Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s minister of health, on Monday, April 24, 2017 urged the U.S to support the federal government’s efforts to eliminate malaria from Nigeria by 2020.

Professor Adewole, who made the call in Abuja at the 2017 World Malaria Day celebration organised by the U.S Embassy, said that the federal government was committed to ending malaria by 2020.

The minister said that with the indices available the country was still far from its dream of `Malaria free Nigeria’.

“Our target is to achieve zero mortality rate from malaria by 2020, very ambitious target but doable, we can achieve it; that no Nigeria died of malaria by 2020,” the health minister said.

“We are working together with the Governors’ Forum to build a strong alliance on health system, to treat malaria continue with the prevention of malaria and make sure we take malaria off the street.

“I use this occasion to solicit for more support to enable us achieve a pre-elimination phase in 2020,” he said.

He commended the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) for its support, which he said included financial, logistics, technical input also by provision of nets, indoor residual spray and other anti-Malaria commodities.

Others, he said, were implementation of malaria and pregnant initiative; advocacy and campaign; monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building at all levels of government.

According to him, USAID/Presidential Malaria Initiative is covering 11 States and the National Malaria Programme with a substantial investment of about 490 million dollars in Nigeria.

He said that the effort showed that malaria was being attacked by all fronts by the supporting partners, indicating that malaria would soon be over in Nigeria.

“A look at some indices shows that we are still far from our dream of malaria free Nigeria.

“Our current Malaria Strategic Plan which is meant to lead us to pre-elimination, has been praised for being focused and articulate, but it is coming at a time when the resources for malaria control are dwindling.

“In addition, there are limited resources for effective programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation,” he said.

According to him, we cannot pretend to be unaware that malaria is still affecting and still killing; “we must redouble our efforts so we want to ask for more’’.

He assured that the Federal Ministry of Health under his leadership would account for “every penny” donated to this course.

Adewole said that the federal government had also allocated more resources to Malaria control programme in the 2017 appropriation.

The Deputy Head of Mission, U.S Embassy, David Young, in his remark called on Nigerians to be committed to sleeping in a treated bed net every night to end malaria for good.

“Ending malaria for good is achievable if we play our individual and collective roles, remember that malaria is preventable – ensure that you and all members of your household sleep under a treated bed net every night.

“Malaria is diagnosable; always demand a malaria diagnostic test before accepting treatment, malaria is treatable.

“Once a fever is confirmed to be malaria Artemisinin Based Combination Therapy (ACTs) are the only effective treatment.

“Do not use counterfeit or substandard drugs like chloroquine; they do not cure malaria,” Young however warned.

Many weeping fans have remained in the wake of Prince’s death. The artist managed to touch and guide a lot of people with his music. While some were only familiar with his iconic hits and some knew in intricate detail every single piece of material the artist had ever released, it is clear that Prince was known on some level by most people that have love for music. That being said, all his fans will rejoice after learning that new music coming from the artist is slated to hit the shelves soon.

In fact, it’s going to be sooner than you might think. It would seem that a brand new EP from Prince will be made available on Friday. The material will come under the EP title Deliverance, and it will have a special signification: It marks one year since the passing of the deeply loved and respected musical icon of a generation.

In fact, those that can’t wait until Friday can go check out the title track from the EP which is available on all major music streaming platforms like Apple Music, iTunes, and others. That should be a small fix for those that are eager to hear fresh material from Prince.

Fresh might not be the correct word here. Even though the content that will be featured on Deliverance will be brand new on the market and never before released to the public or heard, it was recorded a long time ago. The recently discovered material comes from recording sessions that took place in the 2006-2008 period, according to those that are managing the project. The EP will come out through Rogue Music Alliance and it’s already available for pre-order. There are multiple places where fans can pre-order their copy of the EP, such as Google Play, Amazon, or iTunes.

While all the other big players have taken action regarding the new Prince EP, it would seem like two major contenders on the streaming market are absent to the fight currently. Both thewell-known platform Spotify as well as the up and coming TIDAL lack any information about release dates or availability regarding Deliverance.

It would seem that the songs came to be through the collaboration of Prince with Ian Boxill, which served as Prince’s recording engineer from 2004 to 2009. It would seem that the then incomplete projects remained in the possession of Boxill after the death of Prince, and that he continued to work on them until they were completed. It looks like we have reached that time, as the new album is about to drop. It is worth mentioning that the profits made off of the new 6 song EP will benefit Prince’s estate.

Here’s the tracklist for the upcoming project:

1. “Deliverance”
2.”I Am”
3.”Touch Me”
4.”Sunrise Sunset”
5.”No One Else”
6. “I Am (Extended)”

In the wake of Prince’s one year death anniversary, his collaborator and recording engineer also took the time to make a couple of statements regarding Prince and also about the upcoming project. It would seem that the two would often discuss the principles of going independent and cutting major record labels out of the deal.

This would be an initiative with the supreme purpose of delivering Prince’s music directly to his fans, or the people that care about his music. Everyone knows that record labels can easily transform a soul project into a monetization opportunity, thus Prince would have wanted his music to not be “desecrated” by major labels.

It would seem that Boxill intends to stay true to the late artist’s wishes as he declared that the project would be released independently, as he would have wanted. Here is the entire statement, in Boxill’s original delivery:

“I believe ‘Deliverance’ is a timely release with everything going on in the world today and in light of the one-year anniversary of his passing. I hope when people hear Prince singing these songs it will bring comfort to many.

“Prince once told me that he would go to bed every night thinking of ways to bypass major labels and get his music directly to the public.  When considering how to release this important work, we decided to go independent because that’s what Prince would have wanted.”

Prince was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, and died on the April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, US, at the age of 57. He was an active musician since the year of 1976 and had one child. His musical influences were easily distinguishable in a compilation of artists, and revolved around most libertine genres such as pop, funk, R&B and rock.

Although he scored multiple hit songs and albums, most people recognize the artist for Purple Rain, which was arguably one of Prince’s best works in his entire career.

Few worldwide known musicians can boast with a discography as vast as Prince has, with 39 full length albums released prior to his death. His last album was released the year before he died, in 2015, and was entitled Hit n Run Phase Two. The album was the direct sequel to the other album released by Prince in that same year, named Hit n Run Phase Two.

His contributions to music earned him a place in music’s hall of fame and forever sealed his position in history as one of the most important artists to ever stand behind the microphone. Described by many as incredibly talented, a visionary and a true artist, Prince created iconic tracks in his career, that influenced multiple generations and hit home for many people from different cultural backgrounds.

Nsima Ekere, the managing director of the Niger Delta Development Corporation, NDDC, is currently enmeshed in a financial mess that borders on lack of accountability and character, failure to honour and redeem a debt owed, and financial recklessness that calls to question his capacity to play a role in executing President Muhammadu Buhari’s much vaunted war on corruption.

According to a court document exclusively obtained by The Trent (see gallery below), the NDDC boss, who is a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, had defaulted on a credit facility in the amount of N27 million that the defunct Oceanic Bank, now Ecobank Plc, had granted him.

All efforts by the bank to recover the debt yielded no results, as Mr. Ekere had refused to honour his obligations to the financial institution. Ecobank recently posted a huge loss which its auditors attributed to bad loans.

Unable to recover the debt, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, the receiver company had no other recourse but to take Mr. Ekere to court to recover the money.

The details of this case, as detailed in the court papers, paint the picture of a corrupt man who is deficient in transparency, morality, and probity, which has been the governing mantra of the Buhari-led government. This revelation about one of the president’s top appointees seriously puts to test his on-going war on corruption.

In a ruling by Justice Ijeoma L. Ojukwu of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Uyo Judicial Division) with a case number: FHC/UY/CS/36/2017, which was delivered on Thursday, March 20, 2017, the judge ruled that an “order of the Court granting interim possession of Plot 1. 52 Lagos Street (Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State belonging to the Defendant to the Plaintiff/Applicant; an Order of the Honourable Court directing the State Commissioner of Police to provide Mobile Police Security where the property is situate to assist in the enforcement of the order of the Honourable Court”.

The ruling went on to state “that an order is granted freezing all monies and/ or whatsoever assets due to the Defendant from all bank accounts maintained by the Defendant with all commercial banks in Nigeria to wit: ACCESS BANK NIGERIA PLC, CITI BANK PLC, DIAMOND BANK PLC, ECO BANK PLC, FIDELITY BANK PLC, FIRST CITY MONUMENTAL BANK, FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA, GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC, HERITAGE BANK PLC, JAIZ BANK, KEYSTONE BANK PLC, SKYE BANK PLC, STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC, STERLING BANK PLC, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, UNION BANK PLC, UNITY BANK OF NIGERIA, UNITED BANK OF NIGERIA, WEMA BANK PLC, ZENITH BANK PLC, situate up to the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720.93 (Twenty Seven Million, Twenty-Two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety Three Kobo) only being a debt owed by the Defendant as at 20th February 2017in respect to the credit facility granted to the Defendant/Respondent by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc.).

“The Defendant his agents, privies or any other person natural or artificial however so called under the control of the defendant is restrained from transferring or otherwise dealing with any monies standing to the credit of the Defendant with any of the aforementioned banks wherever situate up to the amount of the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720,93 (Twenty Seven Million, Twenty two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety three Kobo) only being debt owed by the Defendant as at 20th February, 2017 in respect of the credit facility granted the Defendant by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc)”.

The financial mess that Nsima Ekere is enmeshed in has raised the question as to how fit he is to hold public office and leaves one to wonder how Nsima was able to pass the rigorous security check that public officials are known to be put through by the security agencies. Did he hide this critical material fact from the screening agencies?

Nsima Ekere’s financial mess has put a huge dent on the fight against corruption which Nigerians have collectively applauded President Buhari for restoring a sense of probity among office holders. How is he able to function in his current position when this mess hangs over his mental space? That is the question Nigerians are now asking and demand answers.

Ekere’s tenure as deputy governor of Akwa Ibom under immediate past Governor Godswill Akpabio ended abruptly in a cloud of disgrace when he hurriedly resigned in October 2012 to escape facing impeachment by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

Click on any image below to enlarge.

A federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 granted bail to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on health grounds.

Justice Binta Nyako granted Kanu, a pro-Biafra secessionist, bail on “health grounds”.

Kanu, alongside three other pro-Biafra activists Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, has been facing trial for treason.

Justice Nyako, who has been accused at different times of being influenced by the Muhammadu Buhari regime, had earlier quashed six of the charges against Kanu and his co-accused. She, however, retained five charges which included treason.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State caused a stir in the court premises on Tuesday when he showed up in solidarity to the pro-Biafra activist dressed in Igbo traditional attire. He took a picture with Nnamdi Kanu which has since gone viral.

Journalists were barred from witnessing the proceedings of the court by overzealous agents of the Nigerian secret police, the State Security Services, SSS, also known as DSS.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, was also barred from entering the courtroom as the court met.

Both Chief Fani-Kayode and Govenror Fayose are outspoken critics of the Muhammadu Buhari regime and stalwarts of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, the main opposition party in Nigeria.

A doctor, identified in the media as Dr. Ade, has been arrested in connection with the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke.

According to Daily Post, the doctor is being accused of “overdosing” the late senator who died suddenly on Sunday, April 23, 2017.

An aide to the late senator confirmed the news of the arrest of Dr. Ade and said that he is currently being interrogated by the police.

In a story reminiscent of the death of the late pop superstar, Michael Jackson, the suspect is being held in connection with providing Senator Isiaka with an overdose of pain medication in condition with an undisclosed illness.

An autopsy was performed on the senator, following the controversy which greeted his sudden passing in his home state of Osun. The report of the postmortem has not been made public.

According to officials, “due to the sensitive nature of the case”, the report may not be made public any time soon.

Supporters of the late senator, who is also a former governor of the state, went on rampage on Sunday and Monday, alleging that Governor Rauf Aregbesola had a hand in the untimely death of the senator.

Adeleke reportedly received guests until around 2:00am on Sunday before he slept.

As at press time, the police in Osun State have neither confirmed nor refuted report of the doctor’s arrest.

Adeleke was buried on Monday in Islamic tradition at a ceremony that witnessed unrest from youth of Ede, his hometown.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, says the country should be out of recession by the third quarter of 2017.

Speaking after a meeting with the leadership of the senate in Abuja, Emefiele said the federal government had done a lot to revive the economy,

He promised that the apex bank would continue with its intervention in the foreign exchange market.

“We are very much optimistic that by the end of the second quarter, or latest the third quarter, we should be out of recession that we are in right now,” he said.

Addressing reporters at the end of the meeting, Emefiele said it was Senate President Bukola Saraki who asked CBN to update the upper legislative chamber on developments in the foreign exchange market.

“Actually, the senate president invited us to come and brief the senate leadership in a closed session and to provide some updates on the foreign exchange markets,” he said.

“You would have observed that in the last two months, the central bank has been involved in some form of intensive intervention in the foreign exchange market and this has fortunately resulted in a downward trend in the parallel market price of foreign exchange, from as high as N525 to a dollar to as low as N370.

“Right now, it hovers between N370 and N380. I think it’s an opportunity for me to say that we are going to continue this intervention because the reserves look very good. As I speak to you, our reserves stand at above $31bn and that provides us enough of firepower or ammunition to be able to defend the currency, and we will do so with all intensity to ensure that foreign exchange is procured by everybody.

“If you want to import raw materials, you will get foreign exchange; you want to import plant and equipment, you will get foreign exchange; you want to pay school fees or you are a small business that wants to buy foreign exchange for you to import your small items, you will procure foreign exchange.”

Rilwan Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos, is under intense criticism from Yorubas for publicly embarrassing Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, at the World Conference of Banking Institutes hosted by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) recently.

The video of the incident has gone viral. It shows the Oba of Lagos waving off the Ooni of Ife as the later made an attempt to greet the former.

According to the hierarchy of traditional rulers in Yoruba land, the Ooni of Ife is a first class monarch while the Oba of Lagos is a 2nd class monarch.

You may watch the video below:

A number of Yorubas and other Nigerians have taken to social media to express outrage over this gesture by the monarch from Lagos.

So Oba of Lagos shunned Ooni of Ife at a public event. Tomorrow elders will say the young ones don't have respect. Respect begets respect

— Babasola Kuti (@SKSolaKuti) April 26, 2017

The wisdom and maturity displayed by the Ooni of Ife was second to none, without altering any word, Oba of Lagos looked stupid already.

— DocTor YazzY™ (@Dr_Yazzy) April 26, 2017

Amusing that people don't know history, throne of Oba of Lagos is NOT and has NEVER been under the Ooni of Ife or ANY other throne in d SW.

— Mr. Aye Dee (@MrAyeDee) April 25, 2017

That video of Oba of Lagos being rude to the Ooni explains a lot. I'd always wondered why some Nigerians tend to be aloof/cold in public….

— Gege (@nigeriasbest) April 26, 2017

We have thrown our traditions away. Everyone in that room, including the Oba of Lagos ought to rise immediately the Ooni of Ife entered.

— Wale Adetona (@iSlimfit) April 25, 2017

When an Oba of Lagos ordinary vassal king to Benin kingdom publicly disrespects an Ooni,just shows how Politics has intruded on tradition.

— Dalighieri (@bunmola2010) April 25, 2017

Check the list here and tell me where Oba of Lagos ranks. Ooni of Ife gan self pic.twitter.com/k31m7m07Z8

— WiseBABA (@solomonkdwise) April 25, 2017

Not just a fan of the Oba of Lagos. See what he did to the Ooni of Ife in this video. Its akin to a public disgrace https://t.co/a59GETHM4i

— Olufemi Olanipekun (@FMOlanipekun) April 25, 2017

Critical examination of the video shows Ooni despite being ignored by Oba of Lagos was still the happy person, Oba of Lagos secluded and sad

— Mr. Jack Robinson (@jackdre02) April 26, 2017

Sometimes extreme kindness and humility could be perceived as weakness, Ooni of Ife can do better, Oba of Lagos should be tamed.

— chi's (@bibizidy) April 25, 2017

@OoniAdimulaIfe has no enemies to fight, no malice to keep. He'll still show love to Oba of Lagos.. He occupies the ace throne. #Ooni

— #GODBlessNigeria (@AriyoAristotle) April 26, 2017

Some hilarious.

When an Igbo man like me want to put mouth in Oba of Lagos vs Ooni of Ife matter but remembers i live in Lagos and Lagoon still dey pic.twitter.com/pUnuhdVpZJ

— Emmanuel (@emma_dele) April 25, 2017

Both the Oba of Lagos & Ooni of Ife go dey alright. My problem right now is how to Iron my Shirt especially as light no dey

— FAVOUR ONYEOZIRI (@Rouvafe) April 26, 2017

Kanu’s Stringent Bail Conditions: Consequences Of Quota System In The Appointment Of Judges In Nigeria

It is incurably defective and socially disastrous when a post SSCE student who scores 100 in the Joint Admission & Matriculation Board exams is admitted into the university to study a law course, for instance, with another student who scores 250 in the same exams. The former with lower mark and lower quotient is allowed admission because he or she comes from northern part of the country and benefits from the so called quota system allocations and considerations; while the latter is admitted under stringent conditions and marks requirements because he or she comes from the knowledgeable southern part of Nigeria. The consequences of the former on all spheres of Nigeria’s social development and conducts including the appointment and promotion of Judges in the country have remained irremediably grave till date.

The conditions attached to a bail granted to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (Prisoner-of-Conscience) Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court are a clear attestation of the referenced quota system toxemia. The stringent bail conditions above mentioned are nothing short of quota system judicial disaster. This is more so when the said Judge ought to be learned and knowledgeable enough to be fully grasped with the spirit and letters of the law and the Constitution, having variously served as Attorney General of Katsina State, wife of Governor of Adamawa State, Judge of State and Federal High Court; and a private legal practitioner for not less than ten years before her appointment as a High Court Judge.

It is recalled that the said Federal High Court, presided over by the said Hon Justice Binta Murtala Nyako has today granted bail to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with the Yorean or Stone Age conditions. The quota system judicially disastrous conditions are as follows: (a) mandatory production of three sureties, including a “highly respected and recognized Jewish leader”, (b) mandatory production of a “highly placed person of Igbo extraction such as a Senator”, (c) mandatory production of “a highly respected person who is resident and owns landed property in Abuja”, (d) each of the three sureties is to mandatorily deposit N100 million each.

Other stringent conditions imposed on Citizen Nnamdi Kanu’s bail are barring him from attending any rally or granting any form of interview and that Citizen Kanu must not be in a crowd exceeding 10 persons. He is also mandated to sign an undertaking to avail himself for trial at all times as well as to mandatorily surrender his Nigerian and British int’l passports. Citizen Nnamdi Kanu has since been returned to Kuje Prison pending the fulfilment of his stringent bail conditions.

Shockingly and surprisingly, other Igbo citizens standing same pre trial with Citizen Nnamdi Kanu: Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, and David Nwawuisi were denied bail by the court which has fixed July 11 and 12 to commence their trial.

Dicey Implications:

Citizen Nnamdi Kanu’s fundamental human rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion contained in Section 38 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and allied articles in African Rights Charter of 1981 and UN Covenant on Civil & Political Rights of 1976 have been gravely and inexcusably breached and infringed upon.

By barring him from being found in a crowd not exceeding 10 persons, Citizen Kanu cannot attend any religious worship, functions or gathering; whether organized by Christian or Judaist groups. It also means that Citizen Kanu must not be found in the midst of his team of lawyers who are usually more than 10 in number.

That is to say that his rights and access to legal defence, freedom of movement, association and peaceful assembly are gravely denied and infringed upon. These are in grave contravention of Sections 36 (6)-right to legal defense, 40-freedom of assembly and association and 41-freedom of movement of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

Other consequences of barring Citizen Nnamdi Kanu from being found in a crowd not exceeding 10 persons are that: Citizen Kanu cannot visit his King-father who is a prominent traditional ruler in one of the communities in Umuahia and has a retinue of royal cabinet members exceeding 10 persons.

That he cannot visit her queen-mother who has a retinue of palace maidens and maids exceeding 10 persons; that he cannot visit his in-laws, paternal and maternal sides; that he cannot visit or see his siblings; that he cannot attend any function; that he cannot go to sporting fields for exercise and other sporting activities; that he cannot travel by air or by commercial land transport so as to avoid meeting a crowd peopled by more than 10 persons; that he cannot greet or be greeted by crowd or a mass of people; that he cannot receive or hold any meeting or play host to his comrades-in-aluta; that he cannot attend his rural or city kindred or clan meetings; and most importantly,that he can no longer attend court trial because he will be found in a crowd exceeding 10 persons. This is to mention but a few.

Also on account of barring Citizen Nnamdi Kanu from granting any form of interview, his scared constitutional and legal rights to fair hearing and freedom of expression as contained in Sections 36 and 39 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

Arising Critical Questions For Justice Nyako And Federal Government:

• Why did Justice Binta Nyako insist that Citizen Nnamdi Kanu must a highly respected Jewish leader that will deposit N100 million for his bail?
• Does it mean that once one put on pre trial is a Catholic or a Muslim, one is mandatorily required to provide a Vatican Cardinal or a Saudi Sheik who must provide a cash of N100 million as bail surety?
• How many Muslim citizens standing pre trial in Nigeria, if any, have been asked to provide a highly respected Saudi Sheik from Saudi Arabia with N100 million cash deposit as bail bond?
• How many Boko Haram or Fulani terror suspects standing pre trial, if any, have been asked to provide such persons with such amount of money as bail bonds?
• Why imposing such stringent bail conditions on an innocent young man who has never levied any form of armed struggle in his advocacy activities in Nigeria or any part thereof; leaving out those who have massacred and continue to massacre thousands of innocent citizens on daily, if not on hourly basis in Nigeria or any part thereof?
• Why did Justice Binta Murtala Nyako deny other co-pretrial defendants: Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Ben Nwawusisi and Dave Madubugwu bail?

We expressly and boldly call on the legal defence team of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu el al to reject in their totality the stringent conditions so imposed and quickly go for their variations or reversal.

Signed:

For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052

Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq.
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program

Chinwe Umeche, Esq.
Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program

Florence C. Akubilo, Esq.
Head, Campaign & Publicity Department

Contact: International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law

Phone Lines: +2348182411462, +2349063500218
Email: info@intersociety-ng.org
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture, has revealed that ailing ‎President Muhammadu Buhari will now work from his home at the Presidential Villa, marking a turning point in the former military dictator’s regime.

Mohammed is reported to have made this disclosure on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 while speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the federal executive council, FEC, which was chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in Buhari’s absence.

The president failed to preside over the weekly cabinet meeting for the second time in a row.

Mohammed said Buhari needed some rest and has asked that all the files on his desk be brought to him at his official residence for treatment.

The last FEC meeting was held on April 13 and Mr. Mohammed had said that Mr. Buhari asked his deputy, Professor Osinbajo, to preside over the meeting because he was attending to other issues.

The meeting was cancelled last week with presidential spokespersons saying the cancellation was as a result of the Easter holidays which did not allow ministers prepare their memos for presentation to the Council early enough.

The minister also said Vice President Osinbajo will meet with President Buhari later in the day at the president’s official residence.

An officer of the Nigeria Police Force has vowed to kill 200 people if ailing President Muhammadu Buhari dies.

The police officer, Inusa Saidu Biu from Biu, a local government area in Southern Borno State, said in his extremely disturbing Facebook post, that Buhari was poisoned leading up to his illness which took him to London.

He described the 74-year-old president as a cat with nine lives.

Commentators on the policeman’s timeline, criticised him for making such a statement, some even venturing to say the 200 he will kill will all be his family members.

See the post below:

Buhari has been diagnosed with cancer, according to a source with intimate knowledge of the the president’s health.

Aiteo Group, a leading energy firm in Nigeria, has announced a sponsorship package worth N2.8 billion with the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, the supreme organisation body for football in the West African country.

In a press conference at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos, Aiteo unveiled the 5-year deal which kicks off on May 1, 2017 and is valued at N500 million annually with an initial one-year renewal option.

The deal, brokered by Mediterranean, is the first of its kind in Nigeria and represents a turning point in corporate social responsibility investment in the development of local football in Nigeria.

“Aiteo Group’s overarching social responsibility objectives are to encourage a positive impact, through our activities, on the society-at-large and has successfully done for several years,” Ndiana-Abasi Matthew, a senior manager responsibility for corporate communication at Aiteo Group told The Trent’s reporter who attended the event held on Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

“Football brings joy to the lives of Nigerians and each moment celebrated by families in their living rooms over a goal scored or friends catching up on highlights of a well taken free-kick by their local heroes leaves an edible mark with memories for a lifetime,” he continued.

With this landmark deal, the energy giant will be referred to as the “Official Optimum Partner of the NFF”. The sponsorship package also grants exclusive rights to Aiteo Group and will cover all local and foreign components of the NFF’s financial obligations for the main team.

Over the past 40 years, Nigerian football has marched steadily into global consciousness and reckoning, winning the Olympic men’s football gold, silver and bronze, featuring in 5 editions of the FIFA World Cup, winning 3 Africa Cup Of Nations titles and lifting 8 out of 10 Africa Women Cup Of Nations titles, a joint statement by the two organisations said.

“This is a long-awaited injection of funds the NFF has earnestly yearned for. We are convinced that we are turning a new chapter in Nigerian football with this agreement in place,” Mr. Matthew said. “As Aiteo Group is breaking grounds in all spheres, we share a vision of excellence to promoting the delight of football-loving Nigerians”.

Aiteo Group is one of Africa’s fastest-growing energy leaders with a clear vision of the future,  according to its website.

“It operates through her subsidiaries of which Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd is her main subsidiary,” a press statement from the company says.

Babalola Borishade, former minister of education, has died in a London hospital after a brief illness.

According to NAN, the deceased was initially rushed to Reddington Hospital in Lagos, last week from where he was taken to London.

The cause of death was said to be lung and heart related.

Borishade was born in Usi- Ekiti on March 7, 1946.

He served as a minister for four times, between 1999-2011. The electrical engineer was also a teacher and a political strategist.

Between February 2001 and May 2003, he served as the minister of education.

In recognition of his contributions to education in Nigeria, Africa and the World at large, Borishade was elected the vice-chairman of the E9 Group of the United Nations, president of the UNESCO International Conference on Education, as well as Chairman Education for All (EFA) Forum of African Ministers of Education.

In 2004, Borishade was appointed as minister of state, power and steel.

He initiated the ‘Gas to Power Project (G2P), a World Bank sponsored project designed to ensure sustained gas development and availability for power production to meet Nigerian electricity demands.

Between July 2005 and November 2006, Borishade was minister of aviation, during which a Civil Aviation bill was passed to replace the 1964 Act and the direct flight between Nigeria and the United States of America was restored.

His initiation of various reforms and development in the aviation sector resulted in Nigeria scoring 93 percent in the ICAO Universal Audit which made Nigeria a benchmark to African Aviation Industry.

Social media has been abuzz with news that the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, “shunned” the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi II at a recent public gathering.

A 25 second video made the rounds all day on Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

Sabi News can now authoritatively reveal that the Oba of Lagos did not “shun” nor set out to humiliate the younger Oba who is universally regarded as the pre-eminent Oba in Yoruba land. In fact the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, may be totally undeserving, it now seems, of the vitriol that has been poured his way.

Videos circulating online show the Ooni walk past his reserved seat. He greeted the Obi of Onitsha first, before stooping to greet the older Oba. The Oba of Lagos did not, however, acknowledge the younger Oba who had bowed slightly. Instead he waved at him as he would at a lowly subject. The Ooni did not betray any emotion as he turned and walked back to the seat reserved for him.

Comments on Twitter and Facebook lambasted the Oba of Lagos for not acknowledging the Ooni of Ife with many calling him names and pointing out the seniority amongst the ranks of Yoruba Obas. Infact, an online report quoted the Ooni’s palace as saying he would continue to respect the Oba of Lagos despite the snub.

Sabi News investigations have, however, shown that there may a deeper reason why the Oba “shunned” the Ooni. The truth, which many have overlooked and which the palace appears unwilling to acknowledge is that the Oba of Lagos is visually impaired and may not have realised who had come to greet him especially as the person seemed to genuflect. To him, anyone bowing for him must be a subject.

It now appears that the Oba personally acknowledged his visual impairment in a September 2, 2016 report published in The Nation where he is quoted to have said he has suffered from Glaucoma for 21 years.

Glaucoma is a debilitating and irreversible disease of the eyes which causes damage to the optic nerve and vision loss. Untreated, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.

“Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has  called on  Lagos residents to go for glaucoma screening to prevent blindness,” the newspaper’s account says.

Oba Akiolu said this when the management of Pfizer Specialties, the country’s arm of Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, paid the monarch a courtesy visit.

Oba Akiolu said he has lived with the condition for over 21 years and was able to manage same because of the right information. “So, as a person living with glaucoma, I can say for anyone not to go blind, if you are being treated for glaucoma, be sure to take your prescribed glaucoma medicine every day. See your eye care professional regularly. You can help protect the vision of family members and friends, who may be at high risk for glaucoma, especially those over age 40 and everyone over 60 years and people with a family history of the disease by sharing information as I am doing.

“Please encourage them to have a comprehensive dilated eye examination regularly. Remember that lowering eye pressure in the early stages of glaucoma slows progression of the disease and helps save vision,” said Oba Akiolu.”

An official of the Lagos state government who spoke to Sabi News on the condition of anonymity said “have you ever wondered why he always wears dark glasses even indoors? I once saw him leave the seat reserved for him to sit on another man’s lap at a public event. I wonder why the palace has not acknowledged it by now and saved the Oba all the insults on social media.”

With this, it now seems that there may have indeed been no intention on the part of Oba Akiolu to humiliate the Ooni of Ife just an honest mistake caused by a physical impairment and something a Google search could have saved.

This article originally appeared on Sabi News.

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture, says he “never said that President Muhammadu Buhari is to work from home henceforth”.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 the minister said the reporting in the media of his post-Federal Executive Council, FEC, briefing that the president is to work from home henceforth is erroneous.

In the rebuttal by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi, the minister said “the president only decided to work from home today, not that he has decided to work from home henceforth”.

He said the headlines in a section of the media, ”Buhari to now work from home – Lai Mohammed,” is a misrepresentation of his statement at the briefing.

Quoting verbatim the relevant section of his briefing, Alhaji Mohammed said: ”he (the president) wanted to rest today.

“He asked the Vice President to preside over TODAY’S meeting.

“In addition, he also asked that all his files be taken home to him and he will be working from home today,” he said.

Mohammed is quoted on Wednesday as saying that President Buhari needed some rest and has asked that all the files on his desk be brought to him at his official residence for treatment.

Brazilian Army Butchery Award: Heightening The Gong Of Justice Over Buratai’s Military Atrocities In Nigeria

The news of the award of “the Brazilian Military Order of Merit Award”(Brazilian Army Butchery Award), to Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said to have recommended by the Brazilian Army Commander, General Edwardo Villas Boas and approved by President Michel Temer; is not surprising to us at Intersociety. The “award”; touted, noisily celebrated and overblown by the COAS’s media and image managers and aides as “the highest military honour in Brazil”, is nothing short of “Brazilian Army Butchery Award”.

The socio-political circumstances leading to the said butchery award are also utterly cloaked in the layers of controversy and diplomatic quackery, which have further rendered the award laughable and watery and messed up general credibility that follows modern meritorious or excellence award.

For the avoidance of doubt, President Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia, age 75; as he is truly called, became President of Brazil only seven months ago or on 31st August 2016, following the celebrated impeachment over serious charges of corruption of his boss, Madam Dilma Rousseff, whom he has been deputizing since 2011. The central government headed by his boss was seriously accused of involvement in the Petrobras scandal which involved kickbacks and corruption. The serious accusation later snowballed into country wide protests by millions of Brazilians calling for her resignation, arrest and prosecution; which eventually led to her impeachment in late August 2016.

Also the Brazilian Army Chief, General Eduardo Dias Costa Villas Bôas, as he is truly called, who was said to have recommended the butchery award to be bestowed on the Nigeria’s COAS; was appointed the Army Chief by impeached and former President, Madam Dilma Rousseff on 12th January 2015. That is to say that the Brazilian Army Butchery Award truly stems from reward for being artistic in civilians’ butchery. It is also an act of diplomatic roguery and quackery.

From the foregoing, therefore, it is an incontestable fact that those who were diplomatically facilitated to engineer the military butchery award in Brasilia for the COAS know nothing about the atrocious activities of the Nigerian Army under the midwifery of COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, particularly from July 2015 when the current COAS was appointed.

Another reason for the butchery award may most likely be a sort of thanking the Nigerian Army and Government for patronizing Brazil’s State owned or controlled warehouses responsible for production and shipment of licit small arms and light weapons (SALWs) to Nigeria. This is more when it is unhidden that Nigeria now serves as a major buyer and dumping ground for small arms and light weapons from Europe, China and Americas. Nigeria is also about to overtake Algeria and Angola licitly as Africa’s largest arms spender and buyer annually. Illicitly speaking, the country through conflict profiteers or profiteers of violence is one of the largest buyers of SALWs in Africa.

It is also on global and scholarly records that the State of Brazil and its Army has no place in the global hall of fame, gold and human rights. From various scholarly research accounts, Brazil is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) and it is responsible for a reasonable percent of licit and illicit trade or shipment of same to West Africa including Nigeria where they are used recklessly and murderously by killer State and non State actors including Lt Gen Tukur Buratai’s Nigerian Army.

Through the shipment of SALWs to Nigeria, which Brazil co-participate, over 40,000 defenseless citizens have been killed by Islamist Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists since 2009. Through the procurement and use of same partly from Brazil, the Nigerian Army headed by Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai and its sister armed agencies including the Nigeria Police Force have massacred not less than 6000 unarmed, nonviolent and defenseless citizens since July 2015 when the COAS was appointed. The Nigeria Police Force, through its SARS and CIDs account for 4000 extra judicial killings between June 2015 and this 2017; on average of 200 citizens per month. The former chair of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu was recently quoted by Mr. Emma Onwubiko of HURIWA to have disclosed on 12^th March 2012 that Nigeria Police Force tortures and kills 2500 citizens extra judicially on annual basis.

The COAS and his Army are specifically responsible for the massacre of not less than 1000 unarmed and nonviolent members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (Shiites) who were on religious processions in a broad day light in Zaria in December 2015. The COAS made a hoax claim of assassination attempt on his life to justify the mass murder and till date, he has not proved or provided common or fundamental ingredients accompanying modern assassination attempts (i.e. weapons and cartridges used portions of his vehicle shattered by shot bullets, soldiers or attackers wounded or killed; names of the specific attackers, etc).

As if that was not enough, the COAS and his Army also went out of modern military ethics and codes; opened fire and shot and killed over 270 unarmed and nonviolent pro Biafra campaigners who engaged in nonviolent street processions, protests and religious vigils. The Army killings took place in ten different locations in the Southeast and the South-south of Nigeria. Over 800 members of IMN and pro Biafra campaign movements were also brutally shot and terminally wounded by COAS and his Army; with several of them crippled for life.

Not done and satisfied with the enormity and gravity of butcheries so perpetrated, the Brazilian Army Butchery Award-winning COAS and his Army; according to Amnesty Int’l Report of 2016/2017, caused or facilitated the killing of 240 civilians including 29 children aged between new born and five years. They were held in captivity in connection with Boko Haram insurgency at the Giwa Military’s detention facilities in Maiduguri, Borno State; leading to their mass killing. As we speak, all the perpetrators including the COAS are still on the prowl with the military atrocities continuously swept under the carpet.

The referenced army butchery award is therefore not surprising to us. All the butchers in Africa including late Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko, Emperor Bokasa, Sani Abacha, Charles Tarlor, Hissene Habre, Maummar Gaddafi and several murderous past and present African Armies’ chiefs had at one time or the other flooded their restrooms, bathrooms and sitting rooms with tens of hundreds of paper, wooden and ceramic “merit awards”. The erstwhile SARS commander in Anambra State, who has been indicted by several internationally respected rights groups and research institutions on torture and extrajudicial killings; parades one of the highest numbers of “merit awards” including those facilitated from foreign and national “rights NGOs” .

We therefore see the “Brazilian Military Order of Merit Award” bestowed on the COAS as heightening of the gong of justice and accountability over Buratai’s military atrocities in Nigeria. The barrage and litany of condemnations and shocks trailing the award, which are trending on web media, are substantially responsible for the issuance of this statement. We will not be surprised to see Nigeria’s print and electronic media being awash in coming hours with adverts from gullible and conformist individuals and groups pouring out congratulatory messages on the COAS over his “well deserved award”. It is also not surprised if Nigerians see another round of rented crowd marching down Nigerian streets in “solidarity” with the military butchery award and its winner.

Finally, the Brazilian military butchery award is a wakeup call on all conscientious and courageous Nigerians of social versatility and letteredness within and outside Nigeria to continuously sound the gong of justice and accountability to the ears of COAS Tukur Yusuf Buratai and other perpetrators of military and other regime atrocities in Nigeria or any part thereof; by reminding them that the clock of justice and accountability is ticking and steadily closing in on them.

There shall be intensification of scholarly searches across the world so as to explore available criminal and civil judicial remedies and safeguards in various jurisdictions in various countries of the world such as the Belgium’s Int’l Criminal and Civil Laws Jurisdictions of 2005 (Sorry Day) (for punishment of the perpetrators of heinous crimes and grievous rights abuses perpetrated outside Belgium).

There are also Torture Victims and Alien Torts Acts in USA as well as Int’l Criminal Court Enforcement Jurisdiction in South Africa, etc. These should be fully studied and exploited alongside judicially existing safeguards and remedies in Nigeria, the Rome Statute, ECOWAS and AU Rights courts, African Special Criminal Court (i.e. that sentenced Hissene Habre to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity at Dakar Senegal in May 2016).

The leaderships of IMN and IPOB worldwide and their supporters and sympathizers must not allow their slain comrades to die in vain. Curses following such nonchalance and moral obligations will never be cleansed in generations to come. Their killers must never be allowed go scot free even if they end up procuring trailer loads of paper, wooden and ceramic “merit awards”. 

Signed:

• Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman

• Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq.
  Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program

• Chinwe Umeche, Esq.
  Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program

• Florence C. Akubilo, Esq.
  Head, Campaign & Publicity Department

Contact: International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law

                 Phone Lines: +2348182411462, +2349063500218

                 Email: info@intersociety-ng.org

                 Website: www.intersociety-ng.org

University of Middlesex, United Kingdom graduate of Fashion Design Tessy Oliseh-Amaize has unveiled a new menswear collection tagged SCISSORS.

“If you look at the collection, you would see me playing around a lot with patterns and in some cases, asymmetrical styles”, the creative director of Tesslo Concepts said.

“My originality as a fashion designer is best expressed when I sketch my designs and bring them to life by cutting out the patterns myself and putting them together in the neatest way possible,” Mrs. Oliseh-Amaize said.

“That is what SCISSORS is all about. It’s a playful expression of my raw creativity.

“There are people who still see fashion designers as creative directors who don’t carry scissors and have no clue about pattern-cutting talk the least of sitting on a machine and getting the real work done.

“Some see fashion designers as people who just get creative ideas and hand them over to tailors to produce.

“Not for me. I believe a pair of scissors should be a designer’s best friend and a designer must be able to use it and use it well,” Oliseh-Amaize said.

Mostly a collection of shirts and dress shirts, ‘SCISSORS’ targets urban, traditional African and corporate clienteles.

In this new collection, the designer’s husband Ohimai Godwin Amaize popularly known as Mr. Fix Nigeria, is seen modeling the designs. “It’s become a tradition in the Tesslo family to see my better half modelling my collections. He does great justice to my designs”, she added.

In 2006, Tessy Oliseh-Amaize won the Best Fashion Designer Award at the Nigeria Fashion Show (NFS), in Paris.

Click on any image below to enlarge:

Designer: Tesslo Concepts
Photography: Samson Shobanke (SamPixels)
Model: Ohimai Godwin Amaize

President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking the National Assembly’s approval for a proposal to borrow $5.85 billion from China to modernise its rail network and another $1.075 billion from the World Bank to help rebuild the insurgency-torn northeast.

Buhari urged parliament in a letter to approve the railway borrowing because China has a limit on funds available from its China Africa Fund. The president wants to sign loan agreements as soon as China approves the project.

“These loans form part of the overall money for the rail strategy,” Buhari said in the letter. The loans are part of the government’s 2016-2018 foreign borrowing plan, he said.

Buhari also asked lawmakers to approve a $1.075 billion loan to help rebuild the northeast, which has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency, and to expand support to the poor in Nigeria.

“There is need for urgent consideration of the identified projects, which will enable us to start reconstruction and rehabilitation of the region in other to create jobs … and rehabilitate the schools,” he said.

China Exim bank has approved a $1.231 billion loan to modernise the rail network linking the commercial hub of Lagos in the south to the industrial city of Kano in the north and also a Lagos to Ibadan segment, the letter read.

Growth in Nigeria – an OPEC member whose economy, the largest in Africa, has been hammered by low oil prices – has been stunted for decades by a lack of investment in the road and rail network.

Nigeria is in its second year of recession, brought on by low oil prices, which have slashed government revenues, weakened the naira currency and caused chronic dollar shortages. The government aims to boost infrastructure spending to help recover from the recession.

“We fully intend to source further concession funding to ultimately upgrade this critical line to high speed standard gauge,” the letter said. “These projects form the overall plan to resuscitate the rail transport across the nation.”

Buhari said the Chinese government has told him approval of the Lagos-Kaduna railway modernisation project and Lagos-Calabar, a coastal railway project, were imminent.

via Reuters

To commemorate with Nigerians on World Immunization Day, Nigeria’s senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has called on communities to embrace preventive health care strategies like immunization, in order to prevent the outbreak of preventable diseases.

The senate president said this while addressing journalists at the National Assembly Clinic on Thursday, April 27, 2017 where he led the Senate leadership to administer Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) on babies as part of activities to mark the World Immunization Day, in Abuja.

Saraki, a trained medical doctor, stated that in order to reduce the burden on the nation’s healthcare system, Nigeria must begin to push for preventive strategies to curb the spread of diseases and to stop citizens from falling sick.

“Vaccination is a key strategy to containing many diseases that currently exist in the country,” Dr. Saraki, who is a medical doctor, said.

“These include diseases like polio, as well as meningitis that has killed up to 745 Nigerians in the past few months.

“We need to encourage more families and communities  to embrace vaccination against preventable diseases that are experiencing resurgence.

Here in the National Assembly, we are ready to provide funding for vaccines — meningitis especially.”

The Senate President also said that greater awareness for immunization must be undertaken by governments across all levels to ensure that the nation’s healthcare system is not overburdened.

“In order to reduce the burden on our healthcare system, Nigeria must begin to push for preventive strategies to curb the spread of diseases, any healthcare reform in Nigeria must start with an emphasis on prevention, rather than cure,” he said.

“And as you can see from the vaccinations I have just administered here, it is not  something that is too difficult to carry out, the purpose of being here is to show that we in the National Assembly are already pushing for this,” the senate president added.

Diesel and gasoline vehicles manufactured after 2007 have various parts to control emissions. If you live in a country like the U.S. or Canada, some of these parts will be government mandated to reduce environmental impact.

Older vehicles made before 2007 may require “retrofits,” emissions control add-ons that need to be installed to meet regulations and auto standards. Retrofits depend on the type of vehicle and the part in question. Car exhaust pipes, for example, are required to have pollutant filters. Buses, on the other hand, may be required to have a closed crankcase system (CCV) to reduce emissions. Here is a list of emissions control parts that your car may require to have in order to drive in North America:

Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF)

A diesel particulate filter is a device that removes pollutant matter from the exhaust emitted by diesel engines. A DPF is known to reduce particulate matter by as much as 90 percent or even more. You can obtain diesel particulate filters for older vehicles from local auto shops. DPFs are sold under brand names like Combifilter and Purifilter. Most DPFs have been CARB approved and are also approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If you already have a DPF in your car, keep in mind that these devices need to be regularly cleaned. They do accumulate soot and other particles coming from the engine. Take your vehicle to a mechanic to have the DPF cleaned though the regeneration process.

Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC)

This is a mechanism attached to the ventilation system that “purifies” the exhaust stream coming out of the engine by breaking down any pollutants present in the stream. This system is known to be able to reduce particulate matter by about 40 percent. DOCs are often paired with ventilation systems to provide cleaner air to the interior of the vehicle.

3-Way Catalytic Converters

This is a tool that controls emissions from the engine in three ways. The converter can promote combustion in the engine in a manner that reduced by products that pollute the air. The converter can return excessive hydrocarbons produced by the engine back into the engine for reuse in combustion. The third way the converter works is by providing a more area for engine combustion and oxidation to occur. Catalytic converters are easy to spot because they look like mufflers. You can locate it in the exhaust system of your vehicle. You may need to replace the converter if you use fuel containing lead. Check out deals for 3 way catalytic converters in your area if you are looking for a replacement.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)

An SCR system is rather a complex process where urea is projected to the exhaust stream of the engine so that it reacts with the nitrogen and oxides present. The reaction leaves diatomic carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water, which are less polluting. This mechanism reduces up to 90 percent of oxides in exhaust air. You can buy a new SCR system for ageing engines.

To have a more environmentally friendly vehicle, consider the above mentioned emissions control parts.

The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has responded to the social media backlash over a video making the rounds in the social media that is being misconstrued as his snubbing the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at a public function in Lagos.

Rather, Oba Akiolu said his gesture to the Ooni of Ife was the culturally acclaimed way of greeting a monarch in Lagos.

A 25-second video went viral on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 showing the monarch dismissing the younger monarch at at the World Conference of Banking Institutes hosted by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) recently.

The position of Oba Akiolu was stated by one of the white cap chiefs of Lagos, Lateef Aderibigbe Ajose, who is the Opeluwa Onido of Lagos.

Ajose said the Lagos monarch did not ignore Ooni of Ife at the public function as being misconceived by people.

He said Oba Akiolu’s response to Oba Ogunwusi was the culturally acclaimed way of greeting by a monarch in Lagos.

He added that the Lagos King is basically trying to revive the culture and tradition of ancient Lagos, which is peculiar to the State.

Other tribes also have their peculiar ways of greeting, he said.

Ajose is quoted as saying, “The sign by Oba Akiolu signifies ‘inu mi, inu e’, the culture of greeting in Lagos. “If Oba Akiolu wanted to ignore, he would have turned his face away from Ooni.”

“There is no misunderstanding between both highly revered monarchs in Yorubaland.”

According to Ajose, the relationship between both Yoruba kings is peaceful and mutual.

He said: “Oba Akiolu was well represented at the coronation of Ooni of Ife, which attested to the fact that he does not disregard the office of Ooni Adeyeye.”

Chief Ajose said Oba Akiolu had waited till this time to react to the issue because he had to meet with other chiefs in the palace to rub minds before addressing the public on the matter.

“There is no sentiment in the culture of Lagos,” he said.

“As we met it, that is the way we are doing it.

“Kabiyesi Oba Akiolu is trying to bring back the old pattern, the old culture we have left behind.

“What happened that day was wrongly speculated by the social media to disrupt peace and order and misinterpret Oba Akiolu’s action.

“We just want to appeal to the social media to stop spreading wrong information.

“They should try and understand the reason behind every action carried out, most especially by traditional rulers.

“Yoruba has a very rich culture.”

An analyst had suggested that the monarch is visually impaired due to a 21-year-old battle with glaucoma. He argued, in a piece on Sabi News, that the Oba of Lagos was actually blind and did not know he was being greeted by the Ooni of Ife.