The Nation Newspaper

Tag: death

  • Two held for APC chieftain’s death

    Two held for APC chieftain’s death

    The Homicide Section of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested two persons for the killing of an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Salawe Daramola.

    Police spokesman Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed the arrest yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Nwosu said the suspects were arrested during the Eid-EL-Fitr celebration in different parts of the state.

    The suspects, he said, had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for investigation.

    NAN reports that two gunmen riding on a motorcycle last Thursday evening shot dead Daramola, a chieftain of APC in Ward B in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area.

    It was learnt that the assailants stormed the deceased’s residence at K Close, 3rd Avenue, Festac Town and shot him at close range three times.

    The suspects arrived in the place around 5.30pm.

    Nwosu said the suspects were first interrogated by the Area E Commander, ACP Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police before being taken to SCID.

     

  • Emir reflects on life after death

    Emir reflects on life after death

    The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, yesterday at the African House, Government House, Kano, wept as he reflected on life after death.

    Tears welled up in his eyes as he addressed his subjects on the need to exhibit good character of honesty, trust, transparency and compassion when interacting with others.

    Emir Sanusi 11, who was at the Government House to visit Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as part of the events to mark the Hauwan Nasarawa, urged Ganduje to use his experience to develop the state and promote peace.

    He also advised him not to relent in providing security, saying he should prioritise education, health, agriculture and water.

    The Emir implored leaders to use Eid-El-Fitr to reflect on the teachings of Prophet Mohammed by making a resolve that one day, “we shall stand before our creator and answer for all we have done.”

    He enjoined the people to be law-abiding and be their brother’s keepers, irrespective of religion or ethnicity.

    The monarch told the government to tackle insecurity.

    He pledged the support of the Emirate to the Ganduje administration and congratulated members of the executive council on their appointments.

    The governor said his administration would transform the state through new projects and the completion of the ones inherited from the last administration.

    Ganduje, who decried a new method of begging, described the action as unislamic.

    He said his administration would resist attempts to make Kano the headquarters of street begging.

    Ganduje said he had begun discussions with President Muhammadu Buhari on how to resettle Fulani herdsmen at Falgore.

  • Court awards N100m against police for woman’s death in custody

    The police are to pay N100million damages to the family of a victim who died in custody, Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos held yesterday.

    The late Mrs. Patricia Onyeabo died in detention last May 16 after being accused of involvement in a Nigerian Railway Corporation N1billion pension scam.

    Onyeabo, a former NRC Secretary/Legal Adviser died about four weeks after the police detained her for the alleged fraud.

    Her daughter, Amaka, filed a fundamental rights enforcement action and sought damages for her mother’s death.

    The judge held that the police denied the deceased access to medical treatment while in custody.

    He said had the late Onyeabo been allowed access to her doctor and medications, she probably would not have died.

    “I hold that the Nigeria Police have failed in their responsibility. The applicant had a right to life and dignity of human person but was denied them while in the custody of the police, thereby leading to her life being terminated.

    “If she was allowed access to the hospital, she would not have died. The police denied her the opportunity to visit the hospital for the treatment of her ailment,” Justice Idris held.

    The deceased and others were being investigated over the alleged mismanagement the NRC workers’ contributory pension scheme.

    They were said to have been initially detained at the Nigerian Railway Police Command in Ebute-Meta, Lagos, before being transferred to the  Federal Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja.

    Onyeabo was said to have died about five days after being transferred to Abuja.

    Her daughter, through Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), claimed N1billion for general and aggravated damages over the “unlawful detention, harassment and intimidation of the applicant’s deceased mother.”

    Idigbe claimed that the police violated the deceased’s fundamental rights to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, freedom of movement and fair hearing as guaranteed by sections 33, 34, 35, 36 and 46 of the 1999 Constitution.

    The monetary damages claimed, Idigbe said was meant to compensate for the pain caused Amaka over the “continuous deterioration of the applicant’s deceased mother’s health until her very painful and very premature death.”

    The damages, the lawyer added, was for the “complete degradation, loss of reputation and goodwill of the applicant’s deceased mother’s family name built by sheer hard work, and the collective shame and ostracism suffered by the entire Onyeabo family as a result of the lawless and abusive acts of the respondents.”

     

  • Schooling in the jaws of death

    Schooling in the jaws of death

    • Travails of children going to school on rivers used by smugglers, oil thieves
    • It is an easy way of conscripting innocent students – Security expert

    Children are highly vulnerable and, by all estimations, need protection against situations that portend danger to their lives. This is particularly sacrosanct for children living in riverine communities that are daily exposed to dangers by the growing activities of hoodlums on the waterways.

    The Nation’s investigations revealed that the children, who by the design of nature have to go to school on the various rivers, have been going through psychological and emotional trauma, helplessly watching the menacing activities of smugglers, oil thieves and other criminals on the rivers.

    Visits to one of such rivers at Ishashi\Itekun , a community between Lagos and Ogun States, revealed the magnitude of the dangers that the children encounter going and coming to school on the river used by smugglers to perpetrate their heinous acts.

    The movement of the smugglers infuses fears and cripples the innocent students and other travellers on the river.

    Biola, a student in the community, said: “I was perplexed the first time I saw them. In fact, I could not concentrate on my studies all through that day because of  the anxiety that gripped me. I couldn’t go to school thereafter for some time because it took a very long time before I overcame the tension.”

    “It is always horrible running into them. You dare not use your phone when they are coming because they would think you wanted to take their picture. I am not sure they have physically assaulted any student before but I it doesn’t have to get to that level before something is done about it. Their presence and activities are not good for our development as children,” another student said.

    DSC_0720The waterways that separate the mainland and the island in Lagos are other notorious  areas where students’ lives are frequently endangered by the activities of illegal oil bunkerers.  Six students were recklessly killed and eight others seriously injured by one of such hoodlums last week at Irewe, Ojo, a suburb of Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.

    Lamenting the risk involved in plying the waterways that serve as entry and exit points for oil thieves,  Joe, a student in the community, said: “It is a common phenomenon to see illegal oil bunkerers on the water. They are always very reckless when returning from where they have gone to do their illegal business.  This is quite dangerous for the innocent people, especially we the younger ones. This is what we witness from time to time  but the general public would not have been aware of our predicament if the incident that claimed the lives of those children had not happened.”

    Another student who gave his name as  Adu  said he had always had fears about the activities of the hoodlums on the river, adding that his phobia has been heightened by the ugly incident that claimed the lives of six students in the area last week.

    “The frightening movement of the hoodlums on the river instills fears. They always look wild and daring. We are always praying that God should not bring them our way.  Their speed on the water is always a problem to other people because they always cause the wave to affect the smooth sail of other boats and canoes.  Psychologically, this has a telling effect on us as we are always crippled by fears anytime we are on the river. Nobody who has witnessed their movement on the water would wish to experience it again.

    “Apart from the dangers they constitute on the river, they are bad influences on us. Some of us could be tempted to buy into their activities and begin to see illegal oil bunkering as a right way of making money.”

    Sunny, a member of the community, told The Nation that illegal oil bunkering thrives in the area because they have no filling stations from where they could buy petrol for their daily use, adding: “ We don’t have a single petrol station in the whole of this island and people, with the present state of power supply in the country, would always have need for petrol to charge their phones and at least watch television. This simply accounts for why some people latch into the yearning opportunity to engage in illegal oil bunkering. Unfortunately for us, they sell it at exorbitant prices to us.

    “If there were petrol stations here that could sell the product at the fixed price, oil thieves would have nobody to sell their products to and that would make them to look for something else to do. Their activities are not beneficial to us. Instead, they constitute grave dangers to our lives and those of our children. It is only some very few people that aid and abet their activities that benefit from them.”

     

    Insufficient schools

    Findings revealed that most of the children in these communities wouldn’t have been exposed to such dangers if they had enough schools in the area. Because of the dearth of schools, they are left with no alternative than  to travel long distances to go to school to meet their educational needs. Itekun, for example, has just a dilapidated primary school said to have been built since 1940. Consequently, the teeming population of students troop out every morning to distant communities and different parts of Lagos State on water to go to school.

    Irewe, a, community which has 37 villages stretching from Badagry area of the state to Apapa and Lagos Island under it, has just a secondary school available for all the students to attend. This, it was gathered, exposes the children to the risk of travelling on the water everyday to go to school.

    A visit to the community showed that the students often spend a good part of their time travelling on the river to get to their schools. For instance, travelling in a canoe from Waterside, a loading point for the boats and canoes along Iyana Iba, in Ojo Local Government, takes about an hour to get to Irewe, while it takes between 20 to 30 minutes using flying boats. Some of the students residing along the lagoon trek a distance of about 30 minutes from their various villages to get to the bank of the river from where they usually board canoes or boats to their schools.

    One of the student who identified himself as Kayode, said: “I come all the way from Whispering Palm to come to school here because there is no secondary school in my area. It is not in any way easy for most of us because a lot of challenges come with travelling on water, especially during the rainy season. It is worse on our waterways because hoodlums equally use it.  If there were enough secondary schools across the communities, most of us would not be taking the risk of travelling far distances to go to school everyday.”

    Another student, who simply gave his name as Abayomi, also expressed concern about the plight of the students, saying: “We only have a secondary school when people on land have a variety of schools to choose from.  This does not enhance our learning because the teachers can afford to be complacent knowing full well that we have no alternative. If we had more schools, one can move to another school if one is not getting what he wants here.”

    Odunayo, a pupil in Itekun, explained that she prefers taking the risk of crossing the river to schooling in the community. She described the community’s school as a goat house, adding: “The school I attend in Lagos is very beautiful. It can never be compared with this one.  I don’t think that one can acquire the right knowledge attending the school.”

    Also speaking, Chief Simon Olabisi Aina, the Agbaakin of Itekunland, regretted that the community has not had more than a primary school 300 years after its existence.

    Lamenting the absence of standard schools in the community, Chief Aina said: “We really feel very bad that the community does not have more than a primary school built in 1940 by the Anglican Communion. Most of the people here don’t want their children to attend the school because it is a rural school. Many people from Lagos that came here to build houses would never allow their children to go to school here. A good number of the people in the community prefer to send their children to Lagos than allow them to school here.

    “Travelling on the river is a big risk, especially when it is raining. When rain falls, people would not be able to go out or come in. Imagine what the situation would look like if these innocent children  are caught midway on the river by a downpour. It is so bad that most of the children don’t even go to school and many parents also do not go to work during the rainy season  to avoid the danger of boat capsize. No matter how much you know how to swim, one would still be scared. A Yoruba adage says that a good swimmer ends up dying in water. We do have canoes capsizing and it has claimed my lives in the past. It has stopped a little bit since we have engine boats plying the river now.”

    He continued: “The secondary school they gave us in 1980 is about 10 kilometers away from here. The school naturally closed down because many of our people could not go there. The community is trying to do something about it but the fact is that it is too far for our children. The nearest secondary school that our children can attend is at Igbesa, which is about six kilometers away from here. Commercial motorcycle operators charge between N300 and N400 to take a passenger there because of the bad state of the road.  If we have good primary and secondary schools, our children would not be risking their lives travelling on the water every day.

    “Recently, some officials of the Ogun State government came to remove the leaking roofs and replaced them with new ones but that was the last time we saw them. The school lacks furniture and other basic amenities. The students were sitting on the floor until I gave out the benches in my house to them. Not many parents, especially those who have the wherewithal, would want their wards in such a school. We want the government of Lagos and Ogun States to close ranks and build a bridge over the river so that the lives of our people can be saved from the dangers they pass through every day.”

     

    Absence of life jackets for students

    Aside from the dangers of moving on the same water with hoodlums, checks revealed that the lives of the students are further endangered by the inability of the transporters to provide life jackets for them. The elderly residents and visitors are always provided with life jackets. “The transporters don’t have life jackets for us but they have for elderly people. They are always sure of their expertise and also confident that no calamity would happen. We equally were not bothering about it because most of us know how to swim,” one of the students said.

    If the parents had been banking on the ability of the wards to swim all along, the incident of last week has made them to realise the importance of life jackets.

    Angered by the loss of her 18-year-old daughter, Mrs. Akindele, one of the bereaved parents, said that no child in the community would take the risk of going to school on the water without life jackets.  She pleaded that life jackets should be provided for the children to avert dangers in the future.

    “It is important that our children are provided with life jackets to save them from imminent dangers on the river. Left to me, no child would take the risk of travelling on the river to go to school without wearing life jackets. They should sit back at home if life jackets are not provided for them, after all what is the outcome for those of us that even went to the so called school?” she asked rhetorically.

    She added: “The government should also deem it fit to build new secondary schools for us to save our children the risk and stress of travelling long distances to get to school. The population of children in this community has soared beyond what a secondary school can accommodate.  Our village is far bigger than Irewe where the school is located. It is imperative that we have one secondary school constructed for our children to reduce the challenges they face every day.”

    The monarch of the community,  His Royal Majesty, Oba Adekanbi Durosinmi Agunbioyinbo II, Osolu of Irewe, also called on the government to “provide life jackets for the children of different age grades coming from far places on water to school here. There are jackets for the adults but there are none for the children.”

    He, however, differed with the call for the construction of new secondary schools in the area. Instead, he said the government should turn the existing one into a boarding school. “Aside from life jackets, we want the government to make our secondary a boarding school so that these children would not have to risk their lives travelling on the water to get to the school.

    “Presently, we have a four-bedroom flat hostel for the teachers but that is still not enough because a lot of them still come on water everyday to the school. The government should help look into this and also give us  more teachers because there are not enough teachers to teach the students.”

    Wilson Esangbedo, a security expert, expressed serious concern about the despicable experience of the students, stating: “They are capable of being caught in a cross fire in a situation where the hoodlums and security operatives exchange gun shots.  If the hoodlums in question are oil thieves, there could be oil spill in the course of trying to escape from security agents. If for any reason the oil catches fire, the students may be consumed. The females are also prone to all manners of abuses by the hoodlums who most often operate without conscience.

    Also speaking, Honourable Prince Dipo Okeyomi,  the Executive Director of Marial Security in Texas, United States of America, blamed the escalation of the menace on the failure of security agents to nib the problem in the bud, saying: “The security agents know these hoodlums but they have always refused to do the needful. They cannot say that they don’t know the hoodlums. They know them very well. This is why you see some of the hoodlums wearing uniforms of different security agents in the course of their operations. Some of the hoodlums in trying to appear to be doing legal businesses have built hotels and petrol stations. They give free lodging and feeding to their security-agent friends. “Those that have invested in petrol stations are quick to give free petrol and diesel to them in a bid to continue to enjoy their unholy support.  The implications are many and dangerous for the society. The first implication is that some of the students could be killed as it happened last week in Irewe. “The second implication is that some of the students could be influenced to take to such criminal acts because they have seen that they are cheap ways of becoming wealthy. When you have children watching criminals having a field day in their activities almost on a daily basis, you will certainly have some of them that would gladly want to toe that line or be part of them.”

    Explaining the psychological effect of criminals’ activities on  students on the waterways, Lateefat Odunuga, a psychologist, said: “When children are exposed to these experiences, some of them could be  adventurous to explore the end of the experience, while some are afraid to attempt it. Some children are fast learners who learn through some modelling. This could result in them engaging in behaviours that might not be morally acceptable.

    “The survivors of boat wrecks are always in a far worse condition, psychologically as well as physically. They’ve usually swallowed lots of chemical toxins, salt water, other waste substances and are suffering from respiratory diseases as well as mental trauma, having been in the water and having seen their companions die.”

    She added: “Users and operators of vessels on waterways should  take extra precautions during the current rainy season when ocean levels and tidal waves increase. They should also be able to call the attention of credible government forces when they are confronted by hoodlums. This would help to reduce the rate of hazards children are exposed to. More life jackets should also be provided.”

    Speaking on the efforts of the Nigerian Customs Service towards combating the activities of hoodlums on waterways, the Public Relations Officer, Western Marine Command, Ngozi Okwara,  said: “We are working assiduously to rid the waterways of smugglers. Our men  have just been recently trained and well equipped with AK 47 to deal with the smugglers.

    “The training proved very useful last month when some smugglers attacked our men with dangerous weapons. Our men overpowered them using the knowledge and equipment they acquired during the training.”

    She dismissed fears that innocent citizens could be injured when the officers go after hoodlums, adding: “Smugglers  don’t operate anyhow. They have hours of the day that they operate and I  can assure that we are on top of our job and would never operate in a way that would be detrimental to the public that we are serving.”

     

  • How I escaped death, by lone crash survivor

    How I escaped death, by lone crash survivor

    The Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, is grieving over the death last Friday of eight students in a road accident. There were nine students aboard the bus. The lone survivor of the accident, Ibukun Laughter Akinbo, a 300-Level, Science student relives her lucky escape. SANYA BOLUWATIFE (400-Level Law) reports.

    They were in high spirits as they sat in the bus heading for their homes after a tedious semester. They had just finished their examination. “How did you answer that question?” “How did you tackle that number?” the students might have been asking one another as they chatted heartily.

    Going home was a big relief for these students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. They were looking forward to a restful holiday. When they left their campus last Friday, they bade friends and others goodbye. But, unknown to many of them, it was to be the final goodbye – a farewell. Eight of the nine students on board the 18-seater bus died in an accident on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway.

    The driver and two others also died.

    The lone survivor, Ibukun Laughter Akinbo, a 300-level Chemical Science student, relived the tragedy to CAMPUSLIFE, attributing her survival to divine intervention. “I sat with my cousin, Yetunde Aribiola, on the front seat during the journey. Suddenly, the truck collided with the bus in which we were travelling, which caused the container to fall on the bus. I noticed the door broke away and a heavy breeze threw me out of the vehicle,” said Ibukun who has an arm injury.

    Ogun State Deputy Governor Mrs Yetunde Onanuga visited Ibukun at the Babacock University Teaching Hospital at Ilishan Remo where she expressed satisfaction with her condition. Commiserating with the bereaved families, she said: “It is sad that the students died in their prime; at a time the country needs the younger generation to contribute their knowledge towards the growth of the society.”

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the accident occurred at Ilishan Junction.

    •The late Eunice
    •The late Eunice

    The victims are Eunice Odubanjo Oluwadamilola, 200-Level Political Science, Mariam Omolade Ogunnoiki, 100-Level Education, Yetunde Aribiola Elizabeth, 100-Level Biochemistry, Suliat Adams Oluwatobi, 100-Level Accounting, Funmilayo Pampam Latifat, 100-Level Chemical Science, Christiana Asade Ibukun, 200-Level Law, Ayoola Sheriff Gbolahan, 100-Level Agricultural Engineering  and Olatunji Dairo Michael, graduating student of Physics.

    Their death is a sad reminder of a similar accident in which five students were killed.

    It was gathered that the driver of the container-laden truck, with number-plate BDG 779 XE, was driving on the opposite lane to avoid craters on its lane. The unlatched container fell on the Toyota Hiace bus, with number-plate XV 311 MUS, after the head-on collision.

    The Ijebu-Ode Commander of the Ogun State Traffic Management and Compliance Agency (TRACE), Tommy Hamzat, confirmed the truck was moving on the opposite lane.

    He said the truck was on top speed, adding that the container fell on the bus and crushed the occupants. Hamzat said: “I was coming from Sagamu and saw the accident. I had quickly stopped and ran to the scene to rescue the victims. Unfortunately, all the occupants died, including the driver. Only one passenger survived.”

    The TRACE Commander in Sagamu, Kehinde Arode, confirmed the death of 12 passengers, saying one person was “badly injured”. He said the survivor was in the intensive care at OOU Teaching Hospital.The bodies had been deposited in the morgue.

    This is the second time the school would record such tragedy. The first was three months ago.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that between April and last month more than 17 students have died in road accidents.

    The casualities in the earlier, were Jennifer Azuh, 400-Level Banking and Finance, Lolade Yusuf, 300-Level Education, Joy Imoh, 300-Level Mass Communication, Adeoye Ogunuga, 100-Level Engineering and Samuel Adenekan, 300-Level Engineering.

    In their reacctions, some students called for prayers to stem such tragedy. Adeniyi Akinbami, a 300-Level Mass Communication student, said: “The increasing rate of accidents involving OOU students should raise concern in the school.

    We have lost five students in the last three months and, today, another 12 colleagues were crushed to death. This is tragic; things are really getting bad and I think we need prayers in the school to wave off these untimely deaths.

    “Apart from this, the government needs to check the dangerous driving of truck drivers; their bad manners on the road have brought sorrow to many families that have lost their children and loved ones on the road.”

    The Students’ Union Government (SUG) President, Adenola Adegbesan, described the students’ death as sad.  “I may not have met or had close relationship with the deceased, but we were all colleagues. After our examination, we hoped to see ourselves when the school resumes in the next two weeks but these students will not return. I am yet to come to term with the tragic accident. I can only pray God gives the bereaved families the strength to bear the loss,” he added.

    Meanwhile, hundreds of students stormed the spot of the accident on Monday in protest.

    The students, who converged on the mini campus at 7am, were clad in black wears. They moved to the spot in three buses, demanding the prosecution of the truck driver.

    At the scene, students broke down in tears, chanting solidarity songs. Adegbesan condemned truck drivers’ actions to drive on opposite lane. The protesters gave the company that owns the truck to fish out the driver or face students’ wrath.

    The students observed moment of silence in honour of the victims, after which prayers were said in Christian and Islamic ways.

    The students attempted to invade the company but the move was resisted by riot policemen, who mounted the company’s gate.

  • Aare Arisekola: Death, the lion and the dog

    Aare Arisekola: Death, the lion and the dog

    tribute

    Tomorrow, Thursday, June 18, is the first anniversary of the death of Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao, CON, the late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Aare of Ibadanland and Vice-President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). He died  on Wednesday, 18th June, 2014 in his London (UK) home, aged 69 years, and was buried on Friday, 20th June, last year in his home at Oluwo Kekere, Basorun, Ibadan, Oyo State. May Allah (SWT) forgive him his sins and keep him in Aljannah Fridauous. Amen.

    To say that Aare’s death has created a big vacuum in religious, economic, traditional, social and political realms in Nigeria and abroad is an understatement. A man of huge means and influence, whose open palms and gates are legendary, but yet very humble and jovial, Aare had friends, admirers and protégés across class, religions, tribes and nations. Well, all these are terrestrial and Aare had equals, juniors and seniors – as God creates geniuses for seasons and climes in His unfathomable wisdom and time.

    In the celestial realm, however, we, ordinary human beings become aware of people with mystical touches from the Creator when we read, hear or see extraordinary deeds or inventions of our fellow beings. Or what do we say of the discoverers of light, radio, aeroplane, television, telephone, penicillin, train, motor-car, boat, ship, rocket etc. In the same league are great orators, thinkers authors, artists, scientists, musicians, composers, athletes, dancers etc.

    But, because talented people described above and others outside my stated scope were/are by nature humble, self-effacing and without airs, we take them for granted. And as the Yoruba say, “Ojo iku la d’ere, eniyan ko wuyi laaye” (Geniuses/mystics are not revered while alive). In my tribute to Aare last year as published in major newspapers (for ease of reference, The Nation newspaper issue of Saturday, 14th February, 2014), I stated that I was and still is, a student of the philosophies/lifestyles of great men and women in and outside Nigeria. I gave a long list which of course, included Aare Arisekola Alao. Those who know will testify that the cells of my strong bond to Aare included history, culture, music (especially Yusuf Olatunji’s genre of Sakara music) dresses, among others. I am improving in my pace in the tracks of piety and charity though! You will soon read how a dirge by Yusuf Olatunji a.k.a “Baba l’Egba” in one of his LPs influenced the title of this piece and the connections thereof. May God help me, a common prayer of Aare to people.

    The celestial realm that I mentioned earlier influenced the title of the piece. Aare’s Oluwo Kekere home at Basorun area of Ibadan is expansive and comparable in size, structures, amenities population and traffic to some towns/countries in Nigeria and abroad. In there is a zoo which boasted of a family of lions (until he donated them to the UI zoo), camels, crocodiles, ostriches, tortoise, and many species of birds, fishes and animals. I once touched one of the lions! The hawks, doves, egrets etc knew when to fly down without fail at their breakfast and lunch hours in the open courtyard in Aare’s home. You needed to see the massive flights or birds that descended from the sky to feed while Aare was alive. After each pick they would, ‘sing’, as it were and spread their wings as if saying “see you soon” thank you.

    Now, to the “Baba l’Egba” nexus I mentioned earlier. In the Sakara music genre among the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria, Yusuf Olatunji, alias “Baba l’Egba”, was no doubt a philosopher-king, going by his numerous highly melodious and philosophical songs. Until he died on December 15, 1978, the Abeokuta, Ogun State – born musician waxed the largest number of LPs (40) in Nigeria, apart from small records and EPs.

    In his volume no 2 LP titled, “O wo’le Olongo k’eyin”, “Baba l’Egba” sings a dirge for one of this many fans, the late Mr. Ramon Alao, from Ijaye-Quarters in Abeokuta, Ogun State (track 2 on the flip side of the said LP) in Yoruba, which translated goes thus –

    Among those who are noble.

    (i)         A gentleman has passed on in Ijaye (Abeokuta)

    Wailings filled the air

    Death has wrecked havoc by taking Ramoni Alao away

    Lati’s father has gone on a journey of no return.

    Alao, when you get to heaven continue your good deeds.

    The rest is a journey in our dreams.

     

    (ii)        Please don’t forget AbdulRamoni, our people

    Wherever you may be –

    Don’t forget Mulikat’s father, Alao

    Death has taken him away.

     

    (iii)      “A noble soul has gone and has become part of history

    He who knows the value of the egret please mourn the great with me.

    Egba nobles, I condole with you

    Alao the famous has died, we shall all die.

    Babalawo (native doctor) will die.

     

    (iv)       “Death snatched the lion, the king of the jingle

    Alao, the dog swaggers past its den with impunity

    Alao has journeyed to the home of giants

    If they create wonders in heaven with wealth Alao, ensure that you make a good mark.

    If they recreate in heaven Alao, do wonders

    Alao, you have been so generous while alive

    God, please consider Alao’s charity and good deeds

    Prevent Ramoni from going to hell

    A notable fan of “Baba l’Egba” was the late Aare Arisekola Alao, who possessed ALL the recorded works (singles, EPs & LPs) of his music idol, Yusuf Olatunji and other great musicians.

    Authors, musicians, poets and other creative minds who reach philosopher – king levels, appear to ‘see’ tomorrow, as the Baba l’Egba’s dirge for Mr. Ramoni Alao quoted above aptly demonstrates when placed in context with the passage of Aare Arisekola.

    “Baba l’Egba” sings about the impunity and the audacity of a dog as it swaggers past the dead lion’s den! A suicide bid on the part of the dog were the lion to be alive. But death has taken the lion, the king of the jungle!

    Born on February 14, 1945 to the late Pa Abdul Raheem Olaniyan Alao and the late Alhaja Olatutu Alao at Adigun village of Ibadan, in Ona – Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State, young Abdul Azeez attended St. Luke’s Primary School, Adigun and ICC Primary School, Igosun, Ibadan where he persistently topped his class until he obtained the Grade ‘A’ Primary School Leaving Certificate in 1960, the year he came to the city from his village. Till he died, he kept referring to himself as an “Omooko” i.e. Villageboy. He, thereafter, successfully passed the entrance examinations into the prestigious Christ School, Ado – Ekiti and Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan, but could not take up his admission in either school due to the poor financial position of his parents. A scholarship opportunity was not allowed by fate to be utilized by him either.

    Nonetheless, the determined AbdulAzeez studied Western, Arabic and Quranic education privately, and comfortably transacted business with the brightest and the best in the corporate world.

    Young AbdulAzeez first joined his uncle, the late Alhaji Karimu Olasupo Jenrola at the popular old Gbagi Market in Ibadan as an apprentice trader. After successfully understudying his uncle, he started the sale of Gammalin 20 products vide the incorporation of his Azeez Arisekola Trading Company in 1961 with a loan of 310 pounds given to him by Mr. Olaniyi Owodunni. The Western Regional Manager of Imperial Chemical Industry (ICI) of England, Mr. P.K. Hampel, discovered in the young AbdulAzeez, great business acumen, a fantastic impetus for hard work, integrity and creativity and therefore appointed him a dealer of their products in the now – defunct Western Region of Nigeria. From there, the future business magnate took off, combining charity as a hobby.

    Within a year, he received a commission of 1,000 pounds from ICI and an all – expenses paid trip to the company’s headquarters in the United Kingdom. An astute young man, he purchased a Peugeot pick up van at the cost of 400 pounds and by 1970, he built his first house at the age of 25 years. In 1972, he registered his motor company, Lister Motors, becoming the star dealer for the Japanese brand, Datsun. It was during that era that Aare’s fame as a philanthropist soared as he donated cars to institutions and individuals like one donated loaves of bread. He also had a fair share of social life and became the toast of parties and juju bands. But all the social circuit stuff stopped in 1980, when he became the first Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland.

    His business interests included, oil and gas, banking and insurance, food and beverage, farming and animal husbandry, real estate, publishing, transportation and food processing.

    From his league of friends, staff and admirers, Aare was a detribalized man as his love for Nigeria was great. His avowed love was based on a popular saying of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) that: “The love of one’s nation is part of faith”.

    He had amongst the staff of his business conglomerate, all ethnic tribes of the federation as well as foreigners. Knowing the importance of education, Aare gave scholarships to indigent students both as primary and tertiary levels within and outside Nigeria. He established a scheme for that purpose in honour of his father, Pa AbdulRaheem Alao. In appreciation of his love for his place of birth, Ibadan, he was honoured with the chieftaincy title of Aare of Ibadanland in 2006 by the immediate past Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Yinusa Bankole Oladoja Ogundipe, Arapasowu I.

    He performed his first holy pilgrimage to Mekkah, Saudi Arabia in 1971, and was turbaned the first Aare Musilumi of Yorubaland by the League of Imans and Alfas in Yorubaland on July 14, 1980. Being a celebrated Muslim leader, he established the Abdul Azeez Arisekola Mosque on Iwo Road, Ibadan, Oyo State. He founded the Grand Council for Islamic Affairs (GCIA) in Nigeria in 1996 to complement Islamic propagation efforts just as he set up the Asalatu Ibaadu-Rahman Society for the spiritual advancement of the womenfolk. He was patron and foremost financier of more than 100 Muslim organizations in Nigeria and abroad. From 1980 when he became the Aare Musulumi of Ibadanland, he extended annual Hajj scholarships to hundreds of Muslim faithful just as he sponsored Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem annually too.

    Aare was one of the privileged few honoured by the Chief Iman of Mekkah to send delegates for the annual ceremonial washing of the Holy Ka’bah. He was also invited to the annual Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs International Convention in Cairo, Egypt.

    Aare was on record as the one who mobilized support for the settlement of the internal rift amongst the members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Oke-Seni, Ibadan and ensured the settlement of their rift out of court. The said church eventually conferred on him the title ‘The Defender of Faith’ in recognition of his love for religious peace and harmony.

    He was married ad blessed with children who are successful professionals at home and abroad or currently in higher institutions of leaning. The training he gave them makes them excel intellectually and morally. A blessing which he always ascribed to God. Can one complete a piece such as this on Aare without a mention of his passion for Oka (amala) and ooyo (ewedu)! He once had his favourite menu packed from home while on a transatlantic business trip to China.

    May his kind and noble soul continue to rest in Aljannah Fridaous. Amen.

  • Bread seller raped to death in Edo

    Unknown gunmen has abducted and raped a 23 year old girl to death in Benin City, Edo State capital.

    The victim identified as Joy Okoh used to sell bread at Lucky Way junction at Ramat Park, Oregbeni quarters.

    She was abducted while going home and later found dead inside the boot of a Jeep at Upper Mission Extension road in Benin City.

    Her abductors were said to have snatched the vehicle before it was abandoned.

    Also, a teenager whose identity is yet to be ascertained is on the run after allegedly stabbing his mother’s lover to death.

    It was learnt that the teenager committed the act while defending his mother who was engaged in brawl with her late lover.

    The deceased whose name was given as Osayande Edoigiawerie lived with his family at Zabayor Street, the same street where his lover lives with her children.

    Children of the deceased said their father hurriedly left home that evening after receiving a call from his lover.

    The teenager and his mother are now on the run while the house where the incident took place has been abandoned.

    State Police spokesman, DSP Stephen Onwuchei confirmed the incidents and said the police have commenced investigations.

  • NYSC to police: unravel Corps member’s death

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) yesterday urged the Kwara State Police Command to unravel the mystery behind the death of a corps member, Idowu Shukurat Yetunde.

    The corps, in a statement by the Director, Public Relations, Abosede Aderibigbe, said the deceased was last seen on May 23 when she informed her colleagues that she was going to Shoprite on Fate Road, Ilorin after which the news of her death was broken.

    Aderibigbe said the NYSC handled issues concerning corps members seriously, especially when it bordered on death and would unravel the mystery behind the death of the corps member.

    She said the Director- General, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Bamidele Olawumi, had sent a delegation to Ilorin, headed by the Director, Corps Welfare and Inspectorate, Mr. Michael Ahile; Head of NYSC Legal Unit, Ibrahim Tijani Ahmed and Assistant Director, Protocol & Publicity, Mr. Eddy Megwa, to, among others, express his pains about the sudden death.

    Aderibigbe urged the security agents and monarchs to unravel the mystery behind Yetunde’s death.

    The statement said: “NYSC will not tolerate the abuse, harassment, intimidation and brutal killing of corps members deployed to serve their fatherland.

    “The management wishes to stress that it is the responsibility of Nigerians to ensure that corps members deployed in all parts of the country for the one-year mandatory service are assisted regarding their security and well-being. Efforts should be made to protect them.

    “Having visited the State Security Service, the Police Commissioner and the Emir of Ilorin, the management of NYSC is confident that all hands will be on deck to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.

    “We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt sympathy to the family and relatives of the deceased.

    “We console the corps members serving in Kwara State and the entire country. It is our prayer that this unpleasant development will not reoccur.”

     

     

  • Civil Defence investigates suspect’s death

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Sokoto State command, has set up a committee to unravel the mystery behind the death of 38-year-old Jamilu Abdullahi.

    He allegedly died in the custody of the NSCDC.

    Before his death, the deceased, arrested by the corps, was a graduate of the College of Agriculture, Bakura in Zamfara State and an employee of Tureta Local Government in Sokoto State.

    Confirming the incident to reporters yesterday in Sokoto, the Commandant, Bello Musa, said: “I can confirm the death of the deceased after he was arrested by the operatives of the corps at the Sokoto South Local Government, following a complaint by his neighbour.

    “But it is untrue that personnel of the corps killed him. Investigations will uncover the cause of his death.

    “Any officer indicted by the investigations will face the wrath of the law.”

    Musa said the deceased was arrested after a complaint by Amina Mohammed, “following a misunderstanding.”

    The deceased’s family accused NSCDC of killing their child.

    The deceased’s mother, Binta Abdullahi, a widow of a retired military officer, told reporters that the late Jamilu died at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, last Friday.

    She said he was the bread winner of a family of nine and was referred to UDUTH from the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto on May 26.

    Her words: “He was our bread winner. He had four younger sisters and three younger brothers. He graduated from the College of Agriculture, Bakura in Zamfara State.

    “He was working with the Tureta Local Government until his death and he was the pillar of the family after the demise of my late husband, a military pensioner.

    “All we want is justice. We need his death certificate and his autopsy report, which will reveal the cause of his death.”

    The commandant said the body of the deceased, which was rejected by his family, was kept at the morgue of the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto adding: “The death certificate will be ready today (Monday).

    “We hope to take the body to the family together with the death certificate any moment from now.

    “We hope they will accept it and bury it according to Islamic rites.”

    The complainant, Amina, was said to have deserted her home. The place was shut when our reporter visited. The house is at Dambowa in Sokoto.

    ‘He was our bread winner. He had four younger sisters and three younger brothers. He graduated from the College of Agriculture, Bakura in Zamfara State’

     

     

  • Mystery over death of family of five

    Mystery over death of family of five

    It was a very bad day for the people of Umuosu, Afugiri, in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State as 54-year-old blind Prophet, Onyenonachi Ihezukwu Agwu, his wife and children were found dead. His landlady and three chickens were also found dead in his four-room apartment.

    Prophet Ihezukwu, the founder and General Overseer of Faith Healing Tabernacle Ministry at Nkwoegwu hailed from Umukabia, but lived in Umuosu Afugiri, while running his ministry at Nkwoegwu.

    The development baffled residents who have kept asking how the blind prophet, his 50-year-old landlady, Mrs. Hannah Okpara, his wife Comfort Ihezukwu who was in her 30s, his 11-year-old son, Emmanuel Godwin Onyenonachi and his 13-year-old daughter, Miracle Onyenonachi Ihezukwu, all died with him.

    The irony of the deaths was also the death of three of his fowls which were found dead in the bathroom area of the apartment.

    A source close to the venue of the incident who spoke to our correspondent in confidence, said the five corpses were discovered in different places, while the three fowls were found dead in the bathroom area.

    Our source said: “We were called up in the early hours of Sunday, April 19, this year in the morning and when we got to Umuosu Afugiri where they lived, behind the Methodist Church, we saw hundreds of sympathisers who were crying over the unfortunate incident. We also met policemen from Afugiri division.

    “When we inquired from the police, they told us that they met the generating set on, on arrival. The power generating set, we were told, was bought on Thursday, which is three days before their deaths. The set was found along the passage inside the bungalow and the policemen told us that they were the ones that put the set off.”

    Our source also said the police told them that they suspected that the victims died as a result of exhaust fume from the power generating set, adding that the late prophet was the only surviving child of his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Ihezukwu Agwu.

    “We are his only direct relations, running around for their burial.”

    The corpses were found in different locations in the apartment. The wife and daughter were found in a room, the prophet was found in the dining room, the landlady was found around the passage, close to the power generating set, the three fowls were found clustered within the bathroom area.

    On what must have been another possible cause of death, beside the fume from their power generating set, our source said they cannot think of any other thing, as they are not suspecting any foul play, even as he said there must be speculations in a situation like that.

    The landlady was said to have been invited by the Prophet, who informed her that her two children were sick and when she came and suggested that the children should be taken to the hospital, the Prophet turned down the suggestion, that he suspected spiritual attack which he said he was going to handle that night through prayers, adding that after the prayers, they would be okay.. The Landlady was said to be a regular visitor to the house, where she usually goes to hold night prayers with the Prophet and other people at regular intervals.

    That night, they were said to have had a meal of rice prepared in the house before going to sleep. Based on information at hand, the only thing one could hold on to as the cause of their death is the fume from that power generating set.

    The family source said it was only through autopsy or other scientific methods that one can guess the real cause of their death. But from what I was told by police men, when they came in that morning, they were the ones that broke the door into the apartment and they found the generating set on. So, the power generating set is the prime suspect in this matter.

    On what he was doing before going into ministry, our source said: “He lived in Kaduna for a long time; since the 90s. So, he came back around 2012 and established his ministry and was living at Nkwoegwu. But sometime last year, he relocated to Afugiri.

    “I don’t know if he had a call to the ministry, but about seven years ago, we heard that he had opened a ministry in Kaduna and that the ministry was flourishing and in 2012, he came back to establish the ministry at Nwkoegwu. I don’t know what profession he was into before establishing the ministry because I was still a kid when he left home.”

    He was not born blind, the blindness developed after the death of his father in August, 2002, after a year or two, he developed sight problems which led to blindness.

    When his father died in 2002, he did not come home during the burial, even though the mother had been dead long before then. He had married before going completely blind.