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Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Survivors recall horror scenes at Port Harcourt church stampede

    Survivors recall horror scenes at Port Harcourt church stampede

    • I watched my daughter shout for help till she passed out, says widow

    • How my five-year-old son slipped off my hand and was marched to death’

    • I nearly lost my life trying to save a child — Survivor

    Mrs. Jennifer Jackson has been grappling with nightmares since May 28. Jennifer, whose husband died in 2020, saw death on that day but cheated it by divine grace.

    Her 15-year-old daughter, Precious, was however not as fortunate. The fragile soul, who would have turned 16 in October, was marched to death and her feeble bones crushed during the stampede that happened at Polo Club, Port Harcourt, in the early hours of that day.

    Jennifer said amid sobs: “I can no longer sleep. I have been having nightmares since the incident occurred.

    “I haven’t received any medical treatment myself. On Sunday, I almost died because I fainted but my mother brought me back to life.

    “I don’t have money to go to the hospital after surviving that stampede. My face is swollen and I have injuries all over my body.

    “I was busy trying to save my daughter. But I lost her.”

    The journey that snuffed life out of her daughter and almost took hers started when a member of the King’s Assembly, a new generation church based in Port Harcourt, informed her about a give-away programme tagged ‘Shop-for-Free, which the church organised at the Polo Club in GRA.

    She said:  “One lady on our street just saw me. We moved into the area newly. She told me they had something to share in their church.

    “On Friday last week, I went to her and asked her about the time for the programme. She said they would open the gate by 4 am on Saturday.

    “She said some people were already there on Friday night to sleep over. She advised me to go on time so that I would be able to enter.

    “I told my daughter and my younger brother that the three of us would go to the place together. So, on that Saturday, I woke up at about 3 am and woke my daughter also and we left before 4 am.

    “When we got there, the crowd was not much. They didn’t open the gate, so we stood there and others were worried that the gate was not opened.

    “As we stood there, many other people were coming. After some time, a car came and someone asked us to form a line.

    “After we formed a line, more people were still coming. Then we saw some people entering the venue and we wondered where they passed through.

    “Some people suggested that we should move closer. When we got closer, we discovered that the gate was still shut but people were inside.

    “We later discovered that there was small gate behind that those people used to gain access to the place. But I told my daughter we should wait.

    “I held her hand. We were at the middle of the line. But many people were behind us and were also at various corners.”

    Jennifer recalled that as the line started moving, there was a sudden surge of the crowd from different corners towards the gate. She fell down with her daughter as the crowd pushed with ferocity. While she cried out faintly gasping for breath, she heard a cacophony of weary voices begging for help. Her daughter let out a dying outcry.

    She said: “We fell and I saw myself dying. I heard my daughter shout faintly. Others on the ground were shouting. I shouted too. I discovered that I was dying but I kept praying inside of me. I told God that I came because of food and that he should not allow His servant to die.

    “I called on the Holy Spirit to give me strength. ‘Holy Spirit, help me. I am your worker, give me strength. I don’t want to die here,’ I prayed.

    “By that time, I didn’t hear my daughter’s voice again. I didn’t feel her shaking too. But I kept praying for help. As I opened my eyes, I saw a crowd of dead bodies lying on the ground.

    “I saw my daughter’s face come down. But I had no strength to carry her. I kept saying, ‘My daughter, please wake up. Both of us came together, you cannot leave me. Please wake up. You are the only helper I have even the food we came to collect, we haven’t seen anything, please wake up’.

    “I had lost my strength so I couldn’t carry her.”

    Jennifer said people came to pick their loved ones and a man helped her to carry Precious out of the gate. She lamented that vehicles evacuated her daughter and other victims to the hospital, but there was no immediate medical treatment. She said all the victims were kept in an open field but no medical personnel did anything to revive the dying victims.

    She said: “I couldn’t hold my daughter because my hands were weak. But the man helped me to carry the girl out of the gate.

    “I had no money to carry her out of the place. Some cars came and took us to the hospital. But as we got there, they dropped us on the field. There was no emergency treatment.

    “They lay them on the field. I said, ‘You brought us here but you are not trying to see whether you can revive these people.’

    “I was begging them to help me revive my daughter. I wanted to call my mother but I had no phone. I started calling my daughter.

    “I screamed for help to remove her from there to either my house or to my pastor, Ibiyeomi. I didn’t have money.

    begged a man who gave me N1,500 to call a cab. I called a taxi and asked him to take me to my pastor.

    “As we reached, I wanted to carry the girl into the church and shout to see whether my pastor would hear my voice, but they didn’t allow me to enter. We waited and the pastors came, prayed and anointed her.

    “They asked me to carry her to the church’s Save Our Life Hospital. As I got there, a doctor checked her eyes, but I said nothing would happen to her.

    “I took her home and started calling her repeatedly. I called another pastor who came and prayed for her, but he told me that the girl was already gone.”

    Jennifer, who was still inconsolable, said her late daughter was preparing to write the external examination conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) when the incident occurred. She could not also wear the uniform she sewed to mark the Children’s Day programme at the church on May 29.

    “I have been suffering to raise my daughter. We live in poverty, no money or food, and that was why we went there to see whether we could get food.

    “I have not received any good treatment since the incident occurred because I have no money,” she said.

    Jennifer’s mother, Comfort Belema, is also a widow. Her husband died in 2019. She lamented the loss of her granddaughter and prayed for help to enable Jennifer get proper medical attention.

    Another victim, Friday Eugine, said the military hospital they were taken to after the incident only gave them first aid. Eugine said he fractured his left leg and that after waiting in vain for the hospital to commence full treatment, his family relocated him to the state-owned Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH).

    Recalling the incident, he said he was able to save a child who was trapped, adding that he almost lost his life in the process of saving the child.

    He said: “My brother told me of a programme organised by a church holding in Port Harcourt that he heard over the radio that I should try and attend. I was curious to know about the things I could shop for free so I went early to the venue.

    “As I got there, I saw people gathered in huge numbers at the gate. I was thinking that everything was over, so I rushed in to ask some people that were standing.

    “The question had not dropped from my mouth when people started pushing to enter through the gate.

    “I saw a little child that fell and I dragged the child out. It was just God that saved me as I pulled with all my strength and my legs were entangled with those of other people and I managed to drag it out broken.

    “I don’t know the parents of the child, but I handed the child over to the people that took us to the hospital.

    “Although the bones of my left leg are fractured, I thank God for my life and that of the child I saved.”

    Other horror tales

    Madam Abigail travelled all the way from her village in Ahoada to attend the programme. But the poor woman only ended up with a dislocated waist after the stampede. She had since gone back home to look for a professional masseuse to fix her waist after waiting in vain for medical treatment.

    She said: “I specifically came to Port Harcourt from Ahoada for the programme because of the good stories my neighbour’s told me.

    “I slept over at my sister’s place to arrive in time because I was told that many people came last year and there was no space to accommodate them.

    “I got there by 5:30 am but quarreled with the gatemen for not allowing us in since there were still seats yet to be occupied.

    “I just sat at a corner waiting when the gatemen shouted that we should move away from the gate; that it was not yet time to admit people.

    “I don’t know what or how it happened, but the wood I was sitting fell on the ground and I hit my waist. That was when I realised that I should have gone back home after the qaurrel.

    “I could not stand because of the pains. I have gone for massage but the pain is still there. I didn’t attend the programme but my waist is dislocated.”

    Eyewitnesses blame security operatives

    Samuel Orji-Eke has been in severe pains since the incident happened. His five-year-old son was among those that died in the stampede. But he said his son would not have died if he had received medical attention on time.

    Eke would have lost more than the son because he went there with three of his children as well as his wife. He blamed the church for the incident, saying there was no arrangement for crowd management.

    He said: “My son was five years old. Around 6:30 am, I attended the church programme with my three children. I was holding my son and carrying my six-month-old daughter in my arm and my wife was holding the other one.

    “When we got there, the gate was locked and the crowd was not much. People were refused entry, and in such a church event, the gate was not supposed to be locked.

    “This made the crowd to swell and it became too much that the entire road was blocked. That was when they opened the gate and there was a mad rush to enter. It was in that process the stampede occurred.

    “We had entered the gate properly when people started to fall and the ones coming behind trampled on them. That was when they marched me and broke my hand, and my son slipped off and was marched to death.

    “At the time the incident happened, there was no presence of police officers but only ushers. It was when the place became rowdy that policemen came and started shooting in the air to disperse the crowd after the damage had been done.

    “My son did not die immediately but when it happened, there was no help, no first aid. I am calling for justice for a church to openly invite people and no proper logistics.”

    Felix Sylvester Emizibo,a taxi driver, said he was at the scene when the stampede occurred, having conveyed one of his customers to the venue of the programme.

    The customer, Patience Emesiobi, whom he described as a friend, died after the stampede. He, however, said it was the gunshots that were fired in the air by security operatives that triggered the stampede.

    He said some operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) later arrived at the scene when a mammoth crowd was struggling to enter the venue. He said there was pandemonium after the gunshot.

    Emizibo said: “After dropping off my family friend, Patience Emesiobi, I had to stay around a little further to see the items the church was going to give and how they really wanted to do it.

    “About 10 minutes after I dropped my friend, who is also a neighbour, I saw the crowd trying to access the premises through a pedestrian gate, pushing themselves in the process.

    “Not quite long after that, we heard gunshots from the security personnel there.

    “After we got there, it didn’t take more than four to five minutes before men of the civil defence came. The police came later than the civil defence. I think the first set of security operatives that arrived at the venue was the civil defence, followed by the police.

    “I really never got a glimpse at the security operatives that fired the shots, but I heard it was the civil defence personnel that fired three shots.

    “There was pandemonium immediately after the gunshots. There was this mad rush of people with children, some of them pregnant ladies and the elderly. They were all rushing through the gate to get into the premises, and in the process, the stampede happened.

    “I saw a lot of dead bodies. Many of them were lifeless. Children were marched by the crowd. When I finally found my friend Patience, she was equally lifeless. “Those of us that had vehicles conveyed the victims to the military hospital. I took my friend Patience Emesiobi to the military hospital, where a doctor confirmed her dead.”

    He, however, said the hospital attended to the victims based on its capacity. He said many could not be admitted because on their arrival, they were pronounced dead, adding that his friend was confirmed dead on a stretcher and could no longer be admitted in the hospital.

    He said others, whose loved ones were pronounced dead, took them to other hospitals for confirmation. He said although the church tried to put measures in place for crowd management, its efforts were not adequate.

    “I think the church did not expect that a lot of persons would come, and that was why they even hired Polo Club as the venue.

    “The church must have thought that Polo Club was wide enough to accommodate the crowd they were expecting, but the church failed in managing that crowd in good time,” he said.

    Felix insisted that though the incident happened before the 9 am the church scheduled to commence the programme, they should have started their crowd management earlier.

    He said: “I will first and foremost blame our attitude as a people, as Nigerians generally. When it comes to issues like this, they rush.

    “At least we need to have some level of self control, show some kind of dignity whenever we find ourselves in public places.

    “I will also blame the church. If you give an open invitation to a number of persons like this, you should expect that things like this are possible.

    “Arrangements ought to have been on ground to control the crowd to avert a stampede of this kind.

    “I will blame the government too. The government has never taken the welfare of the people seriously. I think there is hunger in the land.”

    Black Saturday

    May 28th was, indeed, a black Saturday. Although the police said 31 persons including children died in the stampede, the death toll, it was later gathered, was more than 50. Their lifeless bodies littered the ground of the Polo Club.

    The victims had gone in search of free food and other gift items promised them by the church, but they died even before the distribution of the items could begin. Individuals who escaped with injuries like Jennifer had been abandoned to cater for their medical needs.

    The acting Police Public Relations Officer, Iringe Grace Koko, said the police would probe the incident to determine its remote and immediate causes. The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, also vowed to constitute a panel to probe the tragedy.

    Despite the promises, nothing has been said of the tragedy about one week after it occurred. People have since been going about their normal activities as if nothing had happened.

    King’s Assembly, whose outreach programme caused the stampede has only regretted the disaster but has not taken further steps to ameliorate the pains of the victims and deceased families.

    The church, in a statement, signed by its Director of Administration, Chimeka Elem, tried to give an excuse that the stampede happened before the commencement of its “benevolent and outreach programme called Shop-for-Free”.

    Elem described the programme as nondenominational and said its purpose was to share with the less privileged the gifts provided by members of the church, friends and partners.

    “Unfortunately, lives were lost and several people sustained varying degrees of injuries,” he said.

    Elem added: “While the incident has been reported to the Nigerian Police Force, the church has commissioned a team of safety specialists to establish the immediate causes of the stampede to enable us provide the authorities all required information in compliance with public safety laws.

    “Our Shop-for-Free programme was started in 2014 as our annual benevolent outreach and our choice of the large venue, Polo Club, was to accommodate the projected attendance.

    “This year’s turnout, buildup and the attendant circumstances were absolutely unanticipated. The crowd converged overnight long before the security team for the event took formation.”

  • From pulpit, Alia Hyacinth makes grab for power

    From pulpit, Alia Hyacinth makes grab for power

    The suspended priest in the Catholic Diocese of Gboko who left the ecclesiastical temple, Hyacinth Alia, will be flying the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its gubernatorial candidate in Benue State.

    His victory at the party’s primary election reverberated like a bolt of thunder.

    Alia wrestled divinely and spiritually perhaps to get the mandate from other gladiators in the party including Terlumun Paul Ikya; a university don, Prof. Terhemba Shija; Chief Steven Lawani; Dr. Sam Ode; Dr. John Tor Tsuwa; Senator Barnabas Gemade; Barr. Herman Iorwase Hembe; Mark Tersoo Hanmation; Engr Nick Wende and a former minister of Justice, Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa.

    As activities intensify for the 2023 general elections, Alia’s emergence as the APC gubernatorial candidate sends a signal that Benue is one of the states to watch in the 2023 election.

    To observers, Alia is a first timer and has no political structure, but he shockingly made giant steps and has been identified as “Yes Father.” He has wormed his ways into the heart of many.

    He had previously said that his divine mission is to wake the state from coma and alleviate the sufferings of people. “After preaching the gospel on the pulpit for 32 years, I decided to extend it to governance” he said.

    It will be recalled that Alia was suspended from celebrating public Eucharistic mass by the Catholic Bishop of Gboko Diocese, William Avenya, due to his participation in partisan politics.

    Read Also: Mr Ibu’s poisonous ordeal

    Bishop Avenya announced his suspension from public ministry “after series of admonitions” to him. Avenya noted in the letter that “the Mother Church does not allow her clerics to get involved in partisan politics on their own.”

    Reacting, Alia described his suspension as a normal practice by the Church. He also noted that the sacrifice of his suspension was a worthy cause because his mission is to save the soul of the people as well as the state and deliver it from imminent collapse.

    Regardless of the church’s position, Alia forged ahead and won 12 out of the 23 local government areas of the state with a total of 464,391 votes.

    He defeated his rivals, Mathias Byuan, who won in one local government and a former Minister of State for Niger Delta, Sam Ode, who won in five LGAs.

    Armed with his seven-point agenda for the development of Benue, Alia said his mission was to ensure that the government continued to prioritize the needs of residents and the people of the state.

    Alia will face Titus Uba, the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly who also emerged as the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the state’s governorship election.

    Born on May 14, 1966, Alia attended St. Francis Primary school, Gboko, from where he proceeded to St. James Minor Seminary, Makurdi and then St. Augustine Major Seminary, Jos. He also went to Fordham University, USA for a Master of Arts Degree in Religious Education (Psychology and Counseling). He also schooled in Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA for another Masters and Doctorate Degree in Biomedical Ethics.

  • ‘My daughter’s killer tied her, slit her throat, bathed on her body in white wrapper’

    ‘My daughter’s killer tied her, slit her throat, bathed on her body in white wrapper’

    The bereaved mother of a 21-year-old apprentice hairdresser allegedly killed by a suspected hemp seller in Mowe area of Ogun State has claimed that the young girl was cruelly murdered for money rituals by her killer who is still in police custody, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    Brief was etched on the face of Oluwatoyin Odubanjo. For some moments, she tried to talk but no words were forthcoming from her trembling lips.

    Sandwiched between a relatives and one of her daughters, she sat on a bench to let out a sorrowful moan over the killing of her daughter, Tunrayo, but she struggled to find the right words to convey her sorrow.

    The distraught mother of four recalled how a hemp seller identified simply as Toba allegedly slit the throat of her daughter, Tunrayo Odubanjo, his girlfriend, and dumped her body in a building inside a bush in Kara-Kekere community, Ogunrun, Mowe in Obafemi Owode area of Ogun State.

    The bereaved mother said: “My name is Oluwatoyin Odubanjo, a resident of Zion Estate, Pakuro, whose daughter was killed by her purported boyfriend named Toba.

    “The incident occurred at Kara Kekere in the Magbon area of Mowe on May 18, 2022.

    “My daughter told me she was going to work and left home in the morning for her boss’ salon at Ogunrun village.

    “I asked why she was leaving home very early in the morning and she explained that they had a lot of work to do at the salon.

    “I gave her money for her meals and transportation and she left home before 8 am, hoping that she would return home in the evening as usual.”

    Odubanjo, it turned out, had no inkling of the tragic fate that awaited her beautiful 21-year-old daughter. Barely two hours after Tunrayo left home, however, Odubanjo received the shocking news of her daughter’s gruesome death.

    “Around 10 am, one of her friends rushed home and broke the news of her death to me.

    Read Also: Man uses old copies of The Nation for creative photoshoot

    “She said that my daughter had been killed by one Toba who I didn’t know and had never seen before the incident happened,” she said.

    Contrary to reports that Tunrayo was allegedly killed by Toba for wearing his slippers when the deceased visited her alleged killer, her mother insists that she was actually killed by Toba for money rituals.

    Tunrayo’s killer, according to Odubanjo, subjected her to brutal death for the purpose of money rituals and brazenly bathed on her lifeless body in a white wrapper during which he was caught by residents.

    “A woman called Peju, who happens to be a neighbour and witnessed the incident, told us that the said Toba had drugged my daughter before killing her.

    “The woman said that the fateful day was the first time my daughter would be visiting Toba who recently moved into the building.

    “She said she tried to prevent Toba from killing my daughter but he attacked her too with stones and she had to run for her life for fear of being killed with her new baby strapped to her back.

    “When Toba overheard my daughter calling her boss on the phone and raising the alarm that she was in danger, he quickly tied her with a rope and sliced her throat with a sharp end of ceramic tiles.

    “On the floor of the building, we saw the rope, tile and bottle of soft drink he allegedly gave my daughter before killing her.

    “The woman who lives in the neighbourhood was the one that alerted some boys who stormed the building and found Toba bathing on Tunrayo’s lifeless body with a white cloth wrapped around his waist and the mob apprehend him.

    “He said that his money would increase when he returns from police custody and that the larger the crowd condemning him the more money he would make, having killed my daughter for money rituals.

    “The sympathisers were the ones that invited the police and her remains have been evacuated to the mortuary by men of Sagamu Division for autopsy while Toba has since been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the Ogun State Police Command.

    “Although, her boss denied that she came to the salon before she left for Toba’s home, we learnt from some of her colleagues at the salon that she actually came to the shop and swept the floor of the salon with a broom and that one of her junior colleagues told her that Toba asked her to come to his new site and gave her money as transport fare.

    “The boy called Toba must not be released from police custody. He must also be killed like he cruelly snuffed the life out of my daughter.”

    An elder sister of the deceased, Mariam Odubanjo, said her sister did not introduce any man to the family as her boyfriend, noting that Toba was a total stranger.

    She said: “We were four girls and she is the second child. She did not introduce anyone to us as her boyfriend. She was very reserved and hardly talked.

    “She had promised to help me fix my hair when she returned home that day she was killed.

    “One of her friends named Rasheedat was the one that rushed home to inform us that she had been stabbed to death by Toba.

    “We have not buried her remains because her body is still in the morgue awaiting autopsy. However, we don’t have the sum of N150,000 demanded for post-mortem examination.

    “We don’t want Toba to be released from police custody at the state police command in Eleweran, Abeokuta, and we want him to be sentenced to death too for the heartless killing of Tunrayo.”

    Contacted, police spokesman, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the suspect was still in custody and would be charged to court soon.

    Oyeyemi said: The case is being handled by the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the state command at Eleweran.

    “Although the suspect insists he didn’t kill the lady (Tunrayo), we are not releasing him. We are continuing with our investigations and he would be arraigned in court soon.”

    On the allegation by the family in respect of the money being demanded for the autopsy, Oyeyemi explained that the pathologists are the ones requesting payment from the family for the autopsy.

    “Autopsy is not the duty of the police, rather, pathologists, who are specialised in carrying out the post-mortem on bodies are the ones that would be paid for such services, and the police are not involved in such exercise and cannot pay for it,” Oyeyemi said.

  • Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu: The First Lady’s electoral battles

    Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu: The First Lady’s electoral battles

    The saying: ‘silence is golden’ is always very apt but the first lady of Ondo State, and All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Imo East, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, evidently rebuffed the maxim, following her experience at the APC senatorial primary.

    Anyanwu-Akeredolu withdrew from the race abruptly citing irregularities in the contest. The Ondo State First Lady, who is fondly called by her traditional title, Ada Owerri, cited intimidation and the use of force, among others, as her reasons for withdrawing from the party’s primaries.

    At her declaration for the post, she said her aspiration to represent her constituency in the Senate was informed by the need to address the gross under-development and infrastructural deficit in her maiden home of Emeabiam in Owerri West local council and the other eight local councils that make up the zone.

    Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who hails from Emeabiam in Owerri west LGA of the state had to compete with four other aspirants — Alex Mbata, Kemdi Opara, Jerry Chukwueke and Ugochukwu Nwachukwu, for the legislative ticket.

    Read Also: Ahmed Musa’s uncommon philanthropy

    Her withdrawal paved way for the emergence of a business mogul, Prince Alex Mbata, as the candidate of the party in the Owerri zone.

    Anyanwu-Akeredolu had on the day of the election cried foul while the primary election to pick a candidate of the APC for Imo East was going on.

    She alleged that some forces in the party skewed the primaries in favour of a particular candidate.

    In a statement titled, ‘Notice of withdrawal from senatorial race’, she said: “I wish to declare my decision to withdraw from the Senatorial Primaries of Imo East Senatorial zone. This decision has become necessary following brazen irregularities, use of force and intimidation meted out on my person and supporters.

    “I have received reliable information that arrangements have been concluded by some high authorities within the party to scheme the whole process in favour of a particular candidate. Delegates are being harassed and intimidated to comply with this directive.

    “I believe in free and fair elections, equity and a level playing ground. The circumstances that have shrouded events preceding this primaries have proven to be far from these ideals which I hold so dearly. It is expedient therefore for me to withdraw from this race which I believe is also in the interest of the party in the state.

    “I must, at this juncture, appreciate Ada Owere team, all my friends and supporters who stood by me during this period. Special thanks to the delegates who believed in me but were denied the opportunity to express their support.”

  • Tanko Sabo: When the delegate shared his booty

    Tanko Sabo: When the delegate shared his booty

    In what appears to be a bizarre development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national delegate, Tanko Sabo during the week stunned Nigerians, when he shared ‘money made’ at the party’s primary elections to indigent members of his community in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    Sabo who took part and voted at the PDP presidential primary, held in Abuja, met with different aspirants, with all of them soliciting for his vote. It took the aspirants time and token to woo him.

    As it was widely reported, the PDP presidential primary which produced former vice-president Atiku Abubakar as the winner, witnessed the splashing of naira and dollars to the delegates in many states. Delegates reportedly got between N500,000 and N2 million, and even higher from the aspirants.

    Sabo, who was hitherto unknown, attained instant popularity as news about him went viral on social media, after sharing pictures of himself displaying huge sums of money received. His action elicited a flurry of mixed reactions.

    While there was a gleeful response from many, saying his action graphically illustrated the extreme poverty of the Nigerian political enterprise, some others commended his action, describing him as a “delegate with a difference.”

    Read Also: Adamu Adamu’s bad day at the office

    But in a fair explanation, Reuben Buhari, a former aide to a former governor of Kaduna State, Ibrahim Yakowa, said Sabo spent the “money well.”

    “Whatever is the argument on whether he was right in collecting the money or not, my consolation is that hundreds of the less privileged in his community are smiling today. For that, I say well done Tanko.”

    In the breakdown, Sabo used N7 million from the bribe he got, to pay for the secondary school leaving examination fee for pupils of his community. He paid N100, 000 as logistics fee to the five-man committee that went round the schools in his community to pay the pupils’ examination fees.

    Sabo also shared N6.9m to 150 orphans and the less privileged in his community. He spent N3.2m to buy and customise the kits of a youth football team in his Dogon Daji community, named Samba Boys.

    He also spent N700,000 to support the elderly, women and beggars known as “Maroka,” while he gave one Danladi Janda, N100,000.

    Sabo then kept N1.3 million of the largesse for himself. He explained that he made so much money because he was a delegate to the State assembly, National Assembly, governorship and presidential primaries of his party.

    In total, Sabo shared N19.3m being the money he got from the primary elections.

  • I wrote 25 songs for Roy Chicago – Highlife music composer Fafowora

    I wrote 25 songs for Roy Chicago – Highlife music composer Fafowora

    Pa Akinlolu Fafowora is famous for writing hit songs like ‘Wazobia’ and other classics for the late highlife music legend, Roy Chicago. Saying that the Ilesa,Osun State born multi-disciplinarian has lived a fulfilled life amounts to stating the obvious. Yet he has experienced a rather chequered existence, having been orphaned at a very tender age and left under the foster care of close family relation. He has also had a career path that is strewn with disappointments and midlife crisis that includes losing a child to a ghastly auto crash and fighting the consequent depression. In spite of everything, however, he is thankful to his Maker for making it possible to survive it all. In a chat with select journalists, Baba Wazobia, as he is fondly called, who turned 83 years recently, reminisced on the good and the ugly moments of his life. IBRAHIM APEKHADE YUSUF was there. Excerpts:

    Fond memories of my childhood                                 

    I was born in 1939 in Ilesa, Osun State. That was over 83 years ago. From accounts given to me by my relatives, I was born in April. At the time of my father’s death, there were 25 of us and he had many wives. My mother was number five. I was 16th among my father’s children and number three of my mother’s five children. I have two elder sisters.

    My childhood was very interesting. Early in 1942, my mother fell very ill and she had to go to her mother’s house in another part of Ilesa town, so the children had to go with her. It was after the death of my immediate younger brother in 1942. So, we all went there and it was in that compound that I grew to know myself, so to say. Between 1943 and 1944, I was old enough to know myself.

    The Fafowora family house shared a fence with the Methodist Church and primary school in Ilesa. Originally, that whole portion belonged to my grandfather because he was an important chief. It was during the advent of Christianity that he offered to give the land to the Methodist Church. But the family has over 25 settlements in Ilesa. If you get to Ilesa and ask for the Fafoworas, they would ask which one.

    From there, we moved to Apala’s house in Igbogi because my mother’s brother had his own house there. I started school at Holy Trinity, Omofe of the Anglican Church in 1944.

    In 1945, my father brought me to St John’s Cathedral, Iloro, where my father used to attend. I finished my primary education in Iloro in 1954. I enjoyed my time there and I was among the school band, which was very popular in Ilesa land. Eventually, there was a competition among primary schools and we always fared. That was the beginning of my interest in music. I grew up with it till I graduated from primary school.

    In Ilesa Grammar School, which I attended from 1955 to 1959, there was no drumming. We didn’t offer music as a subject, but the thing was still there in me. It found ways to express itself. For example, whenever we went to church, I sang and was always called upon to play the drums behind the choir. That is part of the experience I had. While in grammar school, I used to go around to listen to music in record shops.

    There were popular record shops in Ilesa and we had one any new record that came out in Lagos would get there within a week. So, we used to get all the records of highlife music from Ghana and we would listen to them almost on a daily basis. After returning from school, I would rest for a while. Around 6pm or 7pm, I used to find my way to record shops to listen to such music. That was the beginning of my inspiration.

     

    Job-hunting in post-high school days

    I left Ilesa Grammar School in 1959 and I came to Ibadan (Oyo State) that very year. I took my GCE Advanced Level exam in 1967/68. Soon after, I took up an appointment at the Ibadan Western Nigeria secretariat. In particular, I was employed in the Ministry of Health. My uncle was there in the civil service. In those days, those of us leaving school would approach each ministry where we were seeking appointment. They would ask you to bring an application, then they would tell you when the interview would be held. After attending an interview, they would give you results maybe within the week or sometime later and you would start as a clerical officer. For me, that was in 1960. I was a civil servant there up till 1971.

    I studied privately. I had my advanced level and gained admission twice before I went to the University of Lagos in 1971. I was there for a year. There was no financial support when I got an early admission to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to read Estate Management. So, the opportunities came and went away like that. It was about a year or two later that I got admission to University of Lagos to read Political Science, but I was told, ‘With the military government, what do you want to do with Political Science? Go and read Economics, after which you will become more marketable.’ So, I changed my course where I met my waterloo.

    The opportunity was lost, so I went back to the service in Lagos. That was a very bad experience because having lost a grip of my ambition, it brought me down. But I was able to gather courage and after some years, I got another opportunity to go to a higher institution. I went to The Polytechnic, Ibadan, to read Accountancy from 1975 to 1978. When I finished, I did my National Youth Service Corps programme and went back into service.

    Then God did something wonderful. We had the two-year Ordinary National Diploma programme, after which you would do industry training and then you would return for your Higher National Diploma. That is five years altogether. But when I applied to The Polytechnic, Ibadan, they discovered that there were many of us at the advanced level. Many were already in the university and most of us were experienced and older. But there was this list of younger people from 18 to 21 who had just left secondary school and they had brilliant results, so they separated us and put us in a class of OND. Most of us who had higher qualifications, that is, one to three papers in advanced level, including some who were in the university, came to pursue Accountancy. So, they created a special class for us and slashed the five-year programme to a three-year programme. That was the first time they did it in Nigeria. That was the opportunity I had.

    Earlier, I left the Ministry of Defence to go and read Accountancy in The Polytechnic, Ibadan. So, when I came out, after NYSC, I returned to Defence. I heard that the Ministry of External Affairs had been given the licence to employ their own accountants. Before then, the External Affairs Ministry had a supply of accountants that were loaned to it from the Ministry of Finance. After various postings of maybe five to ten years in batches, they would return to the Ministry of Finance. But at the time I crossed to External Affairs, we were employed directly by the Ministry of External Affairs. After a year, I was among those posted out to various missions.

     

    How my music career was ignited

    fafowora
    fafowora

    When I was born, my mother had four or five daughters. So, everybody in the family knew her anxiety that she longed to have a son. So, when my mother eventually had a son, everybody was happy. One of my great uncles was so happy; I was welcomed into the world with music from the Banjo Band. So my mother used to say perhaps this is an indication that this boy is coming with physical talents.

    In those days, when I showed signs of love for music, my mother used to tell me these things. But she never wanted me to exhibit those talents. My father also went against it. But I just continued until my father died on October 19, 1953 and my mother in 1961, two years after I had left school.

    Having listened to highlife and other genres of music in Ilesa for so long, I was conversant with many styles at that time. My uncle was the first to open a (record) shop where music was regularly played in the 1940s. I remember he opened two shops. When I was young, I visited such shops regularly. That was where I started. In the 1950s, I would visit Ibadan around the end of the year during the holidays and my cousin, who was in CMS Grammar School, Lagos, would also come. We would always meet there in Ibadan.

    One December, I went to Oke Bola where his father lived and his dad told me, ‘Dapo has not come.’ His dad was going to Paradise Club, so I followed him. When we got there, he took his instrument and was playing. Then one young man opened the door and entered. Immediately he came in, somebody sang, ‘Lucky, lucky, somebody yarasi e.’ That was the popular song that Roy Chicago had just released. I was intrigued and I asked, ‘Is this Roy Chicago?’ Everybody was greeting him, so I looked at him, while my uncle played for about an hour. He then said it was time to return home, so I carried his bag.

    I then ran back to Paradise Club and Roy was still there. I walked up to him and said, ‘How are you, sir?’ He said, ‘Yes? Are you not the young man who left with Baba Fafowora?’ I said yes. He asked, ‘Did you forget something?’ I said, ‘I have come to see you. I learnt a short while ago that you are Roy Chicago. I’ve just come to know you further. I’m happy to see you.’ He was so happy. He had brought a car, so as he was going to Central Hotel where he had lodged, I told him I was going somewhere else to meet my sister. I accompanied him in his car and we discussed until he got to Central Hotel.

    He asked what I was doing and I told him I was a student at Ilesa Grammar School. He asked what music I liked and I said, ‘I like Highlife.’ I sang about three or four songs. He asked what I wanted to do when I left school and I said I would come to Ibadan to work. He said, ‘Link up with me and let’s see how far we can go.’ So, when I left school, I moved to Ibadan. He had moved to Lagos at the end of 1958 or early ’59. But he would come occasionally to play at Paradise Club or Central Hotel. So, I used to attend.

    Then I started giving him songs and he was so surprised. I first gave him Wazobia, Fiwa Jomi and Iba Fun Obi Mi. He continued to ask me if I had other songs, and I continued to give him songs over the years. So, our friendship lasted so many years until he died in 1988. I was preparing to go abroad on a posting when he died. In all, I gave him over 25 songs. We weren’t able to record them all but he waxed a good number of my songs and he gave me credit.

     

    How I met my wife

    I married very late because of the crucibles of life that didn’t encourage me to marry early. Even though I had some relationships, I always avoided getting married because I was not mentally prepared for it. At some point, I went somewhere with the wife of one of my relatives and while we were talking, my attention was on her (future wife) and I said I was interested in getting to know her. She was a nurse and I went to see her where she was working. I spoke to her and said I had seen her before. I went to speak with her and that was how it started. Gradually, things went along and we got married in 1980. The second week after the wedding, we jetted out to London to resume work in the Nigeria High Commission. Since then, it’s been a happy marriage. We thank God.

    Experiencing the joy of first-time father

    I was posted from London to Edinburgh, Scotland, in acting capacity for the accountant of the embassy, who was to go on admission for an operation. That was after the visit of (then) President Shehu Shagari to London in 1981. After the visit, the posting came out, so I had to go to Scotland. But interestingly, before I left London, my wife had already conceived. So, when I was delayed in Edinburgh, it was time for her to give birth to the baby, so I had an anxious moment.

    They had given us the date to go to the hospital and that they were seeing some symptoms that she needed some assistance in the hospital. So, I hurriedly left Edinburgh and came to London. I went straight to the hospital. Immediately I got there, I introduced myself. The nurses and doctors said, ‘Congratulations!’ I jumped up and it was a very happy moment. I said, ‘I am now somebody.’ I now had a child, despite all the difficult times I had gone through. I said, ‘I thank God.’ Tears of joy were just rolling down. It was a very nice experience.

     

    Biggest trying moments of my life

    Exactly three months later, on July 6, the only boy out of my four children was knocked down by a car that was coming from Durbar Hotel, and it happened at the gate leading to my house within the estate. I was in the office and I experienced a sudden coldness. At the same time, my body began to shake like someone who had been suffering from a fever for a week. My hands and feet were shaking. So I told my boss, ‘I’m not feeling comfortable, I’m going to the hospital.’ My driver parked my briefcase and led me to the garage. So, I entered the car. On getting home, I encountered the situation and I broke down. It was terrible. My wife and I were affected psychologically. Around that time, I would just leave the house and stroll around, not even knowing where I was going. But God took control.

    If the house was a rented apartment, I would have left the place. But it is my property, so we were forced to remain there and we are still there. Any time I pass through the place, whether twice or thrice in a day, I always remember that sad experience. But the Lord giveth and taketh.

    He was seven years old and a fantastic boy. When we were abroad, you needed to see his school report. Somebody who lodged at Durbar Hotel, the driver came to take him to the airport, he sped and the accident happened. He was arrested and locked up. On the third day, I had a nudge from God to leave him. When I told the policeman that I was no longer interested in the case, the divisional police officer said, ‘Go and write it in black and white.’ He said he didn’t want anybody to start giving insinuations that he might have been bribed. So, I wrote it. He said I should attach the death certificate and I did. I gave it to the DPO. Within minutes, the man (driver) was in tears.

    If the boy were alive, he would have been 36 years old. And as a brilliant boy, he would have recorded a lot of successes. Maybe by now, he would have been a doctor or an engineer.

     

    Retirement from public service

    I retired from the Foreign Service on March 11, 1995. Since then, I have worked with one or two other companies. But at my age, I can’t go out to do any other job for a salary. I still thank God for my health and music remains in me. I compose every day.

    A piece of music can just surge in my mind with accompanying lyrics. Over the years, I undermined it as just a talent but God is great. I’m setting up a studio now for regular music production, so people can come to do their recordings. It will encourage many of the young people coming up.

  • Family‘s last moments with Nigerian female pilot of ill-fated aircraft in Cameroon

    Family‘s last moments with Nigerian female pilot of ill-fated aircraft in Cameroon

    She dreamt of becoming a pilot from age four, says father ex-Senator Ewuga

    Bereaved ex-FCT minister takes solace in deceased daughter being Nasarawa’s first female pilot

    It is almost two weeks since the Ewuga family in Nasarawa State lost their pilot daughter in a plane crash, but they are still far from getting over the disaster.

    Tragedy had befallen the family whose members include a former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State Solomon Ewuga when the mini aircraft belonging to Caverton Aviation, a subsidiary of Lagos-based Caverton Offshore support group and  operators of Caverton Helicopters, crashed in Central Cameroon, killing Adzuayi, the 31-year-old second daughter of former FCT minister, Senator Solomon Ewuga. Ten other people on board the ill-fated aircraft also lost their lives.

    Adzuayi was flying the aircraft from Nsimalen Airport in Cameroonian capital Yaounde to Belabo in the eastern part of the country when the air traffic services lost radio contact.

    Since then, he has been grappling with an experience his fragile posture can hardly bear as every new day sees his mind is crowded with thoughts of his deceased daughter.

    “I was shocked to hear of her sudden death,” he said as he recalled the good moments he shared with Adzuayi, her school days, university and overseas training, her job as a pilot and then her unfortunate death.

    The former Senator, who was reluctant to talk about the life and times of his deceased daughter, said he would continue to miss her because there is no one on earth that can fill the void Adzuayi left in his life.

    Tears flowed ceaselessly from the eyes of Adzuayi’s elder sister, Luraghi, as she could not but wonder how her promising younger sister would kiss death so early in her life.

    The late Adzuayi had fallen in love with the sky very early in her life and seized every opportunity to actualise her dream of flying an aeroplane until she met her untimely death in the Cameroon disaster.

    Read Also: Fed Govt sets up family courts for children

    As early as age four, it was already clear to her parents that their daughter was destined for a career as a pilot. Unfortunately, the realisation of her dream was short-lived as the aircraft she was flying from Yaounde to Belabo lost contact with the air traffic control and crashed, killing all the people on board.

    “She had always wanted to fly since the age of four. She always had her eyes on planes and how they operated.

    “So we knew that one day she was going to fly. It was her dream, and she did it,” Adzuayi’s sister, Mrs Akayika Yei-Dei Luraghi, said.

    Looking frail and obviously devasted, Senator Ewuga betrayed emotions as he tried to speak further to our correspondent on the incident. He admitted being devastated by the news of his daughter’s death.

    Recalling Adzuayi’s passion for aviation, Senator Ewuga confirmed that from age of four, she had started showing interest in flying and would often march to a plane’s cockpit to see the pilot whenever they boarded a plane.

    “I never thought that death could come this early to snatch my 31-year-old pilot daughter,” he lamented.

    Ewuga said his daughter read Marketing, with a degree in Computer Graphics at the Cleveland State University, USA. After her first degree, she returned to Nigeria for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and later worked in an oil and gas company as a liaison officer in Abuja.

    But she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot and enrolled at the Phoenix East Aviation Beach, Florida in the USA. There, she underwent a 14-month training and received a commercial pilot licence in 2015.

    Recalling their last conversation, Senator Ewuga said they had communicated a night before the crash, and she was due to return home on June 14.

    “We discussed her coming, and she wanted to renew her American visa in a drop box. We talked about the renewal, which I had started and was looking forward to her return,” he said.

    He explained further that her job warranted that she worked eight weeks in and eight weeks off, so she had just finished the eight weeks and was getting ready to return to Nigeria to reunite with the family. Senator Ewuga however took solace in that as the first female pilot from Nasarawa State, his daughter had made the family and the state proud.

    Luraghi, her 35-year-old only sister, said she was more than a sister to her.

    “She was my friend. Now, I look at everything in the house and it is just like I am seeing her. We were not able to see every day due to the nature of her job, but we used to talk.

    “Her death has devastated me. It threw me into a state of confusion. Loosing somebody that is a part of my life has been painful,” an emotionally stricken Luraghi said.

    Recalling their last conversation, she said her younger sister had asked if she could give someone her phone number to contact her and deliver some items.

    She also said that Adzuayi, who had been in Cameroon for over three years, recently travelled to Canada to spend a few days before her untimely death.

    She disclosed that the chairman of the airways Adzuayi worked with, Mr Bilden Mason Njora, had paid the family a condolence visit.

    “She was lovely, chatty, fun. She always wanted to engage people. Even if you wouldn’t want to talk, she would still talk to you; she would disturb you somehow.

    “She was also very caring. She always put people first and made sure that everyone was well treated, even when it inconvenienced her.

    “She was disciplined, hardworking and humble. We saw all of that in her, even at work.

    “Those were some of the things she exemplified, and everybody was happy and comfortable around her because she was friendly and easy to relate with,” Luraghi said, weeping.

    For Zeni Dogun, who had been Adzuayi’s friend since the age of two, losing a friend like her is nothing but devastating.

    She described her late friend as brave, independent, honest and energetic, adding that they attended kindergarten together in Jos, Plateau State.

    She said although they went to different secondary schools, they remained close and attended the same university.

    Dogun said: “We spent weekends, holidays and evenings together in each other’s houses while growing up.

    “Our houses were within walking distances and we used to walk each other home for almost an hour, going back and forth and never running out of what to say.

    “When we passed out from our respective secondary schools, we attended the same universities – Dordt College in Iowa, USA, then Cleveland State University, Ohio, also in the US, where we graduated.”

    She said her late friend made an impact wherever she went and encouraged people to embrace and enjoy one another.

    “As long as I can remember, she always wanted to be a pilot.

    “She was focused, dedicated and achieved her dream. She had the ability to light up a room. She loved flying and the view in the clouds,” she added.

    Describing her late friend’s dedication to work, Dogun said that throughout the COVID-19 period, Adzuayi worked tirelessly in her company, spending months away from her family and friends.

    “She will be deeply missed and always loved,” Dogun concluded.

  • Girls, don’t let the world deceive and later reject you!

    Girls, don’t let the world deceive and later reject you!

    DEAR Mummy Temilolu, I’m a guy and i know this is Girls Club. However, since i started reading your articles, you changed my life! You’ve taught me a lot of things even my family never taught me. May God continue to bless you and your family.

    Wilson Monday

     

    Dear Madam Temilolu,

    Ever since i decided to stay chaste and follow God, i have seen nothing but all round positivity in my life ad God has been revealing Himself to me! My closeness to Him is topnotch! I wish more of our youth will see your articles and understand them properly! Fornication draws you away from God, sin draws you far from God! Keep up the good work ma!

    Adaora

     

    Dear Aunty Temilolu,

    May God bless you greatly for the work you are doing in such a generation as this ma. I want to share this to bless a young girl out there.

    Let’s be careful of the things we take to heart when we stay amongst people who talk anyhow. Some years back as a teen, I went for a youth fellowship in the church and on our way back, some of the people going my way decided that we should just trek to the bus stop. They started a conversation BUT one of the things that stuck to my head then was a comment from one of the young boys with us. He said he could never marry a virgin. I was disturbed. We were just children then but the way that word stuck in my mind made me feel there was no need to be a virgin at some point when I was under pressure later on in life. But I thank God for His mercies that made me overcome pressures even when it looked as if everyone is having premarital sex. One of the benefits this has done for me is that I don’t look for jobs. I see people complaining they don’t have a job BUT it is not the same with me. As I speak to you, I have a great job but the CEO of a conglomerate called me and said i should drop a proposal for a job in his organization saying he trusts me because of my love for God. See, it pays to fear God. Every young person out there should know this. Interestingly, the same guy who made that comment back then out of youthful exuberance is now born again. Imagine how many girls must have fallen, out of his careless words -what your worldly friends say is vague compared to what the bible instructs. Marriage is BED UNDEFILED. There are countless blessings from being chaste, both male and female. May God continue to bless you ma! Please don’t stop writing on sexual purity!

    Ify

     

    My darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian sisters.

    It surprises me how a good number of you don’t miss church on Sunday and follow different trending prayer meetings- offline and online and still have the guts to disrespect the one you are crying to by defiling your body- His temple, your sanctuary and power house! Who’s fooling who? Take it or leave it, a lot of lives would have been most beautiful and wondrous but for disobedience and transference of strange spirits into that life through sex! Did you even know a lot of people out there have lost their souls to the devil unsuspecting and become a pawn in its hands? And these are the type of people you should never have anything to do with! They are so soaked in darkness, they can’t think or do things God’s way! Also, a lot of your friends who have long been defiled and passed around by men would never encourage you to stay chaste because they wish they were still intact. I tell you it’s better you don’t even fraternize with such people because they would do anything and everything to bring you down to their level. And guess what? Just one intercourse could make your life spiral out of control, put your life in bondage and mess you up forever or make you suffer for years that which could have been easily avoided! Now, this brings to mind a lady’s story which i shall share next Saturday! May God empower you to stay chaste!

     

    • I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO Instagram @ Okeowotemilolu
  • Father of suspected Yahoo boy who died after money rituals asks police to arrest fleeing cleric

    Father of suspected Yahoo boy who died after money rituals asks police to arrest fleeing cleric

    Several weeks after a suspected Yahoo boy died after undergoing money rituals, his bereaved father is asking the police to apprehend the Islamic cleric that performed the rituals on him. KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    The father of the 18-year-old boy, who allegedly died after engaging in money rituals performed by one Alfa AbdulRasaq Araokanmi, has urged the police authorities to arrest the fleeing Muslim cleric and prosecute him for murder.

    The Nation had reported on Saturday, April 9, 2022, how the deceased teenager, Peter Albert, was introduced to Alfa Araokanmi for money-making rituals by one of his friends, an 18-year-old identified simply as David, after unsuccessful rounds in internet scams.

    The money ritual, however, went awry when he returned home about three weeks ago panting and feeling weak. Before his death moments later, Peter reportedly explained all that transpired between him and Araokanmi to his father and even urged him to check his mobile phone for the exchanges between him and the cleric on Whatsapp.

    It was said that Alfa Araokanmi has since bolted without a trace.

    In the petition to the Commander of Ota Area Command of Ogun State Police Command, Peter’s distraught father, Mr. Tayo Albert, alleged that Araokanmi demanded the sum of 200,000 as fee for the money ritual concoction and warned his son against making any part payment, threatening him with untimely death if he paid him in bits.

    He claimed that his son ran mad shortly after he underwent the money rituals performed on him by Alfa Araokanmi.

    The petition dated March 16 and written by Albert’s lawyer, Adewale Ademola Ige, reads in part: “The said Alfa Abdulrasaq (Araokanmi) demanded the sum of N200,000 to prepare a concoction and gave it to Mr. Peter Albert to drink, that it would solve all his poverty in this world.

    “The said Alfa Abadulrasaq (Araokanmi) asked the late Mr. Peter to bring the money in full, (and that) any part payment would lead to his untimely death.”

    He stated further that his son ran mad before he eventually died in Alfa Araokanmi’s hands.

    “The late Mr. Peter Albert took the medicine and ran mad. But before his madness, he confessed that he was unable to complete the payment of the sum of N200,000 (and that) he saw Alfa Abdulrasaq Araokanmi with arms and ammunition which he eventually used on him that led to his death on the 6th of March, 2022,”

    The petition stated that Albert further discovered what happened between his son and the fleeing Muslim cleric when he checked his son’s phone and went through his Whatsapp conversations.

    “The father of the late Peter Albert went through the handset of his late son and discovered all the conversations regarding the death of his son in the hands of Alfa Abdulrasaq (Araokanmi),” the petition added.

  • Scandal rocks quarantine centre as stranded deportees cough out N15,000 for SIM pack, NIN registration

    Scandal rocks quarantine centre as stranded deportees cough out N15,000 for SIM pack, NIN registration

    A scandalous development reared its head during the week at the hotel used as quarantine centre for deported migrants from Austria and Germany in Lagos. Because they were stranded and vulnerable, the deportees were made to pay between N10,000 and N15,000 for SIM pack and National Identity  Number (NIN) registration, both of which should not be more than N3,000. The centre was also said to have compounded their woes when it assured them of government support but later reneged. The deportees’ predicament appears to lend credence to the widely held belief that reintegration of migrants in the country is a charade, brought to the front burner only when issues of grants or redemption of national image are at stake, INNOCENT DURU reports

    • Returnees stage protest over failed promise to give them stipends for transportation 

    • We’ve been battling with sleeplessness, psychological breakdown since we returned – Previous deportees 

    • I’m not aware of amount charged by NIN registrar – Hotel Manager

    • Our projects don’t cover deportees – IOM

    After years of unsuccessful attempts to regularise their stay in Germany and other European countries, more than 30 Nigerians were deported back home last week. For most of the deportees, their return was both sudden and shocking.

    At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, they looked pensive as they returned to their fatherland more wretched and frustrated than they were before leaving the country. “It is an agonising return. I never planned it this way,” one of them said downheartedly.

    Their drooping spirit, however, got a lift when they arrived at a hotel on Airport Road for a seven-day quarantine programme.

    “When we got there, one man told us that we would be there for seven days and that a government official would come and address us.

    “He also told us that at the end of the exercise, we would be given some money. This calmed our nerves and made us happy,” one of the deportees who identified himself simply as Nmasi said.

    When the deportees completed the quarantine exercise on Tuesday, they felt highly relieved and looked forward to going to see their loved ones they had not seen for years. In the euphoria of the moment, they exchanged banter with one another and the hotel workers.

    But within a split second, the convivial atmosphere at the premises gave way to deafening altercations as the deportees were asked to leave the premises without being given any money, contrary to earlier promise.

    Nmasi said: “On the day we were to leave, we met the manager of the hotel to ask for the money they had promised us, but she told us that we should depart to our various homes because no government official was coming.

    “The statement infuriated everybody, leading to serious protest at the premises. We vowed not to leave until government provided money for everybody to go.

    “At a point, the manager threatened to invite soldiers and policemen. But rather than douse the tension, the remark further provoked us.

    “Some of the deportees told her that they were fully prepared for the worst. Others threatened to turn the hotel upside down while some others who are based in Lagos threatened to bring in hoodlums to vandalise the hotel.”

    Nmasi’s claims were corroborated by another deportee who identified himself simply as Jetta.

    Jetta said: “They told us that the federal government had made arrangements to give us money.  That raised the hope of many and prompted them buy some things at the hotel.

    “The story changed at the point of departure as we were told that no government official was coming.

    “Crisis erupted instantly as the manager arrogantly talked down on the people instead of calming their frayed nerves.  The whole place boiled for about two hours.”

    Besides the unfulfilled monetary pledge, the deportees also accused the hotel management of cruelly ripping them off without consideration for their conditions.

    Nmasi said: “There was massive exploitation of our people at the hotel. The manager brought people to sell SIM cards and register us for National Identity Number at N12,000 each.

    “She knew that many of them desperately needed the SIM cards to reach out to their families.  That plus other forms of exploitation at the hotel made tension rise.

    “The manager thought we came with hard currencies and so should be milked dry. The rooms we were kept in were not cleaned for the entire period we stayed there.

    “We were given just a towel each throughout our stay. After eating, they would ask us to go back to our rooms.  They were treating us like animals.

    “They said we were being quarantined but the hotel workers were not wearing face masks while attending to us and were shaking hands with us. “When they had guests, they would switch on the air conditioners. But when there were no guests, they switch them off.

    “The government should investigate the hotel and mete out the right punishment to them.”

    While the amount quoted by Nmasi sounded outrageous, one of the deportees from Austria, Obi Stanly, confirmed that he paid N15,000 for a SIM card and NIN registration.

    Stanly said: “The manager brought one man who charged me N15,000 for SIM and NIN registration. Some other people paid N12,000, N10,000 or N8,000.

    “I was alarmed when I heard this because it made me to wonder why they had to charge me so much. Unfortunately, the SIM card didn’t work. I had to pay N1,000 outside the hotel to make it work.

    “The guy who registered it for me inside the hotel advised me to go and open it to avoid disconnection when I told him it was not working.”

    Checks made by the reporter revealed that a SIM pack, including its registration, costs N500 in most places in Lagos while registration of NIN costs between N1,500 and N2,000. Many of the migrants believed that they would not have been so exploited and dehumanised if the relevant government agencies had been on ground to supervise their stay at the hotel.

    How tension was doused

    Explaining how the crisis was resolved, Nmasi said: “When I saw that the tension was getting out of hand, I had to quickly call on Mr Rex Osa, the Coordination Activist for Network Refugee4Refugee, a political platform for refugees/migrants self-organisation based in Stuttgart, Germany, to intervene. He subsequently sent N10,000 to each person, and that was what saved the situation.”

    Jetta described the experience at the hotel as dehumanising. “Everything there was a big rip off. They sold everything to us at cut-throat. They prevented family members from coming to see us too. Imagine people coming from different parts of the country to see us being sent away. What does N10, 000 for each deportee mean to the government? It obviously amounted to nothing, but they would rather see us suffer than help.  It has made me to hate Nigeria even more.”

    Nigeria, deportees and challenge of reintegration

    Nigeria, together with other members of the United Nations in 2018 adopted the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), part of which is to ensure dignified return for migrants.

    Laudable as the country’s move is, the reporter who has been working on the return and reintegration of migrants, especially deportees, said Nigeria’s adoption of the GCM  is merely ceremonial as deportees have continued to be treated in the most inhuman manner and in some cases as criminals.

    The reporter noted that since he started monitoring deportation from Europe in 2019, various government agencies have continued to feign ignorance about the deportation of migrants. The Nigerian Immigration Service had on different occasions denied deportation exercises even when confronted with incontrovertible evidence.

    Deportees were previously dumped and abandoned without help at the cargo airport in Lagos.  The ugly development continued even at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. The trend, however, changed after our reports prompted the German government to make provision for the deportees to be accommodated and quarantined on return.

    The authorities of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs in 2019 accepted to rehabilitate two deportees following intervention by The Nation. The commission then claimed that it had vocational centres where returnees could be empowered. There have been numerous deportations thereafter without any intervention by the commission or sister agencies.

    How government’s attitude compounds deportees’ plight

    Many migration projects in the country, according to findings, are carried out or supported by international organisations such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Unfortunately the IOM projects are restricted to voluntary returnees and do not cover deportation.

    “Our beneficiaries are not deportees but voluntary returnees, so we cannot comment on this. Maybe state authorities could give a hand,” Stylia Kampani, IOM’s Head of Communication in Nigeria, said in reply to our request on what the organisation does to help deportees.

    IOM’s absence from the management of deportees may have been responsible for the yawning gap and unbridled exposure of deportees to despicable inhuman treatment.

    Following the abandonment of deportees by the government, many of them have continued to suffer psychological and emotional challenges. Some of the deportees who came before the recent set told The Nation how they have been battling with sleeplessness and trauma among other challenges.

    One of the deportees, who identified himself as Ola, said: “When I arrived in Nigeria, I was dumped and abandoned at the NAHCO in front of the Lagos airport, without help.

    “Life has not been easy since I returned home. In fact, I have not been coping well since I returned.

    “For a long time, I could not sleep when I came back. I had a problem sleeping.

    “It took about four to five months dealing with psychological problems and nobody was there to give psycho-social support.

    “I felt seriously sick, especially when I just came back, because everything was down for me and I didn’t know what to do.

    “It was my wife and my kids that were calming me down during those dark moments.

    “In Germany, I could go to the hospital whenever I was sick without paying a dime. The German government would pay for everything. “But that is not the case in Nigeria. If you have ordinary headache here and you go to the hospital, you will have to pay for treatment.

    “The Nigerian government has not done anything to assist us. I have not received any assistance from the government or its agencies since I came back.”

    Ola added: “You cannot compare life in Germany with life here in Nigeria. They are never and can never be the same.

    “When you work over there, you can live comfortably. But here in Nigeria, it is hard to feed oneself. I felt very bad when I landed in Nigeria.

    “It is through the help of friends that I have been surviving. If I can get a lump sum, I want to start a business.

    “I want to go back to selling baby clothes, shoes and the rest. That was the business that my wife and I were doing before I travelled.  If I can get money, I will be able to expand the business.”

    Another returnee, Nonso, who was deported in 2018, said life has been terrible since he came back. “It has not been easy for me since then,” he said. It took me a good one year to get over the trauma that I suffered. Even when I am sleeping, I do not see myself in Nigeria. But when I wake up, the reality dawns on me.

    “Up till now, I don’t have anything serious doing. I have been engaged in some form of farming and anything my family gets we eat. If we get nothing, we sleep like that.

    “I want to do transportation business. I was into business in the northern part of the country before I travelled. It was the Boko Haram menace that forced me to travel.

    “There in Europe, there was power supply, but that is not available here. You cannot compare Europe to Africa and Nigeria in particular. Life here is frustrating. That is why everybody is struggling to travel.

    “In Europe, you are comfortable and live without fear. We worked, made money and lived very well. The reverse is the case here.

    “Here, police will stop and search you but I never experienced that in Germany. Here, police can come and arrest you where you are sitting down. There are a lot of anomalies here.

    “There have been temptations to engage in ungodly lifestyles but when I look at my experience in Germany, I tell myself that I must not be involved in anything stupid here in Nigeria.

    “I will keep struggling, believing that things will get better.

    “Before I travelled, I would always make myself available for any trouble. But when I travelled, my life changed.

    “Since I came back, I don’t like noise or having issues with anyone. I avoid trouble and stay on my own. That is what I learnt in Europe. I stay away from anything that could cause problems for me.”

    For Maria, life since coming back to the country has been hell of a sort.

    She said: “This country is a hell and that is what it is. Life here is too strenuous. When I arrived here, I felt I had come back to my problem.

    “I ran away from stress here and I am back to it. If you are sick here, you cannot go to the hospital because you don’t have money. In Germany, I would only go to the hospital with just my card and the government would pay.

    “I was working but the government was paying half of my rent. When I was not working, the government was paying the rent every month.  Why won’t you feel relaxed in that situation?

    “I never wanted to leave, so when they took me to the airport to be deported, I was crying. “While at the airport on arrival, my brain was not telling me where to go. From nowhere, a member of Refugee4refugee came and asked if I wanted to be accommodated for some days free of charge. I said yes. I never knew that any organisation could do such for me.

    “When I went to a relation to stay after leaving the hotel, the wife asked me to leave after three days because I came with nothing.

    “I couldn’t go to my state, Imo, because I have been hearing that the place is on fire. I later used the money I had to rent an apartment. My challenge is how to renew the rent when it expires.”

    Speaking about life overseas, Maria said: “Life in Germany was totally enjoyable. I was totally relaxed there. It is only when you don’t have a residence permit that you will be tensed up because you don’t know what will happen.  Those who were lucky not to have been deported are in second heaven.

    “The cost of things here is in thousands and millions. Everybody is struggling to get thousands and millions, and when you get it and go to the market, everything will vanish and you will start struggling all over. There is too much stress here in Nigeria.

    “In Germany, we were making use of cents.  The highest amount you would use to do shopping is 25 or 50 Euro. But here you must have N10,000.

    “The other time I went to the market with N10,000, I thought I was holding too much money. But when  I started buying things, I was surprised that the money didn’t get anywhere. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

     I am not aware of amount charged by NIN registrar

    The manager of the hotel, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, claimed she was not aware of the amount that the NIN registrar charged the deportees.

    “Please can you come down and let’s discuss and I will call the person that did the NIN,” she requested.

    When our correspondent declined her invitation and insisted that she should react to the allegations, she said: “It is a lie. They said they needed NIN and I called the person that is doing it in the MTN office to come and meet them.  I don’t know how much he charged them.

    “Is it a crime to call the person that is doing it when my guests needed assistance?  I don’t know how much the person charged. It is between them and the person. I wasn’t the one that did the negotiation.  Did I have any special interest in it?”

    She also debunked the allegation that the deportees were promised that government officials would come and give them some money.

    “They were told that there is a man that comes to give money to deportees voluntarily. The person is not a government official.

    “They were not the first or second set that the man would support. The person was telling them that he is not a government official but that he is doing it voluntarily.  The person works in Germany.”

    In a telephone chat from his base in Germany, Rex Osa, denied the manager’s claim. His words: “We didn’t tell them to communicate anything to the deportees. The manager has my phone number. She promised calling me for the past two months but she didn’t.  When the problem escalated she started calling me to handle the situation. She took my time the other day and I started talking with the deportees from 8:30am until 1pm when they were leaving. I had to within one hour organize money to support 36 deportees, otherwise they were ready to bring the hotel down.

    “ I think they just used that strategy to calm the deportees for the first two days and giving them hope until the last day when they are going to dump them out of the hotel.  The hotel doesn’t discuss with us, they don’t negotiate with us and they didn’t ask us to be offering anything. The hotel told them that people will come from the Nigerian government to give them something.  Some of them were even informed that on the last day they would be taken from the hotel to the airport, get a briefing before they leave.  There were different information  that I was getting from these people.”

    The head of NCFRMI in Lagos, Mrs Erinfolami in a  brief telephone chat that was truncated by unstable network connection said the commission has been doing a lot to assist deportees.

    She had yet to respond to a text message seeking adding reaction from her as at the time of filing this report.