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Oluremi Akintola: How I became a traditional wedding compere

Oluremi Akintola-Samuel, CEO of Strictly Weddings Academy, has trained over 100 women within Nigeria and across the globe. In this encounter with Atanda Sheriff, she speaks about her experiences as a traditional wedding compere industry.

What inspired your passion to go into the traditional wedding compere industry?

First, I would say my mom, because that’s what she also does. I was always going with to events and I saw the several needs in the industry. By the time, I joined the industry it was dominated by older women and a few men. I noticed that the younger people didn’t have a representation in the traditional wedding compere industry and when I saw that need, I said to myself if this is what I love doing I can create a need for the younger generation . That was how I got myself into the industry. I got trained by my mom, in the art of public speaking, the art and business of engagement compering . In addition, I got myself mentors who put me through because at that point my mom was just doing it as a hobby. She was working as a school teacher and compering traditional weddings as a side business. I came into the industry to do it full time and create a space and opportunity for younger people in the industry, and over the years I can say it’s been worthwhile.

How long have you been in the business?

I have been in the business since my mom’s womb, lol. Like I said earlier on, my mom has been in the industry for a long time. I got trained for a while. At some point in 2001 my mom started giving me jobs to do. My mum then gave me the opportunity of getting my own business cards because when I go for events a lot of people were always asking for my number. I remember the first event I went for at that time I was working for an NGO and it was my company’s card that was given to them. I will say that I started in 2003.

What are the challenges you have faced since venturing into the business?

Back in the days people prefer the engagements but now one of the challenges we face is that people are trying to phase out our tradition and culture. Our culture is fading out fast and if we don’t do something about it, we would discover that in some years to come, some children would not even know anything about their culture and that’s a major challenge. It is sad that people do not regard our culture. The challenges we face includes timing. Sometimes people will tell you engagement starts for 7am, you get to the venue by 7am and family members are not even there until 10am.

When people go to the registry and they delay them they wont complain but when its traditional engagement scheduled for minutes they are already hurrying. Sometimes clients expect the whole engagement ceremony to be conducted under 15 minutes. When Muslim clerics are conducting the Nikai, they use 3 hours and sometimes 4 hours and nobody complains or goes after them. Some church weddings also last for up to 4 hours and nobody complains about it because they know the pastor is doing his job and knows what to do. However, most people believe as an Alaga you don’t know what you’re doing so they start complaining that you are wasting their time. People see our culture and traditional values as a waste of time.

It’s unfortunate that some people outside the country value our culture more than we do. Another challenge is issues in family, things like sibling rivalry, abuse from a relative get in the way of the work of Alaga because the children may not know how to go about it at the engagement ceremony so they hold the Alaga responsible for a problem that was not created by the Alaga. Sometimes we see emotions flying around, some brides will tell you I don’t want to have anything to do with my father, I don’t want to take pictures with my father and as the Alaga you’re saddled with the responsibility of handling that chaotic situation. The question is how are you going to take pictures on your wedding day and not take pictures with your father. Sometimes, some people will tell you, ” I don’t want to have anything to do with my mother” , and you are the one that will cover up all those things. Unfortunately, some people that don’t know about what is happening in the families will tell you that you are not doing your job, you are not doing this, you are not doing that. It’s usually a major challenge especially now that our job requires emotional intelligence. If you are not intelligent enough to know that things are happening you won’t even know emotions are flying around and you would just be wondering why is this person behaving in a hostile way.

One of the major challenges we face in the industry is managing family conflicts. Have you fulfilled your dream of raising women to become leaders in the industry?

To the glory of God I have raised over a 100 women in the engagement industry. I started with training few women at a time in groups of doing 5, 10 and in some cases 20 in a year. I have been able to raise successful women in the engagement compere industry by the grace of God and I am still raising, in fact I have a major training coming up in January 2021 for traditional wedding comperes for people who want to brush up, because there are some people who have been in industry for a while and just need to learn how to upgrade themselves in one or two areas. I have been able to raise leader labels in the traditional compere industry.

The Strictly Weddings Academy trainings have been able to raise women who are leading in the engagement compere industry, and we have a training coming up the in January 2021 in Lagos.

January 24, 2021
How facility deficit makes air travel nightmarish for the disabled

In Nigeria, discriminatory policies, facility deficit make air travel nightmarish for the disabled. A plethora of laws exist to protect persons with disabilities in Nigeria, only that airline operators will not respect them in their dealings with special needs passengers. Gbenga Ogundare reports.

If visually disabled Oluwakemi Odusanya had any foreboding about a hitch-free air travel enroute Abuja on Saturday, 19 December, 2020, it was certainly not about the embarrassment and trauma the journalist would eventually suffer in the custody of Dana Airline with whom she was scheduled to fly into Lagos.

The on-air personality at Unilag FM and Administrative Secretary for the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) began to sense a looming trouble when her flight on Dana 9j356 was not announced like other flights at the scheduled 5:50 pm.

“19:00 came, no flight relating to Dana 9j356 was called. I was alarmed,’ she griped, ‘got to the counter, and the officer on duty, said we should be patient, that the operating aircraft had a technical issue and has been resolved.”

The announcement came at 8 pm though, but not from the usual caricature voices that call out through the loud speakers–urging passengers to proceed to board their flight. Instead, Odusanya told this newspaper, “the officer told everyone who was waiting for the flight to come together and then announced: ‘We are sorry, the Dana 9j356 flight to Lagos has been cancelled due to technical issues.’”

And so the trauma began for Odusanya and other passengers. “There was I,’ she groaned, ‘blind and helpless about my next move after being left stranded by Dana Airline.”

It was the first time Odusanya would be travelling by air afterall, so she wouldn’t have known that the Dana flight to Lagos scheduled for 11 am that Saturday actually departed Abuja at 7 pm, according to checks by this newspaper.

All of her entreaties to make Dana Airline provide her with an accommodation and safety while her flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following day fell on deaf ears. “The Dana Air official didn’t budge, even when I explained to him that I had a frail health that will not allow me sleep outside in the cold as they wanted us the passengers to do.”

“He said there was nothing they could do. After so much banter with the officer at past 9pm after he contacted few persons, he said there will be flight to convey people to Port Harcourt, after which they could proceed to Lagos.”

But the shock and trauma was not about to end for blind Odusanya. Dana Airline was at it again on Sunday, December 20. “The Dana officer said he could not find our boarding pass that was handed to him the night before. At this moment, I felt pained; I cried at the height of insensitivity and nonchalant attitude displayed by the Dana officials.

“After over two hours of waiting, one of the officials told my aid to follow him to the duty manager to see if something could be done about it.

“On getting there, the lady told her that “Hope she is not a wheelchair user?’ My aid responded in the negative. The manager further pointed at my mobility cane, asking what about that? My aid flagged and said, NO!”

It wasn’t until after the Dana official ascertained Odusanya wasn’t a wheelchair user that she rescheduled her flight for a Dana 9j356 flight for Lagos departing Abuja at 3:35 pm on Sunday.

Again, Odusanya didn’t know the Dana 9j356 flight was originally meant to depart Abuja by 11 am, but was delayed as usual till 3:35 pm.

Part 19 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations frowns at that kind of institutional irresponsibility and insensitivity as displayed by Dana Air actually.

Section 19.6.1.1 states that, “for domestic flights, when an operating air carrier reasonably expects a flight to be delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure, it shall provide the passengers with reason(s) for the delay within 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time.”

The rules also stipulate the following reliefs for passengers in the event of a delayed flight:

“(i) after two hours, refreshments as specified in section 19.10.1 (i) and telephone calls, SMS and E-mails as specified in section 19.10.2 ;

(ii) beyond three (3) hours, Reimbursement as specified in Section 19.9.1(i); and

(iii) at a time beyond 10pm till 4am, or at a time when the airport is closed at the point of departure or final destination, the assistance specified in sections 19.10.1(iii) and 19.10.1(iv) (hotel accommodation and transport)…”

But Dana Air was not done with its violation of the Aviation Law and its vulnerable passengers for the night. A short while after Odusanya was left stranded and discarded without an offer of compensation and relief, another passenger with disability would suffer a more grievous abuse in the custody of Dana officials. Chike Okogwu, a passenger on wheelchair whose 7:20 pm flight from Abuja to Lagos was delayed till 9:05 pm without prior notice was stopped from boarding by a Dana Air official.

According to Okogwu, he was barred from boarding at the Abuja airport because a “new policy” forbids them from carrying people with wheelchair at night.

As a result, he missed a medical appointment to treat what he described as a ‘debilitating ulcer condition’.

“I got enraged by their nonchalance and insensitivity. And yes, damaged their counter,” he affirmed, insisting that he was provoked after being denied his rights.

Sharing a photo of his bleeding hand and blood on his boarding pass, Okogwu twitted: “It’s turning bloody here in Abuja Airport. If we die, we die. I say no to discrimination of persons with Disabilities in Nig…

“I met with all their conditions as displayed on their website please. Bought 2 Biz Class Tickets as you can see. Pls never allow anybody trample on your rights. I am only disabled by a messed up system but very highly exposed, cerebral & compassionate.” He wrote via Twitter.

A press statement issued by the airline a day after the incident also corroborated Okogwu’s claim.

“…When our Duty Manager noticed him in the midst of the upsurge of passengers, approached him and politely explained to him that as a matter of policy, comfort and safety of our guests, we do not carry Special Passengers at night…”

This newspaper scoured through the airline’s website though, but nowhere was such policy stated. Rather, the airline stated a commitment to offer assistance to the disabled.

Although Dana Airline likes to insist persons with reduced mobility like Odusanya and Okogwu are treated with respect by the organisation, the Centre for Citizens With Disabilities (CCD) thinks otherwise. According to the CCD Executive Director, David Anyaele: “With this new policy by Dana Airline, a new pattern of discrimination against citizens with disabilities has been announced in the aviation industry in Nigeria.”

Drilling through the airline’s press statement via a telephone conversation, Kingsley Ezenwa, Dana Corporate Communications Manager tried unsuccessfully to conceal the facts of human rights abuse Okogwu and other vulnerable passengers were made to suffer while trying to fly with the airline.

“There are a few airlines that will not carry persons with reduced mobility, but not Dana Air,” Ezenwa explained to this newspaper. “The only reason we won’t carry a passenger with reduced mobility is if he is not travelling with a companion. This is because the said passenger might require urgent attention on board while the crew is busy. So we expect his companion to attend to him pending when a member of the crew is free to do so.”

If Ezenwa’s troubleshooting is anything to go by, then Dana Airline did not have any cogent reason to stop Okogwu from making his trip last Sunday. Okogwu had a companion– both of them booked to fly with a first class ticket each on the night he was denied boarding.

Same for the lady on wheelchair who was denied access to board Dana Air 9J 353 on Sunday, 13 December, 2020 at the MM2 Lagos Airport. The woman had her sister with her as a guide in the course of the flight. Yet a Dana Air staff, in a video footage insisted she would not be boarded because she was on wheelchair and Dana Air does not have the facility to cater for her.

Section 19.4.2.of the NCAA regulations states that “Any other passengers denied boarding except in accordance with Section 19.4 of the regulation is considered to have been denied boarding involuntarily. Even if the passengers accept the denied boarding. Consequently, the carrier is obligated to pay if the passenger is involuntarily denied boarding …”

All that can ever go wrong with access regulations

Access has all along remained a teething problem for both the cripple and the blind seeking to travel by air in Nigeria. A vast majority of the airports are not accessible to this community actually.

And so in the absence of mobile wheelchair lifters to aid access to and from aircraft, the wheelchair-ridden traveller, for instance, will have to be heaved absolutely off his chair, and carried into the aircraft before being deposited into their seat.

This experience is not only embarrassing, but also dehumanising.

Recounting her worst embarrassing moments as a youth corps member in 2018, visually disabled Tomisin Adeyefa, now a broadcaster, recalled how Aero Contractors, another airline, stopped her from flying into Lagos enroute Sokoto because of her visual disability.

“I had already bought my ticket only to be told Aero Contractors couldn’t allow me in the aircraft because I had no companion travelling with me.”

“It became a heated argument and I remained implacable until the airline returned my money to me. I eventually left Sokoto via Arik Air.”

Apparently, Both Dana Airline and Aero Contractors breached section 14 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 which provides that all airlines operating in Nigeria shall ensure the accessibility of their aircraft to persons with disabilities; make available presentable and functional wheelchair for the conveyance of persons with disabilities who need them to and from the airport; ensure that persons with disabilities are assisted to get on and off board in safety and reasonable comfort; and ensure that persons with disabilities are accorded priority while boarding and disembarking from the aircraft.

That’s not going to happen anytime soon, unfortunately. Except if the Federal Ministry of Aviation gives priority attention to implement section 14:2 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018.

January 24, 2021
Synagogue host community cries out over persistent attack by cult group
By Gboyega Alaka
- Residents say gang has being attacking for five days
- Send SOS to Sanwo-Olu
The residents say they have never seen anything like it before. Criminal gang of teenage boys (including girls) numbering hundreds attacking their community in a most coordinated manner and in droves. Some local community boys who teamed up to confront and push them back during one of the battles last Tuesday night, say they were well over 300.

For upward of a week, Bolounpelu, host community to the globally renowned Synagogue Church of All Nations near Ikotun, Lagos, has been under siege of aggressive criminal elements.

According to a resident, who declined revealing his name for fear of reprisal attack, the whole thing started Sunday evening, when the boys who called themselves Omo Kesari first started attacking in trickles. The local community boys however resisted and managed to put them at bay until Tuesday evening, when the whole thing snowballed into a massive eight-hour duel between the rampaging group and the residents.

“As early as 5pm that Tuesday, the boys, who clearly were not of the community, were spotted trickling into the town in twos and threes. One of our big brothers who sighted and challenged them said they told him off. They also bought handkerchiefs from shop on Adewusi Street, which they tied around their faces, possibly to shield their identity. By 6pm, they started attacking and the attack continued until early morning of Wednesday.”

Several calls to the police yielded little or no results, as they were said to have only driven to the entrance to the community, shot a few times into the air and retreated. Meanwhile residents say they refused to confront the boys, who were busy breaking down shops on Tiamiyu Street and daring anybody to confront them.

Said another boy in the community, who claimed he was among those who confronted and stopped them from entering Adamo Street, which they said was their main target, “The boys came prepared. They came with trolleys and tricycles to cart their loots and they were armed with dangerous weapons, including machetes, knives and daggers. They also came with various weapons to break down security barriers. If you go to Tiamiyu Street, there is no street they did not break into and loot. You would not believe it, but they also came with a nurse, who treated the injured among them and had huge flashlights which they use in blinding their targets. When they pointed that flashlight at me, I was blinded for almost two minutes. The luck I had was that they were far away, else they would have dealt with me,” he said.

A visit to Tiamiyu Street, which they literally conquered, after the residents retreated, depicted a recently vacated war zone. Broken bottles covered the grounds and only those wearing boots and tough foot wears could navigate through.

Residents who peeped from their windows, say the boys also took time out to play blaring music right opposite the white garment church at the entrance of Tiamiyu Street through the night, literally celebrating their victory and daring anyone to confront them. It was from this spot that they intermittently launched attacks at Adamo Street and Aliu Street. Fortunately, Aliu Street was gated, but residents of Adamo had to battle them back in what one of the boys described as a ‘fierce bottle-throwing war.’

Virtually all the shops on that axis were looted bare, including a barber’s shop and a double-door grocery/provision shop. Even a nearby chemist cum provision shop was not spared, while the cylinders in a gas shop were carted away.

Further down the street is the house of the baale, but on the visit of this reporter, it was deserted and locked, as all occupants had taken to their heels. Even the baale, an octogenarian, was said to have scaled the fence at the back of his house to safety on the next street (Adamo). That was in spite of his frail health.

Motive

Unfortunately, the motive of the criminal gang remains unknown, although there are speculations that the group is angered by the fact that some of their gang members in the community, joined in stopping them from operating in the community.

Some others say it is a reprisal attack, while another group say they had only picked on the community and are irked by the resistance being put up by the residents.

Meanwhile, following the Tuesday night battle, some of the local community boys were said to have uncovered and invaded a hotel hideout of some of the gang members near a canal in the community and dispersed them. Some members of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) also reportedly joined in battling them off.

The police were also reported to have later shown up Wednesday evening in about five vehicles in what could be described as a show of force. There were also unconfirmed reports that some soldiers invited by the community stormed the criminal group’s hideout in nearby Ikotun and arrested some of the boys, Wednesday night.

Poor police response

Most members of the community spoken to however expressed disappointment at the poor response of the police. They wonder why an armed police could not attack and disperse a mostly underage criminal group, armed only with knives and machetes.

The community leaders are also sending an SOS appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to take every step to round up the criminal boys and restore calm to the community.
January 24, 2021
How Makinde should handle Sunday Igboho, by Fayose

By Alao Abiodun

Former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose, has advised Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde to embrace dialogue and persuasion to resolve the ongoing tension in the state.

The Nation reported on Friday, a Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo popularly called Sunday Igboho, stormed Fulani settlements in Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area to eject the Seriki Fulani, Salihu Abdukadir, and some other herdsmen accused of fuelling security problems in the area at the expiration of his ‘quit notice’.

In the now-viral video, Sunday Igboho challenged Makinde to arrest him if he can over the eviction order he issued.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Saturday ordered the arrest of Igboho.

Fayose, in a series of tweet on Saturday, said: “Gov. Seyi Makinde should rather use dialogue and persuasion instead of escalating tensions in his own State by calling for the arrest of Sunday Adeyemo.

Read Also: Arrest me if you can, Sunday Igboho dares Makinde

“If FG and some Governors could ‘dialogue’ with Boko Haram terrorists, Gov. Makinde calling all stakeholders to a round-table discussion will not be misplaced action.”

Fayose said any attempt to arrest anyone will cause serious threats to the fragile peace in the South West and the nation.

“Above all any unchecked escalation may lead to a state of emergency,” he added.

January 24, 2021
PDP tasks APC on restructuring, devolution of power

By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to tell the Nigerian people its position on restructuring and devolution of power.

The PDP said it has become imperative for the APC to be categorical and unambiguous on the matter, given what the opposition party described as President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to go back on his campaign promise of implementing an administrative restructuring for better governance of the country.

In a statement on Saturday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party also tasked the leadership of the APC to clarify a statement by one of its members in the Senate, Ajibola Basiru, describing restructuring as “only a slogan”.

A recent media report had further quoted Senator Basiru as saying that neither the APC nor its leaders ever submitted any memoranda for restructuring and devolution of power to the ongoing constitution review process.

Recall that promises of restructuring and devolution of power had dominated the APC’s campaign in the 2015 and 2019 general elections.

Also, the Presidency, through one of its spokes persons, Mallam Garba Shehu, had, in a recent press interview, directed proponents of restructuring to take their agitation to the National Assembly.

The statement said: “The PDP calls out APC leaders including its Caretaker Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni, its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Governor Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed among others, to speak out on Mr. President’s recent declaration on restructuring as well as the position of the Senate.

Read Also: Lagos East Bye-Election seat: APC, PDP know fate March 1

”Our party holds that the inaction of the APC in the face of the dismissive declaration by the Buhari Presidency that Nigerians, who they had promised restructuring, should now channel their demands to the National Assembly, only goes to further validate the assertions among Nigerians that the APC is a deceptive power-grabbing platform, which is not interested in governance or fulfilling its promises to Nigerians.”

The PDP further said it is very disappointing that almost six years after riding to power on the promise of restructuring, the Buhari Presidency has made no concrete effort towards forwarding an executive bill to the National Assembly on the matter, only to now ask Nigerians to carry their burden to the legislative houses.

”Our party asserts that besides President Buhari, other bigger culprits of the failure on restructuring are the silent leaders of the APC who, despite promising restructuring, are clandestinely supportive of its huge betrayal.

”The APC must therefore take responsibility for ongoing challenges to our national unity, having failed to fulfill the promises they made on restructuring such as devolution of power and true federalism.

”We are already aware of plots by certain APC leaders to recourse to condemning President Buhari as being singularly responsible for the failures of his administration and use such as narrative to beguile Nigerians again with another round of fake promises on restructuring.

”The PDP challenges the APC to counter our position by speaking out and urging President Buhari to immediately formulate an executive bill as well as taking steps, as a party, for a private member bill on the promised restructuring, as contained in its manifesto.

”In any case, the APC cannot beguile Nigerians again with their planned disowning of President Buhari in 2023 as the people are already aware of its plots.

“President Buhari, the APC and its leaders must collectively take responsibility for the failures of their administration and allow our nation her desired new lease of life by exiting our political firmament come 2023.”

January 24, 2021
Normal lives possible despite COVID-19 – NYSC Coordinator

By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

The Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Anambra State, Mr. Kehinde Aremu, on Saturday said it was possible to continue normal lives despite the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

Aremu stated this at the state Orientation Camp during a pilot meeting of the COVID-19 Prevention and Compliance Committee with the newly inaugurated COVID-19/Sanitation Vanguards.

He said such a feat was achievable if only Nigerians would abide by the safety protocols laid down by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Aremu, who is the Chairman of the COVID-19 Prevention and Compliance committee, informed the team that they have been saddled with responsibility of enlightening the camp community on the prevention as well as enforcing the compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols.

Read Also: NYSC mobilisation: Attempts to cause rift between Buhari, Osinbajo will fail – Groups

While stating the likely challenges they could face in the course of their duties, Aremu reminded the committee of various media through which the virus could be contracted and how it could be prevented.

He said, “It’s possible to continue normal lives despite the prevalence of the virus all around the world if only we abide by the safety protocols laid down by the NCDC.

“We must insist on wearing our face masks, sanitising our hands frequently, cleaning of used surfaces and maintaining respectable social distance, keeping our environment tidy, among other things.

The Coordinator further urged the committee to give all necessary support to the Vanguards to help them achieve the stated goals, including efficient sensitisation on the risks of the virus and best strategy towards vigilance.

January 24, 2021
IGP under fire over Sunday Igboho arrest order

By Bisi Oladele; Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan; Alao Abiodun/ Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

A cross section of Nigerians on Saturday berated Police Inspector General Mohammed Adamu following his order for the arrest of the Southwest activist, Sunday Adeyemo alias Sunday Igboho.

Many of them took to the social media to express displeasure at what they called Adamu’s bias against certain parts of the country in the discharge of his official duties.

However, an Oyo State Government delegation and a separate police team led by the new Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, are due in Ibarapa area of the state on Sunay, particularly Igangan, the scene of Friday’s mayhem, for an on the spot assessment of the situation.

There was uneasy calm in the area on Saturday.

BBC Hausa on Saturday quoted Mallam Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity as saying that the IGP informed him of his directive to the Oyo State Police Command to arrest Igboho and transfer him to Abuja.

Igboho’s alleged sin is the quit order he issued that criminals should quit Ibarapa within seven days.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) accused Adamu of partiality and double standards by ordering the arrest.

The group said the same IGP refused to order the arrest of the leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Badejo, who he said “has for five years made threats against diverse ethnic communities to take over their lands and threatening civil war in Nigeria.”

HURIWA in a statement issued by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said: “The retiring Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu should also arrest one Bello Badejo, the national president of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who says nobody can chase herdsmen away from the forest reserves in Ondo State.

“As we know, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the governor of Ondo, ordered herders to vacate the forest reserves over rising insecurity in the state.

“As governor, he is exercising a lawful authority, but Bello Badejo has threatened fire and brimstone but President Muhammadu Buhari, who controls the police and all other security forces, has seen nothing untoward and unlawful with the violent tendencies of Bello Badejo, just because he is the kinsman of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

HURIWA wondered why “the Police, the DSS and all other security forces have consistently looked the other way whilst armed herdsmen continued to unleash mayhem and violence.”

It argued that the order to arrest Sunday IGBOHO ” shows that the heads of the security forces are compromised ethnic and religious warriors and bigots who are determined to drag Nigeria down the routes of Somalia or former ethnically divided Rwanda.”

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode tweeted: “New leaders are rising up in the SW. They are strong, fearless, radical & young.

“Names like Sunday Igboho, Olayomi Koiki and others come to mind. The SW has finally got a new set of champions & heroes. They believe in Oduduwa Republic. None can stand against them. I commend them.”

Another commentator, Fedrick Nwabufo, said:”We need peace. Asking other Nigerians to leave your state will only incite chaos. Reprisal quit orders.

“And those of you celebrating this tragedy, please note it could be your own ethnic group tomorrow. No one wins in this crisis.”

Investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyomobo, said: “When a government sleeps while its people are abducted and slaughtered, the emergence of people like Sunday Igboho is inevitable.

“All the noise from the Oyo Gov against Igboho’s boldfaced declaration is just to save face. Wake up to your responsibility or watch a commoner take charge!”

Ondo first born tweeted: “There’s Sunday Igboho from Igboho, Oyo State today. If something is not quickly done about this herdsmen menace, there will be Sunday Ilesha, Sunday Akure, Sunday Iworoko, Sunday Abeokuta, Sunday Bariga who will rise up to protect their people from these criminal elements.”

Ifa Funsho said: “You have been lamenting for protection from the government for a very long time, govt did nothing. Sunday Igboho is out there doing what the government should do but you’re on Twitter calling him names. Any Yoruba person speaking against Sunday Igboho is OMO ALE.”

“If the threat of Sunday Igboho and his face-off with the Oyo State Govt is not quickly looked into…we may have a security challenge that will not augur well for SW. When it snowballs, people will blame Buhari for the problem. Playing politics with security is a no-no!” Bayo Adedosu tweeted.

Also, a group, Ibarapa Development Forum in a statement said the state governor, Makinde, disappointed the residents of the Ibarapa axis of the state amidst endless tragedies of kidnappings, maiming, destruction of hundreds of acres of farmlands and killings.

Oyo govt delegation for Ibarapa today

An Oyo State government delegation and a police team led by Police Commissioner Ngozi Onadeko are expected in Ibarapa area of the state, including Igangan, the scene of Friday’s mayhem, for an on the spot assessment of the situation.

The two delegations, it was gathered, will visit trouble spots to see things for themselves.

They will be joined by stakeholders and traditional rulers and a police tactical team from the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

A report of the on the spot assessment will be made public, a source said last night.

It was also gathered that some Yoruba elders have stepped in to ensure that peace returns quickly to the Ibarapa axis and that the trouble does not spill over to other parts of the country.

Uneasy calm at Igangan after Sunday Igboho’s visit

Igangan was relatively calm yesterday, 24 hours after mayhem was visited on the town by youths who set ablaze some houses and cars belonging to the Sarkin Fulani in the town, Saliu Abdulkadir.

The streets were largely deserted yesterday partly on account of the annual Oro festival.

Residents are living with utmost security consciousness, some in fear of either a reprisal attack by herdsmen or arrest by security agencies.

A resident who spoke to The Nation in confidence expressed satisfaction with Igboho’s visit and what it means for security of the people in Ibarapa land at large. The resident said they were positive about Adeyemo’s visit, adding that they were prepared to repel any reprisal attack.

“Let me tell you that we were happy with what Sunday Igboho did. He is like a liberator. We need such action because we have not been sleeping with our two eyes closed. It’s either somebody is kidnapped on his farm or somebody is robbed or killed. The government is also not helping because we don’t see them taking any decisive step,” the resident said.

The Convener, Igangan Development Advocates (IDA), Mr Oladokun Oladiran, said that tradition demands that every resident should keep indoors during the grand finale of the Oro festival which was yesterday.

Oladiran said: “Things are quiet in Igangan as Oro festival curfew is now ongoing.

“It’s been on for some days now. Today (Saturday) is ‘Ahamo’, meaning indoor.

“All must be indoors. It has been on for seven days, but today (Saturday) is the peak.

“All women will be indoors.”

However, when asked about the mood of the people of the town following the Friday visit of Sunday Ighoho, the IDA convener lauded Igboho while also calling for extra vigilance and redefined strategic security information in Igangan and Ibarapaland as a whole.

He said the visit has helped to rekindle the hope of the freedom of the people in living peacefully in their homes, adding that no family could boast of unscathed life in the hand of the criminal elements among the herders.

He said: “Several years under the continuous woes of herdsmen banditry, Igangan’s hope of regaining peace kept being dimmed until Friday, January 21, 2021 when the whole of Ibarapa land suddenly went agog with renewed strength of reclaiming their land.

“The long-awaited, sought and longed for ray of hope for liberation glimmered in the form of Chief Sunday Adeyemo Igboho.

“Such a massive uproar might never have attended any saga in recent Ibarapa history.

“It was not surprising, for not a single household in Ibarapa North-West LCDA could boast of unscathed life in the hand of the ever-terrorising herders.

“For several years, farm plundering was their full time business, which grew audaciously in leaps and bounds.

“With no disciplinary measures ever meted out to the now reverential herdsmen, their audacity has leaped in bounds from just grazing upon the sweats of Ibarapa farmers to maiming and lynching any farmer who dared raise a voice in deference to their destructive resolve.

“Notorious criminals increased the spate of kidnapping and bloodshed upon the whole of Ibarapaland.

“Men were butchered on their farms, farmers abandoned their indigenous lands as hordes of herdsmen took over Ibarapa people’s farmlands.”

January 24, 2021
Makinde, Igboho cross swords

By Paul Ade-Adeleye

On Friday, Yoruba Gestapo commander, Sunday Adeyemo, otherwise known as Sunday Igboho, was at Ibarapa in Oyo State with a huge crowd of followers in defiance of the state governor, and spoke many assuring words to the people. His aim had been to totally banish Hausa/Fulani herdsmen from the state and he had delivered an ultimatum to that effect last week. The herdsmen, fearing for their lives and interests, heeded the ultimatum and fled the state, a status quo which indigenes celebrated. The people gave him a thousand kisses and pats on his back and he returned their confidence by promising to replicate the same in other states in the Southwest, and visit the fear of the Yoruba people on herdsmen who had a penchant for banditry. The people were rapturous; they had found their personal Robin Hood, but Governor Seyi Makinde was boiling.

Although Igboho claimed his actions were for a good cause, they were illegal. In law, the end does not justify the means; the means justify the end. Yet, the means, despite the controversy surrounding them, were not completely illegal, as Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has shown to the chagrin of certain forces operating in the presidency. The ideology of it was sound and for the most part legal, but it was procedurally illegal, as Igboho was not a state actor duly elected by the people to represent their interests nor was he appointed by the government to execute its policies. It was due to what many within the state had described as the government’s sloppiness that he was unduly appointed to act decisively by those among the people who had suffered directly from the wave of insecurity. His method was madness, but it was a populist sort of madness which many loved in the state. Governor Makinde should have been the one to take any decisive stance on quelling the upsurge of banditry in the state, in which capacity he would have done it more methodically and less madly provided he has the ideological depth to manoeuvre such a delicately nuanced ethnic maze. He would have probably also entered all the herdsmen grazing in the state into a database, like his Ondo counterpart is posturing to do, and put together a strategy for monitoring them. He, in a word, should have done something. He failed to inspire confidence in the people, which was where Igboho excelled, and which is why he was summoned by villagers to help them.

In truth, despite the illegality of Igboho’s actions, he has been able to accomplish more than the state governor has, but at what cost? The fear is that he has not been circumspect about the steps he took. How will the north receive the news that their kinsmen — rank and file, guilty and innocent — have been summarily expelled from the southwest? They have a history of vindictiveness which has resulted in the constant enmity between both the north and the southeast. The hope is that they will be more circumspect than to retaliate openly. What if the bandits among the herdsmen have not retreated fully but have only gone up for air planning to return armed to the teeth while the people are at ease with lowered guards? The bandits are not known to obey the en garde principle which requires swordsmen to pre-inform their opponents of their intention to attack.

The governor’s faceoff with the freedom fighter has all the makings of a good-cop-bad-cop scene. While the governor, who is the embodiment of the people’s power by law is publicly preaching peace and sanity, Igbhoho, is getting his hands dirty and embodying the people’s might outside the law. He operates outside the thin blue line. More, the faceoff is needless and petty, and should have been nipped in the bud rather than protracted to its current impasse. Igboho’s pointed comments allude to a pre-existing relationship with the governor. No one knows the full details of this relationship, but trusting the strength of that relationship, the freedom fighter has repeatedly dared the governor to act against him. Of course, both parties have been making veiled comments; hardly mentioning names but supplying enough information for even the blind to identify and correctly guess the subjects of their messages. The governor should have called Igboho into a meeting long ago and diplomatically solved the faceoff. The former has the law on his side while the latter has the people on his side. Both elements of the state should work together against the common enemy, insecurity. In Oyo, they are working against each other.

January 24, 2021
The advent of Biden, part one
By Brian Browne

The January 20 inauguration of President was an American civics lesson. Sadly, an excellent civics lesson does not abrogate the uncivil melee that two weeks preceded it. By Inauguration Day, the detritus of the January 6 riot had been swept from sight. However, the mindset that gave vent to the wild insurrection will pollute the American air for some time to come, much like a rat that perishes inside the wall of one’s bedroom. The rodent may have departed but its stench continues to reek and, thus, define the room if not the entire house for the animal was a large, pestilent one. No matter the amenities the room may offer, the noxious odor taints it all.

Still, considering the limitations imposed by COVID and the anxiety generated by white supremacist threats, the Biden inauguration was an inspiring sight to behold. I am no great fan of pomp and circumstance. Nor am I enamored with Biden and his political antecedents. However, it would be ill-tempered of me to assign much fault to the occasion. Events of that day were stately without being funereal. Words spoken were serious without being somber. It was celebratory without being syrupy. The inauguration spoke around Trump without speaking directly about him. Trump was not there but then again, he was there, like the decaying rat in the wall.

Three former presidents (Clinton, Bush and Obama) attended and did their best to act like old chums egging on a new member of their exclusive club to do better than they had done before him. Republican and Democrat talked and walked together like people who had just gone through a harrowing experience together. While the shared experience may not turn strangers into friends, it fosters an inchoate comradery that may either blossom into a stronger bond or whither if left unattended. Time will tell if devotion to nation or to lesser interests will prevail once the happy aura of the inauguration fades.

For those Americans who still hold to common sense, the inauguration felt like a great lifting. As Trump boarded the presidential aircraft for the last time, up went a collective sigh of relief from most Americans. People felt like employees do upon learning that a mean, cruel boss had been fired from company and unceremoniously walked from the premises.

The exit of Trump from the White House will be known as the Great Relief. For many, watching the scenes of the inauguration was redolent of people emerging from their homes after a destructive hurricane had passed. No matter their prior disputes and disagreements, all were happy to see that each other had survived. Surveying the storm’s aftermath, they spoke more about the fact that things basically remained intact than about the damage that had been done.

No president in modern times has been so full of bombast and petulance yet so devoid of bravery and prudence as Trump. That he was able to attract such large, often rabid support speaks to an ill and evil that America, as its better self, wishes it had buried. But this affliction is as American as America itself. There is something terribly wrong in the socialization of many, but not all, white Americans. To be frank all cultures are imperfect and teach their members things that should not be taught. Black American culture surely has its afflictions and contradictions yet it does not teach its members to hate and seek to oppress other races in their entirety.

The culturalization of many white Americans often involves a mixture of unfounded racial superiority with a fondness for wholesale repression of those they consider beneath them. The fact that many whites consider everyone else beneath them means their socialization is too often prone to fascist intolerance and irrational levels of bigotry built on white nationalism, two traits at odds with the stated tenets of American democracy which speak of human equality and universal freedom. These whites reconcile the irreconcilable by holding to the position that America should return to a herrenvolk democracy. Meaning it is a democracy for white men and all others should be happy with whatever sliver of democracy the white population deigns to give them.

This is crux of the Trump presidency and the January 6 Capitol riot. In the final analysis, the dissection of the Trump presidency is to peer into the anatomy of a belief system founded on the love of hate and elevation of ignorance as a virtue superior to the vice of wisdom. The world of Trump and his supporters is an unregenerate, unapologetic one where pride and honor go to those who can hate the most and spew bigoted screed the farthest.

These people are set in a world governed by dualities. There is white and black and never the twain shall meet. Evil and Good. Man and Woman. Master and Slave. American and foreigner. But today’s America is multidimensional. Not only is there white and black. There are brown, red, yellow and a growing population that mixes all the above. Much was stated of Kamala Harris being the first female, black, and Asian Vice President. Less discussed but equally historic, hers is the first racially mixed marriage to occupy one of the nation’s top positions. I am no fan of Harris for I think she lacks the requisite progressive scruples to accomplish what is needed at this hour, yet I still acknowledge that her ascendance marks a spot in America history that should have been marked long before. In any event, she promises to outperform her predecessor and this is cause for some form of relief.

Joe Biden’s cabinet and staff also reflect America’s diverse demographics. For the first time, a black man occupies the office of Defense Secretary which is the most powerful cabinet position given the size of the American military, its ominous budget and global mandate. Also, he has hired men who are married to husbands and women married to wives as well as men who used to be women and women who were once men. Here, conservative religionists should stop reading for what I next write will be upsetting. You will say all this proves that Biden is a child of Satan and does not believe in God.

Now, what you say about Biden may be true. No one can tell the heart of another; many people claim God but know Him not. However, your evidence against Biden falls if the evidence is his tolerance of gays, lesbians and others. America is a constitutional democracy that professes equality of all people. For this to have any meaning it must actually mean “all people” no matter who or what they are. Everyone is entitled to the fullness of citizenship. Thus, none should be subjected to discrimination in the arena of public life.

If you do not what to invite a lesbian or queer person to your birthday party, that is your prerogative.

But none should be denied gainful employment equal to their merit or deprived the right to serve their nation. If you discriminate against such people and believe they should be denied such rights, then you must be consistent in application of your religious injunctions. Neither the adulterer, the liar, those who have dishonored mother or father, those of froward tongue nor the businessman who engages in unethical schemes (i.e., uses dishonest weights and scales) to finagle a profit should be eligible for positions in government.

If you apply such standards fairly, then the corridors of government in America and other nations would be mostly vacant. If you do not apply these standards fairly, then you are a hypocrite whose subjective bias is such an offense that it precludes you from rightfully committing on another human being’s fitness. In a constitutional democracy as America defines itself, all are to be treated with fairness and latitude. None should be denied their access to prosperity and vocation. Judgment as to the moral correctness of any life is better left to the Almighty who knows and loves so much more than our flawed souls can. Joe Biden is often wrong; on this important matter, he is completely right.

The Americans who believe in the traditional duality and those who see a multidimensional nation face each other across the social battlefield. The former understands the war more so than the latter. While most people felt good seeing the mixture of colors and races that graced the inauguration, others bristled with a hatred as deep as the grandest of canyons.

America’s current poet laureate is the youngest in history. She is also a black woman of high intelligence and an astounding gift for verbal imagery and inspiration. As I watched her, my eyes watered. For her to have this moment, slaves escaped into the woods at night not knowing whether their trek, their expression of desperate courage, would carry them to freedom or visit upon them brutal death. For her, our people marched throughout the South asking for their humanity to be returned to them. For her, Martin Luther King, Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and others gave their lives. This young sister paid tribute to them all as well as to all that was best in America regardless of race. At that moment, she was America, a living, breathing Sister, not a lifeless Statue, of Liberty, reciting her poem with a slight hip-hop cadence. Generations of soul and striving burst forth in this slender, almost tiny, daughter of ours. All that we were and hope to be, she spoke of. To me, she was the highlight of a glowing day. Once again, a black woman rose to the occasion to affirm the best of America even though black women are among the most put-down of Americans.

While watching her with pride, a disconcerting thought walked my mind. There are roughly a million white Americans who would have gladly shot her where she stood if they had but the chance. And they would have lauded themselves as heroes for downing such a beautiful person who spoke a vision of America their hate-inebriated minds could never comprehend. Yes, the inauguration made most Americans feel better. However, all of the smiling brown and black faces at the event, angered both radical white supremacist groups as well as the neighborhood racist down the street. Of those 74 million Americans who voted for Trump, almost all of them rather the traditional duality of the past than the multidimensional diversity that is forming. Joining them are a like number who did not vote. Thus, well over 100 million Americans are at war with an inevitable future. Their fight is more futile than that of the slave-holding South in America’s Civil War. They too will lose it but, in the process, they will cause great damage.

America is attempting the unique. It is transforming from a bifurcated racial society to a freer, more racially diverse society while still maintaining its democratic form of government. In effect, it attempts a social and demographic revolution while holding to its democratic political traditions. In other words, America is attempting to protect the procedural forms of governance while changing the social substance of that governance. Political democracy is being used to make America more socially and culturally democratic. The irony is that those most loyal to the democratic political traditions are relative newcomers to it. They are also those leading the social revolution. Those opposed to the social revolution now want to undo the democratic traditions they claim as their exclusive heritage. Events since the election have revealed their love of democracy was only situational. They supported democracy as long as it functioned to help them control racial minorities. In the end, their objective was not democracy but white racial dominion.

Stepping into the presidency, Joe Biden also steps into the middle of this impending collision between the traditional social duality and the modern, multi-sided America. He believes he can be a bridge between the two sides. He, in fact, may be able to delay or deflect the confrontation for a time. In the long-run, one side or the other must be defeated to the point where it is reduced to the social periphery. Both cannot remain potent social forces yet simultaneously occupy the same house. But that is for later.

For now, relief is in order. Inauguration Day was a fine, inspiring moment, demonstrating that America withstood the Trumpian farce. Yet, if not too swayed by the glad festivities, one can still smell that rat.
- 08060340825 sms only
January 24, 2021
Out Trump, In Biden
By Tony Ademiluyi

In 1988 Donald Trump made speculations that he will be throwing his hat in the ring in the US presidential race. Nobody gave the ‘Real Estate’ mogul a chance as the then Vice-President George Bush Sr was the front liner by the opinion polls to succeed the legendary Ronald Reagan.

Trump known for his publicity stunts carefully weighed public opinion and decided not to press his ambition further. Not tired, he tried the same stunt in 1992 shortly after his famous bankruptcy filing and decided not to go ahead as there was no way he could have gotten the Republican party ticket as Bush had a very high approval rating no thanks to the Gulf War.

When he announced in 2016 that he will be running for the highest political office in Uncle Sam under the Republican Party, few gave him half of a chance. Historians saw it as one more stunt as the blonde clearly loved being in front of the camera. Political pundits laughed at him to scorn as well as his fellow contenders in the Grand Old Party (GOP). He did the unthinkable by clinching the ticket and the then US President Barack Obama warned the nation that he was unfit to govern the country.

No sooner had he won the primaries that he began to show his true colours of a racist and vile populist. He whipped up anti immigrant sentiments by opining that the immigrants were stealing jobs forgetting that America’s beauty is that it is a land built on the labour of immigrants and he himself is the grandson of a German immigrant. He promised to build a wall reminiscent of the Iron Curtain in the days of yore of the Cold War to permanently keep the Mexicans out of American soil. Like the Scion of the infamous Ku Klux Klan, he appealed to the Caucasians especially those whose economic fortune had nosedived, the Christian Evangelicals who were aghast at the progress being made by the Far Left especially with the legalization of same sex marriage under the Obama Presidency and the massive funding for abortion and its exportation overseas, his fellow racists who couldn’t live with the fact that a first generation immigrant of a Kenyan who went back to his country after his studies at Harvard now sat in the White House as real proof of the American dream. In the end he defeated Hillary Clinton by 304 to 227 even though the former First Lady surpassed him by nearly 2.9 million popular votes.

The Bull in the China Shop in fairness to him has to his credit massive job creation for Americans owing to his controversial success as a businessman. For the first time since Franklin Delano Roosevelt who launched the New Deal in 1933 which saw the American economy recover exponentially from the Great Depression, the economy in the early years of Trump roared like a Lion and it was inclusive of the blacks and other ethnic minorities.

His asinine racist tendencies greatly eroded the gains he made. He placed a ban on some Muslim nationals coming into the country dismissing them as terrorists. He abolished Obamacare that brought relief to millions of poor Americans who were hitherto denied affordable healthcare as it is the most expensive in the world. Trump didn’t mind leaving the vulnerable including the homeless at the mercy of the ruthless sharks called the Pharmaceutical companies who operate like the modern day reincarnation of the Shakespearean Shylock. His immigration policies separated children from their immigrant parents especially from Mexico and illegal immigrants lived in the perpetual fear of a heartless deportation even in some cases when they were children of illegal immigrants.

His ‘America First’ saw the shrinking of Uncle Sam in global politics as he pulled her out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal. He snubbed Africa as his relationship with the continent was paternalistic and patronizing and he couldn’t be bothered to visit any country there.

Some officials from the World Health Organization warned him as far back as January 2020 of the corona virus but he dismissed it with the wave of the hand. His lackadaisical attitude towards providing effective leadership cost his countrymen over 400,000 lives and made mincemeat of his economic progress as over one million of his countrymen filed for unemployment benefits.

When he was up for re-election against Joe Biden late last year, he called the latter all sorts of derogatory names most notably ‘Sleepy Joe.’ Biden went on to defeat with a landslide of 306 to 232 Electoral College votes and by securing 81 million popular votes – the highest ever in the annals of American electoral history.

Trump, being a sore loser would hear none of it. He couldn’t act like a gentleman by congratulating Biden. Instead he called the election a fraud and rallied his riotous supporters on Twitter to an insurrection on the Capitol Hill on January 6 when the Senate met to confirm Biden’s electoral victory.

At the end of the day, the social media giants – Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube permanently banned him from their platforms and his right wing supporters found refuge in Parler created by John Matze and backed by conservative journalist Dan Bongino which was later yanked off from Amazon web hosting services. Like a child whose candy was taken away from him, he refused to attend Joe Biden’s Inauguration yesterday.

Joe Biden has the onerous task of uniting the bitterly divided country which has been badly polarized by his predecessor’s childish and rancorous antics. He has to make sure that all Americans are given the equal opportunity to dream without any iota of racial barriers.

The theme of his inaugural speech was hope as he said ‘We will write an American story of hope.’ America badly needs a gargantuan dose of hope as the pandemic has rendered many economically destitute.

We commend his $1.9 trillion stimulus package which will see the poorest of the poor receiving $2000 a month. This will in no small measure restore their dignity and put a smile on their beleaguered faces.

Biden has the common touch which makes his story relatable and resonates with the common American. He struggled through school and didn’t attend any of the Ivy Leagues that traditionally produce the Presidents. 2020 was his third attempt at the Presidency having lost in 1988 and 2000. He had a personal tragedy in 1972 when he was just elected into the Senate. He lost his young wife and daughter in a car accident and was sworn in from the hospital as he attended to his injured son. He also lost his son, a former Attorney-General of Delaware to brain cancer while he was Vice-President. In a video widely circulated by Arise News, he put a call across to a Nigerian man and his daughter thanking him for his $12 contribution to his campaign and bonding with them on the phone. This shows the humane side of him not common with African especially Nigerian politicians.

On his first day at work he has overturned some of Trump’s policies by signing some executive orders which included the rejoining of the Paris Climate Accord, Ending the travel ban from several Muslim majority countries and bringing back America into the World Health Organization (WHO).

We are confident that his Presidency will spell a better deal for Africa as opposed to Trump’s isolationist one.

Biden scores a first in being the oldest American President at 78 and the second Roman-Catholic after John Fitzgerald Kennedy to sit in the White House.

We wish him the best of luck!

Over to you Biden!
- Tony Ademiluyi wrote from Lagos.
January 24, 2021