Ajimobi, Seyi Makinde and the Absence of Ubuntu.

Sorry to day this: Nigeria is a hypocritical society. This expression isn’t a mere fabrication shrouded in the smoky screen of regrets and fear; it is the obvious truth. And if the conscience of many, especially the younger generation, have failed them; I won’t join them in the shenanigans. I won’t be part of the sensational hypocrisy anchored on partisan politics and expressive bitterness for fellow men. Anytime any day, I will always choose ubuntu over morality and counter morality arguments.

The damning truth is: when God created the first man; it infused in him the spirit of ubuntu (compassion) so he could muster the ability the love; so he could develop human feelings to feel the pain of another; so he could choose Ubuntu over selfishness. Such was the philosophy behind the multiplicity of men on earth. Can anyone imagine how feasible generational transitioning would be if the first man, as reported in the scriptures, Adam, couldn’t have the ability to love a fellow man? Would Adam have fallen for Eve? Would they have copulated to produce their two sons?

Another truth is: ubuntu (compassion) is a creation of the divine while politics is a creation of men. So we can’t afford to intertwine the both to produce excuses for atrocities, immorality, self centeredness, etc. Judging from the history of creation, compassion is an intrinsic value that was imbued in every man born of a woman. Main reason why every man is capable of expressing love and emotions unless they choose to do otherwise. Politics, on the hand, is a masterwork of men originally engineered to earn hegemony across divides. In other words, politics and compassion are no Siamese twins of common parentage.

To narrow down the argument to fit perfectly into the “Nigeria” narratives, the stream of compassion has stopped tiding in the heart of many Nigerians. This damning situation has forced many to truncate the reality that they are human. They are always inclined to argue politics and written laws to justify absence of conscience and empathy. They have permanently forgotten politics is a creation of men and law is made for man (and not otherwise).

At the moment, the ultimate news flowing around was the news on the death of Ajimobi – a former Governor of Oyo State. Since the News was broken to the general public, some rather disappointing comments have been flying in the air about the deceased. Many have quickly forgotten that he was a fellow man and he had blood of imperfection running in him. He couldn’t be infallible just like every other person. Although he gaffed many times; but he also had his good sides. That’s not far from the truth!

However, the most shocking revelation that followed the death of the former Governor was the accusation that was levied against Oyo State Governor by the deceased’s wife. The former Governor’s widow alleged that the incumbent Governor purportedly failed to pay condolence visit nor sent messages throughout their trying times. This revelation was contained in a video being circulated across the internet. Was the governor’s lackadaisical attitude good enough?

Now the arguments set in: did paying condolence visit to the deceased (former Government) while on sick bed the morally upright thing to do by the incumbent? Is difference in political camp a reasonable ground not to show any form of compassion throughout the deceased trying period till the point of death? Are people contriving the sophistry that the incumbent government wasn’t bound to show empathy logical with their arguments? Is failure to show empathy appropriate considering the fact that the deceased served the State for eight years? Should self created principles outweigh the rhetorics of morality? I think we need to argue these!

Ali Smart

Buhari Behind Killing Of Christians In Nigeria —Imam of Peace

Following the Arrest of Nigeria-Dubai Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi; Imam of Peace, the Popular Islamic scholar has alleged that Buhari is the senior Hushpuppi while Hush is Junior in the Area of scam.
The Islamic scholar also called president Buhari “the dumbest man in office” over the killings of Christians in Nigeria.
On twitter, a Lady identified as Gia Chacon wrote: “99.9% of persecution against Christians in Nigeria is violent. We must end the global silence around this.”
“Standing with persecuted Christians around the world gives Christians in the West the courage to stand up to the intimidation they are facing in their own country.”
In Reply the to Chacon’s tweet, Imam of Peace wrote: “Full credit goes to @mbuhari, dumbest man in Office.”
In another Tweet about Hushpuppi arrrest, He wrote: “Hushpuppi Senior (Hushpapa) and Hushpuppi Junior.(Hushpuppi) ”

Credit: PressExpress

Akeredolu not ready to hand over to deputy despite being in isolation

Akeredolu has been in self -isolation after being confirmed to have contracted COVID – 19 a few days ago .
However, the governor , through the state Commissioner for Information , Mr Donald Ojogo, on Friday, said the governor would not hand over to Ajayi , who had left the All Progressives Congress.
But reacting through his media aide, Mr Allen Sowore , on Saturday, Ajayi stated that he had been praying for the quick recovery of the governor but the constitution had to be followed.
Quoting Section 190( 2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ( as amended) , Sowore said the constitution was apposite in “ these circumstances, ” stressing that the constitution must be obeyed after 21 days.
Sowore said , “ Refusal and failure of Mr Governor to hand over the running of government to his deputy while in self – isolation and temporarily incapacitated would underscore his absolute disregard for the rule of law , spite on the people and a direct assault on the provisions of the constitution, which he swore to uphold .
“ Not only that , his deliberate obstacles to ensure that government continues to run while he ’ s in self – isolation as a result of the fact that he has tested positive for COVID – 19 puts lip service to his hypocritical war against the ravaging pandemic .
“ Our candid advice is that the energy dissipated to pull down the office and person of the Deputy Governor should be channelled towards resolving the lingering crisis in the health sector, particularly the current strike embarked on by medical practitioners in the state in the middle of this pandemic. ”
Meanwhile, Akeredolu has refuted a media report allegedly linking him with branded bottles of whiskey as part of his campaign for his re -election for the second term.

The picture of a bottle of whiskey carrying the Ondo State logo and labelled ‘ Aketi Whiskey’ had been trending on social media.
The governor , however , said he knew nothing about the whiskey , alleging that it was a plot by his political detractors to blackmail him .

Credit: Punch

Nigeria records 12 deaths in 24 hours as COVID-19 cases hit 27,564

Twelve people died of COVID-19 in the various isolation centers of Nigeria in the last 24 hours, the NCDC announced on Friday.
An additional 454 cases were also announced for Friday, taking the country’s total to 27,564.
The number of people discharged increased from 10,801 to 11,069 – which means 268 were discharged in 24 hours.
Lagos remains the leader of the COVID-19 table with 87 cases.
Its cumulative total is now 10,910 cases.
Below is the breakdown of cases recorded on Friday.
Lagos-87
Edo-63
FCT-60
Ondo-41
Benue-32
Abia-31
Ogun-29
Oyo-19
Kaduna-17
Delta-16
Enugu-15
Borno-14
Plateau-9
Nasarawa-8
Kano-5
Bauchi-4
Gombe-2
Katsina-1
Kogi-1
27,564 confirmed
11,069 discharged
628 deaths

Court grants divorce to woman who sued over size of hubby’s manhood too BIG

ZAMFARA State house wife Aisha Dannupawa has been granted a divorce by a local Sharia court after filing a suit against her husband for dissolution of their marriage because his manhood was too BIG.
In the first such case of its kind, Aisha, a mother of three, asked the court to dissolve her marriage to Ali Maizinari because she could not accommodate the size of his penis. Her husband, Maizinari did not contest her application but told the court that she should repay the entire dowry and what he spent during their courtship, which he estimated to total N60,000 ($296). Aisha told the court that she married Maizinari after her first marriage failed. She added that before she moved into his house, she was invited to his parents’ house, as per tradition but it was only when they had sex that she became traumatised.
“When he came, we had sex but the experience was a nightmare. Instead of enjoying the sex, it turned out to be something else because his penis was too big. “I told my mother the experience but she told me to endure and that with time, I will be able to cope. She then gave me some drugs,’’ Aisha said.
According to the traumatised wife,, they had sex again but it became evident that no drug would help and that she cannot remain married to the man. With no objection from her husband, the court granted Aisha the divorce.

“It is not our duty to expose Boko Haram sponsors” – Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army has said it is not their duty to expose those sponsoring Boko Haram in the country.
Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, stated this at a media briefing on Thursday.
Enenche admitted that the Army knows that some criminal groups have heavy financial backing, but its major task is to fight “terrorism and other criminality”.
He explained that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) were responsible for revealing the sponsors.
“It is not the duty of the military to uncover the sponsors.
“Our duty is to remain in the frontline and defeat terrorism and other criminality and that is what we are doing.
“We have the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Security (DSS). It is their responsibility to gather intelligence on the sponsors of the terrorists and not the military,” Enenche maintained

Credit: PressExpress

Covid19: Osun state government locks down Ijeshaland

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun has ordered total lockdown of four local government areas in Ijesaland, to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Commissioner For Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode listed the affected local governments areas as Ilesa East, Ilesa West, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West.
The governor, who noted that the lockdown would be for seven days in the first instance effective from July 7, said the decision was the fallout of the meeting between the government and the stakeholders from the areas.
He said that the decision to impose the total lockdown in the areas was aimed at containing the spread of the virus in that axis of the state.
According to him, government has every reason to believe that the state is already witnessing what looked like community transmission in the area and as such there is need to come up with measures to arrest the trend.
The governor said during the lockdown, there would be no vehicular movement within the affected areas.
He said only those on essential duties such as health, fire service, environmental officials, security personnel, power and water supply agencies, media and telecommunication officers would be allowed to move around.
The governor also said that residents in the affected areas would not have opportunity to go to worship centres and markets during the period but would be allowed to shop within their neighbourhood.
Oyetola urged residents of the affected areas to take advantage of the hours between Saturday(today) and Monday to stock up provisions that would last them one week in the first instance.
He added that intra-state travel to and fro would not be allowed during the lockdown, warning that violators of the lockdown order will be severely dealt with.
Oyetola said government was also closely monitoring other local government areas with rising confirmed cases of the virus, adding that more areas might also be on the lockdown in the coming days.
The governor, however, said that the relaxation in other areas of the state had been extended by two weeks.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our curfew will still run from 9p.m. to 5a.m. daily in other parts of the state, except the locked down local governments.
“In furtherance to the above, for the other parts of the state, the ban on political, public, religious, and any kind of gatherings under whatever guise remain in force.
“While worship centres must adhere strictly to government guidelines guiding their re-opening.
” Government will not hesitate to shut down any of the worship centres that violates our guidelines,” the governor said.
Osun at the moment has 151 confirmed cases out of which 59 had been treated and discharged. Five deaths have also been recorded.

Credit: PMnews

Covid19: Osun state government locks down Ijeshaland

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun has ordered total lockdown of four local government areas in Ijesaland, to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Commissioner For Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode listed the affected local governments areas as Ilesa East, Ilesa West, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West.
The governor, who noted that the lockdown would be for seven days in the first instance effective from July 7, said the decision was the fallout of the meeting between the government and the stakeholders from the areas.
He said that the decision to impose the total lockdown in the areas was aimed at containing the spread of the virus in that axis of the state.
According to him, government has every reason to believe that the state is already witnessing what looked like community transmission in the area and as such there is need to come up with measures to arrest the trend.
The governor said during the lockdown, there would be no vehicular movement within the affected areas.
He said only those on essential duties such as health, fire service, environmental officials, security personnel, power and water supply agencies, media and telecommunication officers would be allowed to move around.
The governor also said that residents in the affected areas would not have opportunity to go to worship centres and markets during the period but would be allowed to shop within their neighbourhood.
Oyetola urged residents of the affected areas to take advantage of the hours between Saturday(today) and Monday to stock up provisions that would last them one week in the first instance.
He added that intra-state travel to and fro would not be allowed during the lockdown, warning that violators of the lockdown order will be severely dealt with.
Oyetola said government was also closely monitoring other local government areas with rising confirmed cases of the virus, adding that more areas might also be on the lockdown in the coming days.
The governor, however, said that the relaxation in other areas of the state had been extended by two weeks.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our curfew will still run from 9p.m. to 5a.m. daily in other parts of the state, except the locked down local governments.
“In furtherance to the above, for the other parts of the state, the ban on political, public, religious, and any kind of gatherings under whatever guise remain in force.
“While worship centres must adhere strictly to government guidelines guiding their re-opening.
” Government will not hesitate to shut down any of the worship centres that violates our guidelines,” the governor said.
Osun at the moment has 151 confirmed cases out of which 59 had been treated and discharged. Five deaths have also been recorded.

Credit: PMnews

N168bn frauds: Hushpuppi faces 20 years in US prison

N168bn frauds: Hushpuppi faces 20 years in US prison
The United States Department of Justice has said Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, faces 20 years’ imprisonment for suspected money laundering from his various cybercrime schemes worth $435m (N168bn).
According to a statement by the US DOJ on Friday, Abbas, 37, arrived in Chicago Thursday evening after being “expelled from Dubai”.
The suspect was said to have made his initial US court appearance on Friday morning in Chicago and he was expected to be transferred to Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
Abbas, alongside his accomplices, including Olalekan Ponle (aka Woodberry), was arrested by officials of the Dubai Police and Interpol on June 10 for a series of crimes like money laundering, fraud, hacking of websites and accounts, impersonation and banking fraud.
Police said the suspects scammed over 1.9 million people in a fraudulent scheme worth $435m (N168bn). Thirteen luxury cars, estimated at N3.7bn; 21 laptops, 47 smartphones, 15 storage devices, and five hard disks containing data were recovered from the house where they were arrested.
Hushpuppi was subsequently handed over to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday and extradited to the US, where he faces criminal charges alleging he conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from business email compromise frauds and other scams, including schemes targeting a US law firm, a foreign bank and an English Premier League soccer club.
The US DOJ said a criminal complaint was filed on June 25 by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles after FBI’s investigation showed that Abbas financed this opulent lifestyle through crime and that he was one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitated computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the DOJ statement, US Attorney Nick Hanna, said in 2019 alone, the FBI recorded $1.7bn in losses by companies and individuals victimised through BECs, “the type of scheme Mr Abbas is charged with conducting from abroad.”
In the affidavit filed against Abbas, it was alleged that he defrauded a client of a New York-based law firm out of approximately $922,857 in October 2019.
The affidavit also alleged that Abbas conspired to launder funds stolen in a $14.7m cyber heist from a foreign financial institution in February, 2019, in which the stolen money was sent to bank accounts around the world.
The statement read in part, “Abbas allegedly provided a co-conspirator with two bank accounts in Europe that Abbas anticipated each would receive €5m (about $5.6m) of the fraudulently obtained funds.
“Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100m (approximately $124m) from an English Premier League soccer club, the complaint alleges.”
The US DOJ stated, “If convicted of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, Abbas would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.”
The statement added that Hushpuppi was being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Anil J. Antony and Joseph B. Woodring of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.

Source: PressExpress
Credit: The Punch

“I’m not going anywhere” – Man battles with NCDC staff

“I’m not going anywhere” – Man battles with NCDC staff who came to take him to their center for treatment
A man mustered up all the energy he had to prevent two officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) from evacuating him to an isolation centre.
It’s not clear when or where the incident went down but the suspected COVID-19 patient made his intention clear: “I no de go anywhere.”
Apparently, after fruitlessly trying to coax him into voluntarily following them the treatment centre, the officials had to try the last option – the use of force.
And the angry man, in the viral video, was adamant. In fact, he can be heard wishing them death.
In the 30 seconds footage, a woman’s voice can also be heard weeping in the background and you can see a waiting NCDC ambulance outside the building.
The video doesn’t show the end of proceedings but it does show the moment the suspected patient wedged his foot onto a protector railing just outside the front door of the building. “Make una leave me o,” he tells the kitted NCDC officials in the video.
Details later…

Credit: PressExpress