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Tag: died

  • How Lagos monarch, Elegbeda died, by wife

    How Lagos monarch, Elegbeda died, by wife

    •Funeral holds on Friday

    One of the wives of the late Lagos monarch, Elegbeda of Egbeda Kingdom, Olori Dele Balogun, yesterday relieved the last moments of the late Oba Samson Alade Balogun.

    Oba Balogun, who is due to travel to United Kingdom died in the early hours of Friday, August 14.

    He was 80.

    According to Olori Dele, the late monarch just paid for the ticket and scheduled to travel on September 10.

    She said: “The sickness started on Monday morning. Normally, I do bathe him after listening to news on radio station. That Monday morning, he said I should come and bathe him; I told him that the programme was still on but he insisted that he feel like having his bath immediately. When he was about to stand up, he said he was unable to lift his legs and when he tried lifting the legs, he fell down and was immediately attended to by his private doctor and another physician from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Tests were run on him and the result came out on Tuesday evening.

    “On Thursday, I got really scared with the way he was breathing. He was later taken to the hospital so as to avoid emergency at midnight. He gave up the ghost exactly 9am on Friday. But before he gave up the ghost, he couldn’t talk. I tried to clean his mouth with cotton wool because he can’t open the mouth well and he bites my fingers. I became suspicious. I called him three times, he answered. As I and his personal Assistant (PA) tried to lay him down, he looked at us and gave up.”

    The late monarch’s wife told The Nation that as at Tuesday, his voice was not audible, but continue to praise God, saying: “Thank you Jesus” repeatedly.

    “I never gave it a second thought that he was going to die because that has been his usual habit,” she said.

    The late monarch’s PA, Femi Ajolopo told The Nation that Oba Balogun fought to be alive.

    “It is difficult for me, I don’t know how to explain it, he tried his best, he fought, he did not want to go, and was telling us he did not want to die, but as God would have it, we were supposed to travel to UK together, we were even planning to move when he was ill and his sickness started all of a sudden on Monday, it was indeed shocking, I can’t still believe he is gone, it is very difficult for me to bear, and not easy,” he said.

    Ajolopo described the monarch’s last moment as painful.

    “He was giving us hope that he won’t die, but until the last minute, he gave up. Olori Dele was trying to clean his mouth, she felt he bit her, so she shouted his name three times and Kabiyesi answered her, then she told me to take him back to his bed, before I knew it, he was gone. He looked at the two of us and that was it. It was very painful and difficult for me to bear,” he added.

    Meanwhile, the funeral has been fixed for Thursday and Friday at the palace in Egbeda, Lagos.

  • Why have I not died?

    Why have I not died?

    WHAT am I still doing on earth? Why has death not taken me away? I have lost all I worked for in my life”.

    With these words, Alhaji Abdul Raheem Aminu, a businessman, yesterday bemoaned the death of his three daughters and loss of his property in a fire in Isolo, Lagos, on Friday.

    He wondered why God had not taken his life despite ‘my wish for death’.

    His two daughters, Feranmi, 7, Pelumi, 5 and a step-daughter, Christiana Adebayo, 12 died in the fire which gutted a section of some lock-up shops at Rainbow Avenue, Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos.

    Some parts of the building were also damaged.

    Some family members, who came to sympathise with him, blamed the police for the tragedy. The fire, they said, was sparked when a L300 bus, laden with jerrycans of petrol, being chased by the police rammed into a stationary bus parked beside the road.

    The ensuing fire, they said, engulfed three cars, more than 10 shops and a building.

    Speaking with The Nation on his sick bed at St Jacob Hospital in Ejigbo, Aminu, in tears, said he owns the building gutted by fire.

    His wife, Tunrayo, also on sick bed, could barely speak, she wept uncontrollably.

    On why the children slept inside the shop, Aminu said the place is not a shop, rather a room behind the shop.

    “My wife uses three shops in that building, I own the building; behind the third shop is a small room where they sleep in case they don’t feel like coming to the other apartment not quite far from that place,” he said.

    According to him, the children and his wife have been sleeping in the room behind the shop for seven years.

    “They have a separate place -bathroom and rest room – different from that of the tenants in the house. It is unfortunate that this happened. Oh my God,” he said.

    A family member, who led our correspondent to the scene, said Mrs Aminu sells grocery and runs a hair dressing salon in the building.

    There is a sign board, GOD WITH ME SALON at the entrance of one of her shops. Though burnt, the printing is still legible. It has two chambers with heavy protectors at the entrance. The first chamber was used for business; the second chamber, residential.

    Beside it is a small room for bath and rest room. The shop led to the room. There is a door connecting the room with the compound of the residential part.

    The younger Aminu, otherwise called Alfa said in case they did not want to open the shop for business, the other exit could be used.

    He said, a burnt Toyota Pickup with Lagos number-plate AKD 791 XJ, seen on the premises, was brought for repair.

    “The driver of this pickup has paid part of the charges for repair only for the unfortunate incident to occur. What will he tell the owner? Same thing goes for the commercial bus that the fuel-loaded vehicle collided with, it was also brought for repair,” he said.

    He urged the police to seek way of arresting offenders instead “of these ceaseless chasing and sometimes shooting indiscriminately. The casualties could have been worse than what we see.”

  • ‘No UNIJOS student died’

    The Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Haward Mafuyai, has said no student died as a result of explosions.

    It was reported in some media that 12 students might have died from blasts.

    Prof Mafuyayi, however, debunked the report, saying no student of the university died.

    The VC addressed reporters in Jos yesterday.

  • ‘Day I almost died on stage’

    ‘Day I almost died on stage’

    Philip Okolo is one of the oldest stage artistes in Nigeria. When he started his stage career in 1977, his dream, along with his contemporaries then was to infuse a new lease of life into live theatre. This was during the era of Dr. Bode Sowande, when street theatre was the vogue and Nigerians had the freedom of watching theatre whenever the opportunity  offered itself.

    “After a while, I joined the group of artistes with Bayo Oduneye who introduced me to the late Sam Loco Efe. I told him I wanted to be a full time actor and that theatre was in my blood. That was how I started as a full time actor.” Okolo reminisced, smiling.

    After he got to know Loco and others, they then gave him a role to play, which he did very well.  From then on, the sky became his limit, he stated. “ Then it was in1984, that I actually started professionally. There was a show in England, that was the Commonwealth Festival of Arts and Culture. They wanted to pick the role of Akaraogun in Wale Ogunyemi’s Langbodo. I was then picked against so many other big names in the industry then. Uncle Jimmy Solanke and Loco were to play that role.  But lo and behold, the role fell on me.”

    That was how it all began for him. Professor Adelugba who directed the play wanted to experiment with a younger artiste. In the process, he chose Okolo who incidentally dazzled the whole arena with his professional dexterity. “After that outing in England, when we came back home, I began to get more sensitive roles which also began to shore up my resume as a stage actor. It was during this period that I encountered other older professionals like the late St. Iyke and then Chief Fred Agbeyegbe whose plays formed part of what we were doing then.”

    Even though he has worked as a television actor, Okolo said he has not felt quite at home doing so. “I like live audience.  To me that is pure theatre.  Stage brings out total theatre and the people can easily feel it. See, if I had wanted to be in Nollywood, it would have been easy for me. What they churn out, most of the time, are below standard practice. I am not really condemning what they are doing, but for me, it is an easy way out.  On stage, you are on your own and you have to be accountable to the audience.  And that is why I love stage.” In acting out most of these roles, Okolo has discovered that one has to prove the stuff he is made. While acting in Langbodo in one of those roles that spells one out as a professional, he sustained a serious injury on stage.  “You see, in my overzealousness in one of those shows, I jumped on to the stage instead of walking in through the auditorium.  It was then that I sustained the injury. I had this costume that was very heavy and it hardily allowed me space to exercise myself.  I was feeling more like a hero and so when they heralded Akaraogun, instead of appearing the normal way, I jumped onto the stage.”

    By the time he landed on the edge of the stage, he had got a deep cut on his ankle. But like most brave professionals, he got on with it, while blood kept tricking out. “At the end of that show, when I got to back stage, I passed out; I fainted because I’d lost a lot of blood” he said. Before the acting ended, all the cast and crew were scared, for they thought the show would flop. The solution was that Okolo tore a part of the costume with which he covered the wound. But even then, the director of the play was not at ease until the show was over.

    Again, the artiste in him blossomed in the other shows that today, anytime there’s a tough role that needs serious role and stage interpretation, Okolo is usually sought after. “The role of a serious actor is to interpret his role convincingly”, he said. “I have not been out of active career since 1977. Even when I was at Saint Patrick’s College, Ibadan, I knew I’d be an actor. It was through literature that one of my teachers lured me into acting. I love story telling and of course my mum, at night would tell us plenty of stories. So, we kind of had the background, my brother Felix and I.  So when we graduated while he went for directing I went for acting. But above all, watching Sam Loco in Ibadan in those days got the better of me. Then when we were in Benin and I used to watch Hotel De Jordan in which Loco and others took part, my imagination and love for the theatre  grew.

    “I also love Bata drums,” Okolo revealed. “More so I love Yoruba acting. I love the traditional sentiments expressed in Yoruba theatre. When I listen to bata drums I feel like dancing and I really want to act and you cannot discountenance the place of Yoruba theatre in Nigeria. For me I try to spend some of my earnings to produce some plays. I work on mini festivals and it is an aspect of theatre I want to revive to bring back live theatre. We used to have open theatre at the National Theatre. Then if you had a show and people attended, and thereafter you’d share the proceed. That’s the sort of thing I want to bring out now. That will be in Delta State. I am in touch with them to that effect.”

    So far, his intention is to have some stories by Nigerian writers into stage. “We need to adapt those stories to give theatre real life flavour. This is one of the ways to bring theatre to its fullest meaning in Nigeria. From there, we’ll go into community theatre too. This will give us fulfillment, fun, joy and then writers would get their royalties,” he said.

     

  • Re: How two Nigerian students died in Ukraine

    SIR: I refer to the piece published in The Nation, Friday, December 27, page 20 on the two Nigerians that died in Ukraine. Anyone who read the story should have a touch in the heart as it’s an emotional piece and a great call for one to be careful in his/her dealings in life.

    I will use part of what the writer wrote to butress my point: “The question many of us have continued to ask since then is whether the UkrainiÌan doctors would have left their own citizens in critical condition to smoke for five minutes. Would they have treateìd fellow European or Russian citizens the same way?”

    I believe that this can only happen in an environment where racial discrimination abounds. Now who should be blame be put on? Is it the deceased, their families or the Nigerian government?

    Indeed, our government should share part of the blame, because neither the embassy in Kiev nor the federal government appears to have done anything on the matter.

    No doubt, if the government had funded the public universities appropriately from the onset, I don’t think the foreign universities will be a “must to go” for our youths.

    I share part of the grief of the entire Nigerian student community in Donestk, Ukraine.

    May God put an end to such calamity.

     

    • Uwala Samson. A,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State.

  • How our officer died, by police

    The Ogun State Police Command has denied a story in the social media that the late head of the command’s Anti-Robbery Squad, Mr Folahan Ogunkoya, was killed in a bomb explosion last Saturday.

    In a telephone conversation with The Nation yesterday, the command’s spokesman, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said:”It is not true that he (Ogunkoya) died in an explosion. He actually died in a fatal motor accident on Saturday, September 14, 2013.”

    The late Superintendent of Police (SP) was travelling in his Honda Accord car marked, Lagos MZ 717 AAA, when he suddenly lost control and crashed at Asu Village on Sagamu/Abeokuta Expressway at 4pm.

    The late Ogunkoya was born in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State in 1972 to the family of Pa Ogunkoya. Before he joined the police as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent (ASP) on May 1, 2000, he attended the then Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University) in Ago-Iwoye, where he bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics. He did his Masters of Science at Leeds University, United Kingdom (UK).

    In a condolence message to the bereaved’s family, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Ogun State, Mr Ikemefuna Okoye, said: “My heartfelt sympathy goes to the family of the deceased officer who displayed gallantry in the discharge of duties in his life time. I also commiserate with the people of Ogun State on the sudden demise of such a wonderful crime buster in the state.

    His remains were buried yesterday in his home town. He is survived by his widow and three children.

  • How Nigerian singer Goldie Harvey died

    How Nigerian singer Goldie Harvey died

    The sudden death of sensational singer and Nigeria’s representative at the last edition of Big Brother Africa (BBA) Star Game show, Goldie Harvey, on St. Valentine’s Day has continued to generate shocking reactions from music buffs and the entertainment industry in general.

    Reports say the singer, who had just returned from the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, United States, died at the Reddington Hospital, Victoria Island, few hours after she arrived Lagos.

    “She was full of life upon her return, but suddenly, something went tragically wrong,” said a source, who added that the artiste died in the arms of her friend and colleague, Denrele Edun, a crazy-styled entertainer and former presenter with Sound City music channel.

    Kenny Ogungbe, her label boss, could not be reached on the telephone initially, as he was said to be in very bad mood. But Ellam A. Abass, Artiste and Repertoire Manager at Kennis Music, confirmed that the artiste was indeed, dead.

    Details of the circumstances surrounding her death remain sketchy, as some attributed her demise to severe headache, while others say it was as a result of acute pneumonia.

    Another account said the artiste had suffered deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot resulting from being seated in one place during long hours flight from the US. Reports say such incident is dangerous if it hits the heart

    As a musician, Goldie started her career in London, with a pop rock group. Her impact in the last BBA House was remarkable, in view of her betrayal by Kenyan Housemate, Prezzo, with whom she had an intimate moment.

    “I can’t define my relationship with Prezzo, but I do know that in the house I came to care for him very much. He was the closest person to me in the house. I never saw any of these things that people outside saw. I am almost not believing it somewhat, but I hold no grudge against him. I still think he’s a great individual and at the end of the day, such is life,” the singer had said in an interview after her eviction from the competition.

    One of Goldie’s strong wishes was to raise her late mum from death, this, she told The Nation in a recent interview.

    However, Kennis Music, the deceased’s label, has officially confirmed the shocking and untimely passage of the pop star. A terse statement issued by the president of the music outfit, Keke Ogungbe, reads: “With a deep sense of loss, we announce the shocking death of our darling music star, Goldie Harvey. Goldie, 31, died on Thursday after she complained of severe headache shortly after her arrival from the United States where she went to witness the Grammy Award. She was rushed from her Park View, Ikoyi, Lagos residence to her official hospital, Reddington, Victoria Island, Lagos, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival at exactly 7:30 pm in the evening.

    “We consider this period a gloomy moment for us and the entire Nigerian music industry in view of the circumstance in which she passed away, the abundance of talent she exhibited in her short but eventful music career and the various opportunities her trip to the United States of America would have availed her.

    “She is survived by her father, step- mother, brothers and sisters. We deeply sympathise with her family and fans all over the world and very grateful to all and sundry, especially, the vibrant Nigerian media for their concern and prompt reportage. We shall keep everybody informed as events unfold as we are devastated by the sudden loss.”

    Meanwhile, the remains of Goldie, who hails from Ekiti State, has been deposited at the mortuary of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. Goldie represented Nigeria at the Big Brother Star Game in 2012. Her latest effort, she described as “three nawti singles” from her forthcoming African Invasion album are “Skibo”. “Miliki” and “ Got To Have It,” are currently enjoying heavy rotations on radio and TV stations across the continent.

    There had been rumour that the late singer was engaged to Prezzo, who had come to Nigeria shortly after the Big Brother competition, to apologise for his wrongdoings. Everyone was looking forward to their wedding in 2013.

    Born Susan Filani, Goldie, as she is fondly called, change her name to Susan Harvey on arrival from England.

    Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, expressed shock on the death of the multiple award winning pop music star.

    The Governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, described the death of the artiste as a “big blow to the global entertainment industry.”

    He praised Goldie for representing Nigeria well in last year’s edition of Big Brother Africa competition where she won millions of admirers.

    Fayemi also described Goldie’s death as a great loss to Ekiti State as the late star hailed from Ikole-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikole Local Government Area of the state.

    With Goldie’s death, Fayemi said a bright star from Ekiti, whose impact in the entertainment industry reverberated across the nation and the world stage, has been eclipsed.

    He noted that the works of the artiste brought joy to her fans all over the world, saying that he derived consolation from the fact that although Goldie is dead, her music will remain in the hearts of her fans and admirers all over the world.

    The Governor urged the family of the deceased to be consoled that their daughter lived a fulfilled life and carved a niche for herself in her chosen career.

    In her short but eventful life, Goldie was an ambassador of Project Alert, a world renowned non-profit making organisation. She was the president of the organisation aimed at advocating zero tolerance for all forms of violence against women and young girls. She won more than 10 awards, including Exquisite Lady of the year (ELOY), Best Female Artiste Award and City People Best Female Artiste of the year.

    “This great daughter of Ekiti recorded so many feats in her short but eventful life. Our prayer is that God will grant the family and fans the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” the statement added.

  • Six victims have died in Edo camp, says ex-NMA chair

    Six of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in a camp in Edo State have died, a former chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Philip Ugbodagha, said yesterday.

    Ugboadagha said the deceased were in Ekperi camp.

    The ex-NMA boss said government cannot carry alone the burden.

    He said: “Certainly, government alone cannot do it and we recognise that the bureaucracy associated with government activities is beginning to show in health status of victims of flood and, therefore, health support initiatives in conjunction with Nigeria Medical Association, Edo North zone decided to offer free medical services. We expect that if we get needed support, we can extend it to all the camps. When we visited Ekperi camp for example, we discovered that six persons have died in that camp and six children have been delivered since they moved into the camp and as at the time we visited, not one of those kids has had any form of vaccination or immunisation.”

    Also, IDPs in camps in Edo State are complaining of inadequate supply of food and other relief materials.

    The victims, who accused government officials of diverting the materials meant for them, said many of their children are now malnourished.

    An IDP, who identified himself as Malam Oseni, said: “Just take a look at this camp here in Fugar. We are so overcrowded in this camp with no proper hygiene. Most of our children have taken ill with symptoms of runny stomach. Some of them have been taken to hospital on admission.

    “I hear that this is also happening in other camps, but my question now is that what has happened to the money that the Comrade Governor released to this committee?”

    The Chairman, Committee on Relief for Displaced Persons, Hadjia Mamunetu Momodu, said government was taking steps to alleviate their plight.

    She told The Nation at Etsako Central Skills Acquisition Centre in Fugar:

    “I do know that the state government has provided adequate drugs to be given to the victims. However, like the commissioner said, I do know that a couple of time they have sent medical personnel and all that and like I have always said, we want to appeal to the local government affected, they should also bring in their doctors, get helping hands to join what the state government has provided so that we get the best out of this situation.”

    On alleged inadequate supply of relief materials, she said: “But you know, even in a family, it is difficult for you to say you can satisfy everybody 100 per cent. But people should know that in a situation like this, you don’t expect the same conditions you have when you are in your private houses. I have seen a couple of them, when you give them things; as soon as you turn back suddenly, they start to complain. I have told them ‘don’t use this situation to raise false alarm’. And those people that make noise a lot are the people that are not really affected. Some of them just take the advantage that the camp is within our area, they just go there and they are the ones raising issues that are not on ground.”

    The Special Assistant to the President on Social Development and Special Duties, Mrs. Sarah Pane, has said the country may not meet its food sufficiency target in rice production.

    She blamed this on the flooding being experienced in parts of the country.

    The presidential aide spoke yesterday at the opening of the Regional Dialogue on Renewable Energy Technology for Improved Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Development in Abuja.

    Mrs. Pane said: “Right now, I cannot say the extent but thank God this year, the harvest was much, especially rice. We had expected that we want to be able to achieve one milestone. I think that really in terms of yearly production, the quantity will not come below what we produced in previous years only that the target we wanted to achieve may not be achieved because some have been destroyed but the level of agriculture has practically improved this year.”