In a recent interview with us Pela Okiemute was asked: How do you handle the criticisms trailing your line of business? To be honest, the criticisms don’t affect me one bit. I just laugh when people say, oh this person bleaches and all. It’s a matter of choice. One has to do everything possible to make sure they look beautiful, appreciate themselves, and be a king or queen in their own world. We do not just deal on skin lightening alone, we also smoothen skin, clear patches, spots or whatever the embarrassing skin issue is. So, we can make you happy whether you’re a man or woman.
15 year old Deborah Peter, a Chibok indigene who now resides in Virginia, USA, was at the Capitol Hill, D.C yesterday May 21st, where she narrated her experience in the hands of Boko Haram. Deborah was at the US congress in her capacity as a Boko haram survivor, to lend her voice to the #bringbackourgirls campaign, as members of the congress debated on how to effectively win the war against the radical Islamic sect that abducted over 200 girls in Chibok on April 14th.
Deborah told the story of how her father, a Christian pastor who had been asked to deny his faith and her brother were both killed in a singular attack on the evening of Dec 22 2011 by three members of Boko haram. She said the men shot her dad 3 times on the chest and as they deliberated on whether to kill her brother, her dad breathed his last when he heard gun shots fired at his son, Caleb.
Deborah said she was then asked her to lie in between their corpses. She laid there until the next morning when she was rescued by a local Pastor who paid for her to be transported out of the region. Sadly, the pastor who assisted her was also killed in 2013 by the sect men. During her presentation, Deborah held up a paper sign reading “#BringBackMySisters” for video cameras and photographers. “I decided to tell the world my story when the Chibok girls were taken because everyone needs to know how horrible Boko Haram is. They kill innocent people who never hurt them. I want the world to understand what happened to me. I hope the kidnapped Chibok girls will take courage from my story, and know more of what God says, and know what it means to stand strong in the face of bad people.” she said Deborah was asked to describe how she felt about Boko Haram after all she had been through and she replied "It’s a hard question. I think they’re bad. I can’t judge them. The Bible said do not judge.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday issued a most damning statement of this year, as it accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of tactically supporting terrorism in Nigeria.
The statement signed by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, after the party’s National Working Committee meeting on Wednesday, said that the APC is ”the major beneficiary of the recent cluster of bombings in the country.”
The PDP said it was shocked that while “the entire nation is still mourning following yesterday’s bomb blast in Jos, even as another incident was reported this afternoon in Borno and debris yet to be cleared from the streets of Kano, the cold hearted APC moved its campaign train to Ekiti state in total affront to the sensibility of Nigerians and in tacit indication that the party is benefiting from terrorism. “The APC has shown that it is a party of hypocritical lots that thrives only when there is violence. “Is it a case of a dancer and the drum beater or the falcon and the falconer? ” Is there a correlation between the spate of insurgency in Nigeria and the capacity of APC to thrive?
“We call on Nigerians to note that it is not a coincidence that a party which had lost its voice with the lull in the spate of attacks suddenly regained its voice, drive and impetus after the abduction of the Chibok School girls and the Nyanya bomb blast which led to the death of many innocent Nigerians.
“Since violence and confusion are their only source of impetus, Nigerians can now deduce why the APC, which is a party made up of elements who vowed to make the country ungovernable for the PDP led-administration, must continue to use all instruments at its disposal to promote division, cause mayhem and encourage all actions that will embolden insurgents and their supporters.
“When we compared the APC manifesto to that of the Janjaweed, we went beyond mere political statement. The truth may still be hidden for sometime but it has a way of expressing itself. We urge Nigerians therefore to make their deductions. Again, the question. Which party is benefiting from this spate of bombings?
“If Nigerians all fall to the sword of insurgency, who will the APC be king over? The question again. Why does it take only carnage and violence for the APC to assert its presumed eminence? “Blinded by their inordinate quest for power, their hearts have been hardened and they are embittered by the fact that they have been rejected by the people. As such, they feel nothing when innocent Nigerians are killed as long as it offers them the voice and pedestal to further attack the government and the unity of the nation.
“That is why instead of joining to find solution, the APC has continued in blame game against the PDP which is part of well laid out plot to instigate the people against the Federal Government. We can now see the reason behind the engagement of foreign consultants and paid write-ups and advertorials in the media to paint a picture of a gloomy and terrifying future for the country all in a bid to truncate our democracy and destabilize our country in 2015 as predicted by foreign countries. “Where is the APC’s much advertised solution to insurgency? Is this usual dance on the emotions of grieving Nigerians the motif of the much taunted quest for an all party summit on terrorism?
“In the closet, the APC is merry-making. In the market square, it sheds crocodile tears while enjoying the blame game. This is a well laid out plot to instigate the people against the PDP and the Federal Government while its alliance of expatriate consultants are busy ridiculing and stereotyping in vile, the nation and her people.
“Nigerians must therefore see beyond the veneer of politics to the real intention of the APC which is to impose themselves on the nation using anarchy as an instrument. Nigerians must see that it is no longer about the president or the PDP but about our common destiny as a people and as such must resist their evil machination.
“However, we restate that Nigerians can neither be cowed nor intimidated. Let it be known to the APC that the election for which they have sold their souls to the devil will not have foreigners as voters or umpires. Despite the huge amount of resources they are spending on propaganda and misinformation, Nigerians know the truth. Lest we forget, violence has never won election any where in the world.”
A former Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen. Williams Obene (retd.), on Wednesday advised Nigerians to prepare for war, saying the Boko Haram insurgency would likely last another 10 years, despite foreign intervention.
Obene, who pioneered the Nigerian Army Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Centre, said that the recent bomb attacks in Kano and Jos were signs of asymmetrical warfare such as insurgency.
According to him, it’s unrealistic to expect security forces to bring Boko Haram insurgency to an end within the next six months earmarked for the extended state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. He said, “The attacks on Kano and Jos did not come to me as surprises. In asymmetrical warfare, such as we are faced with, these things are to be expected. Nigerians need to come to terms with the fact that we are at war and it is not a conventional war, where the enemy can be identified.
“Let’s not delude ourselves to think that we are going to use the military to stop the insurgency in six months.
“The Senators have said they would monitor the state of emergency in the North-East on a monthly basis, and would call it off if they don’t see improvement. My question is: what is the alternative to the state of emergency? In fact, we should declare total war. Nigerians should prepare for war.”
Obene predicted that Boko Haram would eventually infiltrate every part of the country and would be able to carry out attacks in any state.
He urged Nigerians, irrespective of what part of the country they reside, to be vigilant and ready for war. “Politicians should stop deceiving Nigerians that this insurgency can stop in six months. This thing has come to stay with us for a long time. It took some other countries several years to deal with insurgency.
“Ours might last up to 10 years, or even more because of the involvement of politicians,” he said.
The United States has dealt a major crackdown on Nigeria’s Yahoo gang, with arrests of 16 people in several US cities, Canada and South Africa. Most of the people arrested were Nigerians. The suspects were arrested on charges that they took part in a fraud that used stolen information to get money and goods and then ship them to South Africa and Nigeria, according to documents unsealed in federal court in Gulfport, Mississippi Tuesday. The charges by the U.S. Attorney’s office against Oluyitan Olagoke of Brooklyn, New York, say he and others were part of the Yahoo Boys, a Nigerian gang. The charges and a related indictment against 17 other people say that the gang would buy bank account information from hackers, steal money, and then send cash or goods to Africa. The document said people were arrested in South Africa, Canada, California, Wisconsin, Indiana and New York. Of the arrests, 10 occurred in South Africa, mostly of Nigerian citizens. Those defendants are supposed to be extradited to Gulfport to face charges. None of the defendants appeared to yet have attorneys. Authorities said in a news release that additional federal charges were filed in Atlanta and Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Mississippi could not be reached for comment late Tuesday. The accused would try, for example, to take over bank or stock brokerage accounts, draining them of money by sending checks, wire transfers, or withdrawing money at automated tellers. Sometimes the money would be used to buy goods such as cellphones. More than $60,000 from one brokerage account alone was taken, the charges against Olagoke said. Court papers did not allege a total amount taken by the ring. Often, unsuspecting third parties would be enlisted through work-at-home scams or fake online romances into sending the stolen money or fraudulently purchased goods to South Africa or Nigeria. In the indictment, authorities allege the proceeds were laundered “though a complex re-shipping network of both complicit and unwitting individuals recruited through various internet scams.” Officials said investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been investigating the schemes since October 2011, when they were contacted by a Mississippi woman who had been a victim. The indictment cited seven Mississippi residents who had been victims.
Genevieve Nnaji, and the MAVIN Crew, Don Jazzy, Dr. Sid, and Tiwa Savage touched the lives of flood victims in Delta State when they personally visited the refugee camps located in Asaba, Delta State and donated relief materials. The Reach Out Initiative, a program started by the celebrities is to help raise donations and relief supplies for the flood victims from within and outside Nigeria. “This is just the beginning, as our country has never experienced anything like this. The government is doing the best they can, but we as citizens, can also partake in helping the situation in the best way we can. The plan is to get more people involved, and visit more relief camps in the affected states.”Genevieve said.
University of Jos just announced that they lost 15 students at yesterday's twin bomb blasts that left over 200 people dead. Eight of those students were final year medical students. Too sad!
“I will beat you like a little dog”, says a man alleged to by Nollywood actor Jim Iyke cursing out NigeriaFM founder Emma Agu The call was starts with Jim Iyke’s past appearance on Agu’s morning show, where he can be heard praising Agu, the call suddenly cuts to an alleged recent call between both parties where Iyke can be heard cursing out and threatening Agu. The call was made allegedly from Keturah Hamilton, Jim Iyke’s ex’s home in New York This is part 2 of the fight between both parties which was made public yesterday when Agu leaked heated email exchanges between both parties. It would appear that Jim Iyke is allegedly blaming Agu for making public his break up with Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari
Agu also had t his to say about the unfortunate situation: We read with dismay, some lopsided commentaries by those who felt Emma Agu betrayed Jim Iyke who happens to be his friend. The entire crew of Nigerian FM hereby states that Emma Agu and Jim Iyke have never met. Jim Iyke was on Emma Agu Loud in USA during a phone in program. Emma Agu got to know Jim through Keturah Hamilton and interviewed him on Emma Agu Loud in USA. They were never friends. Emma Agu took on his own to do image laundering for JIM iyke ,both spoke only 4 times via the phone. Jim Iyke’s attack on Emma Agu during a phone in show was totally uncalled for. Jim Iyke even after the whole incident went viral is still sending harassing email to Emma Agu while hiding in an undisclosed location in New York. We investigate every news we write, hence we decided to follow up an information given to us by Keturah Hamilton who claimed that Jim Iyke was in her house. This is what we do. You all know this. We are duty bound to ask questions from both parties anytime we are called upon. For the last time, Emma Agu or any member of Nigerian FM are not interested in who Jim dates, or what he does what his life. Our involvement here was in line of duty. Nobody betrayed anyone. Nobody threw anyone under the bus. Please tell Jim Iyke to stop sending us harassing emails. We shall not hesitate to put them out for the public to know who this man really is.
Congratulations to English language and literature graduate Collete Nwadike. The 23 year old beauty from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka has emerged as the new Miss Tourism Nigeria 2014. Collete shone as she represented Anambra State in the event that took place at the Ruby Gardens Events Center in Lekki, Lagos on 17th May 2014. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS
Collete will represent Nigeria at the 2014 Miss Tourism World pageant which will hold later on this year. Miss Joy Arwhere representing Abuja was crowned Miss Tourism Nigeria Universe(1st Runner Up). She will represent Nigeria at Miss United Continent in Ecuador. 2nd Runner up position (Miss Tourism Nigeria Planet) was Mildred Odimegu who represented Kebbi during the event: she will also represent Nigeria at Miss Universe Princess in India.
Wale the american based rapper disclosed he has collaborated with fellow Nigerian rapper Olamide and will be releasing the song soon. ‘Me and @Kingbaddo droppin somethin soon. Bout to send my nigha this shyt #gunmanoose all summer for them #greenwhitegreen boys‘, Wale wrote on Instagram, adding a snippet of the song. The rapper has also sampled King Sunny Ade on another song which he’ll also be releasing soon....
Is it possible to love two people at once? Can someone be in a relationship with a person and in love with another?
For the first instance this question might seem odd because ,after all, it contradicts with our beliefs about love. But have ever asked yourself that following question:
Where did i bring my beliefs about love from?
Let me answer it for you. You got them from movies, songs and romantic stories. So after all you got your beliefs from sources that had commercial intentions! If this shows anything it would be that these sources never showed you the real picture.
So back to the question, is it possible to love two people at the same time?
The duo of Bernard Chukwuma Muoghalu and Anyiam Isabella have been docked before Justice V. N. Agbata of the Anambra State High Court, Onitsha, on a 12-count charge of obtaining money under false pretence.
The accused who are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, allegedly conspired and obtained various sums of money totalling N1,800,000.00 (one million, eight hundred thousand naira) from some job seekers with promise of helping them to secure jobs with the Onitsha North Local Government Council.
After collecting money from them, the accused persons issued fake employment letters to the applicants and asked them to report for work, assuring that their names were already on the payroll.
The bubble burst when, after several months of working without pay, the job seekers discovered they had been duped.
Count two of the charge against the duo reads: “Bernard Sunday Chukwuma Muoghalu and Anyiam Isabella sometimes in November 2011 in Onitsha, Anambra State within the jurisdiction of the Anambra State High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N320, 000.00 (three hundred and twenty thousand naira) from Mr. Okey Obiagwu under the false pretence that you have secured a job for Mrs. Okey Okeke Anuri Obiagwu at Onitsha North Local Government Council, which pretence you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence”.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges and were granted bail in the sum N500, 000.00 (five hundred thousand naira) each and a surety in like sum. The sureties, who must reside within the jurisdiction of court, are to present to court, two passport photographs and evidence of tax payment for the past three years.
The matter was adjourned to July 1, 2014 for trial.
It has been revealed that Nigeria would have had no need for foreign help to trace the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, if it had maintained the Aerostar drones it bought from the Israeli makers years ago. But corruption and poor maintenance have left the drones grounded. Reuters reported that Nigeria bought the Israeli surveillance drones years ago. “To the best of our knowledge, these systems aren’t operational,” Tsur Dvir, marketing officer for Aeronautics Defense Systems, a firm based south of Tel Aviv that supplied Nigeria with Aerostar unmanned aerial vehicles, said on Tuesday. A Nigerian government source and a former military attache to Nigeria both confirmed the information, although they said details were sketchy owing to the secretive nature of Israeli-Nigerian military cooperation. The Nigerian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the disclosure could further embarrass President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which has been criticised for its slow response to the hostage crisis. Israel last week sent intelligence and hostage-negotiation officers to Nigeria to work alongside U.S., British and French experts helping the Nigerian authorities in the search, an Israeli official said on Tuesday. “These are not operational troops, they’re there to advise,” the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity The April 14 abduction of the girls by Islamist militant group Boko Haram, and the inability of the military to locate them after more than five weeks, have stirred a global outcry. Failure to maintain equipment is seen as one reason why Nigeria’s military has been unable to quell the militants. Nigeria argues counter-insurgency is something it never had to deal with until the Boko Haram uprising five years ago, and so is having to slowly learn. Dvir, speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by Israel Defense magazine, told Reuters that since the drones were purchased several years ago, Nigerian clients had not commissioned Aeronautics to carry out any routine maintenance. “We did receive an inquiry from them about spare parts, but it never turned into a deal. I wish it had,” Dvir said, arguing that with their extensive flying range and thermal cameras capable of picking up body heat at night, the Aerostars could have helped scour northern Nigeria for the missing girls. “They (drones) are probably parked in a yard somewhere.” OBSOLETE EQUIPMENT Dvir did not say how many Aerostars were bought by Nigeria. Nigeria’s defense spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. The former attache said the deal was struck in 2006, with a view to deploying the drones in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where militants were attacking crude pipelines and kidnapping oil workers before an amnesty three years later. They never flew. Last December, Nigeria also unveiled a locally made drone at an air force base in Kaduna, although it has not flown since. A government adviser said the Israeli drones were among many procurements that quickly went obsolete owing to lack of maintenance. Neither source, nor the company, knew how many had been bought, but an aerospace industry source said they each would have been worth between $15 million and $17 million. The U.S. military is already flying manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft over Nigeria to look for the girls, whose seizure piled pressure on President Jonathan to deal with the rebels. Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its campaign to establish an Islamic state in mostly Muslim northeast Nigeria. Israel has defence ties with a number of African countries. Last September, it sent advisers to Kenya to help in a siege at a shopping mall in Nairobi, where Islamist militants killed at least 67 people in a gun and grenade attack.
People really need to be vigilant with all these fake mad people with negative intentions. The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a suspected mad man for being in possession of arms and ammunition. The man was arrested on Saturday by some vigilant residents of Gowon Estate in the Ipaja area of Lagos.
“The people were curious about what he was dumping. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that the mad man emptied one locally-made double-barrel pistol and four live cartridges into the dust bin. “The youths in the community claimed they have been seeing him around the area as a mad man. He was immediately handed over to the police at Gowon Estate but under interrogation, he was not coherent in his speech. “He was later transferred to the State CID, Panti, Yaba, for further investigation." The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command, DSP Ngozi Braide, disclosed this during a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria. Braide said the suspect was allegedly caught at 5th Avenue, Customs Junction, Gowon Estate, Ipaja, while trying to empty some items into a dust bin.
The police commended residents of the Gowon Estate for their vigilance and security consciousness, and urged them to continue to assist the police with useful information on suspicious movements.
Two men have been arrested in connection with a suicide car bombing in the northern Nigerian city of Kano that killed four, police said on Tuesday. “Two suspects are now in custody in connection with Sunday’s bombing in Sabon Gari,” Kano police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia told us. Majia said the pair were arrested by people at a bus station in the city that was previously attacked by Boko Haram militants after they overheard them talking about the bombing. “They were apprehended and the police station there alerted, which led to their arrest and transfer to the police headquarters,” he added. The authorities have not said who was responsible for the blast, which ripped through the Middle Road area of a predominantly Christian district at about 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Sunday. The area is a popular entertainment haunt because of its many roadside bars and restaurants. Boko Haram, which is waging a violent insurgency in northern Nigeria, is suspected of setting off a series of bombs in July last year. But others have suggested a political motive to the bombing after the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) routed the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in local elections Saturday.
37 year old surrogate, Tara Sawyer, is so addicted to pregnancy that she won’t stop until her 'womb falls out'. And despite surrogacy laws stating that she is entitled to £15,000 in expenses, Tara is content purely with the 'thrill' and refuses to take any payment.
Tara has given birth to seven children, four of whom are her own, the other three she handed over to two couples in a space of 2 years. She's at her happiest when she's with a bulging baby bump and has no plans to stop having babies for other people.
According to Tara: 'Surrogacy is very addictive. It’s a huge rush from the moment the test comes back positive. It’s an amazing feeling to hand over a child to someone who desperately wants it, and I feel at my best whilst pregnant.' Shockingly, the first surrogate baby that she gave birth to two years ago was biologically her daughter, but Tara didn’t feel any maternal love for the infant. Tara said: 'I don’t feel like I’m giving up a baby, I feel like I’m giving it back. I don’t feel sad handing over a child that was never mine to keep.'
Tara’s husband, Matt Sawyer, 37, a truck driver, was supportive of her decision to carry strangers’ children, so with his support, Tara logged onto Facebook and started scouring surrogacy pages. Within a few weeks she met a gay couple that were desperate for help having a child. Tara donated her own egg to the couple and artificially inseminated herself at her home in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, using a plastic pipette.
Tara said: 'From the moment I found out I was pregnant I was totally hooked - it was such a rush. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. When the baby was born there was no rush of love like when I had my other children. But handing her over to her dads was a feeling like no other.' Within days of giving birth to the baby girl, Tara was missing being pregnant. Again she logged onto Facebook and met a couple who were unable to carry children full term. On January 4 this year, she gave birth to twin boys for the couple, but she has no plans to stop yet Tara said: I've been talking to another gay couple and I hope to be pregnant for them by the end of the year. I know that when they are older the children will want answers, especially my biological daughter. We've all decided that being open is the best approach and I’ll answer any questions they might have - but I’ll be clear that I’m not their mum. When I’m not pregnant I feel empty and only a baby can fill that void. I’m addicted to the buzz of pregnancy and if I can help childless couples at the same time it would be insane not to. I won’t stop until my womb falls out.' Tara isn’t worried about the effects of pregnancy on her body, and says she is in better shape now than she was in her twenties. 'I feel at my best physically when I’m pregnant,” said Tara. “I take vitamins, go swimming, do yoga and eat healthily. I hadn’t made as much effort with my own pregnancies but the responsibility was bigger with someone else’s child. I love having a bump and people cooing over the precious little gift inside. I don’t even get stretch marks - it’s like I was made to have babies.
Palpable grief and anxiety has gripped Uhuala, Umuada community in Avutu, Obowo local government area of Imo State, as 24-year old Miss Chioma Onukwuwe mysteriously died not long after a bird reportedly perched on her head. Reacting to what some villagers called “this bizarre incident”, the grief-stricken father of late Chioma, Mr. Humphrey Ojimmadu Onukwuwe, resisted the temptation of pointing accusing finger on anybody, since he could not at the material time, know of any one who could plan such evil against his family. “Whosoever was responsible for the untimely death of my daughter, will definitely have questions to answer before God, the creator of this universe”, Onukwuwe said. Narrating the family’s grief also to us, the late lady’s uncle, Mr. Robinson Onukwuwe, said: “Her mysterious death is very painful. She had no known health challenges at the time of her death. We can only say that the strange bird remains the source of our grief”. He recalled that his late niece said she was resting in the house when a bird of no specific description, flew into the room, perched on her head and vanished almost immediately. “We still do not understand the entire story but we noticed that her system automatically changed. She was immediately taken to Emerenini Hospital but she died about 10 minutes on arrival”, Mr. Onukwuwe grieved. Continuing, the man described late Chioma as “very brilliant, jovial, tolerant, cheerful, humble, respectful and obedient, not only to her teachers and colleagues in school, but also to everybody”. A sympathizer, who spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, opined that “the girl’s death was more spiritual that medical”. “It is regrettable that she was taken to a hospital instead of a church, where serious prayers would have been said for her. Chioma’s problem was spiritual and not medical. Hospitals do not treat spiritual cases”, the villagers opined. Answering another question, the villager said: “Since it has happened, I can only encourage her parents to take heart. I urge those who are still neck deep in diabolical acts to repent or be prepared to face God’s wrath”.
As the National Conference enters its plenary session Monday, the Afenifere has demanded for a regional autonomy to be granted the Yoruba in the Southwest or the Yoruba will secede from Nigeria.The Yoruba group at a news conference to unveil the Publication of “Regional Autonomy or Nothing” at theGani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria Monday said it was displeased that many of its demands at the conference had been thrown away as the Northern group had ganged up to defeat autonomy for the regions.Speaking at the news conference on Monday, General Secretary, Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, Ayo Afolabi, said as the nation was going through trying period, one would have expected that “we all should seize any opportunity to build consensus and reclaim the country from wrong-footed ideas and practices that brought Nigeria to this sorry state where it is difficult to imagine a better future.“We are therefore baffled at the take-it-or-Leave-it attitude of delegates from other ethnic nationalities, particularly the Northern delegates who circulated a document full of fallacies few weeks ago. Those fallacies have now been exposed by the facts and figures contained in the publication we are unveiling today.”Afolabi said it was inconceivable that northern leaders were the ones leading the campaign against devolution of power and restructuring of government, saying that if any region needed a stronger federating unit with greater capacity to provide education, health, security, wealth creation and other social amenities, it was the North where strong links exist between the level of poverty and conscription of innocent youths into extremist tendencies.“It appears Northern leaders are not concerned, and indeed have no plan for the teeming youth from the region, as long as they are able to continue clinging to their hold on power. However, we are never in doubt that regionalism is the most viable instrument for a stronger and united Nigeria.”He stated that the Yoruba people demanded a regional government with its own constitution and unfettered political and fiscal autonomy, except on issues it agreed to cede to the federal government, adding that the South West Region must include all Yoruba people outside the imposed artificial boundaries in Edo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara States.Afolabi said the Yoruba people demanded a negotiated legislative exclusive, concurrent and residual list as well as a unicameral legislature at the center as details of the Regional legislature shall be clearly set out in the constitution.“We demand a parliamentary form of government at the center and the right to self determination on and up to the right to secede. We demand a just and equitable taxation system that will treat the federating units with equality and better coordination at the federal level in order to eliminate the current runtier syndrome.“We demand Fiscal Federalism and Resource Control: a system whereby a substantial part of the proceeds accruable from every federating unit will be retained and an agreed percentage contributed to the center by the federating units for the responsibility of the Federal Government and the establishment of Regional Police,” he said.said. Afenifere also demanded a new people‘s constitution, saying that the resolutions and conclusions of the 2014 National Conference shall lead to an autonomous Constitution, that is a home-grown and all inclusive draft that shall be submitted to the Nigerian electorate voting in a Referendum The group further demanded a special status for Lagos as the economic nerve center of Nigeria and the West African sub-Region.“We are not enforcing our demands on others. They are free to explore whatever suits them while we should be free to organize our governance the way it suits us. For us Yoruba people, we demand Regional Autonomy for the South West Region within a united Nigeria. Yoruba people will effectively communicate to all other ethnic nationalities an understanding of the aims and objectives of the Yoruba people,” Afolabi added.
Actor and film maker Prince Eke has released an official press statement in regards to the recent theft scandal involving himself, a South Africa based rapper named Prosper and actress Angela Okorie.
In the statement released exclusively to Encomium magazine, Prince Eke apologized to his fans for getting himself involved in the messy scandal. He also advised Angela Okorie to desist from spreading the allegations of him conniving with Prosper to spoil her name. His statement below... "My fans, family, friends and colleagues, my sincere apology to you all for finding myself in this messy situation out of the fact that I wanted to help an up and coming artiste to realize her dream in movie making in South Africa which I consider as giving back by helping others grow. This is not the first time I am doing this. I have always been into charity works but unfortunately, this has put me and my name in a messy situation just because I had to speak the truth. I say so because morally, I couldn't stand to see or witness another man messing around with another man's wife. Continue... This is just the crime I committed and the lady involved is now dragging my name in the mud, saying she got me passport to travel to South Africa. For God's sake, I flew United Airways to Houston on January 30th, 2014 to film. I proceeded to Maryland where I shot another movie directed by Kingsley Ukaegbu, featuring Best Davies, Moses Efret and Oge Okoye. I returned to Nigeria on march 13 2014 and this was three weeks before the South African trip. So its stupid for someone to say she got me passport. It is very sad that when you try to support people to grow, they turn around and stab you at the back. $1,000 my foot! This is someone who actually begged and pleaded that she can't afford to pay me, that I should help her. I still have a munched copy of the SMS she sent with her phone number.
"On the issue of paying my flight to South Africa, professionally, a producer is responsible for flights, accommodation and welfare of artiste during the production. So she wasn't doing me a favor. Why would she say I connived with Prosper to Blackmail her? Come on, that's too cheap. This someone I even persuaded an American based Director{ Kingsley Ukaegbu) to feature in a movie I have booked to film in Maryland in July 2014. What more can one do to satisfy people on earth? I also have a munched copy of my conversation with Kingsley. So what could have gone wrong for one to think that I want to blackmail her? Besides, she first introduce prosper to me as her boyfriend. How now could he be more of my friend than Hers?"
"My advice is for Angela Okorie is please get a life. It is not too late for you to package yourself into becoming a virtuous woman. That way you would regain your lost dignity with ease. I don't wish to be mentioned in this matter anymore. And Please be warned! This should be between you and Prosper because only the two of you know what transpired. And for my fans, Family and Friends, I am sorry for being mentioned in such a dirty topic. I stand to be corrected. God bless you all"
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