The corridor as it sounds is just a term to describe the place that people sit to wait for their turn to see the General overseer of the mountain of fire and Miracles ministries, DR DK OLUKOYA and I happened to be a beneficiary of the work of that place, described as the spiritual clinic by those that have
experienced the raw power of God on display in this almost 200 square meters of open space.
This is just an office space, as a matter of fact a place that can be described as the GO’s office, counselling room, situation room, or a place of intercession. It’s a place where you get a closer look and witness the power of GOD move through the general overseer as he reaches out to those possessed, oppressed, depressed, confused, mentally ill, insane, sick, handicapped and so on, a place where you will meet people from all works of life, seated with prayer points praying and waiting for their turns to see the Doctor, either for financial aid, church activity approvals , spiritual problems, church matters, charity work and all sort of activities, this is a place that I can say traffics over 1000 people daily, trooping in and out for one issue or the other.
In this environment, people display different kinds of manifestations, from vomiting different kind of creatures, rolling on the floor like serpents, tearing off their clothes, becoming violent, speaking in strange languages, behaving like wild beast, shrieking out loud, voices speaking through people, and lot more.
There was once a case of a man, who was under the influence of the Holy Ghost fire, immediately the General Overseer started praying, he tore open his trousers to reveal his manhood that has a serpent fork tongue, this is a place where the power of God is always and fully demonstrated and this of course happens when the fire of God move into the midst through the man of God Dr D.k Olukoya.
These scenarios on the other hand are not recorded to be televised like some ministries do, but are phone recorded to show to those whom have put up these displays unconsciously or subconsciously for them to see the handiwork of God and how deeply rooted they are to the powers that have taken them captive.
So I was really disturbed having been a witness to the raw power of God in this same corridor, watching this daughter of the son of perdition, Maurine Badejo from the marine kingdom, speak ill on social media of the wonder working power of GOD that goes on in the corridor as it is fondly called, mind you it’s just an office where people wait.
This daughter of jezebel was talking about women being fingered and ladies virginals been wiped with handkerchief at the corridor, haaa, madam destroyer , from what part of hell did that kind of thought come from ? But how? When? And how can it happen? Impossibility cannot even describe the word because I would like to ask this Marine possessed lady a few questions
1. Is there a secret room where these activities go on, or are we talking about same open corridor were
tons of people move in and out and have over 15 clergy personnel’s taking care of activities?
2. Do these false allegations take place in the open or behind some closed doors that doesn’t exist?
3. Can Marine Maurine give us proof or provide videos or evidence of all she has been saying about the
corridor? A lot of us are typically aware of her paid callers, but at least can she get one person to come
out and say that these things have happened to him or her?
4. Are there any reasons whatsoever this woman is after the house of God with such venom from the
abyss, with cake baked lies that she is serving to people who know not the true path?
You see Marine Maurine has been touching different ministries but the devil just pushed her into fire and I know for sure that the fire of God of the mountain of fire will consume her in a short time, shedrach Meshach and Abednego seemed like criminals when they were escorted into the fiery furnace, but little did those that threw them into the fire realise that the fire will come out and select them for consumption, I feel for her social media followers who fulfil her money chasing desires through followership on social media. She will indeed fill you with stories that will derail your faith your person and your position, she seem convincing by using emotions and fictions to speak to people , but the truth will always suffice be guided brethren.
If ever a single snapshot told a complete story, the outcome of the Edo Governorship Debate organised by Channels TV last Sunday and capped by “The Conversation” by the Arise News Television a few days after, would have been enough to call today’s governorship election in Edo State a walkover for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressive Congress, APC.
For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), what happened that night was a capitulation and repudiation of their otherwise unpopular candidate and his regressive policies as governor, and an embrace of Ize-Iyamu’s call for a change in the direction and total outlook of the state.
The debate provided a telling moment for Edo indigenes across the world to see through the bumbling governor as he struggled to articulate whatever achievements his administration had been vaunting about. He was at best, incoherent and at worst, unconvincing.
Worse, Obaseki failed two major moral tests. First, he claimed that a former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, borrowed recklessly during his administration but conveniently forgetting that he was not just an integral member of the administration, he was also the Chief Economic Adviser to Oshiomhole. What irony! Edo people don’t want a liar as governor!
The second test he failed was when Ize-Iyamu challenged him on his A-Level result, which had emerged that he failed and therefore could only have gained admission into the University of Ibadan with a fake or falsified result. The people of Edo State, obviously, don’t want a governor with sordid and scant integrity.
More fundamental is that there is a fraud allegation albatross on the neck of the PDP candidate, which he has yet to resolve or respond to.
A foremost whistle-blower and anti-corruption crusader, Dr. George Uboh, chairman of George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN), claimed that they got bank statements from 2015 to 2019 on the Edo State Government showing misappropriation of billions of naira.
This, he claimed, included numerous transfers made into 8-digit account numbers; transfers from the state government to General-Purpose accounts in different banks, including but not limited to Equatorial Trust Bank (which is no longer in operation), Access Bank and Sterling Bank etc.
The allegation is hanging over his head like a sword of Damocles. Refusal to respond to the allegations is being interpreted – and rightly so too – across the state as Obaseki’s typical condescending attitude towards the people. They cannot bear such for another four years.
The APC is, however, not unmindful of the fact that debates or mere allegations of fraud don’t determine the outcome of elections. The character construct of a candidate and acceptability of his manifesto play a key role, which is where Ize-Iyamu is streets ahead of other contestants.
While Obaseki continues to move from one self-inflicted mishap to the other, everything that can go right for Ize-Iyamu is going well. He has campaigned well and widely too.
Ize-Iyamu’s populist appeal is predicated on many factors. He is a son of the soil in the truest sense of the word. He was born in Benin City, the state capital, to the family of Chief Robert Osayande Ize-Iyamu and Mrs. Magdalene Naghado Ize- Iyamu (née Obasohan), both of blessed memory. His father was a revered high chief of the Oba of Benin, ranking second in command until his demise as the Esogban of Benin.
He attended St. Joseph Primary School and Ebenezer Nursery and Primary School in Benin City, and had his secondary school education at Edo College, the premier secondary school in Edo State. He later attended the University of Benin, where he graduated with a degree in law. His law firm, Idahosa, Ahonaruogho & Ize-Iyamu (Solicitor & Advocates), has offices in Benin and Lagos but he has remained in the state.
A major advantage also is his political know-how and grassroots appeal. He was about 27 years old, when he was first appointed as a Special Assistant to the chairman of Oredo Local Government, Chief Lucky Igbinedion. When the latter became governor in 1999, he appointed Ize-Iyamu as Chief of Staff.
In Igbinedion’s second term, he served as Secretary to the State Government. While contributing to the development of the state in his official role, Ize-Iyamu was nurturing progressive and ambitious youths in the state through his I.O Farms Training Institute – a model farm settlement at Ugbor-Amagba communities in Benin City, which has produced hundreds of young agriculturists.
The institute has the triple objective of agricultural training, skills acquisition and youth empowerment, which is a veritable mechanism for the reduction of unemployment, youth restiveness and organised crime. If he could do this as a private citizen, the people know that he can do much more as a governor.
Also, Ize-Iyamu holds sacrosanct revered British economist, Alfred Marshall’s postulation that ‘The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings’, which is why he has promised that his administration would treat youth, sports, recreation and cultural activities as a business model for job and wealth creation opportunities.
According to him, “The purpose of government is the pursuance of happiness for the greater majority of the people,” and this is laid bare in his well-articulated manifesto of hope entitled ‘The SIMPLE Agenda’ – which stands for Security and Social Welfare, Infrastructure Development, Manpower Development, Public/Private Partnership, Leadership by Example and Employment Creation.
After consulting widely across the 18 local government areas of the state and thoroughly analysing the existential challenges of the people, the SIMPLE Agenda aims to launch Edo State on the path to sustainable prosperity and holistic development.
Like he said at the debate, the potential of Edo State is huge in terms of its ability to attract tourists, investments and quality jobs but the prevailing security situation in the state makes the realisation of this potential unrealistic and unattainable.
Thus, the first prong of the agenda is to build brand new security architecture with the creation of an emergency system like the 911 (the emergency contact number of the United States of America) to address insecurity in the state.
He says, “Community policing programme involving neighbourhood watch and vigilante groups will be established in rural and urban areas. Their main responsibility will be to monitor and gather intelligence for the different security agencies in their domains.”
In the area of social welfare, Ize-Iyamu says among other plans like free healthcare for the elderly, pregnant women and children below the age of five, policies that will protect widows and children of a deceased person from harassment and intimidation will be initiated and enforced. Under such policies, provisions will be made to ensure that widows and children have easier access to the estate, pension and other assets or benefits of their deceased.
The people also appreciate that Ize-Iyamu understands that the development of a state or country depends wholly on the availability of infrastructural facilities – both social and economic – an area, where Obaseki failed spectacularly.
Infrastructure plays a vital role in the improvement of a people’s standard of living and in contributing to a higher rate of socio-economic growth while their absence or degeneration negates development. And, in the SIMPLE Agenda, the APC candidate’s plans for infrastructure development and urban renewal are well articulated.
As part of the comprehensive plans to revamp, reform and restore the ailing health care sector, Ize-Iyamu assures the people that more attention will be paid to the primary healthcare centres and cottage hospitals while a harmonisation of Federal, State and Local Government health care plans and the incorporation of the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP), will be implemented.
Good enough, his wife, Professor Idia is a consultant orthodontist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and is familiar with the health sector like a child is familiar with her sandbox.
She joined the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) as a lecturer in 1997 and has served in various capacities in the institution. She became an Associate Professor of Orthodontics in 2014 and is a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons. She also attended the Oxford University, United Kingdom, on a Commonwealth Medical Fellowship in 2016.
When it comes to the wellbeing of the people, Prof Idia will not just be an appendage of government; she would add value as an academic, a mother, an indigene and a medical practitioner.
Noteworthy is that her riveting message: that the improved lives of women and girls in the state and the world at large will lead to stronger and safer economies, is proving to be transformational and catching up with the women and the youth demographics. She complements her husband and will no doubt make an ideal First Lady.
Therefore, as you go out to cast that life-changing vote today, it is trite that as one, who desires change in every facet of the state, you would consider your future and those of your family members and everyone around you and desist from selling your votes, but rather make an informed choice in collective interest. With that one vote with you, the future of Edo is in your hand. Do justice to the choice you make today for a future you desire.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai has defended President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies and efforts at ensuring that the nation enjoys peace and security.
The military Chief made this known while speaking at the Osun State Givernment House in Osogbo during his visit to the state to commission a bailey bridge and hospital constructed by the Nigerian Army Engineers in collaboration with the Army HQ Department of Civil- Military Affairs for Owu Kuta and Asamu communities in the state.
The Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola had hosted Buratai in September 14 after the commissioning at Owu Kuta.
He said some Nigerians, whom he described as enemies of the country, have wrong perceptions about the Buhari led Federal Government and have been using the social media to spread this fake and unfounded projections.
He debunked the rumour that there might be famine in Nigeria owing to the security challenges in the North East and appealed to Nigerians to ensure they verify news before believing it.
Lt Gen Buratai was reacting to the goodwill message of Lt General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), a former Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, at the State Government Banquet Hall.
In his message, Akinrinade commended the COAS for building a bridge at the Osun River that links Kuta, Ikoyi and Ede Communities of Osun State. He also appreciated Buratai for graciously complimenting the efforts of the State Government who has given public health care priority in the development of the State.
He asked Buratai to look into some matters which he said are rampart on social media and that have throwing him into distress, of which he wnated Buratai to convey to the President Buhari.
The first matter according to him “is the pervasive public perception/believe (which does not necessarily represent the true position of Mr President) that the President was an ‘ethnic bigot, an irredeemable religious fundamentalist that firmly subscribes and promotes the possibility of his ethnic Fulani to take over the country, which was the reason why he does not interfere in curbing the brigandage of the Fulani herdsmen.
Furthermore, the elder statesman concluded that going by the perception or belief of the public, the President has performed woefully in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists and that he cannot rise to the occasion when it comes to reflecting the heterogeneous composition of the country in appointments to sensitive positions in his government.
He therefore called on the president to read the riot act against the perpetrators of this mischief.
The second matter according to the former CDS is that sometimes, he hears that there are Fulani mercenaries from outside Nigeria being sponsored by some Nigerians. From what he heard, the situation is so dire that in collaboration with unexpected bad weather this year, a famine is imminent as the country is “already burrowing grains from the ECOWAS countries” because farmers are being forced to abandon their farms”.
He therefore suggested that the President should “read the riot act to the Fulani herdsmen” adding that it is not acceptable for any foreigner by whatever name to enter Nigeria illegally and molest Nigerians because “they are not welcome”.
According to General Akinrinade, the country should not, by mistake of omission or commission allow Nigerians to degenerate to self-help which is a sure route to anarchy and perdition that will not go away”.
The former military Chief thereafter accepted that these difficult matters cannot be addressed in abstract as the whole buck stops on the President’s table. He therefore suggested that the President “needs to shape up, read the riot act to our people and enlist them in unwavering cooperation to participate fully in the redemption of their country “.
According to him, since he was sure the President is aware of the hues and cries from all corners and crannies of the country for secession as if the country has not been there before, there is a need for him to “stand on his table against the motley crowd of advisers and take a firm stand on the restructuring of the country, physically, politically, economically and socially”.
He also advocated for the reorganization of the Armed Forces “which is long overdue and over flogged as if it is such an impossibility because it is what is required to move the country out of the doldrums into modernity and cannot afford to pass it on”.
“We may end up without a country, as no country has been known to survive two civil wars. He (Buhari) can take better counsel in the appointment to the sensitive parts of his government. There are capable loyal men and women from every village in the country,” Akinrinade advised.
Reacting, Buratai thanked Gen Akinrinade (Rtd) for identifying the negative impacts of the social media in spreading falsehood and fake news in the country.
The COAS also said the retired General has identified the wrong perceptions being projected by the enemies of the country noting that people should not rely on social media reports which are mostly fake and largely unfounded.
He further advised the Retired General on the need for statesmen of his caliber to take the pains of verifying information before making conclusions on them.
On the perception of likely famine in the country this year, the COAS Lt Gen TY Buratai assured the gathering that there is no cause for alarm as there won’t be any famine in Nigeria because farmers have gone back to their farms.
Gen Buratai said “I just left the North West where Exercise SAHEL SANITY is ongoing and many farmers have so far returned to their farms. Our troops are providing security to farmers and the bandits are being dealt with decisively. From all indications we are expecting a bumper harvest this year”.
Gen Buratai further informed that the Nigeria Army and other security agencies are doing everything possible to ensure that the terrorists and bandits are never allowed to cross over to the southern parts of the country.
He also observed that the issue of restructuring is a political matter and he only commented on security issues raised by the retired General. He further reiterated the apolitical stance of the Nigeria Army.
The Army boss then implored all to continue to cooperate with the Federal Government and support the ongoing efforts to rid the country of all forms of insecurity.
Electoral debates are oftentimes about gauging which candidate connects more with voters while presenting policy alternatives to undecided voters. In the end, debates are potential stimulants to the strengths or weaknesses of a candidate.
Last Sunday evening, Nigerians were treated to an intense two-hour Channels Television-organised debate between Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the two leading contenders in the Saturday, September 19 Edo State governorship election. Both men squared off in what was a grudge contest more or less considering the volatility of their electioneering so far.
Not surprisingly, Ize-Iyamu, whose ‘SIMPLE Agenda’ manifesto has caught on like wildfire in the state and beyond, was at his spontaneous and eloquent best. No falsity escaped him. He was cool and composed, comfortable and confident in front of television cameras and a handful of supporters of both parties. He came away with some of the most memorable moments of the heated debate.
Obaseki got off on a wrong footing. Not a few people recall that his claims to political fame and fortune was as Chairman – from 2009 to 2016 – of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team under the administration of former Governor Adams Oshiomole before he was elected governor.
It, therefore, came as a crippling shock when, tackled on the huge debt profile of the state, Governor Obaseki blamed Oshiomhole saying,
“What happened is that my predecessor in office borrowed recklessly and the federal government had to restructure all the debts that we have taken before I came into office. These included a whole series of bank borrowings, borrowing to pay salaries.
“So, the federal government restructured outstanding obligations to Edo State, to the tune of almost N30 billion. That was what was responsible for adding to the debt stock, not borrowings from this administration.” He also alleged that the immediate past government owed contractors about N70 billion, and pegged the total debt owed by the state at N120 billion.
Silence enveloped the hall as the brows of guests were furrowed in disgust and disbelief. But Ize-Iyamu, who didn’t serve in the administration questioned the integrity of Obaseki, saying, “It is scandalous to attribute the huge debt to a predecessor that you were the Chief Economic Adviser to. Sometimes you seem to forget the role you played in the past government.” That succinct response further reinforced the public’s positive perceptions about Ize-Iyamu.
Another zinger moment was when Obaseki promised to open up the state to endless possibilities, noting that he had created 157,000 jobs so far. At the outset, he said, “I promised to create a minimum of 200,000 jobs within four years. Just before COVID-19, we have created both direct and indirect jobs for Edo people as much as 157,000 jobs.”
He claimed the figures were verifiable via third-party sources such as the National Bureau of Statistics and noted that government’s role was not to directly create jobs but to leverage and create an enabling environment for the private sector.
However, Ize-Iyamu pointedly asked him: “Where are the Jobs?” Facing the audience, he said, “I am sure he is not going to misplace the appointments he is making now as jobs. I know that in the past one month, he has appointed over 2,000 people as SSAs on social media and the rest of them. Those are not jobs. When you say you have created jobs, in what area? We know for example that there is a glaring vacancy in the teaching profession and every school we went to, they practically had no teacher.”
The APC candidate was not done. “Eight of 10 graduates in Edo State don’t have jobs. There is unemployment in the state. The governor was just releasing fake statistics. The little jobs available were given to outsiders. My fellow contestant is not worried about the brain drain in the medical sector.
“This is, according to him, because he wants to do e-diagnostics. Mr Obaseki did not know of the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which was built over 12 years ago. So, what was he doing when he was in government? He does not even know what is happening in the state.
“I am shocked that the state’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has been closed. The danger is that we will be going outside our state to look for nurses to help our mothers in labour. The government has spent around N16 billion to train teachers, but how has this improved education in the state?”
A contrite Obaseki admitted that there were challenges in the area of employment as, “Human capital development is one of the areas that the government has accomplished a lot. Jobs came from the way the government addressed the problem by creating a sense of purpose to encourage the private sector to participate.”
If the governor thought that he could smooth-talk his way out of his obvious ineptitude and failure, Ize-Iyamu came prepared to point them all out to the world. Insecurity and criminality are rife in Edo State yet, Obaseki said: “What we have done to improve the security architecture was to use technology by creating hi-breed security architecture.”
With all guns blazing, Ize-Iyamu said, “The security challenges in Edo have reached an alarming proportion. The only thing Governor Obaseki increased is security vote but there has been no investment in security. Our state is one of the few in the country with no advanced technology for fighting security. If he had invested in security, the issue of insecurity would have been an issue of the past in Edo State. We can combat human trafficking if we make the home environment more conducive and curb the rural to urban drift. There are laws in place and the federal government is doing a lot to reduce it.
“Our security vehicles cannot fight security. I will introduce tracker and drones to tackle crimes. The personnel deployed in our state to combating insecurity will complement an organised state police but we must work with the federal government and every other stakeholder. Our people must feel safe at all times. Kidnapping is high in the state. We are not showing enough concern. If I were governor, I would have acted on veritable intelligence and mobilised security agencies to flush them out of the forests around Okada-Ofosu road.”
The moderator asked if the Edo Civil Service was over-bloated and what would be done to cut down on the workforce, to which Obaseki said, “The problem is that it is not over-bloated, it is just aged. We need to bring in more people to work for the government; smarter people and we need to train them.”
Reacting, Ize-Iyamu said, “I think the model that the governor has tried to adopt is to reduce the workforce to the barest minimum but unfortunately, whatever savings he thinks he is making, is not seen in capital projects.”
Similarly, Ize-Iyamu accused the governor of excessive borrowing for agriculture without any project to show for it. “In the agricultural sector, the loan that the governor has collected is staggering. He (Obaseki) has collected over N75billion in debts. What did he do with them? All his promises remain unfulfilled although he came in when there was a high windfall in Edo.”
Ize-Iyamu said further that the N2 billion the state invested in Sobe Farm by partnering Saro farms has not yielded any meaningful result, adding, “The Agenegbode Rice Project, N5billion went down the drain. The oil-palm project, he collected N69 billion from the CBN and the money has been shared to cronies.
“No Edo person has benefited from that money. The governor made what I might call a very lame attempt and he failed completely and we are in a very sorry state.” Obaseki faulted the figure but failed to mention the actual amount he spent.
What would have been a Eureka moment for the governor was when the authenticity of his university degree was questioned and he responded thus: “I studied in the Faculty of Arts and the university has said I graduated from the institution. It is very sad that in a country like Nigeria, some people who do not have the qualifications have the effrontery to challenge the qualification of those who went to proper schools. That is a very sad situation that we have found ourselves.”
But Ize-Iyamu fired back. “We do not doubt that you attended the university. The issue is that you failed school certificate. You had no English and Maths, which will make it difficult to enrol for A-Level. And if you got A-Level, why is it that you’ve not been able to present the A-Level, where is the result? You had only three credits without Mathematics and English. That is a moral question. A lot of people are looking up to you as a governor and as a leader.
“Your disqualification by the APC arose from the information that your party now, the PDP, provided, because the PDP, when I was contesting against you (in 2016) said you have no results. Why have you not answered the question? Where is your result?”
Obaseki must have wished he could end the debate right there and then. And it ended ignominiously for him.
Days after the debate, Ize-Iyamu has been receiving commendations in torrents from far and near for his sterling showing. Noteworthy, Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State, said, “What happened during the debate organised by Channels Television and other stakeholders between Ize-Iyamu and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, shows that ours is an issue-based process.
In all the areas discussed, it appears to all that the APC is ready to take Edo State to higher levels. Our outlined programmes in the areas of security, education, health and others show that our party is determined to better the living condition of Edo people.”
Ganduje, who is Chairman of the APC Gubernatorial Election Council, said, “Looking at the trend and manner in which the debate went, it appears to all that APC is in top gear and determined to win the Saturday election and Edo State and its people will be saved from the clutches of underdevelopment and retardation.”
Simeon, a graduate of communication studies, wrote from Benin
In politics, reputation is everything. Political reputation is less what political figures say or do; it is more about what the people see when they see a politician. Conversely, a politician’s character is an incredibly important feature of reputation formation or destruction – as the case may be – in political circumstances. So, it is important to remember that actions will always be louder than words.
Judging by the reputation of Phillip Shaibu, the incumbent deputy governor of Edo State, it is safe to say that his reputation has done more damage to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in Edo State than the famed incompetence and failure of Governor Godwin Obaseki, the candidate proper.
The question that begs for an answer is: what does Shaibu’s reputation say of him? He comes across as patently unfitting for the office he occupies and which he seeks so desperately to retain, because of his vapidity, irascibility and inability to articulate the achievements of an administration he has been a part of from the outset.
If gravitas and intellection were the lowest common denominator, Shaibu, despite his relative youthfulness – he turned 50 last December – does not appear minimally competent for the office of Deputy Governor.
A deputy governor with questionable intellect and glaring incompetence is a bad combination but the fact that Shaibu never runs anything but his mouth has further worsened the chances of Obaseki, who also appears to have since lost his governance marbles but laughably still seeks re-election.
More so, is his propensity to always resort to violence and violent threats whenever it jostles him that his days in office are numbered, which many have laid squarely at the foot of his background as a student unionist where thuggery and violence undergirded their conduct.
In political reputation, seemingly small things are amplified and they become big. This is why caution is critical and desirable in handling Shaibu, because, for every act of violence that has trailed the state since 2018, his name is copiously mentioned.
Sometime in 2019, mayhem was unleashed on high profile guests like the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, when they attended the convocation ceremony of the Edo University, Iyamho.
At the time, the former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had fallen out with his successor and political godson, Governor Obaseki. Shaibu, as deputy governor, saw the ceremony as a perfect opportunity to show Oshiomhole that power had changed hands.
He reportedly mobilised over 200 ‘Okada’ riders to the venue and the guests were left scampering to safety under a cloud of violent attacks. Those who were not so lucky escaped with bodily injuries and damaged cars.
A few days to the event, Oshiomhole said, “I had information that the deputy governor asked some people to organise 1,000 people to the university community. You can crosscheck with the Inspector General of Police. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who delivered the convocation lecture, was also a witness. I conveyed the message to the IGP to prevent thugs from being imported to the place by the deputy governor.
“Some few minutes later the governor himself arrived and Mr. Emefiele went to him and said to him, ‘what are these people doing here?’ Emefiele said to the governor that if those people were there, he wasn’t going to deliver the convocation lecture, because he didn’t come to do politics, he just came to perform a normal intellectual activity, which was the convocation lecture.”
The truth of what truly transpired has not been established and may never be given the dynamics of Nigerian politics, which is why Shaibu’s involvement or otherwise is still up in the air but his name came up again recently, when the acting chairman of the APC in Edo State, Col David Imuse (retd) said there was credible information that Obaseki had a sinister plan involving Shaibu.
Imuse said, “In a shocking revelation, it has been shown that the Edo State government, in connivance with a retired police officer from Kogi State, who has been identified in series of violence plots in Edo State and beyond, is plotting to stage an attack on their own convoy.
“Specifically, an attack on the convoy of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu in a bid to draw sympathy; pose as victims and set the stage for a new wave of the violent onslaught on the people of Edo State some of whom have fallen victims to the reckless shootings of the governor’s army of thugs and criminals.”
Shaibu debunked the allegation but the question is: why always him? The story is told of how he practically arm-twisted the leadership of the PDP, when he followed Obaseki to defect from the APC last June.
In a party where there was no such overhanging threat of intimidation, Obaseki, as the sitting governor, would have had to choose a new deputy from among the fold of the PDP, which he just joined to placate extant members and give them a sense of belonging.
Not with Shaibu. He huffed and puffed, and threatened and coerced the PDP into retaining him as Obaseki’s running mate. It was a hard pill to swallow but it was the least the party leaders could do else they stood to regret not supporting him.
In a recent viral video clip, Shaibu was seen talking to a group of young men ostensibly loyal to the PDP wherein he was overheard boasting that he was not a coward and, “I have called the CP (Commissioner of Police) that they should arrest those boys. Failure to arrest them, I cannot guarantee peace.”
In fact, the role of Shaibu in most of the violent activities in the state was well summed up by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, when during a reconciliation meeting of the gladiators, called out Shaibu as the brain behind many of the crises in the state. More cogently, the monarch said he was reluctant to call him his son, because of his recent disposition to violence ahead of the election. What could have been more pungent?
Interestingly, his wife, Maryam, is cut from the same cloth. If Shaibu had been masking his violent streak with some maturity, she openly revels in it. There is also a viral video of Maryam at a ‘town hall meeting’ where she was heard threatening a cross-section of women that if they attended any other event aside the one organised by her, she would flog them. Some of the women in the audience were much older.
Two interventions are indeed critical and auspicious at this point; that of the National Peace Committee helmed by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); and the imposition of visa restrictions on individuals found instigating violence in the Edo and Ondo elections slated for September and October respectively by the United States government.
Abdulsalami, as chairman of the committee, said they were intervening in the Edo State governorship election, because of the tension it is generating, stressing that if there is no peace, there could not be any election.
At a meeting with Governor Obaseki, Abdulsalami said, “As you know, the purpose of this committee is to ensure that all those involved in this election get hold of their supporters and party people to ensure that there is peace in the state.” The committee oversaw the signing of a peace pact by the major candidates in the election.
Likewise, the U.S Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Monday, disclosed: “In July 2019, we announced the imposition of visa restrictions on Nigerians, who undermined the February and March 2019 elections.
“Today, the Secretary of State is imposing additional visa restrictions on individuals for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections and in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections,” the statement read.
It is fervently hoped that these would serve as a deterrent to those with a lifelong reputation of violence.
The Chief Executive Officer of ISG & Partners, Mr Steven Tuinstra has
expressed the readiness and commitment of his organisation to compliment the effort of African leaders in ensuring economic growth and halt poverty advancement on the continent.
Tuinstra believes that with the enormous resources in Africa and the capacity of its citizens the continent only requires partnership from development oriented
organization to maximize the potential.
The ISG & Partners CEO noted that most African leaders are adequately prepared to change the fortune of their various countries but are limited in financing to actualize their objectives. He said having lived in Africa for no less than 2 decades he can confidently declare that the leaders are indeed focussed and are willing to improve on the economy of their nations.
Speaking through ISG’s Director of Media,Moses Owopade, Tuinstra promised that ISG & Partners across the world will extend their financial capacity to improve the economic growth on the continent.
According to the ISG & Partners CEO, to create economic growth we have to start with the infrastructure such as transport and energy.
”For example 600 million people in Africa still have no access to electricity. Investing in health care makes no sense at all as long as the ordinary people do not have the money to use it. The people who can afford it go abroad”
According to him, the Chinese government has lifted 800 million people out of poverty in 10 years.
”We can also make this happen in Africa. As a direct result of
infrastructure development, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to start a new business and need staff to do so. On this way you will create job in Africa so that the ordinary people can also go to the hospital when they have health complaints, and then the time is also right to invest in health care”
Tuinstra during a meeting at ISG & Partners office Togo identified quality power supply, good roads, functional rail way
services and effective air ports as areas that can expedite economic
advancement.
He said good railway services will enhance cheap and good
movement of both goods and services on the continent, even as
he noted that Africa has got quality people, good climatic condition
and education that can improve and increase wealth on the continent.
The ISG & Partners boss also stressed that the need for young Africans to immigrate to other continents will diminish when they can find a good job with prospects in their own country.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday revealed that at the heat of the bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria, the United States President, Donald Trump, once asked him why he was killing Christians.
This was just as the President charged ministers and other top government officials to go “on the offensive” in defending his regime and its achievements.
Buhari said these in his closing remarks at the two-day ministerial performance review retreat held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At a point, the President digressed from his prepared speech and narrated his encounter with Trump on the bloody clashes.
He said he managed to explain to the American leader that the clashes were not about ethnicity or religion.
He said, “I believe I was about the only African among the less developed countries the President of United States invited.
“When I was in his office, only myself and himself, only God is my witness, he looked at me in the face, he asked, ‘why are you killing Christians?’
“I wonder, if you were the person, how you will react? I hope what I was feeling inside did not betray my emotion, so I told him that the problem between the cattle rearers and stagnant farmers, I know is older than me not to talk of him. I think I am a couple of years older than him.
“With climate change and population growth and the culture of the cattle rearers, if you have 50 cows and they eat grass, any root, to your water point, then they will follow it. It doesn’t matter whose farm it is.
“The First Republic set of leadership was the most responsible leadership we ever had. I asked the Minister of Agriculture to get a gazette of the early 60s which delineated the cattle route where they used meagre resources then to put earth dams, wind mills even sanitary department.
“So, any cattle rearer that allowed his cattle to go to somebody’s farm would be arrested, taken before the court. The farmer would called to submit his bill and if he couldn’t pay, the cattle would sold, but subsequent leaders, the VVIPs (very very important persons) encroached on the cattle routes. They took over the cattle rearing areas.
“So, I tried and explained to him (Trump) that this has got nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. It is a cultural thing.”
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria, in its reaction, described Buhari’s revelation of his conversation with Trump as weak.
CAN’s Vice President and Chairman of the association in Kaduna State, John Hayab, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said, “Buhari and his government will never stop from amusing us with their tales by moon light because what is happening in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina , Birnin Gwari, Southern Kaduna, Taraba, Plateau and others cannot be described as a cultural thing.
“President Buhari’s weak story about his conversation with President Donald Trump further confirms why his government does not care about the killings in our country by calling them cultural things.
“Just this (Tuesday) evening, I received a report from the Kaduna Baptist Conference President about the number of their members that have been killed by bandits in Kaduna State from January 2020 to date to be 105 and our President will call it a cultural thing? All we can say is may God save our Nigeria.”
Captain Hosa Wells is a consummate philanthropist and a household word in Edo state, emanating largely from his deep impart on the lives of the common man and corporate institutions in the society. Captain Hosa Okunbo is one exceptional Benin man that has used his God given talents, time and treasury for the emancipation of the common man. He’s the hero of the unsung Nigerian who has no godfather to pillar his desires. He is the quintessential egalitarian who transcended the ropes and is today one of the ‘big boys’ of the evolving Nigeria neo mercantile economy. Captain has a cursory disposition towards humility and one of the most unassuming billionaires the black race has ever produced. Captain is very passionate about his string of business and makes humongous successes of them.
From industrial engineering to high tech farming, through the very highly wired terrain of oil and gas, Marine engineering, Hotels, Logistics and real estate. Recently he resorted to newspaper publications to call the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki to order.
His very detailed and well laid out expose` of the dwindling relationship between him and the governor based largely on an unfounded misconception and fuelled by the reelection ambition of the latter, was so well articulated that the Governor had to beat a retreat and openly apologized for his reticence. Capt. Hosa enjoys
enormous good will in the society and being a ‘son’ of the Palace is an added virtue to his integrity. He’s a great mobilizer of the youths of the society and understands the psychology of hunger and wants.
He creates social structures that endures through jobs and employment generation, provision of very supportive scholarship, and health care support facilities. It is on record that he pioneered private hostel development in tertiary institutions in Edo to address the acute deficit in the accommodation of students. He represents the new face of Edo especially in the quest for growth and development. He’s most deserving of National honours and his untiring efforts in industry development, Marine engineering, direct foreign investment into Nigeria makes him outstanding for praises.
L-R: Chairman, Kano State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samuel Adeyemo; Managing Director, PreDiagnosis International, Dr. John Iguve and Regional Manager, North, PreDiagnosis International, Yusuf Salihu during a courtesy visit by PDI officials to the CAN leadership at the CAN Secretariat, Kano
The Kano State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Samuel Adeyemo, has called on philanthropic organisations and governments at all levels in the country to intensify efforts towards providing cheap and practical solutions to the continued inability of poor and vulnerable grassroots dwellers to access basic healthcare to meet common health challenges.
Reverend Adeyemo who is also the General Overseer of the Believers World Baptist Fellowship in Kano made the appeal during a visit by officials of the PreDiagnosis International to the leadership of the Kano State CAN Chapter last week Monday.
While lauding the extension of PreDiagnosis International’s grassroots telehealthcare initiative coverage to Kano State, the CAN leader noted that lack of compassionate interventions by people of means as well as poverty and ignorance among the citizens have worsened the standard of living among grassroots communities across the country.
“The suffering brought to majority of the citizens by lack of access to basic healthcare is really huge. The CAN Leadership in this State is therefore excited by this initiative of PreDiagnosis International to help the masses get basic access to healthcare. This is because access to qualified doctors from the comfort of wherever one can use technology is something every citizen needs in order for many health challenges to be resolved at an early stage”, he stated.
Earlier in his remarks, the Leader of the PDI team, Dr. John Iguve, explained that the coming of the company to Kano and adjoining states in the Northern part of the country was a step further in PDI’s commitment to making affordable healthcare services available at the doorstep of the people especially the poor and the vulnerable across Nigeria.
According to him, PDI’s operational focus was based on the determination to meet the target of delivering efficient and affordable modern healthcare to at least 20 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians between 2020 and 2030.
Dr. Iguve appealed to the CAN Leadership and other cadres of leadership across the State to help in spreading the news among the citizens in order for the benefits of the Initiative to be fully enjoyed by the people.
“We are happy to announce that we are moving a step further in our campaign to make affordable healthcare services available at the doorstep of the people, especially the poor and the vulnerable across Nigeria. We need the community leaders at all levels to help us spread the news among our people so that everyone can benefit.
“As a semi-philanthropic hybrid health service company, PDI is determined, through our bouquet of technology-based and mass-market targeted medical services, to be at the forefront of meaningful efforts to ensure public healthcare delivery to the poor and vulnerable. Our decision to come and establish strong presence in the Northern part of the country and Kano in particular is aimed at further opening up the frontiers to reach, rescue and fortify many more Nigerians through our modern day Ark of telemedicine in the country,” he disclosed.
The issues of rape has suddenly become a scourge that needs urgent and swift interference of relevant government agencies, many organisations and individual has been clamoring for different and stiffer punishment rapists. The holy Bible according to Deuteronomy 22 verse 25 put the punishment for rape as death.
The 2008 UN Security Council meeting had also passed Resolution 1820, which states that “rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes”. Patricia Sellers, a prominent international criminal attorney and special adviser for prosecution strategies to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court further reinforce the fact that the Yugoslavia and Rwanda judgment enforcement has erased the doubt and established rape as a war crime, a crime against humanity and sexualized violence within the meaning of genocide.
It is therefore expected that legislators will take the bold step as making sure that rapists are made to pay the swift maximum punishment for the crime tagged crime against humanity.
However, one thing that come to mind when we are trying to ascertain the guilty or the innocent is what I call the Joseph treatment. Since most of the cases enjoying media mention in Nigeria especially those that has to do with celebrities are issues the accusers always dated to years back with no doctor report to back them up, many are of the thought that the case of biblical Joseph may be the case.
If it could be recollected Joseph was accused by his master’s wife of rape even when the story relays that it is a case of fight back of a scorned woman. Findings shows many men have been punished unjustly for such cases all around the world, this write-up will be mentioning few and the consequence on those that were falsely accused.
The story of Daniel Jones of Queanbeyan City in Australia is one story that stand out, the then 25 years old was accused of rape by his fiancée and he was made to undergo more than six (6) years long persecution that cost his parent their life savings of more than $600,000, it took intervention of a new detective to set him from the false accusation of a lady who is supposed to be his wife.
Though Dan did not spend more than months in the prison but his accusation ended up destroying his parents’ more than 30 years relationship and all their life savings while the lady in question Sarah Jane Parkinson was only sentence to 3 years and 1 month period in prison not for falsely accusing Dan but for misleading investigator with no monetary compensation for the ruined family.
Another like that is the case of two young men in New York, USA, who were accused of rape, Gregory Counts, then 19, and Van Dyke Perry, then 21 in 1991, they were arrested and charged with rape. Despite the fact that investigators had no physical evidence. Semen recovered from the woman did not match the two accused men. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on her testimony, and in 1992, a jury convicted Mr. Counts and Mr. Perry on all counts except for the weapons charges. Mr. Perry ended up serving 11 years in prison while Mr. Counts served 26 years.
It took efforts of the attorneys with the Innocence Project in 2012 to reopen the case and with the help of DNA proved the two men were wrongfully imprisoned, during further investigations and questioning the woman who accused the two admitted that the story was a lie. She told investigators that her boyfriend forced her to make the fake accusations.
Though Perry who was released when he was 32 years after spending 11 years in prison was able to pick-up his life, the case is Counts was released when he was 45 years after spending 26 years behind bars for an offence he did not commit and he will have to start picking his life up from there while the woman who falsely accused them left off the hook.
Here some of the cases that is raising the people’s fear that the campaigners for capital punishment for rapists though on track but a law must also be put in place for those who are falsely accusing people of rape and other sexual related offences to face almost the same punishment as rapists, since the two of them will be altering the lives of those at the receiving end.
It will therefore be right for sexual offence activists to join in their clamour same punishment for both rapist and the Josephs.
