Wizkid Snubs Samini

Recent reports hitting us indicate that the Nigerian hip-hop star, Wizkid, refused to partner with Samini on stage to perform their hit collaboration, ‘Time Bomb’, at the recent ‘Ghana Meets Naija’ concert.
It was gathered Wizkid and his team refused the arrangement made by organizers because of a beef between Samini and R2Bees, who were away in Los Angeles for the 2013 BET Awards.
Although much is not known of the so-called beef between R2Bees and Samini, the report suggested that it had boiled over to the point that Bola Ray, the organizer of the show had to intervene and try to get Wizkid to perform with Samini at the concert.
“Bola Ray even went back stage to talk to Wizkid and his manager about it but they refused to perform with Samini,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the music video for R2Bees’ ‘Slow Down’ which featured Wizkid was premiered during the concert.

SHOCKER - Big Brother Africa 1013: I Don’t Want Any More Drama – Selly

After what has been a dramatic couple of weeks, it would seem that trouble-magnet Selly is now looking for a drama free stay in the House.
Over the past five weeks, Selly has seen herself at the centre of some alcohol drama with Pokello that saw the Ghanaian get her first strike in the House.
She also found herself slap bang in the middle of a love triangle with Sulu and Nando that culminated in both fellows also getting slapped with one strike each.
The Diamond lady has now had enough as she told her girl pal Cleo, “I don’t want any more drama”. The two Diamond dames turned the kitchen into their own little therapist’s office as the young actress poured her heart out to Cleo, who listened attentively and offered advice.
From their conversation it is clear that the Ghana woman is not yet over Nando but the problem is that she does not know where she stands with him. “He is so complicated and I don’t have time for that. We only have 91 days in the House” she griped.
Like a little lost puppy she searched for guidance in her friend. “Should I withdraw more” she asked sincerely. “No you have withdrawn enough from him. Just give him time to come to you to tell you about his feelings,” Cleo counselled.
“Oh Selly girl if you really want no drama then maybe it’s time to consider staying away from playboys; no?”

Police killed my son, I want justice – Prophet

When in June 2013, Olayinka Kolawole gained admission to Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, to read Mass Communication, his family and friends rejoiced with him.

This was because Kolawole  had been trying for three years to further his education after finishing from Sam Glory Secondary School, Ejigbo, Lagos.

However, the family was thrown into mourning a few days later after the 20-year-old was allegedly killed by policemen attached to Ejigbo Division.

The father of the deceased, Prophet Omisande Kolawole, said that the incident occurred on June 15, 2013.

Narrating what transpired on the fateful day, Omisande said his son had gone to attend a friend’s birthday party but was killed on his way home.

He said, “My son went out to attend his friend’s birthday party not too far from our home. He said he would not stay long and we told him not to stay out too long. The following day, which was a Sunday, we did not see or hear from him and we began to panic.

“Later we heard that police embarked on a raid the previous night. We even thought he had been arrested. His mother, Grace Kolawole, and her nephew, Segun Adio, went to the Ejigbo Police Division but they were told that there were no suspects in their cell.

“However, residents told us that they had seen my son’s corpse being conveyed by policemen. After about three hours later, the policemen opened up and told us that my son had been killed. My wife immediately fainted.”

Omisande said even after his wife had been revived, the police refused to take her statement as well as
 statement of Adio, her nephew.

He said Adio and other residents set out to investigate what actually happened and it was discovered that his son was killed by a stray bullet which emanated from the gun of a policeman popularly known as Oba.

He said, “We were told that around 8pm on the fateful day, Titan Hotel, located at Asaolu Close, was holding an event tagged Ladies’ night. At the hotel, one policeman popularly known as Oba was having a drink and dancing with a lady.

“We learnt that Oba left the hotel premises to receive a telephone call but on returning to the hotel, Oba got into a fight with a youth over the lady he was dancing with. The altercation degenerated into fisticuffs and Oba ran out of the premises and called his colleagues for back-up.

“When his colleagues arrived at the scene, a shoot-out ensued. During the shooting, my son, who was on his way home from another party was hit in the head by a stray bullet and died instantly.”

Omisande said since his son’s killing, life had not been the same. He said his wife was hospitalised and was only recently discharged.

The deceased’s mother, Grace, who spoke to PUNCH Metro while fighting back tears, said everything was still like a dream.

“Olayinka was the first of my three children. My other children are still young and it feels as if all my labour has been in vain. I want justice for his death,” she said.

Omisande described his son as a responsible boy and wondered why the police would attempt to cover up his murder.

“The policemen at Ejigbo prevented us from seeing the Divisional Police Officer. We are being treated with comtempt because we are not rich. All we want is justice for our son’s murder.”

When contacted on the telephone, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed Olayinka’s murder.

She said the matter would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, for further investigation.

She said, “The DPO told me that around 2am on the said date, they received a distress call that cult members were fighting. On getting to the scene, the cult members fled but policemen discovered the young man’s corpse.

“The father of the deceased told the DPO that one policeman identified as Oba was responsible for his son’s death. However, we have not been able to get the actual identity of the policeman. We are transferring the case to the SCID for further investigation.

“We are however calling on eyewitnesses to come forward and we promise that their identities will be protected.”

Atiku: My dad jailed for not allowing my education

Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar stunned his audience in far away Geneva, Switzerland when he recalled how his late father was jailed for refusing to let him attend school in his hometown of Jada, Adamawa State.
The former Vice President made the revelation in remarks he made on the occasion of the conferment of an honorary doctorate degree on him by the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.
“When my father was put in jail by local authorities because he needed my assistance with herding the livestock, it seemed like a harsh punishment,” Atiku reminisced.
He, however, noted “were he to be alive to witness this day (yesterday) and the last 30 or so years of my life I am sure that he would exclaim “wow! Education pays after all.”

“The founder of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola recalled that as a young lad growing up in his rustic village of Jada, he had dreams, but that it was education that made his dreams come true.
According to him, “education is what brought me in contact with members of the United States of America’s Peace Corps when I was still a little boy; a contact and interaction that would have profound impact on my life, especially my love for education and service.
“While underscoring the imperative of education to personal growth and development, the former Vice President said it gave him the friends he made across Nigeria as he attended high school and university; gave him a job in the Nigerian civil service; and provided him with opportunities to meet and form more life-long friendships from across the world.
Atiku Abubakar attributed the modest achievements he has made in business and politics and the contributions in improving the lives of others to education.
He stressed that education is what has informed his determination to give back to society, especially through education.
He noted that the centrality of education in the improvement of the human condition is one reason why public policy must seek to always improve the quality of and access to public education everywhere in the world, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.
He advised parents not to choose career options for their children but allow them to discover their innate potentials by charting their own preferred discipline.
“A young friend of mine, who heads the human resources department of an organization in Nigeria, called me up one night about seven months ago and said he came across an application for employment by one of my children and wondered whether I consented to my child applying to work in that organization.
“I asked why he needed to clear that with me first and he said he thought that I would prefer that my child works in one of my establishments. I then told him that I do not choose careers for my children. I owe them good education; I support them to acquire good education. What they do thereafter is up to them as adults,” Atiku said.
Others who received honorary doctorate degrees from the same institution are His Excellency (Dr.) Oguz Demiralp, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey and His Excellency (Dr.) Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and Honorary Dean of the Geneva School of Diplomacy.

VERY SAD- FINAL YEAR STUDENT KILLED BY RAPIST

A final year Guidance and Counselling student of the Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State, was allegedly killed on Saturday by some rapists after she failed to allow them to sexually abuse her.

The killing was the climax of a series of rapes said to have become commonplace at the college in the past few months.

The student, whose name was yet to be confirmed on Sunday, was said to be an indigene of Obeledu in Anaocha Local Government of the state.

Her body was found near the school chapel not far from the lecturers’ quarters.

The Provost of the college, Dr. Clara Obiagwu, declined comments on the incident when contacted.

“Stay off our college until you are invited. Did you contact me before nosing around my college? I have told you, don’t report about my college,’’ she told reporters.

The Public Relations Officer of the College, Mr. Willy Chukwuma, however said the incident did not occur on the campus.

The Anambra State University was last month shut down after students took to the street to protest the killing of a female student by armed robbers that invaded a female hostel.

Gunmen free 175 prisoners in Akure jailbreak

 

 

There was pandemonium in the early hours of Sunday when gunmen, numbering about 30, invaded the Olokuta Medium Security Prisons in Akure, Ondo State capital, and set about 175 inmates free.

The bandits, according to eyewitnesses, arrived at the prison premises, which is less than one kilometre away from the headquarters of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, also known as Owena Barracks, around 12. 05am, shooting indiscriminately.

The armed men were said to have gained entry into the prison by using dynamite to blow off a section of the walls, after a futile attempt to enter through the main entrance.

A source said one of the warders was hit by the attackers’ bullets, was ordered to release the keys to the cells, and was also forced to set the inmates free.

Our correspondent observed on Sunday afternoon that the walls of the prisons were riddled with bullets, while all the street lights, leading to the prison, were also destroyed.

The state Comptroller of Prisons, Mr. Tunde Olayiwola, who lamented the development, described the attack as unusual.

He expressed the hope that the prisons authority would soon bring the culprits to book.

Olayiwola said, “The incident happened around 12. 05am. The rumour that the attack was masterminded by the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, is not true.

“We cannot specifically identify  those behind the attack, but the attack is unusual. One of our officers was injured during the attack and he is in the hospital right now receiving treatment. However, I am assuring you that those behind the attack will be brought to book.

“The attack is the first of its kind in the history of the prison because the prison has not experienced such an attack since its establishment.”

Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered on Sunday that some of the prisoners, who were set free by the hoodlums, had already been rearrested by security agents in the state.

It was  learnt that  some of the prisoners were picked by the security agents at some of the brothels within the town and neighboring villages near the prison, where some of them were identified and rearrested.

The situation had been brought under control when our correspondent visited the scene on Sunday, as a detachment of security agents had been stationed at the prison.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Patrick Dokumor, and some government functionaries, led by the Attorney-General of the state and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, visited the prison.

The Public Relations Officer of the state police Command, Mr. Wole Ogodo, confirmed the attack, adding that the  command had contacted the prison authorities on the issue.

Ogodo said, “The information gathered on the jailbreak is still sketchy. The incident has nothing to do with terrorism, and we call on the people of the state to go about their  normal duties.

“The police will continue to protect lives and properties of the people of the state. All the security agencies within the state are working to track the criminals and all the hoodlums will be brought to book.”

Patience Jonathan’s excesses must be curbed

EACH time the wife of the President, Patience Jonathan, hits the road with her long motorcade, including bulletproof and bombproof limousines, or is having a whale of a time at an event, drivers and commuters who find themselves on her routes always have to live with the bitter experience of the encounter. As police empty the roads of traffic, forcing drivers to wait as her glamorous convoy drifts by, motorists are trapped in traffic for hours on end, while social and economic life of the affected community is brought to a halt abruptly. 

The recent visit of Mrs. Jonathan to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, in which her security details forcibly grounded the movement of residents, is the latest of such excesses that Nigerians have been forced to endure for the past three years. This impunity must stop. According to newspaper reports, Mrs. Jonathan’s security arrangement paralysed activities in the Port Harcourt Government Reservation Area for the four days of her visit. Armoured personnel carriers were deployed at two points, while gun-wielding operatives manned the points leading to her private residence. Many people missed their appointments because they were prevented from moving in and out of their houses.

When she came to Lagos last year, on a “thank-you visit” to some women groups for electing her husband president, she enacted a similar repulsive scenario.  During the visit, Lagos residents were subjected to an unprecedented road blockade, which gave rise to an unnerving five-hour traffic that grounded all human and economic activities. The First Lady was attending that event at Ocean View Restaurant on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island.

Mrs. Jonathan’s misdemeanour, which still resonates more than a year after it happened, forced Governor Babatunde Fashola to lament, “Lagosians were needlessly inconvenienced…. It dawned on me the need for public officers generally to be more sensitive to the people we serve. It is particularly worrisome that this (she) is not an elected person. I think we all must check how security agencies use the movement of high officers, especially VIPs, to disrupt citizens and taxpayers, whose money is used to fuel all the vehicles and all the apparatus that we use to block the roads against them. It should not get to the level that we close the roads in the state because VIPs want to pass.” It cannot be said better.

But not long after the ridiculous show of power in Lagos, Mrs. Jonathan headed for Warri, Delta State, where she also caused hardship to residents through her security arrangements.  Needless to say, these foul-ups compound gridlocks on our roads.  On a few occasions, the First Lady has also broken protocol. During President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the United States in September 2012, she breached protocol by disembarking from the aircraft before the President, and shaking hands with officials waiting on the tarmac while her husband was still coming down from the plane. The First Lady is setting a bad example for wives of governors.

The position of the First Lady in the United States, from where the convention spread to other countries, is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and attracts no salary. But it glows with much glamour and the occupier is expected to handle the position with sublime grace. In the United Kingdom, the role of the Prime Ministerial Consort is not official and as such whoever occupies the office is not given a salary or official duties. Many of them prefer to remain very much in the background.  Indeed, the late Denis Thatcher once summed up the role of the ideal prime ministerial spouse as “always present, never there.” This is the ideal.

But operating under the loosely-defined, unconstitutional office of the “First Lady,” Mrs. Jonathan has been bringing the highest office in the land into disrepute since her husband assumed full duties as President in May 2010, by her public conduct. Her behaviour – when there is no reason for it – is leaving many citizens who have had their rights trampled on bitter but helpless.

This is not the practice in civilised societies. The basic requirement of civilised democracy is that everyone plays by the rules and that the rules command public confidence. In October 2011, it was reported that a stunned 27-year-old Indian woman was so agitated that she enquired from David Cameron, who chose to travel in a tube train during rush hour, “Excuse me, are you the Prime Minister?” The Prime Minister was reportedly travelling on the London Underground for an appointment.  The United States’ security services offer maximum protection to Michelle Obama while, at the same time, causing minimal inconvenience to other motorists and citizens. It is as outrageous as it is gravely uncivilised for official cortèges to take pleasure in inflicting pains on the people that such officials claim to be serving.

The itinerary of the First Lady can be smoothly planned without compromising her safety and the convenience of the citizens.  Mrs. Jonathan must recognise that power is ephemeral and should learn from the past occupants of the office who history does not favourably remember because they did incalculable damage to the image of the First Family. Fashola, who, as a governor, does not use sirens in his limited convoy, and does not harass other road users, offers a useful lesson in public morality and decorum. Even with the aura surrounding the office of President of the United States, whenever Barack Obama is visiting any part of America, information is fully circulated to the locality well ahead of time, and locals are given alternative routes that cause minimum inconveniences to use.

It is President Jonathan’s duty to caution his wife to stop this regime of offensive illegality that has tainted the Presidency and presented Nigeria in a bad light.

source : punch news