Soyinka’s Counsel To Dame Patience!

A few weeks ago, a newspaper reported that Dame Patience Jonathan had relocated to Port Harcourt to put finishing touches to her family’s plan to dethrone the duly elected governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi. 

Prof. Wole Soyinka

As is now usual with Jonathan’s spokespersons who think their raison d’etre is to lie on behalf of the president always, they quickly came out to declare that the story was not true. And as is the case with former stories they have denied, this one is unraveling before our very eyes.

Last week’s act of barbarism in Port Harcourt exposes the kind of presidency that has taken over the country – one that has neither regard for decency nor respect for the Nigerian nation. It is the same presidency which tacitly declared a candidate who got 16 votes winner over the other who got 19. This presidency shows no sophistication of any sort in its savage governance of the country.

Professor Wole Soyinka got the context perfectly. In admonishing Patience Jonathan, he rightly characterised her as a “mere domestic appendage”. You must be a “lady first before becoming a first lady”, he said. 

First lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan

If the president cannot call his spouse to order, then, it will be in order for someone else to do it for him. That is exactly what Professor Soyinka did last week, and I think those who consider themselves elders and statesmen of the country should speak up now before our country is thrown to the dogs. I do not know anywhere in the world where a mere state permanent secretary, which by the way is what the first lady proudly considers herself, will organise the kind of thuggery we saw last week. I am not surprised that some people are already calling for the president’s impeachment.

Well, since the constitution has not provided for the impeachment of the first lady, maybe it will be better to impeach the president so that the first lady can get out of the way. That’s probably the logic. This should have been a laughing matter but for the fact that our country is being made a laughing stock.

There was a time I was an advocate for Dame Patience. I used to tell people who got entertained by her inimitable licence with the English language to allow Dame Patience to be herself. Now I know better. She must not be allowed to be herself. She should be first lady, not herself. This is the challenge we now have as a nation.

Granted, the first lady has no constitutional role but any nation’s first lady does not need a constitutional role to become a role model. The role model function comes with the job. First ladies all over the civilised world are always a stabilising force for their busy husbands and they are invariably more popular with the people than their politician and often controversial husbands. Indeed, there was a time Dame Patience played that role because, as many have testified, she is generally a good lady. But since she became the first lady in our nation’s chequered history to double as a local permanent secretary, she snapped.

My candid advice to our dear first lady is to find a role for herself in furthering the welfare of children, women, or even rehabilitating prostitutes. She should leave politics to politicians and thuggery to thugs.

And it is important for the president to take full charge of his domestic affairs. If he cannot take control of his household, should we then be surprised that the entire country is in such disarray? The aphorism that charity begins at home should apply even to presidents.

The president’s own competence is already a source of worry for Nigerians. Matters should not be complicated with an unhinged first lady.

US attorney general says Trayvon Martin inquiry to continue!

“The rape of justice anywhere ,violates justice everywhere” ― Colin Tegerdine

America's top prosecutor, Eric Holder, has said an investigation into the "tragic, unnecessary" death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin will continue.

The justice department last year opened an inquiry into the unarmed black teenager's death, then stood aside to allow Florida's prosecution to proceed.

George Zimmerman, who said he opened fire in self-defence in February 2012, was cleared of murder on Saturday.

Civil rights groups have pledged further protests over the verdict.

Over the weekend, demonstrations across the country against the verdict have been mostly peaceful, with many demanding justice for Martin's family and questioning the fairness of the justice system.

'Strong passions'

US Attorney General Holder said on Monday that he understood concerns about the case.

"The justice department shares your concern," he told a black women's college alumnae group in Washington DC, to applause. "I share your concern."

Mr Holder said he hoped the country would take the opportunity "to speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally charged issues that this case has raised".

President Barack Obama has already acknowledged the case has elicited "strong passions", but emphasised: "We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken."

On Monday, the White House said that Mr Obama would not involve himself in the justice department's decision on whether to pursue civil rights charges against Mr Zimmerman, a 29-year-old former neighbourhood watch volunteer.

The department has a long history of using federal civil rights law in an effort to continue legal proceedings against defendants who have already been acquitted in related state cases. But convictions are often tough to obtain in such cases, analysts say.

Demonstrations are being planned in up to 100 cities next Saturday in front of federal buildings.

Civil rights leader and broadcaster Reverend Al Sharpton is organising those events through his National Action Network.

"I don't care if it's 20 people. We want to show the nation that over 100 cities a week later is still demanding justice," he told the Tom Joyner radio programme. "We're not having a fit, we're having a movement."

Mr Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter late on Saturday.

After the verdict was announced, there were protests across the US - including in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, Boston, San Diego and Atlanta.

The biggest demonstration, in New York, attracted thousands of people.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has returned from a visit to the East Coast to deal with clashes in his city between police and protesters at a rally after the verdict was handed down.

Police used bean-bag rounds and made six arrests while breaking up demonstrations in the early hours of Monday morning. No injuries have been reported.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has also called for civil rights charges to be filed against Mr Zimmerman.

His family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks.

His brother Robert said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was "more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him".

"He's going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life," he said.



“No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

Court Refuses Lebanese Bail as Amigo Remains Sealed!

A Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to admit the Lebanese owners of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park, Abuja on bail as well as refused to unseal their business premises but granted them accelerated hearing.

The two businesses are said to belong to one of the accused, one  Mr. Fawaz.

Consequently, Justice Adeniyi Ademola fixed July 29, 30  and 31, 2013 for trial and accordingly ordered that the accused persons be remanded in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).

The court ruled: "Having perused the proof of evidence as regards exhibits 8(1) to 8 (4), which is a large quantity of negative weapons, the accused may jump bail. Moreover, once the security of the state is in jeopardy, it is difficult for the court to grant bail. The court therefore refused the applicants/suspects bail. However, their liberty to their counsel, family members and medical team should be allowed them."

The suspects in court

The judge also ordered that the accused persons’ lawyers, their family and their doctors be allowed access to them.
The Judge held that the offence with which they were charged were grave.
His also noted that since the accused persons have dual citizenship, there was likelihood that they might flee the country and become unavailable to face their trial.

Al-Mustapha’s 15-year journey to freedom!

After about 15 years of incarceration, based on a series of allegations including extra-judicial killings under the regime of the late Abacha, his new found life came on the heels of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which on Friday discharged and acquitted him of the murder of the late Kudirat Abiola.

Al-Mustapha’s travails, as confirmed by him while testifying during his trial before the Lagos High Court, started soon after his former boss died on June 8, 1998.

The former CSO to the Head of State was schemed out of the military politics, which eventually threw up Gen. Abudusalami Abubakar as the new Head of State.

 Some months after the new government became comfortable on its seat in 1998, al-Mustapha was posted out of the Presidential Villa to Enugu, where he was first accused of being in possession of Abacha’s property.

The late Kudirat Abiola

Before he was subsequently arraigned for the murder of Kudirat in 1999, he faced a number of panels over series of allegations, one of which was the importation of ammunition from Libya to remove Abubakar as the Head of State.

Late MKO Abiola and slain wife 'Kudirat Abiola'

 He also faced the Special Investigation Panel set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, which succeeded Abubakar’s.

The investigation of the SIP was what culminated in his arraignment alongside Shofolahan, son of the late Head of State, Mohammed Abacha; Rabo Lawal, a Chief Superintendent of Police, who was the head of the Mobile Police Force Unit in the Presidential Villa.

 After the case was moved away from the Magistrate’s Court, the four men were arraigned before Justice Augustine Adetula Alabi on two counts of murder and conspiracy.

Later,the case was then transferred to another judge following al-Mustapha’s application that it should be transferred from Justice Ade-Alabi.

They were re-arraigned before Justice Dada in 2008.

As the matter dragged on, in a judgment similar to the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court on July 11, 2002, discharged and acquitted Mohammed Abacha on the basis that no evidence linked him with the alleged crime.

Al-Mustapha was appointed Chief Security Officer to the Head of State with a Special Strike Force Unit during Abacha’s military regime (November 17, 1993 – June 8, 1998).

Court Convicts Governor Sule Lamido’s Son For Money Laundering!

Aminu Sule Lamido, the 34-year old son of Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for money laundering, was Friday convicted by Justice Fatu Riman of the Federal High Court, Kano, and ordered to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum of $40,000.

But the governor’s son won’t be serving any jail term. He will walk free after forfeiture of the 25 per cent of the undeclared sum.

Aminu was arrested on December 11, 2012 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on his way to Egypt for failure to declare the $50,000 in his possession. He only declared $10,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service.

When he was arraigned before Justice Riman on Monday February 4, 2013, Aminu pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded in prison pending hearing of his application for bail.

The charge against the accused reads: “That you Aminu Sule Lamido on or about 11^th day of December, 2012 at the Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano within the Jurisdiction of the Federal High Court while transporting in cash, the sum of $50,000 (Fifty Thousand Dollars Only) from Nigeria to Cairo, Egypt, falsely declare to the Nigerian Customs the sum of $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars Only) instead of the said sum of $50,000 (Fifty Thousand Dollars Only) as required under Section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Cap F34 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Section 2(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011”.

At the resumed hearing on February 5, 2013, Justice Riman granted the accused person bail in the sum of N8million and two sureties in like sum.

In the course of trial, which got underway April 19, 2013, the prosecution called four witnesses and tendered documents which were admitted as exhibits. One of its witnesses, Sanusi Ahmed who is an operative of the EFCC, told the court that the accused person only registered $10,000 in the Nigerian Customs Declaration Form only for a search to reveal that he had $50,000 on him. He identified the Customs Declaration Form when it was shown to him. The document was accepted by court as exhibit 1.

The two witnesses called by the defence are the Chief Press Secretary to the Jigawa State Governor, Umar Kyare and the wife of the accused, Samira Aminu Sule.

At the last adjourned date, July 9, the court reserved ruling for July 12, after the parties had closed their cases and adopted their written addresses.

In convicting the accused person, the trial court held that the defence had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Naked Swimmer Distracts Homeowner During Robbery!

Wonders will never end...... In Crossville Tenn, a man and woman asked if the woman could take a skinny dip, and then the man said he was leaving to get cigarettes, according to the Crossville Police Department.

But while the woman swam naked and the distracted homeowner watched, someone robbed the home of nearly $1,000 in jewelry, cash, a handgun and prescription drugs, police said.

"We've seen numerous distraction methods - asking for help looking for a dog, asking for help with gas for a stranded car and then people come back and find their home was burglarized," Crossville Police Department Det. J.C. Hancock said. "They just took it a new level using a naked woman."

Police said they have eliminated suspects but have not been able to locate the alleged criminals.

Hancock said he was surprised to see the method these burglars used.

"Every time I think I've seen it all, there's something new," he said.

According to ABC News affiliate in Nashcille, Tenn, the incident happened on June 27. The victim, Stephen Amaral, 54, said he gave the 30-something woman a towel when she was done swimming.

"I escorted her outside and invited her to church, but she said she didn't have time for that, she wasn't ready for that," Amaral told News 2.

Amaral told News 2 he did not notice the theft until after the woman had already left.

"They cleared me out and I just feel violated," Amaral said.

Amaral told News 2 he formerly used the handgun as a Mississippi deputy and he planned to pass it on to his grandchildren.

The Crossville Police Department said the investigation was ongoing.

Malala Yousafzai addresses UN!

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban, has told the UN that books and pens scare extremists, as she urged education for all.

Speaking on her 16th birthday, Malala said efforts to silence her had failed.

She was shot in the head on a school bus by Taliban gunmen because of her campaign for girls' rights.

The speech at the UN headquarters in New York was her first public address since last October's incident in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley.

Malala has been credited with bringing the issue of women's education to global attention. A quarter of young women around the world have not completed primary school.

'Afraid of women'

After the shooting, Malala was flown from Pakistan to the UK for treatment, and now lives in Birmingham, England.

Amid several standing ovations, Malala told the UN on Friday that the Taliban's attack had only made her more resolute.

"The terrorists thought that they wobut nothing changed in my life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born." would change my aims and stop my ambitions," she said, "

She continued: "I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all the terrorists and extremists."

Malala - who is considered a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize - said she was fighting for the rights of women because "they are the ones who suffer the most".

"The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens," added Malala, who was wearing a pink shawl that belonged to assassinated Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto. "They are afraid of women."

She called on politicians to take urgent action to ensure every child has the right to go to school.

A passionate campaigner for female education, Malala addressed more than 500 students at a specially convened youth assembly."One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also addressed Friday's session, calling Malala "our hero".

The schoolgirl, who set up the Malala Fund following the attack, presented a petition of more than three million signatures to the UN secretary general demanding education for all.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened the session, telling the youths gathered they were a "new superpower" in the world, and appealing to them to help overcome obstacles to accessing education.

The event, described by the UN as Malala Day, was organised by Mr Brown, now the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

He said: "Getting every girl and boy into school by 2015 is achievable.

"Malala says it is possible - and young people all over the world think it is possible," he said.

Aid agencies say that female access to education in Pakistan is a particular problem.

They say that the country ranks among the lowest in terms of girls' education enrolment, literacy and government spending.

Unesco and Save the Children released a special reported ahead of Malala's speech.

It found that 95% of the 28.5 million children who are not getting a primary school education live in low and lower-middle income countries: 44% in sub-Saharan Africa, 19% in south and west Asia and 14% in the Arab states.

Girls make up 55% of the total and are often the victims of rape and other sexual violence that accompanies armed conflicts.