
department store.
Most guys will follow the woman everywhere, and
not leave her side for a minute.
If she wanders away, he'll come find her
IMMEDIATELY.
He'll stay physically close to her, as if he's
afraid she'll leave without him.
And an even worse example is a guy who is so
emotionally insecure that he actually ASKS a woman
to tell him that he's nice, fun, interesting, etc.
"Do you think I'm interesting?"
"Do you think we could ever have a
relationship?"
"Am I your type?"
Women HATE this stuff. It makes them shiver
with the heebie-jeebies. It makes them want to RUN
AWAY.
3) Not Leading - And Even Worse, Trying To Get Her
To Lead
Women have WUSS-DAR.
One of the things that triggers a woman's WUSS-
DAR is a man who FOLLOWS.
The REAL problem is that most women won't try
to LEAD naturally.
So you've got a situation where a man is trying
to FOLLOW a woman who isn't LEADING.
He's looking for little cues so he knows where
to go and what to do... but he isn't getting them.
So what does he do?
He ASKS for them!
He says "So, I was thinking of maybe taking you
to Olive Garden for dinner... how does that
sound?".
Everything about the way he asks says to the
woman "I'm trying to figure out what you want me
to do... please help me know how you want me to
act, where you want me to take you, and what you
want me to say".
This is ATTRACTION DEATH!
Men who don't lead, and even worse, try to get
a woman to lead, ANNOY THE HELL OUT OF SINGLE
WOMEN.
They HATE IT!
4) Using Insecure, Approval-Seeking, Low- Status
Posture, Gestures, Voice Tone, And Body Language
There's a term that single, attractive, in-
demand women use to describe men who use weak,
approval-seeking posture, gestures, comments, and
mannerisms...
The term is "NICE".
"He's nice... but... there's no chemistry."
This is one of those areas that's not easy to
talk about.
Since SO DAMN MANY GUYS do this stuff, it's
almost impossible to explain.
It's like trying to tell a fish that they're
not going to get anywhere in life if they stay
wet.
The fish doesn't even KNOW it's wet in the
first place.
But let me try.
This is important.
Go spend a day observing couples.
Go places where couples that have just met
spend time together.
Bars, clubs, coffee shops, whatever.
Now watch the GUYS.
Watch how they lean towards the women.
Watch how they raise their eyebrows in
exaggerated response to women's comments.
Watch how they slump over, let their shoulders
fall forward, and smile fake-ly at whatever the
women say.
If you're close enough, listen to how men ask
questions and make comments with a voice tone that
says "I'm insecure and I'm trying to be extra nice
to compensate for it".
You'll see it EVERYWHERE.
In fact, you'll see it so much that you'll
probably write me back to tell me that I'm the one
who's crazy, and that since it happens so much, it
must be "the right way".
Well, it's not.
If there's one thing that triggers an
attractive single woman's WUSS-DAR, it's a man's
posture, gestures, eye contact, voice tone, etc.
It all happens in an INSTANT.
Women read this stuff and interpret it as
instantly and accurately as you read and interpret
the cover of Playboy.
NO ANALYSIS NECESSARY.
I'd say that probably 90% of all men alive
today INSTANTLY disqualify themselves with women
because of this problem.
Their voice tone, gestures, posture, etc.
TELEGRAPH the message that they're a WUSS.
They do a thousand weird little things to let a
woman know that they're uncomfortable and "not
being themselves".
And you guessed it...
Single women HATE IT!
5) Not Understanding That She's A Woman And You're
A Man
I'm about to get philosophical on your ass, so
be cool.
When it comes down to it, most men don't
understand women.
But the REAL kicker is that most men don't
understand MEN, either!
Most guys don't know what it's like to get in
touch with their MALE NATURE.
Combine these two issues, and you get a guy who
behaves in ways that DO NOT trigger ATTRACTION in
women.
Women have a "nature". A female nature.
Men also have a "nature". You guessed it, it's
a MALE nature.
Women are coy. They like to play hard to get.
They like to enjoy the chase. They love
anticipation. They love to "let a guy catch
them"...
Men are competitive. Men are dominant. Men like
to play rough games, win things, and rule their
territory.
Well guess what?
Most men don't BEHAVE like men when they're in
the presence of a woman that they "like".
And since most men don't understand female
human nature, they don't demonstrate that they
"get it" when they're with women that they "like".
Women like men. Men like women. There are
POWERFUL causes at play here.
When you're around a woman you like, don't act
like a GIRLY-MAN. It's not sexy, and it's not
attractive...
And single women HATE IT!
6) Not Being Interesting To Be Around
Underneath most behavior that I see most guys
acting out is a "core belief" that goes like this:
"I don't believe that an attractive woman would
want to be around me just because she enjoys my
presence... so I make up for it by saying and
doing certain things that I hope she'll enjoy...
and if she enjoys those other things enough, then
maybe she'll want to spend more time with me."
Heavy, man.
Well guess what? Most attractive single women
KNOW that if a guy isn't interesting to be around,
they she's eventually going to go CRAZY being
around him.
In other words, no amount of material gifts,
compliments, dinners, and other "displays" will
EVER compensate for a lack of BEING INTERESTING.
Here's a profound thought:
I and several other guys I know have many women
who call us often... just because they enjoy being
around us.
These women would be happy just to be in the
same room with us... and enjoy our company.
And yes, these women CALL US.
Often.
Material gifts, food, flowers, and other
"displays" have ZERO lasting value to a woman when
it comes to how she FEELS about you...
An attractive single woman wants a guy who
LIGHTS HER UP. She wants to FEEL GOOD.
She wants mystery... she wants to laugh... she
wants a challenge... she wants sexual tension...
If you're using compliments, gifts, food, and
other "displays" to get a woman's attention... you
need to ask yourself a tough question:
Is it because you don't believe that a woman
would want to be around you just to be around you?
Because if you don't know how to be INTERESTING
to a woman, then no amount of compensation is
going to fix the problem.
If you're boring, predictable, and
uninteresting, then you're never going to have
women calling YOU to hang out.
Oh, and women HATE IT.
7) Not Understanding Attraction
This is a BIGGIE.
You hear me talking about it all the time,
right?
Maybe now that you've read this newsletter
you'll have a better context to understand what
I'm about to tell you...
If you "get it" with women, it's SUPER
INTERESTING and ATTRACTIVE to them.
Women can INSTANTLY FEEL IT when they're with a
guy who "gets it".
Women know very quickly if they're talking to a
guy who understands himself and women... and who
enjoys creating and building sexual tension.
Women know if a guy speaks the SECRET LANGUAGE
of "Sexual Communication".
If he doesn't, then she stops all communication
on that level.
If he does, then it continues.
ATTRACTION Isn't A Choice.
Attraction is an emotional and physical
RESPONSE... and you can't "convince" a woman to
feel it with logic, gifts, and NICENESS.
Attraction is the result of a woman meeting a
man who understands how attraction works... and
who knows what to do in each specific situation to
progress to the next level.
The PROBLEM with ATTRACTION, and with success
with women in general is that the things you need
to DO to be successful are NOT OBVIOUS.
They're "counter intuitive", in many cases.
In other words, they're the OPPOSITE of what
you'd THINK would make sense.
You have to do things like CREATE TENSION...
stop doing something that she likes... give her
time to miss you... etc.
And if you don't understand ATTRACTION, a woman
is going to KNOW IT.
And guess what?
Single women HATE IT when a man doesn't
understand ATTRACTION and how to communicate on
this "other level".
Now that I've shared the mistakes, you need the
next piece of the puzzle. You need to get an
education on how attraction works for women... and
the RIGHT things to do up front to give her those
emotional/physical feelings inside.
Right now you're probably feeling that excited
"Ah Ha!" feeling.
That's because you understand something at a
different level... you've used your mind to
understand something complex... and you feel good
about bettering yourself.
Well this is just the TIP of the iceberg.
As educational as this has been, this is only
the beginning.
If you're starting to realize how important it
is to get this area of your life handled, then I
recommend you make a commitment and take your
education to a WORLD CLASS level.
And what's the best way to do that?
Well, I've spent the last several years of my
life figuring out exactly what does and doesn't
work with women.
I figured this stuff out for MYSELF... and then
I took what I've learned and put it all together
to help others learn as well.
My Advanced Dating Techniques CD/DVD program
represents THOUSANDS of hours of research,
testing, getting to know guys who were successful
with women, and generally organizing every level
of this knowledge into an easy-to-understand
system that ANY guy can use to increase his
success with women and dating.
And I'll tell you something...
It works.
This program is the most advanced and effective
program of it's kind available anywhere at ANY
price.
And I have an offer that you're not likely to
find repeated anywhere else...
I'll send it to you at MY RISK.
You can try it out for a full 30 days, and if
you don't see MASSIVE results, just send it
back... and I'll give you your money back, no
hassles.
P.S. Stop acting like a GIRLY-MAN and learn how to get rid
of your "Inner Wussy" for good. Take a minute to check
THIS out and you'll see how to build a rock-solid confidence
level that is NATURALLY attractive to women:
Read more…
Everton Footballer Joseph Yobo beat every man out there to it. 2008 winner of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria is no longer fancy free. She hooked and looks like marriage is calling., Yobo is a responsible man so you might want to take that seriously. She is so involved that her mom knows about it [...]
The beauty with Silverbird's Ben and Guy Murray Bruce
Everton Footballer Joseph Yobo beat every man out there to it. 2008 winner of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria is no longer fancy free. She hooked and looks like marriage is calling., Yobo is a responsible man so you might want to take that seriously. She is so involved that her mom knows about it – The pictures shows they are so met to be together. You think otherwise?
Adaeze Igwe and Joseph Yobo.
The queen that would love to eat anything she sees but can’t,Plans to head to the New York Film Academy next month to study Communications and have we mentioned that her mum that is still a career lawyer is still a beauty to behold.? Adaeze carries her mom’s genes 100%.
Read more…
I don’t have a boyfriend and my being a mechanic has got nothing to do with it - Says 24-year-old lady mechanic
By Bode Adewumi, Lagos
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Given another personal situation, Miss Lillian Kekong Thomas might have been a beauty queen, strutting her stuff on the catwalk. Well, okay, height might have been an issue. At 5 feet 3, she might have been literally passed over by most model scouts. But if they were out looking for ladies to model for a body cream, they most certainly would give Thomas a serious consideration, because what she lacks in height, she makes up for in smooth, unblemished skin and a good set of teeth.
Miss Lillian Thomas in action
“My skin is just a blessing from God. I don’t have any special cream or anything. My great grand-father was an albino, I don’t know if that is part of it. And for the lack of scars, well, I owe that to God too. Even though growing up was tough, I’ve managed to be without any skin problem and have never been involved in any accident serious enough to leave a lasting scar’’, says this 24-year old indigene of Cross River State.
She is one of the 40 ladies who recently graduated from three-year training in automotive repair at the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI) workshop in Victoria Island on the bill of the MTN Foundation. She had finished O’levels and was unable to further her education due to poor finances when she came across a flyer asking for applications from ladies for a course in auto repair to be supported by the MTN Foundation. She signed up for the programme.
Asked why, of all vocations that a lady could have delved into, automotive repair was her choice, she smiles and says, “I chose this in order to be different. You can find so many ladies going into hairdressing salons and tailoring workshops. But you can’t see ladies going for a job like auto repair. So I decided to join it because I wanted to do something different from what people are doing out there.”
But ladies avoid being auto mechanics for loads of reasons, chief among which are that it is strenuous and, as some would insist, unladylike. Being smeared in darkened engine oil for the most part of the day, growing coarse palms from handling tough tools and reeking of petrol like a filling station are all grim prospects that most ladies would shudder to contemplate.
Thomas admits that it is a strenuous job, which sometimes proves severely tasking for a lady. But she adds that technology has advanced to a stage that some of the hard parts have been simplified. “You know, these days we have special tools that you can use to loose tough bolts and nuts and do whatever you want to do. As a lady mechanic, one will just have to invest more in those tools”, she says.
She also believes being a lady mechanic does not make her less attractive to the opposite sex. She argues that being a mechanic does not mean that one should be dirty. “A dirty person is a dirty person, whether she is a mechanic or she works in a bank. As a lady mechanic, when you are working on a car, you should have no issues with engine oil smearing you and all that, but the moment you are done with the day’s work, you clean up and freshen up. Nobody knows you have spent the entire day under a car”.
So does Thomas have a boyfriend? The answer is no. “I currently do not have any boyfriend and that has nothing to do with my being a lady mechanic”, she says emphatically. According to her, at the right time, the man of her dreams would come along.
Describing the three years of training she says, “When I started it was so hard but you know everything comes from the heart so I made up my mind to do it for the rest of my life and I promised myself that I was going to do it and I think I am enjoying it now because they say the end of a matter is greater than the beginning”.
When asked about embarrassing moments she has had in the course of her training and internships, she said “ it is when I go out there to work and the guys are like, what are you talking about. This girl, fix my car? Does this one know where the gear lever is? I feel embarrassed. But at the same time I feel challenged to prove them wrong and when I am able to, I am happy. For instance, there was a day Sandra (LMI founder) was taking some of us out. We boarded a danfo (commercial bus) and it broke down. The conductor tried to fix the problem without success and we offered to help. The man just shoved us aside. After he got frustrated, we offered to help again and one of us fixed the problem within minutes. The conductor refunded our money in appreciation”.
Thomas who has immediately secured employment with Toyota Nigeria, Eket, in Akwa Ibom State says she has no regret whatsoever opting to be a mechanic. She couldn’t have had any, considering the doors of opportunities that this decision has opened for her. She has met with important figures she never imagined she could meet since she joined LMI.
“Earlier this year, we were at Aso Rock where I shook hands with the first lady and took personal pictures. I am going to enlarge it and keep it in my living room!” she gushes. Apart from that, Thomas is among 10 other girls from LMI selected to travel to the United States of America for international exposure in a few weeks with the assistance of the American Embassy.
“It has simply been wonderful. I don’t think I would have had this opportunity, if I had chosen something else” says Thomas, who admits she would have been a barber if she hadn’t opted for auto repair. I thank all the people who have made me who I am today: Mrs. Sandra Aguebor-Ekperuoh and the MTN Foundation. MTNF tried for us and I can only say a big thank you to them because if I want to give them money it would never be enough. I also promise to help other people out there so that they can see how appreciative I am”.
So where does Thomas intend to be in the next few years? “In the next few years? I really don’t know, but I hope to be doing a lot of travelling to different places to help people where I can, because Sandra and MTNF have helped me too. I intend to impart this knowledge to other ladies or girls out there that are not privileged, but are interested in learning”.
When asked to advise younger ladies, she says “My advice to them is that they should go for whatever they feel is best for them. You know it is better for a woman to have something she is doing so that any man or guy they are dating will have value for them, you understand. So I will advise every woman to look for something to do to live a better life
Read more…
Posted by 9jabook.com on September 6, 2009 at 9:56pm
History will be made in the Nigerian telecommunication industry as Glo-1, the world’s first submarine optic fibre cable to be built by a single individual company, lands in Lagos.
The 9,800 km long cable which stretched from the United Kingdom across all the West African countries, will be anchored to its landing station at Alpha Beach, Lagos, this morning.Paddy and Otunba Mike Adenuga
The trend in the global telecommunication industry is for a consortium of companies or even nations to combine resources to build submarine cables as was the case with the SAT Submarine three Cable which was built by a consortium of 36 countries.
The Group Chief Operating Officer, Globacom Limited, Muhammed Jameel, said Glo-1 would deliver transmission capacity that would change Nigeria and West Africa’s economic landscape by linking 17 countries to the rest of the world.
Jameel said the landing of Glo-1 was another milestone in the history of Nigeria’s communications industry, adding that the cable would provide high speed internet services and make telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers.
Explaining the seeming delay in Glo-1’s arrival, the Globacom boss said that implementing submarine cable projects, particularly one spanning about 10,000 km from London to Lagos is an initiative that usually takes between two and a half years to complete.
He said further that because the cable passed through various territorial waters and jurisdictions of several African countries, Globacom had to contend with lengthy approval processes.
“We needed permissions at many levels from all those countries to pass the cable through their territorial waters. We needed approval from security agencies, approvals from oil companies and from various bodies,” he said.
Read more…
Posted by 9jabook.com on September 6, 2009 at 9:46pm
By Olusola Balogun
Sunday, September 6, 2009
• His many sins
• Bank CEOs turn to bible and anointing oil
Wanted Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental Bank PLC, Erastus Akingbola, may have sneaked back into the country and gone underground to avoid arrest by operative of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Erastus Akingbola
Informed sources told Sunday Sun that the embattled bank chief allegedly returned to the country last Tuesday through the land
borders of one of the nation’s neighbouring countries. He was however yet to surrender to the EFCC.
Akingbola, the only bank CEO who reportedly left the country in the wake of his sack as the helmsman of IBPlc is the only CEO still at large.
Mrs. Cecilia Ibru of Oceanic Bank who initially was also on the run like Akingbola has since surrendered herself to the EFCC after the commission declared her and Akingbola wanted.
A reliable source at one of the security agencies said, ‘‘we reliably learnt that Erastus Akingbola sneaked back into Nigeria on Tuesday through one of our porous land borders with a neighbouring country.
We have deployed more operatives to keep an eye on him, but what we discovered was that he has not been anywhere near all his known addresses. He has been very smart and he really went underground. His fears are that he would be arrested and detained like his colleagues who were further remanded for another two weeks on Friday.”
An EFCC source however expressed confidence that Akingbola’s arrest was only a matter of time. “We are on top of the issue and I can assure you he will be nabbed because our men are already drawing a ring round him and he will soon be in the net.”
The source also listed the ‘many sins’ of the runaway CEO to include giving $10,000 travel allowance to non-executive directors of his bank, contrary to the CBN code of corporate governance in Nigeria, which limits remuneration to only sitting allowance for that cadre of directors.
The EFCC was also said to have discovered “discrepancies between the value of shares in the bank’s customer file and the valuation records supplied to the CBN.”
Akingbola was also said to have listed loans advanced in 2007 against 2009 in a frantic bid to deceive the CBN.
Besides, a whopping N20bn, of the N27bn non- performing loan portfolio of the bank was said to have been advanced to the bank directors, while the bank was also said to have massively cooked its books to hoodwink the regulatory authorities.
The EFCC source also revealed that the “commission has also discovered that $5 million from the banks coffers was transferred abroad.”
Another sin counted against Akingbola was that directors of the bank were also alleged to have being involved in under-the-table deals with the funds of the bank. ‘‘We discovered that they had a habit of releasing funds supposedly to the bank’s subsidiaries only for the money to find its way into the bank accounts of the wives of the directors, and their concubines, and sometimes their own private accounts. These funds were deposited in fixed accounts for some time to yield interest before they return it. So we discovered that they were making profit with the funds of the bank while the bank was not making anything.”
The source who insisted that the commission would not be deterred by the barrage of attack directed at her over its determination to stop the shady deals in Nigeria’s financial sector, also disclosed that some of the detained bank chiefs have suddenly turned to God in detention.
“Many of those that are Muslims have their trusted aides bring their ‘sahur’ meals to them while those that are not observing the Ramadan are turning to prayer warriors. Cecilia Ibru seems the most serious as she is always seen clutching her bible and anointing oil. She has also been playing hosts to some pastors and prayer warriors who visit her to pray for her.”
One of such pastor is said to lead a flourishing church in Ogudu area of Lagos.
Meanwhile the travel ban imposed on the bank debtors has increased the pressure on the EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, who may have moved her operations and office to an undisclosed location to avoid the bank debtors.
Read more…
The last is yet to be heard about the predicaments of the sacked renowned provincial Pastor, Ituah Ighodalo of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Christ's Church Parish in Gbagada, Lagos. He was recently expelled by the General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye on account of ‘‘adultery’’ perpetuated by him, which was said to be in contrary to the church doctrine and ultimately biblical provisions.
Such act expressly contravened what was contained in the Holy Bible Matthew 19:3-9: ‘‘The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Hath ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh? What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, why did Moses then give writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.’’
This drastic decision which the leadership of the Redeemed said would help to sanitize the church and will also serve as deterrent to others has been described by many stakeholders in Christendom as harsh, cruel and victimizing on someone who had contributed positively to the growth of the church of God. They also decried the celebration, attention and prominence that the church has been giving to other people who do worst things than what Ighodalo did.
The unpleasant development has however thrown a lot of Christian believers into strong confusion on which doctrine to subscribe to, following different interpretations made by men of God over this contentious issue. Besides a notable Pentecostal pastors like Pastor Chris Okotie had re-married after many years in divorce, and heaven did not fall.
In another dramatic twist, founder of Latter Rain Assembly, Dr. Tunde Bakare has joined the critics who opposed to the recent sack of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of the Christ Church Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God for remarrying 10 years after divorcing the wife of his youth. Dr Bakare was once part of the Redeemed family but left after sharp disagreement between him and the church leadership.
Bakare while delivering sermon decried the controversial sacking of Pastor Ighodalo by Pastor Adeboye. Speaking essentially in parables, the pastor said the church’s action was not in consonance with the Holy Scriptures.
According to Bakare who was born a Muslim, this same church that sacked a pastor for remarrying would honour other individuals with more than one wife, offering them prime positions in the church. His words: “As a young Christian, a man married a total stranger and when it was time for him to come home, his wife refused to follow him.
“The man came down, gathered people to intercede for him for 10 years while gathering the flocks for his God and after 10 years, he decided to re-marry and all of a sudden, the church said they found it somewhere in the Bible that he cannot remarry, whereas those with three wives are given front seats in the church.”
Such was the level of the degeneration of the church generally to the extent that those who belong to occultic organisations, he argued, would be given very important personality (VIP) treatment in the church at the expense of imparting strict religious doctrines. Bakare averred that very many churches have actually embraced sorcery in order to perform fake miracles.
One will recall that the Lagos based clergyman, Bakare predicted in 1999 that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo would be killed but the predictions never came to pass, a pronouncement which led to his apprehension by men of the Nigerian SSS.
A source revealed that the embattled Pastor Ighodalo was said to have announced to his congregation that he was quitting the church even as he disclosed to the church the circumstances that led to his failure of his former marriage. He disclosed that his former mistress, Lucy-Ann Summer refused to join him in Nigeria and after much persuasion failed, she later left. Disclosing that the expectations from the marriage were not met by the woman, and that she met someone else that met those expectations.
Consequently, Ibidunni Ajayi, then a Youth Corps member came to his life. The courtship lasted over four years according to a source, even though he proposed to Ibidunni after 18 months of friendship. Ibidunni and Itua became married on 26 February 2007 and it was followed by the traditional wedding three days later in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo despite his present travails had robust pedigree, an Accountant and writer; Editor-in-Chief of TIMELESS Newspaper owned Christ Church. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. He is also a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the Managing Partner of Ighodalo and Associates (a Firm of Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants.
Read more…
