Friday 31 December 2021

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S STATEMENT TO THE NATION ON JANUARY 1, 2022

We remain grateful to the Almighty God for yet another Year attained as a country, united by a common destiny and resolute in our determination to overcome the several challenges along the path to build the great and prosperous Nation of our dream.

2.  I salute the courage and resilience of all Nigerians, which was evident in 2021 as this nation, like other countries of the world, faced significant challenges that occurred as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to restore the global economy and social order.

3. The persistent insecurity in certain parts of the country may have threatened to unravel the incremental gains achieved in the real sectors of the economy and in the administration's overall objective to position the nation on the irreversible trajectory of sustainable growth and progress, but I assure you that we will remain resolute in our commitments and shall continue to press ahead with our programmes and plans.

4. The path to nationhood is often fraught with unpredictable difficulties and challenges, and most tried and tested nations have often prevailed through dogged determination, resilience, concerted commitment to unity, and the conviction that the whole of the nation, standing together against all odds, is by far greater and would ultimately be more prosperous and viable than the sum of its distinguishable parts.

5. There is no doubt that the issue of Security remains at the front burner of priority areas that this Administration has given utmost attention to. As a follow up to our promise to re-energize and reorganize the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police, it is on record that this Administration has invested heavily in re-equipping our military in line with upgrading the platforms and firepower required to tackle the current challenges being faced in the country.

6. The net results of these efforts have been the number of insurgents and bandits who have willingly surrendered to our Security Forces and continue to do so through various channels and the Safe Corridor created for that purpose.

7. Government, however, realizes that victory on the battlefield is just one aspect of sustainable victory.  We know that to fully win this war, we must also win the peace and real security lies in winning the hearts and minds of the affected citizens.  To this end, working with our international partners and neighbouring countries, we would be deploying multi-faceted solutions that will be targeted at addressing human security at the grassroots, before it leads to insecurity. 

8.  Once again I would like to take a moment to remember and honour the gallant Military, Police Officers, and other security agents who have lost their lives in the cause of protecting the territorial integrity of this Nation against both internal and external aggressors, assuring their families that their sacrifices would not be in vain.

9. We equally remember and commiserate with Nigerians who have lost loved ones as a result of insecurity in different parts of the country. Every life matters and every single death caused by any form of insecurity is a matter of personal concern to me both as a citizen and as the President of this great country.

10. We remain fully committed to upholding the constitutional provisions that protect all Nigerians from any form of internal and external aggression.

11. On the economy, we have shown a high level of resilience to record some significant achievements despite the turbulence that has characterized our economy and indeed the global economy. The lessons we have learned and keep learning from COVID-19 have encouraged us to intensify efforts to mitigate its socio-economic effects on our Nation.

12. The major wins we have recorded can be clearly seen in Nigeria’s most recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The 4.03% growth recorded in the third quarter of 2021 is indicative of the recovery being recorded in our economy and the confidence that is being shown through the policies that our Administration has put in place after the outbreak of the pandemic.

13. We may also recall that this recent growth is closely followed by the   5.1% (year on year) growth in real terms recorded by Nigeria in Quarter 2 of 2021. This growth was one of the best recorded by any nation across Sub-Saharan Africa. The 5.1% growth at that time was and remains the highest growth recorded by the Nigerian economy since 2014.

14. Despite the challenges we have faced as a Nation, the good news is that we have so far recorded four consecutive quarters of growth after the negative growth rates recorded in Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 of 2020 due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

15. On August 16, 2021 I signed the landmark Petroleum Industry Act into law. The signing of this legacy legislation is a watershed moment in the history of our Nation, considering the massive positive impact the new Act would have on the economy. I would like to sincerely commend the 9th Assembly for the grit they demonstrated, succeeding where others have failed, and the cooperation that led to the completion of this process after almost two decades. 

16. Just like I stated during the investment trips and fora that I have attended recently, the legislation is expected to serve as a liberalizing force in the energy industry, and we are optimistic that this law will provide the much-needed legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the development of the energy sector, the host communities, and Nigeria as a Nation. Our objective to increase Liquefied Natural Gas exports and expand our domestic market is still very much at the forefront of some of the policies we would be pushing in the new year.

17. In year 2022 and going forward, our Administration would intentionally leverage ICT platforms to create jobs, while ensuring that the diversification of our economy creates more support to other emerging sectors. I am proud to announce that several foreign investors are taking advantage of our ranking as one of the leading start-up ecosystems in Africa to invest in our digital economy.

18. We have given the utmost priority to fighting corruption and other related offenses which have been a bane to the growth and prosperity of our dear Nation. We have made major strides and breakthroughs through the innovative use of technology and forensics in the investigative and prosecutorial procedures with commendable results to show that the anti-corruption drive of our Administration is succeeding.

19. In the meantime, the accomplishments that have been recorded so far can be traced to the dedication of the Nation’s anti-corruption Agencies who have received the necessary support needed to effectively prosecute their duties.

20. Despite our challenges in 2021, it was also a year in which the Administration executed successfully, key projects, programmes, and initiatives to fulfil the promises made under the Security, Economy Anti-corruption (SEA) agenda.

21. As we welcome 2022, let us, with hope, envision a year of continued progress against our combined challenges arising from security and socio-economic issues.

22. As it is said, the past is but a story told, the future will still be written in gold. Let us be united in our fight to keep our Nation united against all odds and with gratitude, celebrate life in this new epoch.

23. I wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Muhammadu Buhari

Àjàyí Ògídíolú, Òlòlò; Oníkànga àjípọn; Ò b'omi ò ṣùrù wẹ 'dà

In memoriam to the father of standard written Yorùbá, Bishop Samuel Àjàyí Crowther who departed from this plane to join his ancestors exactly 130 years ago on the 31st of December 1891 at the age of 82 years.

His Orí set him apart to be the greatest pioneer and architect of our written language. He became one of our Òrìṣà when he exited 130 years ago.

Àjàyí Ògídíolú, Òlòlò

Oníkànga àjípọn

Ò b'omi ò ṣùrù wẹ 'dà

Ẹni Àjàyí gbà-gbà-gbà

Tí ò leè gbà tán

Ẹbora ní gba olúwa rẹ

Igún ni nkó sí rú wọn lagbada

Ẹkùn baba òde

Ẹkùn pakóró wọlé

Dáramódù

Árowó ṣoge láàrín oge

Ògborí-ẹfọ̀n

Arílé wọlá

Bí ò sí Àjàyí

Ogun ì bá ti kó ilé Adó

Àìsí Àjàyí, ogun i bá ti ja òkìtì

Àìsí Ògídíolú, ogun i bá ti kó Obòkun lọ

Àkùkọ kọ, ọ̀lẹ pòṣé

Ó njá fikan

Ó nrùn fikan

Ìsàlẹ̀ àkìtàn

A máa rùn fikan

Má fá'rí onígbòdòké

Bó o bá fá'rí onígbòdòké

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙨𝙤𝙜𝙗𝙤 𝙒𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛 1840

After the Fulanis systematically captured and made Ilorin their territory, they sacked the old Oyo Empire in 1835/1836.

They were still not satisfied with their victory; they wished to extend their rule deep into the heart of Yoruba land. Thus in 1840, they set to capture Osogbo, a Yoruba town. The Fulanis, under the command of Ali, the Hausa Balogun of Ilorin, laid siege on Osogbo. 

When the king of Osogbo realized that the Ilorins were too strong for the Osogbo army, he summoned the Ibadans for help. Ibadan immediately sent some auxiliaries to Osogbo under the command of Obele alias Mobitan, and Alade Abimpagun. As this force could not stop the Ilorins, another contingent was sent to Osogbo under a more experienced leader. But still, the Ilorins won every battle and gained more ground.

When Ibadan realized that the Ilorins were becoming more threatening to Yoruba land, they sent a large and stronger force under Balogun Oderinlo to crush the intruding forces and Jammas of Ilorin. When Oderinlo and his men arrived at the battlefield, they realized that things had gone worse than they thought.

They could not show their faces in the open field for the fear of the Ilorin horses, and for about 20 days after their arrival at Osogbo, they could not fight outside the town thickets. Oderinlo suggested that Elepo, a brave Ibadan warrior was badly needed at the war-front. Elepo had been rejected by the war-chiefs of Ibadan for his actions at the late Agbamaja expedition.

As soon as the message from Oderinlo reached Ibadan, the Bashorun wished he could send Elepo to Osogbo but could not go against the wish of other war-chiefs. The Bashorun gave Elepo a cow to worship his god, Ori , and pray for the victory of Ibadan at the war-front.

At the war-front, the Ibadan could not attack the Ilorins during the day because Osogbo was practically in a plain and the Ilorin horses might have advantage of them with disastrous results.

They decided to attack at dusk when the Ilorins would no longer be able to use their horses. About 2:pm, the well prepared Ibadan army left the gate of Osogbo for the battlefield. They were to keep a strict watch and arrest anyone suspected to be a spy.

About a mile from the Ilorin camp, they halted and arranged the order of the attack.

The Osogbo army and the earlier auxiliaries were to handle the center of the battlefield, chiefs Abitiko and Labuju were to command the right wing, Balogun Oderinlo with the rest of the Ibadan war-chiefs were to form the left wing of the army. The Ilorin camp was then attacked at midnight. The watchword was “ Elo ni owo odo? ” (How much is the ferry fare?).

The reason this watchword was chosen was because the river Osun had to be crossed in entering Osogbo from the south, and anyone who could not tell this was likely to be an enemy.

Stampede engulfed the Ilorin camp as the Ibadan army set it on fire. The Ilorins could not offer the slightest resistance; they were smoked with the gunpowder of the Ibadan guns.

This attack was a success for the Ibadan. Some Ilorin war-chiefs were captured in the attack. Prominent ones were:

1. Jimba the head slave of the Emir;

2. One of the sons of Ali the commander in chief;

3. Chief Lateju;

4. Ajikobo the Yoruba Balogun of Ilorin.

The first two were released while the latter two, being Yoruba by birth, were regarded as traitors and were executed. This was a huge victory for the whole of Yoruba land.

After the Osogbo victory,

Ibokun, an Ijesa town not far from Osogbo was taken by the Ibadans for being an ally of Ilorin.

After this war, Ìbàdàn later became a force building a formidable war machinery than later prosecuted many other wars with resounding victory.

Notable among the wars was the KIRIJI WAR where the Ibadan warlords formed a historic alliance with the Igbajos. Even though Igbajo became the war front for many years that the war lasted, it was never captured by the raging Ekiti parapò warriors. Rather it was a place where many of them met their Waterloo.

Notable among the warriors were Fabunmi Okeemesi, Ogedengbe Agbogun gboro of the Ijesas, Apasikoto pasigegele of Igbajo and Latoosa of Ibadan to mention a few. There were many more great warriors of the time. 

It's worthy to note that the KIRIJI WAR was the last war in Yoruba land. It's also recorded as the longest native war between in Africa. 

Since then the Yoruba people have continued to build strong bonds among themselves and they have sustained the peace.

We must continue to tell our children the history of the Yoruba people and the bond which our father had built so that we can continue to see ourselves as one. If the Ibadan people can sacrifice their lives for the people of Osogbo in other to safe other towns and villages in Yoruba land and in essence the carnage of innocent people were prevented, then, we the modern Yorubas have no reason to divide ourselves for political reasons or any reason at all.

Source: Gossip House

THE GENESIS OF ROF IN RELATION WITH CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER RELIGIONS

Dr Adebayo Orire, leader of Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (ROF), is also the pastor of a gospel Church, a medical doctor and a chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC) in Ekiti. In this interview with our Ekiti State Correspondent, GBENGA SODEINDE, he explained the genesis of ROF which has just celebrated its centenary anniversary, and its relationship with Christianity and other religions as the will of God among others.

Is it really true that you are a born again pastor and Ogboni member?

I am Rev. Dr, Andrew Adebayo Orire, I am a medical practitioner of over 35 years in practice, a called man of God and a general overseer of a church, with experience spanning many facets of life — mysticism, fraternity, medical jobs, business development, pastoral job and of course, I am a political and immediate past chairman of the hospital management board in Ekiti State under the immediate past administration of the APC Government led by Dr Kayode Fayemi.

Then you are not just a member but an executive member of ROF?

Yes, over 20 years ago I had been an Alakoso, which means (head of ?) the Executive Council of Reformed Ogboni Fraternity, in Nigeria, in Africa, and worldwide. That means I will be like a bishop controlling some parishes in the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity. The ROF has just concluded a oneweek centenary programme, tell us about it? Yes, the ROF is exactly 100 years old. It was actually formed by the first Archdeacon of West Africa, the first set of Nigerians who were clergies of repute. It was Archdeacon T.J. Ogunbiyi that actually formed the ROF100 years ago patterning it after the Freemasonry, the fraternity of the old and our native aborigine Ogboni system. It was resolved as a result of what was happening in Christendom at that time.

They(Christians) were actually not faithful; they were killing each other for posts and struggling unethically for unnecessary and unprofitable things. They were all on each others’ throats and if our traditional system could be refined along the line of the fraternity system that existed in Europe, US, and even in the far East.. They now went around, studied these systems of cults operating in Britian, the US, like the Amorc.

They now gathered all these systems that were actually projecting the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of mankind. The only mistake he made was using the name Ogboni. May be if he had called it “The real brothers” or “The children of God” which they actually are, there wouldn’t have been any hue and cry about it. We people in Nigeria and Africa, don`t really appreciate what we have; you see and Ogboni has had a kind of awesomeness around him.

The name Ogboni would evoke some fears and some anxiety from people and up till date is still goes on. All he did was that he moved against anything negative or fetish . In fact, we preach against anything that goes with worshiping idol, or anything that could really hurt anybody or fellow human being. Ogboni fraternity is against anything that is not in agreement of God, and Ogboni was reformed totally to the system of fraternity where wisdom of God, the name of Jesus, and the fatherhood of God is supreme and primus. In short, ROF was formed to bring sanity to Christendom In fact, it was initially named, “Christian Ogboni Fraternity”, but the name had to be changed when other people started coming in, like Muslims.

It is quite unfortunate that people do not really know what we do in Ogboni Fraternity. There, you are supposed to worship God only ; in fact one of the primus questions in ROF is “Do you believe in God?”If you don’t believe in God, you will not be accepted. That is, the only God, “Olodumare” in Yoruba language, or Allah in Hausa language. Then you must do unto others as you want them to do unto you. You must also believe in the brotherhood of mankind otherwise you will not be accepted. But every other thing underneath that range would not be counted.

Your religion would not be counted, politics or your political parties would not be counted against you. You are free so far you are going to show truth, love, and harmony to your co-fellows and agree to the fatherhood of God. So, that was what we have been doing since 1914 when it was formed. It also believes in this harvest system like is done in churches.

But where the problem started was that we are against falsehood on oath. You must speak the truth at all times, do good to people, your brothers, you must not kill, you must love you brothers truly, you must be somebody who will return good for evil done to you by others. You must be somebody who will leave vengeance to God and God alone.

These rules were too harsh for them, so instead o going along with such a system, they started criticising it, talking evil against it and in fact they were actually going to excommunicate the founder, Bishop Ogunbiyi from the church system until people like Arch-Bishop Vinnie and some other top ministers of God from churches went into this Reformed Ogboni Fraternity and discovered that it was actually in agreement with God and the system of both traditional Amorc system and the traditional freemasonry in Europe, US, Germany and in other islands.

Do you agree that ROF is a secret cult? What Do you mean by secret cult? You see, this is part of the ignorance that is peddled around, a secret organization will not be registered. ROF is registered under the company Act; ROF is a legally registered organization. A secret society will not worship publicly in places that are known to people, the addresses of all the headquarters and the branches are known to people. A secret society will not know the members, we know the members, a secret society will not have anything written, we have a constitution of this ROF.

A secret society will not hold meetings in the day or in places where people can see them; we hold meetings in the day and in places where people can see us. they tell me that they close their doors, but even in churches you have to close your door at times. It is just that people don’t know what they do there and they assume a lot of things. The only thing is that the society has its own secrets, just like every other society has its own secret.

What are the benefits of ROF?

As a society that goes with truth and love and harmony is of God and it is practicing love of faith in line with the injunction of God, you will know that there is reliability in there.

It is a place where you can go and do business with your brother with your eyes closed, with your mind at peace. You can know that you can worship your God under any guise knowing that there is only one God; you can know that when you get to any place where these people are, you can rest assured that your family are there. Right now, I can go to any city or country now to strike a deal with any member and he will take me serious more than any other person who is not a member.

The trust is the thing there, the brotherhood there, the fraternal relationship is there, and when you are doing business with anybody that is your brother, know he cannot take your money away. You know he cannot kill you, you know he cannot do anything negative or anything that could harm you. But there are politicians there and politicians do lie, how do you manage this?

I am a politician, and I don’t lie, and I know you have known me for over 10years now and I Know that you know that I don’t lie and I am a politician, or have you ever seen me telling lies? You see, politics does not make you. But if you are a liar, even if you are in heaven, you will still lie. After all, Satan was one of the best Angels of God but he became the devil. So, if you are a liar and you find your way to Ogboni fraternity and it has become your habit to lie, definitely you will still lie.

But if you are a truthful person and find yourself in the business of politics, you will not lie. So it is you who wants to lie and not the system that makes you to lie.

So, there are persons from different political parties together in ROF, how do you handle that?

That is the beauty of it. You are not going to see any difference in us. In fact, we deal with each other as children from the same father and mother. We can go and do our politics outside and when we come back in the evening, we embrace each other. If there is anybody that is killing each other out there, we are not concerned. Because there will be no reason for you to kill your brother if you call him your brother, since we have swear an oath not to kill our brother and even not to do anything against the love of God and against the law of the nation.

So if you don’t want to die of the repercussion of breaking your oath, you must behave well. Whether it is APC, PDP, APA, Labour, APGA, or any other political party, you must remember you are one and must see each other as brother who must not hurt each other. Can you settle quarrels that do not emanate from the gathering? There is no problem that you take there that cannot be settled because that is one of the things which we were guided by; that is, to be at peace with all men at all times and you must forgive others their sins. You see, forgiveness is one of basic rule of the organisation.

You are also pastor of a gospel church, how do you manage the relationship?

I grew up as a Catholic, even I grew up as one of the sacristy boys on the altar before I later joined another gospel church. But for some time, for what happened in Christianity, and in some churches I do not go to church again. I took to fraternity, to mysticism, and spiritualism.

I was studying very hard, reading the Bible, Holy Quran, and other spiritual books and practicing them and I found my way into the fraternity, Amorc, Reformed Ogboni fraternity and Freemasonry, and in the process, God called me. But because I was not suffering any physical, social or spiritual problem, I was socially accepted and acceptable, I had my job, money was not my problem, so Ignored the call of God, and the call from God kept coming and I delayed. God now began to punish me in many ways so that I could heed the call in time, to the extent that people would lie against me.

My businesses started going down, so many things were happening to me that I had to heed the call of God and that was since about six years ago that I have heeded the call of God. I have been doing his will. In fact, I would not have had any business with church if not for God that called me because majority of the pastors of churches nowadays are liars.

They will see visions that are not true and you know I hate lies so much. And when God called me, he even gave me some specific instructions not to attend certain churches and I have to heed his call. And thank God, I have been doing well since then and I have been seeing the very beautiful hands of God in my life.

I want you to explain spiritualism as it relates to the physical realm? All things that you see in the physical realm emanate from the spiritual realm. And what is the spiritual realm?

It is the realm of the invisible, the realm of vibration, the realm of waves, the realm of sound, the realm of the world, the realm of intangibility.

The realm where things that will happen in the physical must first of all be incubated, the realm which determines and controls the physical, so it is the realm of God, and who is God?

God is spirit and what is spirit?

Spirit is not what you can hold with your hands, but that gives you power in the invisible realm to manifest his glory in the physical realm. So, whatever is to happen to you in the physical realm must first womb bed and wall so that the fibroid won’t grow again.” Commenting on recurrent STDs that never seem to have permanent cure, Aworonke told Daily Times that it cannot happen with her treatment.

“Except it is a spiritual curse, there is no disease that has no natural medicine to control and eliminate it. It is like using the right tool for the right work and you get an excellent result. “I don’t believe in drugs or treatment that you use for one or two days and there are no changes; come to my clinic and a trial will convince you. My advice to STD carriers is that if one partner is infected, whether fresh or old infection, the couple should be treated together and for the same length of time to avoid a reoccurrence.’ God all through my life and it has paved ways for me at all times. As to how God answers prayers, I want to say that everybody is God in his own right as empowered by God. It depends on your faith in God, you see, invocations, proclamations and affirmations are just normal. You see, what you think you are doing through other gods, you are actually doing through God the Almighty. For instance, if you keep on hammering things to yourself now something you ordinarily would not have gotten in the next one year, but because of your faith that you will have it in few weeks and you keep on saying it to yourself that you want it, believe me you will have it. So, there is no way iron or wood and any other symbol carved as gods will do anything for you, it is God that approves and answers all prayers. It only depends on your faith, perseverance and consistency. It is you that is talking, it is the power of the spoken word in you given by God that is doing it. That is one of the things that I learnt in the study of spiritualism and spiritism; you can put anything down and begin to chant incantations and when God answers the prayers, you think it is one Ogun, or one idol that you put down that is doing it. But mind you because you took that negative way or means to achieve this, there will be repercussion because God is against idol worshiping and there is nothing you do whether negative or positive on earth that you will not get the reward before you die.

Do you believe in destiny? And can you explain it?

I believe in destiny; what you call destiny is what some people manifested in the spiritual realm and you cannot have the physical real without the spiritual.

Do you have negative and positive in the spiritual?

“Yes”, just like we have positive and negative in the physical. Is religion better than cult or fraternity in the real sense? I say ‘No”, and “Yes”, because if you are a celestial church member and you light your candle to kill, that is evil, and if you are a Catholic member and you use your holy water to curse, that is bad, if you are cult member or you are a fraternal member and you use your spiritual powers to pray for your friend or enemy, that is good, but if you use either of them negatively, that is bad.

What is the way of God and that of the devil?

The Way of God and work of God is anything Good, and the way of the devil is anything bad and devilish Ask because of some people who believe that God’s ways are slow, they prefer to consult the devil or Idols which they believe act faster? There cannot be anything faster than God and there cannot be anything slower than God. You see, it depends on the way you make use of his powers in you, but all the ways you may want to apply must be pure because everything you sow, you shall reap, meaning that whichever way you may go towards achieving things has its own repercussion. And nothing you do on earth that you will not get its reward. So it is better to choose the clean, pure and God- approves ways of doing things to achieve anything in life because as for me, I have maintained the positive ways of new things into his life at the point he was coming to earth before he is formed in character. These two, the past and the present would now mold themselves together to form his destiny. That is, you have some things that must happen to you because of your past reincarnation, I have some things that must happen to me because of my past reincarnation.

When you were in your mother’s womb, what your mother was saying, the environment she was living in, what your father was saying to your mother up till the time you grow up and become the person of your own mind, you have the society which you live at present, so the past and the present would combine to give you your destiny.

MENTAL DECOLONIAZATION

The British government spends €600 million annually on the BBC World Service (the BBC's international advertising branch). And every week, this World Service reaches 96 million people in Africa, the channel's largest audience.

Now ask yourself, why would the British government spend 600 million euros EVERY YEAR to inform African people?

As Carter G. Woodson said ′′If you can control a man's thinking, you don't have to worry about his actions.  When you determine what a man should think, you don't have to worry about what he is going to do.  If you make a man feel inferior, you don't have to force him to accept an inferior state, because he will look for you himself. If you make a man think he is just an outcast, you don't have to send him to the back door.  He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one."

Now, here it comes: France.

Every year, France spends 273 million euros on 3 international advertising media: 140 million euros on Radio France Internationale (which reaches 40 million people every week mainly in Africa);  80 million euros in France 24 (the aspiring French CNN, which hit 45 million people a week, mostly in Africa);  and 63 million euros on TV 5, a channel to disseminate the French language and culture of French-speaking countries in the world, which reaches around 55 million people weekly, mostly in Africa.

Again, ask yourself, why would the French government spend €273 million EVERY YEAR to inform the African people

The answer is simple.  There is a war in your mind!

As George Orwell said, ′′The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and destroy their own understanding of their history", and these means, disguised as informing and amusing the African people, have only one Agenda: to corrupt our understanding  of ourselves, our reality and the world, implanting in the minds of our young people ideas and concepts that ultimately lead us to believe in what will happen in the period of political or economic crisis.

The logic behind the huge media domination in Africa by these Western powers is to prepare Africans for a subservient role in this world.  It is a process of dehumanization as Steve Biko put it some time ago.

′'The most powerful weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed′′ - Steve Biko

From Genghis Khan to Hitler, they know that once we win the propaganda war, it is easier to conquer any nation.

′'The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and their own are the same. "Marie-Henri Beyle

The African elite now receives 100% of its information from Europeans. If something happens in Lagos or Accra, they would receive news from CNN or the BBC.

 ′′We become slaves the moment we hand over the keys to defining someone else's reality, be it a business, an economic theory, a political party, the White House, Newsworld or CNN. 

 ~ B.W.  Powell

African governments must take strong measures to restrict the issuance of foreign propaganda in their territory.

Africa's intellectuals must step out of their comfort zone and join the frontline of offensive intellectual independence.

Any country that does not print its own dictionary is colonized or will be soon!

He who defines, governs.

Words are the building blocks of reality.  The reality belongs to whoever makes the blocks!

As Marimba Ani said, ′'Your culture is your immune system", once taken from you, you are helpless, vulnerable. This is why Africa's enemies are investing so much in destroying your immune system.

Deep Africa

26 LIFE PRINCIPLES YOU CAN EXPLORE FOR A FRUITFUL NEW YEAR

      A 

      ACCEPT

      Accept others for 

      who they are and 

      for the choices they 

      have made even if 

      you have difficulty 

      understanding their 

      beliefs, motives 

      or actions....

      B  

      BREAK AWAY

      Break away from 

      everything that 

      stands in the way 

      of what you hope 

      to accomplish 

      with your life....

      C  

      CREATE

      Create a family 

      of friends whom 

      you can share your 

      hopes, dreams, 

      sorrows, and 

      happiness together.....

      D  

      DECIDE

      Decide that you’ll be 

      successful & happy 

      come what may, and 

      good things will find 

      you. The roadblocks 

      are only minor

      obstacles along 

      the way.....

      E   

      EXPLORE

      Explore & experiment. 

      The world has much 

      to offer, and you 

      have much to give.

      And every time you 

      try something new,

      you’ll learn more 

      about yourself.....

      F

      FORGIVE

      Grudges only weigh 

      you down and inspire 

      unhappiness *&* grief. 

      Soar above it, and 

      remember that 

      everyone makes

      mistakes.....

      G

      GROW

      Leave the childhood 

      monsters behind. They 

      can no longer hurt you 

      or stand in your way....

       H

       HOPE

      Hope for the best 

      and never forget that 

      anything is possible 

      as long as you remain 

      dedicated to the task.....

      I   

      IGNORE

      Ignore the negative 

      voice inside your head.

      Focus instead on your 

      goals and remember 

      your accomplishments. 

      Your past success is only 

      a small inkling of what 

      the future holds.....

      J

      JOURNEY

      Journey to new worlds, 

      new possibilities, is 

      mostly by remaining 

      open-minded. 

      Try to learn something 

      new every day and you 

      will grow in Knowledge.....

      K

      KNOW

      Know that no matter 

      how bad things seem,

      to be they will always 

      get better.

      The harshest Winter

      is followed by the 

      Warmth of Spring.....

      L       

      LOVE

      Let love fill your 

      heart instead of hate.

      When hate is in your 

      heart, there is NO room 

      for anything else, 

      but when love is in 

      your heart, there’s 

      room for endless 

      happiness.....

      M

      MANAGE

      Manage your time and 

      your expenses wisely,

      and you’ll suffer less 

      stress and worry. 

      Then you’ll be able to 

      focus on the important 

      things in life....

      N

      NOTICE

      Never ignore the poor, 

      infirm, helpless, weak, 

      or suffering people.

      Offer your assistance 

      when possible, and 

      always your kindness 

      and understanding.

       O

      OPEN

      Open your eyes and 

      take in all the beauty 

      around you. 

      Even during the 

      worst of times, 

      there’s still much 

      to be thankful for.....

       P     

       PLAY

      Never forget to have 

      fun along the way.

      Success means nothing 

      without happiness.....

      Q

      QUESTION

      Ask many questions, 

      because you are here 

      to learn & be informed.....

      R

      RELAX

      Refuse to let worry 

      and stress rule your 

      Life, and remember 

      that things always 

      have a way of working 

      out in the end....

      S

      SHARE

      Share your talent,

      skills, knowledge, 

      and time with others.

      Everything that you 

      invest in others will 

      return to you many 

      times Multiplied....

        T        

      TRY

      Even when your 

      dreams seem 

      impossible to reach, 

      try anyway. You’ll be 

      amazed by what you 

      can accomplish....

       U      

      USE

      Use your gifts to 

      your best ability. 

      Talent that is wasted 

      has no value. Talent 

      that is made into 

      efforts will bring 

      unexpected rewards....

       V        

      VALUE

      Value the friends and 

      family members who 

      have supported and 

      encouraged you & be 

      there for them as well.....

       W       

      WORK

      Work hard every day 

      to be the best person 

      you aspire to be, but 

      never feel guilty if you 

      fall short of your goals. 

      Every sunrise offers 

      a second chance.....

       X         

      X-RAY

      Look deep inside the 

      hearts of those around 

      you and you will see 

      the goodness and 

      beauty within.....

      Y

      YIELD

      Yield to commitment.

      If you stay on track 

      and remain dedicated, 

      you will find success 

      at the end of the road....

      Z

      ZOOM

      Zoom to a happy 

      place when bad 

      memories or sorrow 

      rears its ugly head.

      Let nothing interfere 

      with your goals. 

      Instead, focus on 

      your abilities, in 

      your dreams, and 

      a brighter tomorrow......

 Wishing us all  a blessed and fulfilled 2022

Thursday 30 December 2021

IS IT A SCAM OR BREACH IN NIGERIA?

You bought pole, you bought the cable & you bought the meter. And you contributed money to buy or replace the community transformer.

As soon as you have done all these, they automatically become their property.

Then the fraudster Electricity Distribution Companies  will, without taking the meter reading, sends outrageous estimated bills to you for power never consumed. And if you dare raise a question against their barefaced robbery, they will come and remove the cable you bought with your money as their property.

Then you will be charged what they call re-connection fee to get your cable fixed back.

And you will have to bribe their personnel to replace a melted fuse or you will remain perpetually in darkness and still pay the bill at the end of the month.

The most heinous part of their corporate crime against the people is the revenue target they set for their personnel as to how much they intend to rob Nigerians every month.

 This daylight robbery from Electricity Distribution Companies Must Stop!

Credit : Orovwigho Bamidele

ODU IFA IROSUN IRETE

Under Irosun-Irete, Ifa mentioned that a stranger can be king by divine choosing sometimes. But then, only if chosen through Ifa divination.

In other cases, families of founder of towns are the ones to produce Ọmọ Oye.

Depending on how many people founded the town and how vast it becomes, rotational kingship is done or Ifa is used to choose who is to lead from that ancient lineage.

There are times that a warlord becomes an accidental part of the royal family if he conquered or come to the rescue of the town during the time of siege.

Oranmiyan for example because the king of the land of anger using his wisdom of political coordination and Human Resources Management even though he is originally from Ile-Ife.

From historical records, each first founders or aboriginals... Or the first settlers of each towns are mostly the royal families.

Èjìogbè, Eji Oko, Àtègbè, Ofuntena have similar narratives.

By ⁨Lord Adel⁩

ÌWÀ

Prof Moyo Okediji wrote:

“Olódùmarè has several wives,” my father said. “Do you know that?”

We were strolling back home from his writing workshop that evening, and I was seventeen. I always accompanied him to his writing workshops where he taught playwriting.

I was a freshman undergraduate at the University of Ife at that time.

I was taking a university class on Ifa taught by Professor Wande Abimbola who later became the Vice Chancellor and internationally famous. At that time, the professor was not yet famous.

For the first time, Professor Abimbola was introducing us in class to the subject of Olódùmarè.

Throughout my primary and secondary school days, we learned about all sorts of foreign Gods, but nothing about Olódùmarè.

As we returned from the playwriting workshop, I began to tell my father about what I learned in the Ifa course from my professor.

“Did your professor teach you about the wives of Olódùmarè?” my father asked.

“No.”

“Ask him. The wives of Olódùmarè are countless. Anybody who came to Olódùmarè, Olódùmarè accepted. Ìwà, came, and Olódùmarè accepted her. Sùúrù came and Olódùmarè accepted her. Ajé came, and Olódùmarè accepted her. Àláfíà, Ayọ̀, Ìrètí, Àánú, they all came, and Olódùmarè accepted each and every one of them.”

I listened attentively because my father often spoke in parables to me.

“Even Ọ̀bùn, and Ọ̀lẹ came and Olódùmarè accepted them. Ọtí too came, and Olódùmarè accepted her,” baba continued. “Do you know the only one Olódùmarè rejected?”

I shook my head. “No,” I said.

“Àṣejù,” baba said. “Olódùmarè kọ àṣejù. Rejected her immediately. Do you know why?”

“Àṣejù kò dára. Àṣejù is nasty,” I replied.

“You are the true son of your father,” baba said, patting my back. “You too, in whatever you do, be like Olódùmarè. Reject Àṣejù. Accept everything; everything is fine. You can handle anything with everything, as long as you don’t add Àṣejù to it.”

I nodded my head to show my understanding of his parable.

“The most beautiful woman in the world is Ìwà,” baba concluded. “But once you add Àṣejù, everything turns nasty. May Àṣejù not enter our house.” 

****

Iwa is the title of the final painting I completed this year 2021. I just finished painting it.

In the year 2022, may Àṣeju not tarnish our Ìwà.

May 2022 be abo (female) and not akọ (male).

2022 will bring us all sorts of great opportunities. We should accept them. But we must reject Àṣejù.

Those who understand this parable, please explain to others who don’t.

Wednesday 29 December 2021

WHO IS A HERO?

A true Hero is not a character whose existence is flawless. No! They make grand mistakes and their life is a lesson in grand overcoming. They sort out their destiny in the process of bearing the burden of all.  A hero is human by every standard, but a human with adamantine guts, who matches on still, despite overwhelming challenges  and despite being able to traverse personal trajectory of challenges and failures.

I repeat again, they are human by every standard.  It is their uncommon ability to overcome difficulties, situations & experiences that makes them appear like out-of-the-world  entities while attracting sobriquets like spirit or Orisha or ...

Heroes exist in every sphere of life. They could be as high up as kings or presidents. They could be as ‘lowly’ as truck pushers, nannies, etc.

We are all created in that mold. We all have heroic potentials and can be a reflection of uncommon deeds, if we choose to, if we boldly stand in our powers!

Being a hero is earned and does not just drop from heaven.  You may be a king and your reign might turn out uneventful or unheroic!

Awolowo, Azikiwe, Nkrumah, Mandela, Fela and a host of other souls fit into the cast of heroic models.

~ aas

Symbol of Ìṣẹ̀ṣe - Yorùbá Religion

This is how Ifá explains it:

- Iwájú Ọpọ́n

- Ẹ̀yìn Ọpọ́n

- Olùmú Ọ̀tún

- Olùkànràn Òsì

- Àárín Ọpọ́n Ìta Ọ̀run....

The Symbol is simply telling us about the Philosophical concept of the Four Cardinal Points (Igun Mẹ́rin Ayé) and its cosmological meanings as it was arranged and explained by Ọ̀rúnmìlà Baraà mi Àgbọnnìrègún through IFÁ - the esoteric language of OLÓDÙMARÈ, and which is the Centrality of the Existence of Humanity, Divinity, and the Cosmos.

Ifá says:

Ìbọrú

Ìbọyè

Ìbọ sísẹ

Iwájú ọpọ́n

Ẹ̀yìn ọpọ́n

Àarin gbùngbùn ọpọ́n - ìta abàyà gbà á 

Dífá fún Ọ̀rúnmìlà 

Níjọ́ ogun ayé mú un lọ́rùn dun dun dun 

Wọ́n ní kó rúbọ 

Kó fi ẹran ọ̀bọ bọ òkè ìpọ̀nrí rẹ̀ 

A ṣẹ́gun nígbà yí 

A ti ṣẹ́gun 

Ifá tí fi ẹran ọ̀bọ bọ́ lọ́wọ́ ogun.....

By Awo Ifatola Akinwunmi 

Source: The Power of ifa

Tuesday 28 December 2021

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

An Igbo girl from Nibo, present-day Anambra State, with ùlì designs on her skin. Photographed by Northcote Thomas c. 1911. MAA Cambridge.

■ 𝗨𝗹𝗶 (𝗨𝗿𝗶) 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗴𝗯𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀.𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆. 𝗨𝗹𝗶 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀.

■ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 "𝘂𝗹𝗶" 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗴𝗯𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗹𝗶.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀.

Origin:

■ 𝘂𝗹𝗶 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗴𝗯𝗼-𝘂𝗸𝘄𝘂 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 9𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Think of the following as you begin to think of your new year resolution. Whatever you believe, commit to it.

“Before I travelled to Israel, I used to believe that the Jews' phenomenal achievements in all areas of human endeavours was because they were the annoited of God but the thought vanished after  spending three days there. I saw things for myself. First there is no milk and honey flowing in their land. It was a desert with acute shortage of rainfall and water. For Agric they depend on massive irrigation. The Jews  are extremely hardworking, resourceful and innovative. They are determined to rise above the challenges in their environment. The Jews are not Christians but Judaists. The main difference between Judaism and Christianity is the total rejection of Jesus as the messiah. They also do not believe a word in the New Testament. In their Bible there's no new testament. Despite their abhorrence of Christianity and Jesus, they were smart enough to explore the commercial opportunities that pilgrimage offers. Israel makes billions of dollars yearly by commercializing a belief or faith they do not share.

Jesus was not killed by the Roman rulers of Judea but by his fellow Jews who saw him as a threat to the Religious establishment. Over 2000 years after, they are yet to change their mind about him.

More than 90% of the Nobel laureates you listed are atheists. Albert Einstein who was declared as the greatest scientist of the 20th    

Century was an atheist. He neither accepted Christianity nor Judaism.

Looking at the countries that are doing well in the world,  you will see that it has nothing to do with their religious beliefs or special favours from God. Their progress has more to do with the choices they have made. Look at Donald trump  he does not read the bible but he knows that to win an election in America, you must pretend to share the sentiments of the evangelical Christians. That was precisely what he did.

Japan was the first country in the world to achieve the feat of turning its name into a brand. Once you see made in Japan on any product you are assured of its excellent quality. Japanese people are neither Christians, Muslims nor Judaists. They achieved success because they are hardworking, resourceful, innovative and honest. What of Singapore that leapt from the fringes of third world to the first world? I can go on and on.

In Nigeria despite being blessed with huge natural and human resources, we do not want to succeed by vigorously exploiting the resources. We are dreamers  hoping to succeed without lifting our fingers. We are miracle chasers who also cut corners. This explains why there is a huge market in Nigeria for diviners, sorcerers, prophets and Pentecostal pastors who promise prosperity without labour.

The Chinese are fast becoming our new masters in Africa. In 1960, Nigeria had a better prospect for success than China and Singapore. In fact Western Region in Nigeria had television before Australia.

Look at UAE: Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most visited tourist cities in the world. This was inconceivable just 20 years ago. They are 100% Muslims. This is the same religion that is exporting terror in many Arab and African countries including our dear country Nigeria. No UAE citizen has been accused anywhere in the world of involvement in terrorism. Their cities are more modern than Paris, New York and London.

Therefore, I do not share the belief that the greatness of the Jews has anything to do with fulfilment of any prophecy. On the contrary, it can only be attributed to their iron-cast determination to succeed in the face of all odds. It is awkward to attribute Einstein's success to any special blessing when the man never believed in God or offered any prayer throughout his lifetime.

Material success has nothing to do with God. If it were so, Nigerians should be the richest people on earth because our greatest export apart from crude oil is religion.”

"Let's get to work"

By Olu Daramola SAN

Monday 27 December 2021

OÒNÍ ÒGÚNWÙSÌ AND THE JEZEBELS

One of the stories about the creation of the Earth (and there are many of them), is found in the Bible. The actor and actress are Adam and Eve. How Eve tempted Adam to destroy his life and made him to lose the Garden of Eden is all known to all those familiar with the Biblical story. Going through the Bible, one would encounter Delilah. Further explorations would put one in contact with Jezebel.

Jezebel was a Phoenician princess in the 9th century. In 922 BC to be specific, she married Ahab, the prince of Israel. Eventually, they ruled as king and queen. Jezebel continued to worship the nature god Baal. Her citizens and the Yahweh prophet Elijah despised such actions. Preparing herself to be murdered by General Jehu, she applied makeup and dressed in finery before she was thrown over her balcony and eaten by dogs.

This Ooni Eniitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II has a lot of challenges. One is always critical of him. But on this issue, one would like to carry the water for him. Most women of nowadays are Jezebels. They are as arrogant as they are condescending. They want to turn their husbands to robots to be remotely controlled. They are full of themselves. Their tantrums are very toddleric but schematic and diagrammatic.

They are howlingly hollow in their thoughts which are simultaneously,  richly imbued with weird depths of cunningness and deceit. They are dangerously diabolical and infernal. Husbands of such genre of women who remained alive in spite of them, are very lucky indeed. Usually they are beautiful on the outside. But on the inside, they are darker than the devil itself. They have misty, murky and muddy minds. In the words of that evergreen and greatest Yorùbá novelist, D. O. Fagunwa, they are the "Kámi-kàmì-kámi" category. Dazzling but deadly. Physiologically splendid but perilous.

Left unfettered, they have destroyed kingdoms. They have kneecapped Nations. They have destroyed beautiful homes. They have dissipated fortunes. In some cases, like the Shakespearean Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra, they have destroyed great men. Bewitching with their beauty, they are billows of bleakness and whirlwinds of anguish. They don't feel. They are cold-blooded. Mean. Mercilessly rapacious. Their àtubòtán is usually grievous and  calamitous, not only for themselves, but for the men who had been victimized by them. Only few men had gone through them with limited scars.

They are greedy. Self-centered. Egotistic and egoistic. They have no values except to cater to their putrid gratifications. They are insatiable in all ramifications. They have no scintilla of gratitude and appreciation in their bones. Their narcissism is consummate and of maximalist genre. They burn like luciferous inferno when they are thwarted and their desired gratifications are granulated. It doesn't make any difference even when they have their ways. It is their nature, like that of a poisonous serpent that could never repent.

More often,  these kind of women are intractable. They see themselves beyond any control and have no iota of ability for patience and sacrifice. Being free to do what they like, some of which are disgusting and opprobrious, is what their ilk desire. They gallivant around arrogantly, vaunting their beelzebubic beauty, using that to trap, trounce and trip the unwary good men seeking true love and affection.

To be candid, Ooni Ogunwusi has not managed the situation well either. Why is he making the Oloris public? They are not to be seeing or heard. They are to remain permanently behind the scenes, behind the curtains, shielded, shrouded and cocooned from "public eyes." He set himself up for this kind of embarrassment by giving them the clout they do not have and obviously, do not deserve. Does he consider himself a Governor with a First Lady?

He has allowed himself to be used by these unscrupulous Jezebels who came to cultivate an image of royalty when in fact they are dregs, only to embarrass him after getting what they want. This is why some of us are shouting ourselves hoarse that he does not know how to be King. Oonirisa, not just an ordinary king, would be divorced by a woman? What a travesty! An abomination!

However, the fact that Oonirisa has had divorces does not mean he still could not be a great King. He still has the chance to make corrective steps. One has heard some foolish and uninformed comments that this shows that he was not capable. He would not be the first royalty to have marital problems. We have had Presidents, Kings and Queens who had marital issues. 

For example, Nelson Mandela married three times. From George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison (who served 32 days only as President of the United States), John Tyler, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland to Warren Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight Einsenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush, all had marital troubles. John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson both lost their wives during their presidency, and remarried during their term.

Also there were a lot of good monarchs who had no marital bliss. Queen Victoria of England's marriage to Prince Albert was described as "misery." King Henry VIII also of England, had six wives - Catherine Part, Catherine Howard, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon . The Russian longest ruling Czarina (female Czar), Catherine the Great had a troubled marriage with Peter III, himself a great grandson of Peter the Great.

While some men may have their challenges too in marital situations, some women are better not encountered. Whatever the situation, the women who have been coming and going through the Ile-Ife Palace since the ascension of Oòni Ogunwusi are untutored, not properly primed, had no understanding of the role of traditional Oloris. They came with the misguided, heretic, blasphemous, sectarian and revisionist idea of "one man one wife" which is antithetical to our Yorùbá traditions.

Our Kings in Yorùbá land were and still are not made for hypocritical, sanctimonious, pharasiacal and duplicitous Caucasoid philosophy of "one man, ounsuitable. "Any woman who comes into any palace in Yorùbá land expecting to marinate in this dubious European marital concept, is unfit, ill-equipped, out of place and unsuitable".

Please, on this, Give Ooni Ogunwusi a break.

By Rèmí Oyèyemí Dec. 25, 2021

7 HEALTH BENEFITS OF LOCUST BEAN (IRU)

Locust bean, commonly referred to as iru by Yorubas, ‘ogiri', ‘dawa dawa’ by Igbos, is a local seasoning or condiment used in soups and stews. A very popular soup ingredient, globally, it is referred to as African locust bean with the botanical name as Parkia biglobosa.

It can be found in a wide range of environments in Africa and is primarily grown for its pods that contain both a sweet pulp and valuable seeds.

The yellow pulp, which contains the seeds, is naturally sweet “and is processed into a valuable carbohydrate food known as sikomu and daddawa among the Yoruba and Hausa people respectively.

The most valuable parts of the locust bean are high in lipid (29%), protein (35%), carbohydrate (16%), and is a good source of fat and calcium for rural dwellers.

The seed is first cooked to remove the seed coat and then fermented to produce the desired result. When it is fermented, the Yoruba have a way of getting two types from it, the mashed type and the loose or free type, and they are used for different types of soups, but for the same purpose.

1. The fermented locust bean seed is used in controlling diabetes and cholesterol level.

2. It helps to promote good sight and aids digestion.

3. It is used for treating stroke and hypertension.

4. The water and alcoholic extracts of fermented locust bean is used to reduce blood sugar.

5. It is used in the management of bacterial infections.

6. The locust bean contains tannins, which is often recommended for the treatment of diarrhoea.

7. It is a potential benefit for enhancing weight loss.

The crushed bark of the locust bean tree has also been revealed to help in wound healing and serves as one of the ingredients used in treating leprosy. The decoction of the bark is also used as bath for fever and as a hot mouth wash to steam and relieve toothache in Cote d’Ivoire.

•Culled from www.naij.com

James Webb Space Telescope successful launched on Christmas morning!

The Webb will play the role of an infrared detective, detecting light that is invisible to us and revealing otherwise unseen regions of space.

Webb is ready to help us understand the universe's origins and begin to address fundamental issues about our existence, such as where we came from and whether we are alone in the universe.

The Webb telescope will study every stage of cosmic evolution, from the earliest glimmers after the "big bang' that created our universe through the birth of galaxies, stars, and planets that populate it today. The observatory's capabilities will allow it to answer questions about our own solar system as well as analyze feeble signals from the earliest galaxies, which formed 13.5 billion years ago.

https://www.renaissancereports.com/space-law-blog

ABOUT AFRICANS

The brutal words of "Richard Smith", famous British guitarist, during an interview...

I have been asked many times what I think of Africans, here is what I think of Africans, without language and without taboos.

They sell everything to the highest bidder, even the land. Then they poison themselves with everything that is available.

Their pastors or so called men of God. They rob their congregations and become billionaires in their very poor nations. They made the churches to become family inheritance...the father, the mother, children and other business interests.

"I am not racist because I do not believe for a single second that I am superior to a Black man". The difference with them is that, "we think of our descendants", we are calculators, we protect our interests and we'll kill for that if need be".

"We are not emotional, we have passed this stage". If the Lion has pity on the Gazelle, it is he who will die of hunger. "They have lions at home, but they do not understand the laws of nature"!!!.

"For everything, they confide in Superstition and Religion".

The difference between the others and Blacks is, "while others reflect, Blacks do not think, they do not use their intellectual capacity and very few Blacks are analytical".

And when a few Black people pierce through, we admit them to our side or eliminate them in one way or another, most often, with the hand of other Blacks.

"We brought them our God and continuously invent fuzzy concepts to confuse them more".

In a hundred years, their descendants will be more slaves than they are now!!!

"They are already more unhappy than the generation of their parents", and they naively believe that numbers will be their strength.

"Just watch how they drown at sea to come icer to Europe". We conquered them with a few tens of ours and the active help of theirs leaders (Blacks selling their own for FAKE JOBS/PROSTITUTION).

We forced them to speak and write in our languages!!!..they even judge each other by how much one can speak like us. We will control their descendants more than we control them right now. 

(Happening already!)

lf given opportunity they are ready to abandon their land to come over as willing slaves, rather than with determination and commitment build their land.

Other people understood our game, (like the Chinese, Indians, Koreans,etc.) they started to use the same technical knowledge as us to protect and dissuade, but the Blacks did not understand anything.

"I'm sorry to be so brutal in my submission. Nothing personal, I'm just plain."  (Richard Smith)

lf you have ever read this, please reflect on it.

THE STORY OF ‘FAME’ MAGAZINE (Truth is Sacred)

I read excerpts of the story of FAME magazine written by one of the founders, Femi Akintunde-Johnson (FAJ) on Facebook. Two things stood out for me.

First, was his assertion that I assumed the “headship” of FAME because I was the oldest among the three founders (Mayor Akinpelu, Kunle Bakare  and Femi Akintunde-Johnson) and no one was ready to drag the headship with me.

The other was the argument that the Ojukwu/Bianca story triggered the birth of FAME. That was a ridiculous assertion.

Before the Ojukwu/Bianca story, I had written the Tejuoso/Okoya wedding story that started what is known today as celebrity journalism. Prior to that story, most of the lead stories in Prime People magazine at the time were strange or unusual stories. I also did the Akeem Olajuwon story titled ‘The Dream and His Millions’. That was when the NBA superstar came to Nigeria on a visit. So the Ojukwu/Bianca story couldn’t have triggered the formation of FAME.

It was true that FAJ gave Kunle Bakare the gist that the Biafran warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu was romancing Bianca Onoh, the then most beautiful girl in Nigeria. Kunle Bakare mentioned it at the editorial meeting. The story was assigned to Kunle Bakare and me to work on. The source that assisted us in getting the details of the story was a friend of mine who was the daughter of a prominent politician from the East. This lady was also very close to Ojukwu. It was the lady in the course of working on the story that facilitated my entering Ojukwu’s Ikoyi home to confirm the large size portrait of Bianca that was placed in Ojukwu’s sitting room.

In the course of moving around the house I encountered a guy, who was one of the aides of Ojukwu, who I suspected was the source that gave FAJ the story. He was very uncomfortable and when he had the opportunity to talk to me, he asked how I got to know about the story and if the source of the story wouldn’t leak to anyone. I reassured him. 

When I informed the officials of Silverbird Productions, organizers of The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant, especially Oscar, their General Manager, that Ojukwu was dating Bianca and I needed their reaction, they were stunned. They told me it was not possible. 

Kunle Bakare also travelled to Enugu to interview Bianca’s father, C.C.Onoh. Bianca’s family also said the story couldn’t be true because Ojukwu was like a father to Bianca. When the story was confirmed later, C.C.Onoh was devastated. He sent Bianca’s mother packing from the house when he discovered that Bianca’s mum was in the know all along. C.C. Onoh never accepted the union till he died even when Ojukwu and Bianca got married in an elaborate wedding in Abuja.

So what is the story of FAME?

As society editor and later news editor in Vintage People, I used to write a lot of columns: Vintage People and Parties, Silverspoon, Grass to Grace, Why I Wear What I Wear, Most Embarrassing Moment. The most popular among these columns was Silverspoon, where I interviewed children of successful people born with the proverbial silver spoon.

One day, I got a letter from Benin City informing me that Dr. Iyayi, the son of the owner of Iyayi and Sons, just came back from America to join the family business. The person who wrote the letter argued that he believed Dr. Iyayi was qualified to feature in Silverspoon.  I agreed.

I travelled to Benin City to interview Dr. Iyayi. Later in the evening, he came to visit me at the hotel I was staying. Over drinks, he asked casually how much it would cost to do a magazine like Vintage People. I told him N2m. He said he was interested in going into partnership with me. He would provide the N2m and I would put the magazine together. The share structure would be 50-50. I was excited. He promised to get in touch and I left for Lagos.

I shared that discussion with Kunle Bakare and told him we should start preparing for the magazine. My choice was National Enquirer, the largest circulating newspaper in America at the time. Its uniqueness was that it was a magazine in a newspaper format anchored on celebrities in the entertainment industry. There was nothing like that on the newsstand. Luckily for us, we culled stories from Enquirer regularly at Vintage People especially as it affects Hollywood stars. Kunle, at the time, used to buy Esquire regularly. He had a particular agent that sold foreign magazines that he patronized. We decided we should start buying Enquirer.

I waited to hear from Dr. Iyayi but he didn’t get in touch. While waiting for him, there was a crisis in Quality, a general interest magazine under the Newswatch stable edited by May Ellen Ezekiel (MEE). Later, Mrs. MEE Damijo left and started Classique magazine. They had their office at number 3, Allen Avenue, Ikeja. MEE sent for me and asked me to join Classique. I declined because I was waiting for Dr. Iyayi. She later asked Kunle Bakare to join Classique and Kunle left us to join her.

One day, I went for an assignment at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. On my way back, MEE graciously agreed to give me a ride to Ikeja. While we were coming to Ikeja she said she admired my loyalty to my boss, Mr. Muyiwa Adetiba and she was impressed that I refused to leave Vintage People to join Classique. I confided in her that I didn’t leave because I was working on a magazine that would be different from any other magazine on the newsstand. It would be a magazine in a newspaper format.

MEE was excited. She said we should go to her office so that I could tell her more about the project. When we got to her office, I explained what I had in mind. She said she was interested and how much it would cost to do the magazine. Because I mentioned N2m to Dr. Iyayi, I thought maybe that was the reason he didn’t get in touch so I told MEE I could do the magazine with N1m. I said I would need five investors to bring N200, 000 each and I would have the 50% for me and Kunle Bakare.

MEE said she would bring N200, 000. She also called her friend, Folake Doherty, now Mrs. Wole Soyinka, to invest in the project. There was a snag though, she told me. Kunle Bakare was very important to her in Classique and I had to look for another partner. She suggested that since entertainment was very prominent in the magazine, I should talk to FAJ who was then the entertainment editor at the Punch.

As fate would have it, there was an album launch at the old Niteshift in Opebi and I knew FAJ would be there. I met FAJ at the album launch and I asked to speak with him. I told him about the project and that I wanted him to join me. He asked what I was offering. I said we would have the same shares and the same salary. There and then he told me he was in. It is surprising though, that FAJ conveniently forgot this encounter while writing his book.

After that, I went all out looking for investors. I spoke to Tayo Ayeni of Skymit Motors and he said he was interested. I spoke to a very rich man who as also in the car business. He agreed to take the remaining two slots but others said they couldn’t do business with the man. He was involved in a controversy that had to do with the death of a Central Bank official at the time.

When Kunle Bakare heard that he wouldn’t be part of the project because MEE was not ready to release him, he got angry. He wondered why he would be denied being part of what he had been working on for some time. He started rebelling in Classique. At a point, MEE called me and said she wouldn’t want to stop anybody from realizing his dream and Kunle could join us. That was how we became three. FAJ got involved in the project because MEE didn’t want to release Kunle initially.

It was after this that we started having meetings about the project, first at Kunle’s Ijesha, Surulere home. The first issue was what to call the magazine? I wanted to call the magazine ‘Celebrities’. One of us mentioned that he had seen the name ‘Celebrities’ somewhere and we should be careful so that we were not accused of plagiarism. Kunle then brought out his Thesaurus to check for other names for ‘Celebrities’. That was where we got FAME, Encomium and Ovation. We decided to call the magazine FAME. We discussed different aspects of the magazine and asked FAJ to write the proposal.

Because other investors didn’t want to do business with the last investor, I had to hit the road again looking for investors. The project got stuck while looking for investors. Meanwhile, we still met to fine-tune the project. 

As society editor in Vintage People and later news editor, I used to represent my publisher, Mr. Adetiba, at events. He had asked me to represent him at an event in Rank Xerox in Matori Industrial Estate in Mushin. As I was entering the building for the event, MEE was stepping out. She asked me about the project and I said “my sister, I’m tired, I’m still looking for investors”. She encouraged me and said I should see her later in the office so that she could give me a note to one of her directors. I went to see her and she gave me a note to Mr Tayo Adesanya. His office was in Victoria Island, not far from Eko Hotel.

I went to see Mr Adesanya on a Friday. As I entered his office, he was preparing to go for Jumat prayer. When I told him I had a note for him from MEE, he thought I was there for a media assignment. Mr Adesanya at the time wanted to open a high-rise building in Ikoyi, financed by Alpha Merchant Bank. His cousin, Jimi Lawal, was the M.D of the bank at the time. The land for the high-rise building was leased to Mr Adesanya through his friend, Mr Tunde Savage of Miss Nigeria fame by Ondo State government. Commodore Olabode George was the governor of the state at the time. The official opening of the building was just some weeks away so he thought I was there for publicity. He then asked me to see his GM. When the GM read the note he said I should come back to see the chairman since the message was private. I left the office and I was walking towards Eko Hotel to pick a cab when Mr Adesanya was coming back from Jumat. He saw me and asked if I had been attended to. I told him I was asked to come back. He then told me to follow him back to the office. When we entered his office, he collected the note and read it “MEE said you have a brilliant idea that I may be interested in. Let’s hear it”.

I started talking about this unique concept of a magazine in a newspaper format and that there was nothing like it. He listened attentively and when I was done, he asked if I have a proposal. I said yes and gave it to him. I left.

I got to my office in Vintage People one day long after I had given him the proposal and I got a message that ‘Mr Adesanya would be expecting to see you by 12pm tomorrow’.

I went to his office in Victoria Island full of expectation. As I walked in, he waved to me to sit, and in an offhanded manner without really looking at me, he said “young man, I have looked at your proposal, it can’t work”. I was young and short tempered at the time. I just exploded in rage. I said “Sir, I may be a journalist but I don’t like people insulting me especially rich men who think they can do whatever they like. You mean you summoned me from Ikeja to Victoria Island just to tell me that my proposal cannot work”? I stood up and wanted to leave.

Mr Adesanya said “young man, sit down. I didn’t say I’m not interested, I said the proposal can’t work“. He then explained. He said because I was desperate to do the project, the N1m budget cannot work. You didn’t make provisions for circulation vans; there was no provision for cars, even generator.” He continued; “what I am going to do is to provide everything that you need and N200,000 as running cost.” I was elated. I said “I am not interested in disbursing cash, provide everything that we need and we are ready to hit the street.”

That was when he said he would have 60% holding of the company, 30% for him and 30% for his wife and that he would give me 40%. I refused. I said we were three partners on the project and we have resolved that we wouldn’t give any investor majority shares. Mr Adesanya said “I don’t know your friends, and you can do whatever you like with your own shares.” I said “Sir, we come as a package.” That was how he went on this lecture about helping people and that he didn’t need the magazine. He just wanted to assist. He told me he would increase our shareholding to 45%, 30% for him and 25% for his wife and that was the final offer.

I was in a dilemma. This might be the final opportunity to realize this dream. I felt I had no choice. I said I would agree on one condition. It would be ‘one man one vote’ for the five of us on the board. He agreed. In my naivety, I didn’t know that whoever has the majority shares owns the company. I thought the three of us collectively could always out vote him and his wife.

To show goodwill, he told me that the share capital of the new company would be N1m and that he would pay the N450,000 for our shares. So instead of our shares being concessionary shares it would be fully paid up shares. He told me to go to work while I give him time to put the funding in place. I broke the good news to my colleagues and everybody was happy. None of them was there when I closed the deal. It was only Mr Adesanya and myself.

True to his words, Mr Adesanya gave us the best we could hope for. He first gave us a Mitsubishi Charade for us to use while working on the magazine.

It was Mr Adesanya that bought Jetta Executive for me and Hyudai Excel each for Kunle and FAJ. He bought three circulation vans, generator and everything we needed. The only thing we bought ourselves was the computer from Task Systems. We also got the building we used for FAME from my cousin, Dewunmi Ogunsanya at Wemabod Estate off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja.

We started FAME in 1991 and things were going on well. Then I realized that the chairman wanted control. The first sign was that he summoned us one day and gave us letters of employment to sign. I refused, saying we were not employees and that FAME was our company. My partners agreed with me and we refused to sign. That was the first sign of trouble for me. But what sealed my fate was not the betrayal by my friends but my naivety in not knowing the source of my strength.

Chairman summoned me one day and in the course of our discussion he got angry and started abusing me. While doing that, he mentioned that we were nobodies until he made it possible for us to realize our dream. He then referred to me in Yoruba asking what was my antecedent and that of my family. That was when I made the mistake that sealed my faith. I flew up in rage and told him he was not in a position to insult my family. I told him that my father, Fasasi Ayinde Akinpelu Olowobusanbusan, was a man of means and far richer than him. I added that his uncle, Haruna Ishola, who brought him from America to establish Phonodisk used to perform for my father to dance. He was stunned. He dismissed me and the battle line was drawn. I regretted that outburst and I knew he would come for me but I deluded myself that if we stuck together, Mr Adesanya could not have control in the company.

Contrary to what FAJ wrote in his book we never discussed the issue of rotation of titles. That was broached at the boardroom coup that was planned against me. The next board meeting after my problem with the chairman was when the coup was executed. They had met behind me and perfected everything. I read the ‘State of The Company as the editor/chief executive and when we got to ‘Matters Arising’, the coup was executed.

Kunle Bakare raised his hand and was recognized by the chairman. He said after two years, it is important for us to rejig the magazine for greater efficiency. He posited that instead of combining the post of editor with the chief executive, we should create the post of managing director so that the editor can concentrate on the magazine and the MD the business aspect of the company. The chairman supported him. He asked if I had any objection. I said I didn’t complain about the workload but if that was the consensus, I would go along with it.

Kunle then suggested that FAJ should be the editor, it was adopted. FAJ then raised his hands and suggested Kunle as managing director. I was shocked. The chairman said no objection. He now asked me if I had any objection. I said if FAJ was made editor and Kunle managing director, what would be my position. FAJ said ‘executive editor’. I argued that there was no magazine that rotated its editorship. That if an editor did not deliver, you remove him; you don’t rotate. The chairman said we should put it to vote. There were four of us and I was alone. That was how the coup was executed.

I came back to the office and assessed my options. I told myself I needed time to consider my options. So I said I was going on leave and I travelled to London. I spent three weeks in London. I wanted to resign but my sister, Bisi Okeowo (Shaba), advised that I should not resign.

I resumed after my leave and I was marginalized in decision making. But one incident caused me to make up my mind to leave FAME. One day, FAJ came to me and said he wanted to move into my office since he was the new editor. I told him that it was unnecessary since the two offices (mine and his) were of the same size. The difference was the furniture and he could buy the furniture he needed. He grumbled and I thought we had settled that. I used to drop my key with the security. So when I resumed the following Monday I asked for my key. The security man told me FAJ came over the weekend to move his personal effects into my office and moved mine into his office. He also changed the locks. I was shocked. Has it got to that level? I entered and took the decision to leave FAME for them.

About a week after, I asked someone to tell both of them that I wanted to see them. While seated, I told the story of how FAME was conceived and how it was me that invited everybody into the project including the chairman. I told them they betrayed the friendship with what they did and they just made a huge mistake. I told them that what they have achieved was not only pushing me aside but making it possible for the chairman to get the control he wanted. I told them they would regret this act of betrayal but most importantly they should not write me off because I would be back. I stood up and left the company without looking back. I didn’t even take personal effects.

I got home and considered my options. I registered a company, Celebrities Communications and I also took a decision to find a platform to continue to write. I went to Today’s Choice to meet Mr Coker Onita and he graciously agreed that I could join them as a contributing editor. He gave me a desk at the newsroom. When my partners heard that I was in Today’s Choice, they were delighted. They kept making fun of me; “he would be walking around as if he owns the world, so he can be humbled?” A ti fuck e up (we’ve messed him up)” was their fun line.

I remember that three members of staff came to my house at Dideolu Estate, Ogba. One of them was crying. Why would I go to Today’s Choice? They asked. You should have started another magazine, they counseled. They are making fun of you, they told me. I calmed them down and assured them that I knew what I was doing. I said it was important for me to have a platform, if not I would be forgotten in no time.

While in Today’s Choice I did an interview, in it, one prominent lady who is the daughter of a prominent Nigeria was accused of something grave. Mr Coker Onita and I discussed it and we felt we could be liable if we publish it so we removed the lady’s name. After we had published, my partners got to know that we removed the name of the lady. They saw it as an opportunity to attack me.

For weeks, they used the magazine that I led to form, where I owned 15% share to attack me. The attack was so vicious that Mr Coker Onita reached out to them to ask why they were doing this. They told him that the only way they would stop attacking me and Today’s Choice was if Mr Coker Onita asked me to leave the magazine. Coker Onita refused. He told them what they were doing was not right and that he would stand by me.

That was not enough for them. 

FAJ wrote a petition to NUJ accusing me of ethical misconduct and that I should be investigated. NUJ constituted a panel to investigate and I was told to prepare a defense. I did. At the end of it all I was exonerated. That was the most trying moment of my life. It was their vicious attacks in the magazine that I once headed that made my former wife leave me believing I had messed up my life.

Three years after the crisis in FAME erupted, the chairman accused them of embezzlement and decided to move against them. Surprisingly, they turned to me. They said we should come together to hunt the chairman and insisted that the chairman should pay us off since our shares were fully paid up shares. I knew the chairman played a major role in my removal so I decided to go along with them. We attended several meetings with their lawyers. Then I learnt that while meeting with me they had planned to do another magazine. I decided to stop attending their meetings.

They later convinced the staff to resign enmasse to start another magazine, Encomium. Everybody left so FAME could not come out. They had a meeting with circulation agents and told them FAME was now Encomium. I knew it was a mistake. Mr Adesanya that I knew is a warrior. He wouldn’t take it lying low. I brought out my popcorn, relaxed and started enjoying the drama.

Mr Adesanya was vicious. Kunle and FAJ kept moving from court to police stations, to Kirikiri Prison. At a time they had to be on the run.

FAME never came out from this. 

One day, Mr Adesanya sent for me. He told me to look for a top editor with newspaper background to help put FAME back. I went to see him with a top editor who was a former commissioner.  Mr Adesanya told the guy that “I didn’t know these people, Mayor brought them. They convinced me to remove Mayor without knowing this is what they were planning. I will spend whatever it takes to stop Encomium. This betrayal wouldn’t stand”.

I left believing I had done my bit. I didn’t know what happened but when FAME couldn’t come out by the fourth month, Mr Adesanya sent for me again. As I sat in his office he threw the blackmail at me; “Mayor, are you going to stand idly and allow your baby to die?” I told him “Sir, you don’t like me and I don’t like you. You colluded with my partners to push me out of the company. I would agree to come back not because of you but to prove a point to my partners. But I would come back on two conditions. The first is that you must give me a car as compensation for pushing me out of the company. The second condition is that I don’t want to sign any cheque. Bring your accountant who would be in charge of the finances. He agreed. He asked which car I wanted and I said Honda Accord. He gave me the car but a Tokunbo instead of the brand new he promised.

I started recruiting staff and we brought FAME back. We also organized the best music award ever, FAME Music Awards (F.M.A). Alhaji Teju Kareem of Zmirage put together a wondrous stage that has not been replicated. The awards held at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu.

At exactly two years after, I left to start Global Excellence magazine. Mr Adesanya wrote me a personal letter when I was leaving thanking me for bringing back FAME, my integrity and sense of forgiveness. I still have the letter.

FAJ made it look in his book that I was the problem of the partnership. I was not. He wrote brilliantly about his time in Punch, Climax, FAME and Encomium. He did not write about why he left Encomium to start Treasure and what he did afterwards. 

FAJ used his magazine, Treasure, to write a vicious article about Kunle Bakare that bothers on his integrity and professionalism. Kunle was livid. He is yet to forgive FAJ for that terrible article. When Treasure died and things became difficult for FAJ, he wanted to go back to Encomium. Kunle refused and told him there was no way back for him in Encomium.

I’m one of those who appealed to Kunle to forgive and let bygone be bygone. Despite the betrayal and all that was done to me, I still remain a friend to Kunle and FAJ. I don’t harbour grudges.

My mother who is now 96 years old told me in the heat of the FAME crisis never to look back. She told me that the best way to punish those who don’t like you is to excel. If people want you down, when you do well, it is enough punishment for them.

I was not the problem of the partnership. 

That is the story of FAME. Truth is sacred.

By Mayor Akinpelu 


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