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Let’s Beg Buhari for a One Party State by Dele Momodu

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Fellow Nigerians, let me confess right away that I’m a realist. If you like, call me chicken-hearted or lily-livered. No worries. All I know is that I was taught many lessons by the wisdom of the ancients. Let me share a few of them with you. One. If we cannot move forward, we must know when to turn backwards. Two. If you have not yet grabbed the sword, you cannot risk asking what manner of death killed your Dad. Three. Even the Bible teaches us how to be meek and humble. “If your right cheek is slapped, turn the left cheek…” It may sound stupid to a lot of people but it might just save you a lot of headache.
The purpose of my sermon in this epistle to you today should be obvious by now. I wish to admit and publicly acknowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari has finally achieved what no democratically elected Nigerian President ever attempted to do. All tiers and arms of government have been virtually grabbed and cowed. Even the Fourth Estate of the Realm is about to be guillotined via a retrogressive and preposterous law stipulating death sentences for any rascally writing… The public have been shown to be timorous, timid and cowardly upon hell being let loose! No resistance from them either!
Let me summarise my thoughts thus. The ruling APC government makes no pretence to being a party of nice or decorous people. A few of their members may fall into this category, but they are the exception, an aberration. It is your business, if you think otherwise but that is the hard-nosed truth. If the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government succumbed to pressure and lost power in the name of decency and decorum, the Buhari-led administration is not ashamed or afraid to being labelled haughty, brutal, brutish and reckless. Indeed, they revel in and relish the appellation. They like the idea that they take no prisoners and accept surrender only if you join their ranks. The recent gale of resignations that swept Bayelsa State in the wake of the contrived victory of the Lion-tamer, David Lyon Perewonrimi epitomised this new cult of no surrender, no matter how abject and plaintive, and no prisoners! Once a State or Local Government is targeted, no Jupiter can stop its blistering annihilation.
Since 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari miraculously returned to power, things have not been at ease for his opponents or the opposition. Those who warned us Buhari will never practice true Democracy were rebuffed by us. We sold him at a premium to Nigerians and the world as a “born again Democrat…” We called him “the people’s General…” We romanticised about a leader who was coming to turn Nigeria into an Eldorado with his magic wand because we earnestly and sincerely believed in him. It would have been sad if we did not give Buhari a second chance. Pls forgive my blasphemy, Buhari’s second coming was almost tantamount to a parousia, like the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to add to his perceived saintliness, he had chosen a revered and respected man of God, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as his Deputy. Needless to say, we thank God that he came, he saw and he is currently conquering. While it may be too early to judge his performance or non-performance, the signs are ominously visible. But that’s not the purpose of this missive.
My worry stems from the new electoral template being enforced by APC, an extremely dangerous and volatile one at that. Except to the willing and grateful beneficiaries, what we’ve been witnessing is a monumental charade, a farce and a travesty which is an unfortunate trend indeed. While I will never say with any degree of certainty that PDP candidates would have defeated their opponents in all those elections, I would still have expected the ruling party to conduct the elections in a more transparent and honest manner and not in the kangarooistic banana republic fashion we’ve witnessed in recent times with our arms akimbo and mouths agape and ajar.
With the armed forces, the police, the other security agencies, the judiciary, the thugs and other nebulous, unseen or unknown characters in the kitty, it is almost impossible to defeat APC in any election in the near future, unless the people resist and say no, and this I don’t see happening on account of money, ethnicity and religion. I have no apologies for my pessimism. And I believe the game is just starting. These ones aren’t kidding. Only God can remove them ultimately from power. The tell-tale signs are too pungent to ignore. Very soon, writers like me would only be writing about trips to Afghanistan, a sad reminder of the 1984-85 era, when the Sonala Olumhenses had to write about far flung places in order to avoid the wrath of Sango Olukoso, the god of thunder! What then is the solution?  My answer, no easy way out. As a matter of fact, I see a long walk to Freedom, with apologies to Nelson Mandela. When a Lion has tasted blood, it would be difficult to appease it with corn meal.
All would-be troublemakers should be warned before it is too late that Nigeria does not need, and can’t afford, another civil war. My suggestion is simple and straightforward, what Nigeria desperately needs today is a one party State. It will save us at least three major things. The first is the acrimonious clashes between the mainstream parties. The battles would be limited to intraparty squabbles. The second is money. Too much resources are currently being expended on campaigns and elections proper. It is unimaginable how much is being wasted by the gladiators. Let’s even say that’s their own cup of tea, what of the billions being wasted on INEC that has failed to deliver on its high falutin and grandiloquent rigmaroles. The third is the most serious and absolutely important, safety of lives and property. Our elections have become the most dangerous in the whole world. You cannot guarantee that you will return home alive after casting your votes, or indeed that days after the election you won’t become a victim of a malevolent maelstrom of anarchical and mindless violence, arson and destruction. Are we Barbarians or what manner of human beings are we?
These are the real reasons I wish to appeal, most passionately, to the powers that be in Abuja, that we have agreed that Buhari is our Messiah, that he can do no wrong and we are willing to support him warts and all. Serving one’s fatherland should never be a matter of life and death or an invitation to suicide and perdition.
For once, we should be prepared to let Buhari and his sagacious band of chorus singers think for us. There is no point allowing some fellow Nigerians to turn us into defenceless chickens or rams to be slaughtered on the altar of an orgiastic bloodfest. When it is God’s time to liberate us, we won’t have to lift a finger or fire a single shot. Examples abound all over the world and most of us are witnesses to God’s mysterious ways.
For now, since Buhari came to save us from ourselves, we must allow him do his job unhindered. We must dance to the ‘kpalongo’ beat and wait for the madness which it heralds to manifest, take root and consume its originators.
May God’s will be done!
Tribute To Dr Ore Falomo (September 1940 – November 9 2019)
My path and that of Dr Oluwatamilore Akinlade Falomo crossed nearly three decades ago. As a personal physician to my adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola, it was impossible not to meet and know him reasonably well.
The first thing that fascinated me about Dr Falomo was his dress sense. He was always impeccably turned out, clean and debonair. He was a successful medical practitioner who was well known beyond his industry.
What fascinated me the more about him was his love for Chief Abiola. Theirs was not a Doctor/Patient relationship. They were like brothers. Abiola was born in August 1937 and Dr Falomo was born in September 1940, but they interacted like brothers separated by only months in age, not 3 years. They lived like they were children from the same family. Interestingly, three of Chief Abiola’s children, Kolawole, Ayodeji and Agboola lived on the same road with Dr Falomo, just a stone throw away in Anthony Village.
The most unforgettable things about Dr Falomo were his uncommon courage and powers of elocution and elucidation. He was such a brave and powerful speaker and he remained one of the few Nigerians that had the audacity to rant and rail endlessly against the dreaded General Sani Abacha regime. Perhaps if there were more of him now, our nation would be a better place. I often wondered how Dr Falomo escaped Abacha’s snipers or detention. He spoke passionately and vociferously against the detention of Chief Abiola. As Abiola’s Medical Doctor, he regularly told the Dictators, Abacha and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, of that insane period, who detained Abiola about his patient’s worsening health conditions and warned that he might be damaged beyond redemption if his wrongful incarceration continued. And his prophecy came to pass within a few years. Whether Chief Abiola died of natural causes or not, the great African businessman and philanthropist died in detention on July 7, 1998.
I later met with Dr Falomo a couple of times
at the functions of Capitalfield Group Limited of which he was the indefatigable and tireless Chairman. His integrity was remarkable as attested to by many who knew him and interacted with him, hence it wasn’t difficult for his colleagues to make him Chairman of this pre-eminent financial conglomerate.
We spoke a few times about writing an authoritative book on the Abiola and June 12 saga. I was willing and ready and in his own way, so was he, but our hectic schedules meant we were unable to find a convenient time for both of us.  Not too long ago, I decided to take the bull by the horns and sent the head of Ovation Books and Publishing, Mr Sola Ojewusi, to book appointments with Dr Falomo in order to kickstart the laudable and necessary project by getting background information. However our attempts bore no fruit for a variety of reasons.
As I received the news of Dr Falomo’s demise, the first thing I said was “my God, we have lost a goldmine of contemporary history…” It is always painful to me when we lose such great men and women. Documenting history is extremely important and necessary.
Like all extraordinary and sentient icons,  Falomo seems to have had a premonition of his death. He went on a 2 week holiday to the UK and America with his young friend and Group Managing Director of Capitalfield Group, Raphael Lewu, and shared several stories with him. One of these was the fact that having marked his 79th birthday, the month before in September 2019, he was prepared to join his Maker because he had done at least one year better than his late father.
Dr Ore Falomo came to this world to serve humanity. It reflected in his everyday life as he was larger than life. His physical frame belied his great stature in all facets of his social, economic and political life, not to mention his medical career where he simply excelled. Dr Falomo gave hope and succour to the rich and the poor. He touched the lives of almost all those he came into contact with for the better. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Good night to an eminent, noble and revered personality…
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Two Rivers Lawmakers Step Down from Impeachment Proceedings Against Fubara, Sue for Peace

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Two members of the Rivers House of Assembly, who are loyalists of former Governor Nyesom Wike, have withdrawn from the impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers.

The Minority Leader of the assembly, Sylvanus Enyinna Nwankwo, and Peter Abbey, who represents Degema State Constituency, urged their colleagues to exercise restraint and allow for dialogue to maintain stability in the state

In a video widely circulated on Facebook and an excerpt published by Rivers State Television, the lawmakers urged their colleagues to prioritise the overall interest and stability of Rivers above partisan disagreements.

Call for ‘cooling-off period’

The legislators stressed that the prevailing political climate demands calm, dialogue and a “cooling-off period” within the assembly to allow, in their words, “wisdom and truth to prevail” in the legislative chambers.

Although they did not expressly mention the impeachment process during the briefing, their intervention is being interpreted by political observers as a withdrawal from the impeachment push against Mr Fubara, which has heightened tensions in the state.

Background to impeachment moves

The Rivers assembly parted ways with Mr Fubara because of the feud between the governor and Mr Wike, who is the FCT minister.

The current impeachment notice on Mr Fubara is the third attempt in less than three years to remove the governor. The previous efforts had split the legislature into two factions, causing President Bola Tinubu to declare a six-month state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspend the governor, the deputy governor, and the lawmakers.

The lawmakers accused the governor of constitutional breaches and administrative misconduct, allegations his supporters have dismissed as politically motivated.

Source: Premium Times

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Food for Living: Consciously Select the ‘Food’ You Consume

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Food is an integral component for living and existence because among other things, it provides energy and nourishment to the physical body. However, it must be consciously selected in other not to run into crisis.

Different kinds of food serve different purposes to the human body depending on the immediate and remote needs. That explains the reason doctors and health practitioners have advised on certain meals to be taken for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And because these serve different purposes, one must therefore, be intentional in selecting the food they eat. It is worthy of note that when one eats a heavy meal at breakfast which is supposedly meant for lunch, there’s the tendency they might not be able to function optimally.

The importance of choosing what goes into the human system as food cannot be overemphasized taking into cognizance that different foods work for different people. This is because they have different taste buds and distinct preferences.

For me, I love having breakfast. As a matter of fact, breakfast for me is the most important meal of the day. If I have have my breakfast, I can practically ‘stay woke’ the whole day.

Again, I love fruits with passion, especially when it’s organic. I can take fruits all day and be fine. This again means, I know what works for me, and so I am intentional in selecting the kind of fruits and food I eat.

Making choices of this nature however, does not relate to food alone. When metaphorically use, food can refer to every facet of living to contributes to growth. An average human being is therefore, expected to choose and dictate the directions of their relationships, professions/business, lifestyle, spiritual life, academic life, health routine, family outlook, and even outfit. It should be noted that anything one does in life, is a function of selection. Every area of our life is centered on choice.

Back to the literal food; while there are different options of food, an individual can decide to stick to a particular one. This is applicable to all other aspects of life. So, before one wears any cloth, it is believed that he must have made the choice out of many options.

As a living being, it’s not all kinds of food that must be eaten, the tantalizing appearance notwithstanding. There are some foods one will eat, and one’s body will react to it. That’s why it’s important for one to determine what works for them. Selecting the food we eat is like selecting the lifestyle we intend to live.

In the journey of life, we must select the kind of lifestyle we would like to live, if we select a bad lifestyle, we’ll have to live with the consequences. There’s no human action without a corresponding consequence. If you do good for someone, it has a way of coming back to you soon directly or indirectly. If you do bad, you will understand the meaning of actions that have consequences.

A case of action with consequences can be likened to the now trending story of a Nigerian Pastor, Chris Okafor, who was alleged to have committed sexual immorality with many ladies while legally married, in addition to living a lifestyle that is unbecoming of a pastor. All his acts were not publicly known until he offended one of his numerous sex partners, one Ms. Doris Ogala.

According to the lady, Okafor promised her marriage, but chose to abandon her after numerous sexual escapades with her. Due to the pain she experienced, she began to expose him on all fronts. The public shame following the ‘pastor’ is the consequence of the action of sinful life he chose.

As an observer on the street, I realized one thing, it’s not all food one is supposed to eat. As a man, sometimes, you are supposed to fast from some food no matter how appetizing it may appear. Sometimes, act like you didn’t see the food just to preserve your sanity, and sometimes, dignity.

Pastor Chris has allegedly tested many foods, unfortunately there was a meal he tasted, and he began to purge. That single meal has exposed and unearthed a lot which was not publicly available and many interested persons, especially ladies, who have been victims have begun to share their personal experiences with pastor Chris, and this has led the security agencies to wade into the allegations against him. Again, this goes to tell you, it’s not every food one must eat.

As a cultural Igbo man from Nigeria, we have an adage that says, nobody knows the womb that will bore a king tomorrow. This adage insinuates that, as human beings, nobody knows where the next opportunity will come from, and in the same manner nobody knows the allegation or challenge that may lead to their downfall. So, it’s important for one to be intentional about how they live their life.

As a man, one must have a certain level of decency, especially if they want to go far. One must also be intentional with their life. Once it’s screwed, it will be hard to fix.

As a career and life coach, there are many opportunities flying all over the space, and it’s normal for one to jump into any industry because it seems to be paying well, or it appears to have lots of growth opportunities. But most people fail to understand that just like there are sands everywhere, opportunities abound everywhere.

When faced with such temptation, what a rational mind must do is to determine whether that opportunity is right for them. It’s always good for one to do what’s best for them, and that entails working on their God given purpose. Failure to do this might make one to work like an elephant and eat like an ant. Even if one is lucky to succeed in that career/business, if they decide to change careers, they might not be happy in addition to having a fulfilling life.

One may have a different attitude to this because they will prefer to cry in a limousine than to cry in a bike or bus, but the truth must be stated, there’s a stage one will get in life and they will realize that if money is the only thing they have, they are poor.

There are many people who married because of money, looks and social status, and today they are either divorced or not happy. Money does not solve all the problems in marriage, neither does looks, faithfulness and sex solve all the problems. What’s important is the shared beliefs in alignment and purpose when two partners are committed to make the relationship work.

In summary, selecting your food is a hypothetical way of informing everyone that we must be intentional with our life. If you see something you like whether it relates to business, education, career, relationship, spirituality or personal, please commit to it regardless of the distractions and detractions that will come in the form of challenges and obstacles. If one can stay strong, they will smile at the end of the day.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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More Troubles for Ahmed Farouk: Dangote Drags Ex-NMDPRA Boss to EFCC over Corruption Claims

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The Chairman of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, through his legal representative, has filed a formal corruption petition against the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to our correspondent by the Dangote Group media team on Friday.

Recall that Dangote had earlier petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate Ahmed for allegedly spending $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland. He withdrew the petition a few days ago, even as the ICPC vowed to continue with its investigation.

The statement on Friday said Dangote’s petition to the EFCC followed “The withdrawal of the same petition from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, a strategic decision aimed at accelerating the prosecution process.”

In the petition, signed by Lead Counsel Dr O.J. Onoja, Dangote urged the EFCC to investigate allegations of abuse of office and corrupt enrichment against Ahmed, and to prosecute him if found culpable.

The petition further stated that Dangote would provide evidence to substantiate claims of financial misconduct and impunity.

“We make bold to state that the commission is strategically positioned, along with sister agencies, to prosecute financial crimes and corruption-related offences, and upon establishing a prima facie case, the courts do not hesitate to punish offenders. See Lawan v. F.R.N (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1953) 501 and Shema v. F.R.N. (2018) 9 NWLR (Pt.1624) 337,” the petition read.

Onoja further urged the commission, under the leadership of Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, “To investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting.”

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