Month: May 2014
LATEST ON DORA AKUNYILI: DEAD OR ON LIFE SUPPORT?
The secrecy surrounding the current medical condition of Professor Dora Akunyili, Nigeria’s former Minister for Information has sparked off flames of unconfirmed rumors on social media networks that Dr. Dora is dead as many users posted brief messages that read “RIP Dora Akunyili”.
Africa Thisday made efforts to reach the media assistant of the ailing former minister, Mr. Isaac Umunna and our several phone calls were not answered. However a source close to Mr. Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State who recently flew to India to visit Mrs. Dora told Africa Thisday in a phone chat that while rumors of the death of Mrs. Dora Akunyili may be unfounded yet “there are indications that Mrs. Dora is placed on life support”. Another source who is a political associate of Mrs. Dora advised the public to “keep praying for Mrs. Dora Akunyili as God can revive her.”
More details coming soon.
TRENDNING NOW: KIM/KANYE WEST’S SECRET WEDDING PICTURES TREND. SEE HERE.
America’s Kim Kardashian and Kanye West journeyed down the aisle over the weekend in a strictly-on-invitation wedding ceremony in Paris. Pictures of the now Mr. & Mrs. Kanye West have been making rounds on the internet. Africa Thisday brings you some of the beautiful pictures from Kim’s second marriage.
While Kim and Kanye West are somewhere in Europe for their honeymoon, theorists have not spared the celebrities as they argue that Kim’s first marriage was ‘purely a stunt’ which was covered in a conspiracy to generate funds for the then broke Kardashians. While most of them believe that The Kardashians can go any length to make money, some of the theorists express fears of the longevity of Kim’s union with Kanye West.
JUST IN: BOKO HARAM KIDNAPS BORNO MONARCHS.
Gunmen suspected to be members of dreaded Boko Haram ambushed the emirs of Askira, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibn Muhammed Askirama II, Alhaji Idrissa Timta, Gwoza and that of Uba, Alhaji Ali Ibn Ismaila Mamza II along Gombi-Garkida-Biu road in the early hours of Friday when they were travelling to attend the burial of the late Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Usman Abubakar who died in a London Hospital on Tuesday evening.
Unconfirmed report and sources said, the Emir of GWOZA died during the attack while that of Askira and Uba narrowly escaped death, even as report indicated that many entourages of the emirs are still missing when the gunmen opened fire on their convey at about 8am.
Gwoza Council Area is South and about 140 kilometres away from Maiduguri, while Askira /Uba is South and about 160 kilometres drive from Maiduguri.
It was gathered that the two first class emirs of Gwoza and that of Uba were travelling in the same vehicle when the terrorists struck. Details later.
Source: Vanguard
BIAFRA REMEMBERED: UNFORGETTABLE by Kelechi Deca
As people all over the world remember Biafra today, a renowned Nigerian economist and social media commentator, Mr. Kelechi Deca writes why the Nigeria-Biafran war should not be forgotten in this piece he titled “Unforgettable”:
Some people have asked me why is it that we cant just forget this ‘Biafra’ and move ahead. I asked them, move ahead to where? Are we behind because we refused to forget Biafra?
But how can anyone forget Biafra?
How can we forget what brought us joy and sadness?
How can we forget the event that changed our humanity?
How can we forget the 2 million of our people that perished?
How can we forget our sisters and our mothers whose chastity were desecrated?
How can we forget our young men whose lives were cut short in defence of fatherland?
How can we forget the bloods on the Niger?
Is it Nsukka sector, Abagana Sector, Nkwelle Sector, The fall of Enugu, Onitsha, Umuahia, Port Harcourt, Aba, and the gallantry at Owerre?
Can we forget Ahiara?
How can we forget?
I found out that those who want us to forget about Biafra which happened 43 years ago, commends the tenacity of the Jews in holding on to their memory of the Holocaust, they do not mind the Japanese remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Americans have not forgotten their civil war of over 200 years,even the Boer wars are still commemorated.
Yet they want us to forget.
Remembering the Biafran National anthem, The Land of the Rising Sun written by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Land of rising sun, we love and cherish, Beloved homeland of our brave heroes; We must defend our lives or we shall perish, We shall protect our hearts from all our foes; But if the price is death for all we hold dear, Then let us die without a shred of fear.
Hail to Biafra, consecrated nation, O fatherland, this be our solemn pledge: Defending thee shall be a dedication, Spilling our blood we’ll count a privilege; The waving standard which emboldens the free Shall always be our flag of liberty.
We shall emerge triumphant from this ordeal, And through the crucible unscathed we’ll pass; When we are poised the wounds of battle to heal, We shall remember those who died in mass; Then shall our trumpets peal the glorious song Of victory we scored o’er might and wrong.
Oh God, protect us from the hidden pitfall, Guide all our movements lest we go astray; Give us the strength to heed the humanist call: To give and not to count the cost’ each day; Bless those who rule to serve with resoluteness, To make this clime a land of righteousness.
The tune of this anthem was adopted from Sibelius’ “Finlandia” written in 1899 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It share same melody with six Christian hymns such as;
Be Still, My Soul;
I Sought the Lord;
We Rest on Thee;
A Christian Home;
This Is My Song;
and I Then Shall Live.
Other historic songs that share same tune are Gweddi dros Gymru or A Prayer for Wales (a national song of Wales).
Ambrosian Oaks (the alma mater of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa).
And At Thy Call We Gather (the alma mater of Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaii).
It is also the tune for Capital University’s alma mater, “O Capital.”
We remember today and always the People’s Republic of Biafra, founded, May 30, 1967.
BIAFRA REMEMBERED: HOW NIGERIA KILLED OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE JUST FOR DEMANDING FREEDOM.
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra (the Atlantic bay to its south).The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of Nigeria. The creation of the new state that was pushing for recognition was among the causes of the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War.
The state was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Zambia. Other nations which did not give official recognition but which did provide support and assistance to Biafra included Israel, France, Portugal, Rhodesia, South Africa and Vatican City.
Biafra also received aid from non-state actors, including Joint Church Aid, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland, Caritas International, MarkPress and U.S. Catholic Relief Services.
Nigerian Military Government was supported by the following countries to fight Biafra: Egypt (air support), United Kingdom,Soviet Union, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Poland Poland and the United States of America.
After two-and-a-half years of war, during which about 2 million Biafran civilians had died in fighting and from famine, Biafran forces agreed to a ceasefire with the Nigerian Federal Military Government (FMG), and Biafra was reintegrated into Nigeria. Many have described this reintegration as a forced marriage between two nations who have nothing in common.
on the morning of May 30th 1967,47 years ago, the late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared the sovereign Republic of Biafra and a national anthem titled “Land of the Rising Sun” which was composed by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was sung.
HOW NEWLY SIGNED SOUTH AFRICAN IMMIGRATION LAW IS CAUSING TROUBLE IN SOUTH AFRICA.
By Jess Green
The day of the 26th of May 2014 finally arrived. It was the first day of a new era of immigration law in South Africa. Last week the new South African immigration regulations were published in the government gazette, after being signed in by President Jacob Zuma and Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor.
This is after confused immigrants of all kinds were up in arms over the initial set of immigration regulations that proposed very harsh changes, some even unconstitutional. The public were allowed to send in their opinions and ideas, and the period from around March until now (a great deal of time) was used for the government to address these concerns. Speculation was rife that the decision to implement these regulations was postponed until after the national elections.
The resultant regulations have improved the situation on some levels, but in general have not, and when taken in conjunction with other events, show the dire state that Home Affairs is in, as well as the mountain they still have to climb. Here are a selection of some of those key issues:
(CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SOUTH AFRICA’S NEW IMMIGRATION LAW)
1. A new minister was appointed literally days after the new immigration regulations were signed into being. Malusi Gigaba replaces Naledi Pandor, and although the outlook on his performance seems good, such a change at such a time does not bode well for a planned and organised Home Affairs Department.
2. Some of the new immigration laws and regulations seem unconstitutional. The main example usually quoted is that spouses or life partners of South African citizens cannot join their loved ones in the Republic unless they can prove a marriage of two years or longer. While this is debatable for life partnership arrangements, those in formal marriages are protected by constitutional law not be separated in such a way.
3. Industries such as the film industry, a huge creator of jobs and a big economic boost for our country, will now struggle to in some cases lengthen and also apply for the various visas without sending foreign employees back to their countries of origin first. There are one or two advantages to the new regulations for this industry, however.
4. The DTI and Department of Labour are now involved in the application adjudication process, yet they are not informed of all the changes and also have no supporting setup to handle the applications at all.
5. Some applications must now be made from abroad, such as first applications and certain changes or extensions. This is not going to stand well when, for example, the delay and cost in application will split a family or cause someone to lose their offer of employment. We have already seen millions of tax payers’ money paid by Home Affairs when losing court cases as they were sued by those who lost their job contracts due to lengthy permit adjudication times.
6. Lastly, and in my opinion the biggest concern, is that various Home Affairs offices around South Africa and the world had (and still have!) no idea that the new regulations have been published. They have no idea of the new application fees, since these have not even been published by the Department of Home Affairs either. Similarly, the Quota and Exceptional Skills Work Permits are now removed and have been replaced by a Critical Skills Visa, however there is no mention anywhere of what qualifies one for this new visa.
It is plain to see that there is little communication between government departments and even within departments, as well as an unorganised approach to the entire setup of who to allow into South Africa, and how. While it is not all doom and gloom, many facets of the new legislation and regulations are without a doubt going to cause many people to sue the Department of Home Affairs, costing us our taxpayers’ valuable funds.
Let’s hope that the new Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, can dig deep quickly and restore some order to an already long-standing mess.
IS PASTOR CHRIS OYAKHILOME FINALLY SEPARATED FROM HIS WIFE, ANITA? COULD THIS BE A PROOF?
Has Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Divorced Wife, Anita? Christ Embassy Church Queries.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome‘s marriage to his wife, Anita Oyakhilome has begun to draw concern from the members of Christ Embassy Church in the UK.
The concerned UK members have also gone on to create a Facebook page demanding to know the whereabouts of Rev. Anita Oyakhilome, the wife of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.
According to their facebook page (named; Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome?), Rev. Anita Oyakhilome hasn’t been seen in Christ Embassy Church where she Pastors since November, 2013, and there were no explanations given, as to her suddenly disappearance and the church has been left without a pastor since then. The members also claim that nobody knows the whereabouts of Rev. Anita Oyakhilome either. Comments on the facebook page also reveal that the May edition of the ministry’s Rhapsody of Realities omitted the pictures of Rev. Anita who used to be a regular face in the daily devotional.
HOW WOMEN DISARMED BOKO HARAM INSURGENTS IN BORNO.
Residents of Attagara and Kawuri villages in Gwoza and Bama local government areas of Borno State, respectively, repelled attacks on their community by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
A resident said the attackers invaded the village yesterday on motorcycles but met some women, adding “they wanted to hit the women with sticks but when they raised the sticks, their hands refused to descend.
“Three of the insurgents fled, but seven were not lucky as the women alerted the people,” and the vigilante group in the community rushed to the scene, disarmed the seven insurgents, who were later lynched.
Attagara, a border community with Cameroon is about 10 kilometres South-East of Pulka District in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state and about 130 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Also, scores of gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram were killed yesterday through the combined efforts of members of the vigilante youths, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, and the military in Kawuri village, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
Twenty years old Mallam Mamman Yakubu, a vigilante youth that participated in repelling the insurgents, said: “We were able to kill many of the terrorists who invaded our community yesterday night.”
On whether arrests were made, Yakubu said they were not interested in any arrests because Boko Haram members hardly reveal any secret when arrested.
A top security source, who confirmed the incident, told Vanguard that three dead bodies of the terrorists were recovered yesterday morning in Kawuri, adding that more of the terrorists were killed in a nearby bush of Kawuri when they attempted to flee to the Sambisa Forest.
Source: Vanguard
LATEST ON ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CRISIS: EFCC COMES IN.
The crisis rocking the Assemblies of God Church Nigeria has taken another dimension as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun a probe into the financial transactions of the church following allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds coming from the warring parties.
Top on the alleged scam is the purchase of N220 million property in Germany by the church through a loan obtained from a commercial bank.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that some key members of the church have been interrogated by operatives of the commission while others suspected to be involved in the alleged scam have gone into hiding.
The probe is sequel to a petition by a faction of the church led by the Assistant General Superintendent, Rev Chidi Okoroafor, alleging that the Executive Council of the church was neither privy to the property bought in Germany nor gave approved the purchase.
They alleged that the said property whose purchase was said to have been completed in 2011 was non-existent, adding that its embattled General Superintendent, Prof Paul Emeka, single-handedly handled the transaction.
But in a swift reaction, Emeka said his predecessor, Rev Charles Osueke, commenced the process of purchase of the property with an initial deposit of N20 million, adding that his administration continued with the transaction when it came on board four years ago.
He stated that the transaction was completed from a loan secured from the GT Bank, adding that the entire thing was based on the decision of the executive council of the church.
Source: All Africa.
10 PERPLEXING QUESTIONS ON BOKO HARAM.
10 PERPLEXING QUESTIONS ON BOKO HARAM:
1. Who is providing Boko Haram with internet service to upload videos of over 30 minutes on YouTube and why hasn’t the internet service provider provided useful information to the arrest of Boko Haram leaders?
2. Who did the contract for the supply of over 100 Hijabs that the kidnapped girls were wearing?
3. How is Boko Haram feeding its hundreds of fighters and who supplies them food?
4. Where is Boko Haram getting the supply of the arms they use to kill people?
5. Who is fueling the over 50 vehicles Boko Haram use in conducting their attacks?
6. Who is feeding the over 250 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram?
7. How does Boko Haram manage to travel in a convoy of over fifty vehicles and motorcycles in a state that is under “state of emergency” without being noticed?
8. Why does the foreign media know more about Boko Haram than our government and local media?
9. If Boko Haram is just a Northern Nigeria’s agenda to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Jonathan, why are they killing Northern Leaders and scholars?
10. Who are those officers supplying Boko Haram with Nigerian Army’s intelligence and what is their interest in doing so? Can’t they be placed under surveillance and their interests exposed?
AFRICA THISDAY 