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Many killed as gunman attacks Catholic church in Anambra during early-morning mass

Chikezie OMEJE
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Many killed as gunman attacks Catholic church in Anambra during early-morning mass

 

Anambra Killing

Dozens of worshippers were killed by an unidentified gunman during an early-morning Mass on Sunday at the St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.

According to NAN, many of the victims were killed in the church while other critically injured worshippers died on the way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.

Witnesses said the gunman went into the church during the 5:45 am Mass and shot a particular man he was looking for. Thereafter, the attacker started shooting all other worshippers.

The exact number of those who died in the attack has not been ascertained but a source said the priest of the church was not wounded in the incident.

Garba Umar, Commissioner of Police in the state, confirmed the incident, adding that the details would be given after investigations.

Photo credit: newsquest.com.ng

I do not regret my actions, says man charged to court for ‘insulting’ Saraki

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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I do not regret my actions, says man charged to court for ‘insulting’ Saraki

Bukola-Saraki

Biodun Baba, the 37-year-old primary school teacher who was taken to court for allegedly abusing Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, says he has no regret over his actions.

In an interview with Punch, Baba denied abusing Saraki, saying he only commented on a Facebook post by Akogun Oyedepo, the factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the State.

According to Baba, Oyedepo had made a Facebook status update about Saraki being discharged and acquitted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and he commented saying “that if somebody believes that he is above everybody, he is not above the judgment of God. If Saraki has been discharged by the CCT, has he been discharged by God?”

The comments particularly infuriated Abdulazeez Azeez, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC_, who went to the elders of the party to report Baba, saying he abused the Senate President.

On another occasion, Baba said he shared a Facebook post titled ‘Presidency, Osinbajo replies Saraki on Magu issue’.

Asked if he regretted the action, he said: “No, I do not regret my action.”

“Some people lied against me, saying I wrote a letter of apology, in an attempt to swing the case in their direction.

“A letter was hurriedly written a night before the day I was to appear in court alleging that I had apologised. The letter went viral and people shared it on social media.

“Unfortunately, when I appeared in court the next day, they did not come with that letter, I was expecting them to say in the court that I had apologised but that did not happen.

“Even the online medium that published the fake apology letter refused to present the actual letter that I allegedly wrote and signed. At no time did I write any apology letter. I posted the message on my Facebook page based on my conviction.

“I expect my children to follow my example as I believe that I did the right thing. I was guided by the provisions of the law and I did not go outside the law to do anything. We should put government on their toes.”

Baba also said three days after he was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS), he was called to the state education secretariat and informed that he had been fired from his job.

“I got a call from my headmaster that the Secretary of the Local Government Area Education Primary School had said he should fire me.

“I immediately went to the secretary to confirm whether it was true or not. When I got there, he confirmed that the secretary was asked to fire me. My parents and family members were worried that they would fire me from my job. They took me to Oniwa to beg him.

“Initially, I refused to follow them, but they prevailed on me. At the end of the day, he agreed to look into the case.”

Baba said he was grateful to the over 30 lawyers that came to represent him in court free of charge.

“We had about 30 lawyers who represented me on the first day that I appeared in court. The lead lawyer is Mr Sambo Muritala,” he said.

“The legal team appeared pro bono. We did not pay them anything. We got in touch with one of them and he mobilised the rest.

“Even those who were not in court rushed from wherever they were to appear in court. Some of them were not dressed in their regalia; they were in the court to support their colleagues who handled my case.

“There was no way I could have afforded their money if they had charged me (and) if they did not come to help me, I would have either been remanded in the Oke-Kura Prison or Mandala Prison.”

Poor electricity supply cost us N130bn in the first half of 2016, say manufacturers

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Poor electricity supply cost us N130bn in the first half of 2016, say manufacturers

$_1

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says the cost of independent power generation in the manufacturing sector increased by more than 100 percent from N58.8 billion in 2015 to N129.9 billion in 2016.

This represents a total increase of N71.13 billion.

The development is no thanks to the instability in electricity supply from the national grid, which has continued to adversely affect the country’s manufacturing industry.

A breakdown of the annual report by MAN showed that N66.99 billion was spent in the second half of 2016 on independent power generation, as against N29.48 billion in the same period in 2015.

It also increased by N4.03bn when compared with N62.96bn recorded in the first half of the year.

The report indicated that the average supply of energy to the sector was about 36 percent or eight hours daily.

MAN explained that the rising cost of independent power generation, added to the arbitrary increase in electricity tariffs, were responsible for the high cost of production in the sector, thereby making it difficult for made-in-Nigeria goods to compete favourably with imported goods in terms of pricing.

The association also noted that another major difficulty experienced by its members in the year under review was “acute shortage of foreign exchange, high lending rate and exclusion of some vital manufacturing raw materials from the official foreign exchange market”.

This was however addressed by the preferential forex allocation to manufacturers by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the second half of 2016, a development that MAN said was “responsible for the production momentum gained in the economy in the second half of the year”.

The association urged the federal government to “revisit the power sector reform and fully implement the power sector road map to improve the efficiency of the generation, transmission and distribution companies”.

It also advised the government “to re-classify manufacturing sector into strategic gas users from the current commercial classification”.

MAN also said there was need to ensure proper settlement of acquired properties, such as land for electricity equipment installation, to forestall any incident that could lead to destruction of the infrastructure.

Heartless parents are donating their children to Boko Haram, says army

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Heartless parents are donating their children to Boko Haram, says army

 

Suicide Bombers

The Nigerian army says some “misguided and heartless” parents and guardians in the north-east are donating their children and wards to Boko Haram to be indoctrinated and subsequently used as suicide bombers.

This was contained in a statement issued by Sani Usman, spokesman of the army, on Saturday.

Usman said the appeal was due to shocking revelations by some arrested would-be suicide bombers.

“The Nigerian Army wishes to appeal to religious, traditional and community leaders, as well as all well-meaning Nigerians, especially in the North-East of our country, to help dissuade people from donating their daughters or wards to Boko Haram terrorists for indoctrination and suicide  bombing missions,” the statement read.

“This appeal became expedient in view of recent revelations by some intercepted female suicide bombers during interrogations.

“It was discovered that most of these hapless minors were ‘donated’ to the terrorist sect by their heartless and misguided parents and guardians, as part of their contribution to the perpetuation of the Boko Haram terrorists’ dastardly acts against the Nigerian society and humanity.

“The acts of these parents and guardians are not only barbaric, but condemnable and unacceptable. Nigerians have a responsibility and obligation to collectively mould our children and wards.”

Usman also urged members of the public “to be more vigilant, security conscious and report any suspicious persons or those whose daughters or female wards are missing or have not been seen recently”.

“The public is also kindly reminded that the Nigerian Army’s offer and reward of N500,000 to anybody that brings information about suicide bombing is still available.”

More than 145 girls have been used as suicide bombers between January and July, according to an investigation by Punch newspaper.

At least 15 female suicide bombers died in January, 10 in February and 15 in the months of March, April and May.

“June and July, however, witnessed an upsurge and claimed about 30 girls each,” the report read.

The figures were gotten from the military counter-insurgency operation, ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Borno State Police Command.

Authorities say the number could be higher as some suicide missions might not have been reported to the agencies.

Though Boko Haram also made use of male bombers to carry out attacks, it was discovered that there were far more females than males.

FBI arrests Nigerian who ‘specialises’ in fraud and identity theft

YEKEEN Akinwale
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FBI arrests Nigerian who ‘specialises’ in fraud and identity theft

FBI

A Nigerian, Daniel Adekunle Ojo, has been arrested by the FBI in Durham, North Carolina, United States of America, and charged with fraud and identity theft offences.

Ojo, who had been in the US for 14 months, was arrested after he was linked to a phishing scheme that used an AOL and Gmail email accounts to target school districts in Connecticut and Minnesota in an effort to get employees’ personal information and file bogus tax returns.

 Ojo appeared before a US magistrate judge in Greensboro, N.C., and was ordered detained pending his transfer to the District of Connecticut.

He was arrested in his Durham home. Authorities said Ojo entered the US in May 2016 on a visitor’s visa and failed to leave on his scheduled departure date in June 2016.

His arrest was announced Friday by Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation in New England.

Prosecutors said a school district employee in Glastonbury, Connecticut, received an email in February that appeared to be sent by another employee, who asked for tax information for 1,600 school district workers. 

The worker who received the email then forwarded the information, which was used in the scheme to file 122 bogus tax returns seeking nearly $600,000 in refunds, authorities said.

Officials said the Internal Revenue Service processed about six of the fake returns and electronically deposited nearly $37,000 in refunds to various bank accounts.

Investigators linked the email sent to the employee to Ojo, prosecutors said.

Officials also believe Ojo was involved in similar email schemes targeting school districts in Groton, Connecticut, and Bloomington, Minnesota.

In March, a Groton school employee emailed tax information of 1,300 employees in response to an email that appeared to be from the superintendent of schools. Authorities said the information was used to file about 66 fraudulent tax returns seeking about $364,000 in refunds. 

Officials said the fake returns weren’t processed because they had been flagged as being part of an identity theft scheme after school employees discovered the problem.

Prosecutors also said they linked the email account used by Ojo to a similar scam that obtained tax information for about 2,800 school employees in Bloomington earlier this year.

Eric Placke, a federal public defender in North Carolina who represented Ojo only for his initial court appearance, declined to comment on Friday. It’s not clear who Ojo’s attorney will be in Connecticut.

Daly urged the public to double-check links and email addresses before clicking on and responding to them, to avoid becoming an identity theft victim.

Understanding farmers-herdsmen conflict and the way forward

Editorial
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Understanding farmers-herdsmen conflict and the way forward

 

Fulani herdsmen

By Abdulrahman Usman Leme

Nigeria has experienced a considerable increase in natural resource conflicts since the early 1990s. The increasing clashes between farmers and pastoralists have recently become worrisome, especially in wetland areas of the Middle Belt, North Central Nigeria. As expected, most media outlets both local and international have cashed in on the stories around the unfortunate conflict with highly exaggerated accounts motivated by ethnic and religious undertones.  This has led to increased misunderstandings and level of distrust among Nigerians.

Centuries back, many of the low-lying areas next to rivers in Nigeria was hardly used by farmers because of some wide-range of reasons. One of such was the exposure to diseases like river blindness and malaria. Another is the problem of erosion peculiar to these riverine areas. These areas instead were mainly used for grazing by nomadic herders and fishermen.

However, the increase in Nigeria’s population led to a need for much greater use of these lands, especially for food production. During Nigeria’s colonial era, large irrigation schemes to ensure freshly planted food crops became popular. These schemes however became unsustainable forcing successive governments to find alternatives. The need to have substitutes necessitated the introduction of theFadama projects in the early 90s to support traditional small-scale farmers. Fadama is a term denoting irrigable low-lying plains. The idea was to promote low cost technology for irrigation under the World Bank financing. The Fadama cultivation was promoted throughout the northern region.

The expansion of the project coincided with large-scale urbanization and a growing demand for horticultural products in all regions. This spread various types of dry season cultivation in many states and ultimately set the stage for the recurring farmers and herders’ clashes. The farmers, usually desperate to meet the growing demand for food items in growing urban centers and to feed their families took up more of the riverbanks to farm. Doing this meant they encountered struggles with the other users, especially the herders and even the marginal fishermen. The herders’ frustration and hostility came mostly from finding the grazing routes and access to watering points covered by tomatoes, cucumbers, vegetables and other crops planted by the farmers. This led to misunderstanding and clashes leading to loss of lives and property.

AT WHAT POINT DID IT BECOME A FULL-BLOWN WAR

Prior to 1999, security was considerably firmer than it is now. One of the weaknesses of civilian rule from 1999 till date is the poor and inadequate response to the security of lives and property. Internal crises were containable under pre- democracy era. Now, the police and/or security outfits are required to contain what initially used to be settled by village heads. The advent of democratic rule seems to have opened the gate of ethno-religious conflicts which manifested around the Farmer-Herder conflicts. Some politicians have cashed on the land use conflicts to feather their nest.  For example, in Mambilla Plateau of Taraba state, herders and farmers have lived peacefully together for centuries. There was never a history of any clash between the neighbours until around the years 2001 and 2002, and both crises are believed to have been politically motivated.

Smarting from the latest round of the clash, which started on June 18, 2017 after ethnic Mambilla militias descended on Fulani communities, people are still counting their massive losses due to unprovoked attacks on their lives and property. A number of people for example, are still missing Again these attacks were alleged to have been carried out at the behest of some political elements.

In the early years of return to democratic rule in Nigeria, Plateau State also witnessed ethno religious crisis. Many of the settled and transhumant pastoralists were caught up in the crisis between the urban Hausa-Fulani Muslim and the Christian tribes; which set the stage for subsequent conflicts that lasted many years. The situation has not been different in other states like Nassarawa, Benue and Kaduna. Again, just about the same period, we had the infamous Sharia crisis in 2000 which contributed to the already growing distrust among the urban Hausa-Fulani Muslims and their largely Christian tribe neighbors in Southern Kaduna. This of course has negatively affected the relationship between the transhumant pastoralists and the locals in Southern Kaduna.

Part of why these crises linger on is because both the people and successive state governments failed to commit to peace. We have seen recently in Plateau State, for example, that peace can be restored when both parties are committed to lasting peace. Efforts made by the state Government, NGOs, development partners, community and religious leaders and the warring parties to ensure peace has proved to be effective; so far Plateau state has been at its most nonviolent for the longest time since 1999.

We also cannot ignore the acts of criminality and banditry being perpetrated under the guise of the “herdsmen attacks”; and our obsession with one-sided narratives. A good example is that of the Zaki Biam killing that took place on 20th March in Benue State. The initial report was that “herdsmen” perpetuated the mass killing of the people of the town. The police however later reported after investigation that armed gangs led by the wanted militia leader, Terwase Agwaza, carried out the act.

MOVING FORWARD

Over the years, the Federal government created commissions to investigate and find comprehensive solutions for the crisis in the Middle Belt states. There was the presidential peace initiative committee in 2002, the Federal Administrative Panel of Inquiry in 2008, the Federal Advisory Committee in 2010, post advisory committees on security challenges in 2012 and so many others. Failure of successive Governments to implement any of the recommendations by the panels of inquiry set up to investigate previous crises is one reason it still lingers. Some months ago for example, the Kaduna State Government made an effort to implement one of such recommendations and it was widely sensationalized as “paying the herdsmen for killing people”; which ushers in the role of media in these crises.

If the media can do away with this culture of exaggerating every crisis and do more of developmental and investigative journalism, crises would be averted. For instance, the pre-dawn attacks in some parts of Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Taraba States was widely reported to be perpetuated by “unknown gunmen” between 2010 and 2012. ‘Unknown Gunmen’ easily became a lazy way to report the news as opposed to actually investigating the attacks or the people behind it.

The label was later switched to tagging every clash as a ‘reprisal attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen’ without reporting the original attacks that prompted these reprisals. The media keeps reporting the crisis with political and ethno-religious undertone, giving room for ethnic profiling of the entire Fulani race, accusing them of undertaking an ethnic cleansing agenda against the ‘Northern Minorities’. This narrative became even more popular when Muhammadu Buhari came into power as President of Nigeria and Nasir El-Rufai as Governor of Kaduna, both Fulani men, despite their resolve and continued efforts towards ending the crisis.

Today we see how this profiling of the Fulani people has misled some into to believing that every Fulani man is violent and one who does not deserve to live. Many have used this sentiment to justify the latest killings of the Fulani in Mambilla.

It is important for the reader to know that the term ‘Fulani’ doesn’t necessarily describe a particular tribe. It is an umbrella of different clans with distinct dialects in Nigeria and more than 17 African countries. So, if the media continues to give unverified blanket reports of this “herdsmen” crisis, it will only sow seeds of bad blood among Nigerians for crimes committed by criminals.

The Federal Government should as a matter of urgency review our border patrol system, thereby providing more security personnel, deployment of new technological facilities that will aid the immigration and other security agents to verify and admit any foreign herders entering the country. The officers must be trained to be able identify and stop illegal intruders from entering Nigeria. All herds must have the International Transhumance Certificate as provided by the ECOWAS Protocol on Transhumance.

The ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998 and the ECOWAS Protocol of Free Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa also needs to be reviewed.  Both acts allow herders access to designated stock routes and grazing lands/reserves through the West African countries. The review should be put in place to ensure efficiency and to identify new routes and away from the routes have already been turned farmlands.

Another viable way of keeping the crisis minimal is creating and revitalizing grazing reserves, especially within states in the North that have already indicated interest in doing so. Over the years, the victims of these clashes have been shoved aside, with no form of compensation for the lives and properties lost. It is therefore imperative to create special tribunals to investigate, prosecute offenders and compensate victims. The media also has a part to play in this in form of undercover journalism; the bar has to be set high for reporters.

CONCLUSION

It is clear that internal security has continued to be a major challenge for the civilian rulers and there is an urgent need for review of our national security policy and strategy to accommodate these new dimensions of security challenges arising from the Famer/herder clashes.

*Leme (@Lemeveteran), wrote from Lagos

We should not compromise the unity of Nigeria

Editorial
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We should not compromise the unity of Nigeria

ADEDURO 1

By Olorunfemi Adeduro

My name is William Olorunfemi Adeduro. Welcome to my greatest day of joy so far. Thank you for coming to celebrate God for lavishing His love on me for 80 eventful years. 

By the grace of God I am 4,171 weeks and 4 days old today.  I have lived with a frail body for 41 years but I have never suffered for a day. Despite being seriously sick since I was 39 years old, I have slept and woken up for 29, 201 days.

My book of chronicles is coloured with chapters of how God healed me from the conspiracy of afflictions. My frail but freed body is an aged tapestry with variegated marks hewed with the rampaging fingers of malaria, fever, cataract, hypertension, diabetes, prostrate cancer, heart issues and associated discomforts. Yet in all these I am more than conqueror through my Lord Jesus Christ.

A glorious joy overwhelmed me when my saviour found me and saved me after 60  seasons of dryness. I am glad to be a disciple of Jesus Christ by whom I have done greater works. I have struggled across many rivers of uncertainties and limitations. Yet my unlimited redeemer ensured that I have never been limited in life.

With a limited education that formally ended at Standard 6, I rose through the ranks in the Federal Civil Service. Having no godfather, the everlasting hand of God the father and the hand of diligence propelled me to retire at Level 13 in 1997. I was an Assistant Chief Superintendent of Press over graduates who possessed master’s degrees from world-class universities.

Just yesterday I turned eighty with a joyful heart. Today I shall sing even if my vocal cord sounds odd. Let me tell you my story when things went awry. Indulge me to write about life just before things went right. I was born on August 4, 1937 to the family of late Samuel Olugbemisoye Adeduro, the late high chief Adaja of Ondo Kingdom. My father was a successful farmer and produce merchant. My mother was Madam Oladimeji Adeduro Nee Akinkugbe.

I started my educational career between 1945 and 1955 in Ondo kingdom, Ondo State. I attended All Saints School, Ogbonkowo, Ondo and Ansarudeen Primary School. In those days a pupil was promoted from Primary 1a to 1b to 1c. Unlike today when pupils proceed from primary 1 to primary 2 in that order. So we spent eight years in primary school. I left school with Standard Six.

Out of his love for me and his succession plan in business, my father desired that I worked with him on the farm. However, my inquisitive and restless mind yearned for the bustling city of Lagos. So, in less than two years I found my way out of my father’s Owena farmland and village in Ondo State. I boldly came to Lagos in search of a greener pasture in March 1959.

On my arrival in Lagos I attended a private commercial school called Odunfa Commercial Institute. There I studied Shorthand, Typewriting and Accounting respectively. I also studied photography at Ola Photo Studios in Ebute Metta. The commercial education I had qualified me to secure my first paid job as a Clerk Typist with Guinea Insurance. After some time, I got another job as a daily paid worker as Graphic Arts Attendant with the Graphics Section in the Federal Ministry of Information. After some time, God granted me favour to be converted to standard scale on a permanent job as a civil servant.

Through the mercy of God I was able to work with supervisors who appreciated my diligence and promptness in reporting for work. I was always willing to go the extra mile to satisfy my supervisors. God used this my disposition to secure extra favour for me. In my determination to make a difference despite my limited formal education I devoted myself to God and the study of many books on literature, philosophy and religion. This paid off as I became intellectually strong to compete with colleagues who had university educations during promotion tests and came out tops.

Although my income was meagre, raising a family was a joy for me. My wife stoutly stood by me and for me to make me a successful husband and father. I am grateful to God for giving me a great woman who is caring, courageous, passionate, diligent and determined to raise a godly family. My better half, Julianah Ibilola Adeduro (nee Adenodi) from Ondo Kingdom is a rare gem and a virtuous woman who every family needs to blossom. Without this woman blessed with boundless energy and incredible gift of memory (my wife can still recall the telephone numbers of more than two hundred people from her brain without consulting a diary or contact book) I am sure I would not have gone this far in life. Thanks to the long suffering of my wife, we were tenants for 25 years in a one-room apartment (‘face-me-I-face-you type) at 86 Eleshin Street, Obalende, Lagos, yet we were able to successfully raise our five children as graduates who are all landlords and lady in Nigeria and USA today. To the glory of God, my wife and I own two houses in Nigeria.

My wife is very spiritual without being fetish even before we became born again some decades ago. Both of us successfully completed the School of Disciples programme about 20 years ago in The Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Through my experience, I can boldly say that any man who marries a wrong wife cannot live long and have good success.

My experience of living in Obalende since 1964 makes me realize that we should not compromise the unity of Nigeria. All those who are clamouring for a breakup and war do not have an understanding about the ravaging effects of disunity and civil war in a nation. Living and working next door to Dodan Barracks made me a living witness to the 1967 Civil War and all the coups d’etat in Nigeria. I am still terrified till today each time I remember what happened on the day General Muritala Muhammed was assassinated near my office on Ikoyi Road, Lagos. On the morning of that faithful Friday February 13, 1976 my colleagues and I were settling down in my office at the Graphic Arts section of the Federal Ministry of Information on Ikoyi Road when we heard gun shots. Initially, we thought it was the regular shots we often heard since were directly located behind Dodan Barracks. In fact we used to pass through Dodan Barracks from Obalende to Ikoyi in those days. One of my junior colleagues soon ran inside to inform us that some armed bandits had killed a man in a big Mercedes Benz at the junction of Road that takes you towards the road leading to Ikoyi Club. Since there was no fear of armed robbers or kidnappers as it is rampant today, we all trooped out of the office towards the direction of the scene. In our innocence, we wanted to go and offer help. But a series of gunshots suddenly ensued as we trooped towards the scene. Suddenly we saw many fiercely-looking armed men in army uniform threatening to shoot us. It was them we realised that a coup d’etat had occurred again. There was pandemonium as all my colleagues and I took to our heels. That day I ran to my home in Obalende with only a shoe on my left leg. I did not know when and where the shoe on my right leg fell off.

Coups d’etat and war are destructive to human lives and values. It is better to jaw-jaw and solve our challenges as a nation than to war-war. A United Nigeria is better for the future of our children. Personally, I believe that the journey of Nigeria to greatness, strategically charted by our leaders in the First Republic, was truncated by the long years of military rule. Unfortunately, what we have today in the so-called democracy are people who rule without the fear of God and an eye for the future.

I cannot truly tell you what I have done to live this long if not for the mercies of God that preserved me through times of storms. However, I believe that every human being who hopes to see the future should be fastidious in doing certain basic things. These include having a strong relationship with the almighty God. Without God you are empty, and an empty vessel has no value. When you don’t have value to God He won’t bother much about keeping you in a competitive world. Secondly, you must be careful to be moderate in everything you do. You must also live a life that is devoid of offence to God and man by pursuing peace in all situations. Thirdly, working hard and smart based on knowledge is desirable for anyone who desires to have good success.

In addition to these three, you must learn to be patient and delay gratification. One of the reasons why most people have integrity problems is because they are in a hurry to achieve certain things. For me, being slow and steady with a determined pursuit of purpose will ultimately win the race. This is why I was a tenant in a room apartment for 25 years despite the fact that I could not, at some point, afford to rent a flat or what my peers called “a more decent accommodation”. You see. I needed to be sure that I could train all my biological children to become graduates. I remember once that my first born, when he was in secondary school, requested that I should rent a flat because he saw that one of his classmates had a personal room in the flat that his parents rented in Akoka area of Lagos. I promptly told my son that we would not move out of the rented one-room apartment until I was able to see him through University education. That was the end of the pressure. To the glory of God, we stopped living in a rented apartment after my first son graduated from the university.

Look back, I am grateful to God that all my five children are successful graduates, with the eldest possessing a Ph.D. My first two children are pastors in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. My eldest child, Pastor (Dr.) Wale Adeduro, has grown to become an Assistant Pastor in Charge of Province in Ikoyi Lagos while his brother, Pastor Bolaji Adeduro,  is a Pastor in California, USA.

The fifth thing an individual should do is to be fully responsible for members of your immediate family. Ensure that you have a bond of love and unity with your spouse and children. This will happen if you endeavour to love all your children equally. Personally, I love my children equally and I have never given any other five of them preferential treatment over the others. This largely explains why there is a high degree of unity among my five children. I don’t need to remind you about the various court cases initiated by siblings contesting the wills of their late prominent fathers in Nigeria. Parents should avoid treating their children unequally. The older child is not supposed to be treated better than the younger. It is an error to give preferential treatment to any child.

At the end of the daytime, it is only your family that you have when the chips are down. An individual with a loving family will ultimately triumph in life.

You have to take care of your health by watching what you eat and drink. Regardless of the taste it leaves in your mouth, the classic unprocessed Nigerian meals remain the most nutritious and healthy food. I recommend that Nigerians who want to live well and longer should go back to the meals our parents ate before Nigeria’s independence in 1960.

The final responsibility you have is to pray and trust God for long life. If I had died at the age of fifty, I would not have become a landlord in Lagos. If I had died at the age of sixty I would not have become an American citizen.

As I take stock of my life today, I feel fulfilled and indebted to God for His loving kindnesses towards me. As I grew up in life, I realized that the name you bear tells a lot about your destiny. My parents named me Olorunfemi. This name simply translates to God Loves Me. Having woken up this morning, a day after I turned 80 years old, I am truly convinced that God Loves Me. I pray that God shall also show love to my children and their spouses, my grand children to my fourth generation, including all my well wishers and helpers  in the name of Jesus.

At 80, I wish I were younger. I could have done a lap of honour round the stadium to celebrate my God, my father in heaven and the lover of my soul.

Rise with me as my old body dances to the new rhythm of my spirit.  I have been renewed in my body, soul and spirit. God Loves Me!!!

 

EXCLUSIVE: FG failed to run security checks on nominees before announcing new ICPC board

Dayo Aiyetan
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EXCLUSIVE: FG failed to run security checks on nominees before announcing new ICPC board
Maimuna Aliyu 2
Maimuna Aliyu

The federal government announced a new board of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) without running security checks on the nominees, the ICIR can confirm.

The ICIR exclusively reported on Friday that two persons announced as members of the reconstituted board of the ICPC, Maimuna Aliyu and Sa’ad Alanamu, were being investigated on corruption allegations by the anti-corruption agency.

The report indicated that Aliyu, a former Executive Director at the government-owned Aso Savings and Loans, was being investigated for stealing and diversion of public funds and that charges were being drawn up against her by the ICPC before her appointment.

Alanamu is also being investigated for bribery, among other allegations, he allegedly collected from contractor while he was chairman of the Kwara State College of Education.

Now embarrassed by the revelations, the federal government has decided to replace the two persons nominated to the board who are under investigation by the agency.

A senior presidency source who can not be named told the ICIR late Friday that the government took the decision to replace the two of them after verifying the allegations that they were under investigation. He also said the decision to replace them would be announced next week.

He said that the government felt embarrassed that persons undergoing criminal investigations were announced as members of the board of the anti-corruption agencies handling their case.

However, another source in the government whose name can also not be mentioned told our reporter that the members of the ICPC board announced on Tuesday did not go through any security screening as is traditional for such appointees.

The source said that the appointees were picked from a long list of names that had piled up in the two years that the Muhammadu Buhari government came into office.

He said that the failure of the government to fill those positions led to a situation where a long list had developed of persons seeking appointment into several boards. Such appointments are used for political patronage and rewarding the party faithful.

However, lately, a lot of pressure, it was learnt, had been put on the government to fill some of the vacancies, leading to the recent announcement of appointments into some boards.

For example, at the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, erstwhile ICPC Chairman, was named as full-time commissioner alongside two others, while four part-time commissioners were also named in addition to six other officials.

Similarly, appointments were also made at the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, with Chidi K. C. Izuwah, and engineer, named Director-General, while the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, to be chaired by Okoi Obona-Obla, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, was set up.

However, rather than send the names of the appointees to the Department of State Services (DSS), for proper security screening, the government just announced their appointment, the source said.

When asked to verify the claim that the appointees did not go through security training, Laolu Akande, Spokesman to the Acting President, was not too committal.

In a text message sent in response to our enquiries, he said that “the claims will be thoroughly and promptly acted upon with dispatch doing the right if found true”.

EXTRA: The Nigerian slum where live plays are staged on water

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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EXTRA: The Nigerian slum where live plays are staged on water

 

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Makoko, a slum and waterside neighbourhood in Lagos State, came alive recently when a theatre troupe staged a play on water.

Residents were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience when popular stage actresses performed alongside novices picked from the neighbourhood in a play about gender equality.

The set was a floating stage and the audience watched from the water in fishing boats and viewing platforms built on wooden pillars.

The fascinating story was shared on BBCs Focus on Africa.

Watch the pictures below:

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Scientists warn: Stop giving babies water, it ‘kills’ them

Chikezie OMEJE
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Scientists warn: Stop giving babies water, it ‘kills’ them

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A popular belief in Nigeria is that everyone needs to drink water to survive. Legendary musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti captured this feeling in a popular song, Water No Get Enemy. However, scientific evidence shows that water is an enemy, at least to children below the age of six months.

Children less than six months old do not need any drop of water; they need only breast milk, nothing more or less.

Global health bodies WHO and Unicef recommend that breastfeeding is initiated within one hour of birth and that it continues with no other foods or liquids for the first six months of life.

Facts indicate that babies who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times less likely to die than those who are not fed breast milk.

“Our greatest challenge to exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria is water,” Ada Ezeogu, Unicef nutrition specialist told the ICIR in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Ezeogu says stopping mothers from giving their babies water during the first six months can save the lives of thousands of children annually in Nigeria.

Exclusive breastfeeding is an infant feeding practice where children younger than six months are given nothing but breast milk.

The myth that a child below six months can get thirsty and needs water to quench the thirst has contributed significantly in placing Nigeria at the lowest level in the Global Breastfeeding Scorecard.

According to the National Demographic and Health Survey 2013, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding is only 17%.

Unicef says that this exclusive breastfeeding rate means that at least 5.4 million children each year miss out on its benefits and contributes to the country’s problem of chronic child malnutrition. Eleven million children under five are malnourished in Nigeria.

An estimated 13% of child deaths can be averted if 90% of mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months of life.

Water is the greatest barrier to exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria and Ezeogu is asking: “What can we do to stop mothers from giving water to their babies?”

She says if mothers can simply stop giving their children water, exclusive breastfeeding will soar.

BREAST MILK HAS ENOUGH WATER

Scientific evidence shows that about 88 per cent of the content of breast milk is water, which means that a baby on exclusive breastfeeding can never get thirsty within the first six months of birth. Other contents of breast milk are protein, fats, iron, and vitamins.

Scientists believe that giving babies additional water during the first six months denies them essential nutrient from the breast milk and introduces early onset of malnutrition.

Infections can easily be transmitted to the babies through water and this is why nutrition experts say that exclusive breastfeeding helps to prevent diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two major causes of death in infants.

“Breastfeeding gives babies the best possible start in life,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO ,says. “Breast milk works like a baby’s first vaccine, protecting infants from potentially deadly diseases and giving them all the nourishment they need to survive and thrive.”

What is often the case in Nigeria is that many people still believe that breastfeeding alone is not sufficient for babies and that babies need additional water or food.

Social pressure from relatives can be very strong on the mother to add extra things to a baby’s diet. Hence, babies are not only given water but also infant formula, herbs, semi-solid foods such as pap, gruel and in some instances solid adult food.

“Breast milk has everything a baby needs to quench thirst and satisfy hunger,” Ezeogu says.

She urges mother to understand that breast milk is the best food and drink that can be offered a baby so that the baby will grow to be strong and healthy.

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