Anti-gay Law - Canadian government denies cancelling President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit!.

Canadian government has denied cancelling President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the country.

Canada through its embassy in Abuja debunked media reports that it cancelled a scheduled visit of the president because he signed the anti-gay law.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, the Canadian Counselor in Abuja, Ms. Alexandra Mackenzie said there was no scheduled visit of Jonathan to the country.

Responding to an inquiry from our correspondent, Mackenzie said, “Canada and Nigeria enjoy shared interest in expanding opportunities for economic, social and security cooperation between our two countries.

“We call on Nigeria to repeal this law and to promote and protect the
human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Nigerians regardless
of their intimate orientation,” Baird said.

“No visit is scheduled. However, we look forward to the opportunities of welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan to Canada at a future date.”

It was however, gathered that the two countries had for some time been exploring diplomatic channels to arrange a visit for President Jonathan to Canada before he signed the anti-gay law.

A source in government, who confided in our correspondent said, “It is true that the two countries are working towards the visit of President Jonathan to Canada, but the arrangement has not been concluded. You cannot cancel a visit that has not been scheduled. The arrangement is still on but no date has been fixed.”

Jonathan on January 7 assented to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 which criminalises same-sex relationships in the country.

On January 14 when it became public that the president had signed the bill into law, the Canadian government openly expressed concerns over the law.

In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja by the Canadian embassy, Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, said the country would continue to speak against the criminalisation of gay marriage.

“We call on Nigeria to repeal this law and to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Nigerians regardless of their intimate orientation,” Baird said.

Source: Nairaland news

New Spanish cardinal calls homosexuality a ‘defect’!

Pope Francis’ newly chosen Spanish cardinal, 84-year-old Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, has described homosexuality as a “defect” that can be corrected with treatment, sparking condemnation from gay rights groups.

The archbishop was asked in the interview if he shared the view of Pope Francis, who said in July last year: “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?”

“It is one thing to show welcome and affection to a homosexual person and another to morally justify the exercise of homosexuality,” he said.

“A lot of people complain and don’t tolerate it but with all respect I say that homosexuality is a defective way of manifesting sexuality, because that has a structure and a purpose, which is procreation,” Sebastian told Malaga newspaper Sur.

“We have a lot of defects in our bodies. I have high blood pressure. Am I going to get angry because they tell me that? It is a defect I have that I have to correct as far as I can,” said Sebastian, who is the archbishop emeritus of the northern city of Pamplona.

“Pointing out a defect to a homosexual is not an offence, it is a help because many cases of homosexuality can be recovered and normalised with adequate treatment. It is not an offence, it is esteem. When someone has a defect, the good friend is the one who tells him.”

The Spanish archbishop, said the pope shows respect to all people but is not changing the teaching of the Church.

Meanwhile, Gay and lesbian rights group Colegas called on the archbishop to retract his comment.

“We hope that Fernando Sebastian will correct his words and we note that homosexuality is not a curable disease, but homophobia is,” it said in a statement.

Nicolas Fernandez, head of the Malaga-based gay and lesbian rights group Entiende, added his condemnation.

“It is not the first time the cardinals have said we are defective,” he said, calling for non-discrimination legislation that would condemn such “repugnant” .

Culled

Canada Cancels Jonathan's Visit Over Gay-Marriage Law!

The furore arising from President Goodluck Jonathan's assent to the bill prohibiting homosexual marriage reverberated on the diplomatic circles, yesterday, as it emerged that Canada has cancelled a scheduled state visit to that country by President Jonathan.

The cancellation was described as a reaction to President Jonathan's decision to give assent to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 which penalizes homosexual partnerships in the country.

Online news portal, Sahara reporters.com had first published the story on its site weekend.

The cancellation nonetheless, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak upheld the president's action, saying that there was no way homosexual marriages will accelerate the nation's socio-economic progress.

Despite the challenge from the diplomatic arena, further commendations came the way of the President for assenting to the bill. The latest commendation came from the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Emele Uka who described it as a bold step aimed at reforming the society along godly ethics.

The president's visit to Canada which is at the instance of the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper was scheduled for February.

The cancellation follows the harassment of Nigeria's diplomatic staff in the Nigerian High Commission in Canada by the homosexual lobby in that country.

The decision to cancel President Jonathan's state visit to Canada was communicated through the Nigeria High Commissioner to the Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuliri who in turn passed on the message to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati in his reaction, yesterday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would respond to the development.

Gulak slams U.S, Canada, others:

Calling on the international community to respect the cultural sensibility of Nigerians and other African countries on the issue of same sex marital relations, Gulak in an interview, yesterday, said: 

"The hostile reaction of Europeans and the United States to the recent signing into law of the bill that outlaws marriages and sexual relations between people of the same sex has not taken into consideration the socio-cultural differences between people of different racial backgrounds, and more importantly the religious beliefs of our people.

"What the anti-gay law has tried to achieve is to protect and promote family values as we know it from the start; we accept that the Europeans have reached the height of their civilization, we are yet to see how marriages between persons of the same sex will accelerate our own socio-economic and technological advancement of our people.

"We value the bilateral and multilateral relationships between Nigeria and its international partners and we believe that no unnecessary pressure will be brought to bear on us to accept what our people consider to be abhorrent."

"We are yet to see how this same sex practice will reduce inequality, reduce the grinding poverty facing our people. Same sex rights and privileges will not generate employment, enhance health care, improve education and technological growth which is what we need now. We know that those who are into this practice are in the minority, the US and EU should respect the sensibilities of those in the majority who abhor the practice of same sex relations.

"The law makers deliberated carefully on the bill before passing it and sending it to the president for his assent. We cannot dictate to Europeans on what bills they choose to make; they have been passing legislation to regulate migration of Africans into their countries without any complaints from any other country, some states in America have legalised the use of marijuana for medical purposes, ordinarily we should see that as a welcome development since we have people who grow the weed here, but for the sake of the health of our people, we cannot say what is good for America or Europeans must be good for us". He said.

Psquare buys two new homes in Atlanta!

Gist reaching us revealed that African music superstar duo Psquare just purchased two new houses in Atlanta USA.




Peter Okoye shared the pictures of the amazing interior decorations with the caption... “@PeterPsquare: Bought ourselves two new homes in Atlanta GA. Thank u Lord. Cc @rudeboypsquare #Buckhead #Hardwork .

Photos:

UK-based model says Davido is responsible for her twins!

If the tale making round is anything to go by, Music superstar, Davido might just be fathering a set of twins in a couple of months time.



23 year old hair model, Sunshine Haye claimed she will be having a set of twins in a few months, and that Davido is the father. 

The UK-based beauty Queen who is half Caribbean and half Jamaican has claimed she hooked up with Davido during his UK tour in 2013. She is said to be about 4/5 months pregnant.

It was revealed that she has even gone to decorate a nursery for the babies – their room is Disney themed, and has already picked out names for her unborn children.

Reacting to the report Davido’s manager reportedly denied any knowledge of the allegations.

Another Baby Blue Whale Washed Off From the Ocean In Lagos!

Another baby blue wale was reportedly washed off the Alpha beach ocean, and trust Lagosians, this man with a cutlass appears to have gotten down to business......sharing the free gift . lol

15 feared dead, hundreds flee homes as gunmen attack Borno border communities

At least seven persons were shot dead and three others drowned while fleeing gunmen believed to be Boko Haram on recently at Gashigar, a fishing border community in Borno State , residents and police authority said.

The villagers of Gashigar said such attacks have recently become frequent due to a total lack of security presence in border communities.

The Borno State Police Public Relations Officer, Gideon Jibrin, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Maiduguri, however, contended the claims that there was no security presence in the attacked area.

“If we don’t have the Nigeria police in Mobbar local government and surrounding villages. There is no how the report of the incident would have reached the State Commissioner of Police within the shortest time possible,” he said.

The attack on Gashigar came about four days after a similar one was made on two neighbouring villages where the same gunmen attacked and killed five person in a nocturnal attack.

According to Mr. Jibrin, during the recent attack, three of the fleeing residents had drowned in the river, while trying to cross to the Nigerien border.

The immediate former vice chairman of Mobbar Local Government, Talba Gashigar, who lives in the village of Gashigar, said the attackers invaded their village at about 7pm of Thursday shooting and setting houses and shops ablaze.

“We had to flee for our dear lives because the gunmen came in troops and there was no security personnel in our locality. We ran across the borders into villages in Niger Republic but seven of our fellow villagers were shot dead and over 60 houses and shops were also burnt down completely. It happened on Thursday at about 7pm, some gunmem invaded our town driving three vehicles and many motorcycles, and drove straight to the market area and began shooting and setting shops ablaze.

“They spent about two hours operating in the town. About eight cars were also burnt. Unfortunately, our town has no security operatives to protect us. Right from Damasak the local government headquarters of Mobbar, through Gashigar and up to Malumfatori town of Abadam local government; there is no single government security personnel guarding or protecting about six villages in between. You should know that from Damasak to Gashigar is about 50km of dusty Sharan desert road and half way before you get to Dusi, there is a feeder road that lead to Damasak near Diffa border town of Niger Republic.

“We are in a state of fear and confusion now, we cannot sleep in the villages here on the Nigerian side. Once dusk begins to set in, everyone locks up and cross the borders to Diffa. Most of us board our canoes and cross over the river boundary and pass the night in Diffa.The attack on us has been very frequent lately, just last week Sunday they attacked the villages of Yawuma-ango and Jabulam at night and killed five persons there; three at Yawuma-ango and two in Jabulam.”

Mr. Gashigar who was in Maiduguri along with some other residents of the attacked village, wanted government to step in and assist the local youth vigilantes who were are currently the main security force manning the area.

“We know the reason for these attack is because our young men had joined the Civilian-JTF and the Boko Haram is not happy about it. Perhaps, that is why they are attacking us in this manner,” he said.