The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mourns

  • Buhari mourns death of football fans in Calabar

    Buhari mourns death of football fans in Calabar

    President Muhammadu Buhari expressed shock yesterday over the death of some Nigerians at a football viewing centre in Calabar, Cross River State, on Thursday night.

    He  commiserated with the government and people of Cross River State and football fans nationwide over the incident.

    He commended the state government for the prompt action in setting up a commission of inquiry into the incident, and its offer of assistance to the victims and their families.

    The President offered his deepest condolences to the families and friends of the mostly young victims, whose sudden demise is a big blow not only to their families, but also to the football-loving nation.

    He prayed that God Almighty will grant the souls of the departed eternal rest and comfort all who mourn their irreparable loss.

  • Soyinka mourns Walcott

    Soyinka mourns Walcott

    Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday mourned a Caribbean poet, Derek Walcott.

    In a statement titled: ‘Derek Walcott embarks on the eternal sea’, Soyinka wrote: “Derek Walcott was the lyrical heart of the Caribbean, yet wide and profound as the sea that washed his island shores. I visited him at his home, envied his splendid isolation and affinity with the sea. He had a small eyrie where he shut out the world, wrote and painted the crags and iconic promontories that jutted out of the waters, seeming to duplicate his lone splendour amidst the restless sea.

    “We have sailed and picnicked together through the stunning grottos that lie hidden in the Caribbean. He railed and lamented with us under our recurrent cycle of brutal and incontinent misrule of dictators, joined in activities against our seeming curse. Not many people know this, his constant bewilderment at the irony of replication of Master-Slave relationship that took his ancestors to the Caribbean, now mimicked by black overlords. Yet he never lost his interior call of the universal, and of history, as captured so magisterially in his grand oeuvre, Omeros. Derek was one of the history driven lyrical kind..

    “It is no partisan or excess zeal that prompts me, at every opportunity,  to claim Derek Walcott as one of the greatest poets, in any language or culture, of the twentieth century. Derek had a great feel for Nature and History, within whose matrix he so lyrically situated and wove his island tapestry.. A mordant wit, even sometimes prankster, Derek was unpretentiously an aristocrat of letters. His Muse was the sea, but he celebrated his continent of ancestry, Africa, as his rightful bequest, without sentiment, and without blindness.

    “The sadness of parochial literacy on this vast continent comes from the presumption that affinity between writers and their works must be found and expressed in the narrowness of geographic neighbourliness. Those who wish to speak knowledgeably of the reaches of African Literature, should learn to look beyond saline waters, and dialogue with the spirit of Derek Walcott.. He is alive, remains alive, and keeps the universal  lure of literature alive.”

  • Family mourns Lagos prince

    The Arota-Ologun family has condled with the Oniru family of Lagos State over the death of the Otun Oba of Iruland, Prince Alaba Oniru.

    A statement by the head of Arota-Ologun family, Chief Teslim Adeola Almaroof, described the late prince as a true Lagosian, who contributed to the development.

    Describing the late prince as an accomplished person, Almaroof noted that the deceased’s contribution towards the empowerment and welfare of the people was enormous.

    The deceased, he added, was an amiable and hard working person whose efforts at promoting peace and unity cannot be underestimated.

     

  • Bello mourns Ohize

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has expressed shock on the death of Senator Salihu Ohize.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs. Petra Akinti Onyegbule, described the death of the former chairman of Okene Local Government as a “painful exit of a political general, who fought hard for the change we are enjoying in Nigeria and Kogi State”.

  • Saraki mourns Sani’s mother

    Saraki mourns Sani’s mother

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has expressed sadness over the death of Mrs. Fatima Abubakar Sani, mother of Senator Shenu Sani, representing Kaduna Central. She was 75.

    In a statement by his media aide Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said Madam Sani has left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill.

    “We mourn a great woman and role model who lived her life in the service of God and humanity,” Saraki said. He urgded the children to emulate the virtuous legacies of patience, courage, compassion and selfless service left behind by their mother.

    Saraki prayed Allah to grant the deceased a place in aljannah fidaus.

  • Leila Fowler mourns

    Leila Fowler mourns

    Chief (Mrs.) Leila Euphemia Apinke Fowler, MFR, is bereaved.

    The gracefully aging octogenarian is mourning the demise of her late hubby, erudite scholar, surgeon and a grand master of the Nigerian social establishment, Professor Vidal Fowler.

    Mama Fowler is the mother of Tunde Fowler, the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.  The disciplinarian and educationist founded the popular Vivian Fowler Memorial School and named it after her daughter, Vivian, whom she lost while in her prime.

    Mama Fowler, who holds the revered title of Yeye Mofin of Lagos, has been described as the queen of heart of social circuit.

  • Olamide mourns late dad

    Olamide mourns late dad

    ELEDA Mi crooner, Olamide Adedeji, has announced the demise of his father. The talented rapper made the announcement on his Instagram page early Thursday morning.

    Olamide who sounded pained by the demise of his dad wrote; “O God, who hast commanded us to honour our father and our mother; in Thy mercy have pity on the soul of my father, and forgive his trespasses; and make me to see him again in the joy of everlasting brightness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Rest well Dad… Forever in my heart.”

    The unfortunate incident is coming at a time when the rapper is celebrating the release of his fifth studio album, Eyan Mayweather to critical acclaim.

  • Benue mourns as Tor Tiv dies at 71

    Benue mourns as Tor Tiv dies at 71

    The Tiv ethnic nationality in Benue State have lost their traditional leader, the Tor Tiv, Sir Alfred Torkula.

    He was 71.

    Benue State, particularly the Tiv ethnic nationality, has been mourning the frontline monarch, who died on Monday.

    The late Torkula was the Chairman of Benue State Traditional Council and the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation.

    He was installed the fourth Tor Tiv in April 1991.

    The monarch died in a private hospital in Gboko, the traditional seat of his throne.

    Governor Samuel Ortom confirmed the passing away of the Tor Tiv yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital.

    The governor said he had paid his condolences to the deceased’s family.

    He said members of the Tiv Traditional Council were on their way to the Government House for proper briefing and the handover of the staff of office, which was held by the former king.

    Ortom said details of the burial plans would be announced later.

    The late Tor Tiv was also the Pro-Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University at Umudike in Abia State.

  • APC mourns governorship candidate

    APC mourns governorship candidate

    •Party restates faith in rule of law

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday mourned its governorship candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu.

    The party’s National Secretary, Maimala Buni, in a statement yesterday, described the late Audu as one of APC’s “stars, a democrat par excellence, a development-oriented leader and a beacon for the liberation of Kogi State from its apparent decay”.

    “He was a prince of hope, a symbol of peace and an apostle of unity and reintegration of Kogi State,” the statement quoted Buni as saying.

    The APC commiserated with the family and the people of Kogi State for believing strongly in Audu’s capacity to redeem the state.

    The demise of the governorship candidate, the party said, no doubt created a big vacuum in Kogi State and APC.

    The statement added that the APC took solace in the fact that God gives, God takes.

    It added: “He might have physically transited, but he will forever be spiritually and politically be relevant not only in Kogi State but in Nigeria.

    “We appeal to the people of the state to see Audu’s death as an act of God. There should be no recourse to lawlessness or vindictiveness in whatever form. The only honour we can do Prince Abubakar Audu is to remain peaceful and resolve to be undaunted in preserving the adorable ideals he lived for. It was evident to all that he ran a good race, he played his part well and he earned a rare rating as an exemplary leader.

    “We will not abandon Prince Abubakar Audu even in death because his legacies are timeless,  his virtues can withstand all seasons and his vision remains immortal.”

    The party urged its members and supporters not to allow their spirit to be dampened by the sudden passage of Audu.

    “Rather, the party should be united in mourning and be encouraged to effect the desired change in Kogi State through the ballot anytime, any day,” the statement added.

    On INEC’s position that the poll was inconclusive, APC said it was studying the declaration of the Returning Officer, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, who is the vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, based on Section M, Paragraph 4 (Page 22)  of INEC Approved Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2015 general election.

    “APC believes in the rule of law, strict adherence to the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    “Our government was a product of the rule of law, we have absolute faith in the nation’s law and we will not, in any manner, undermine the law. Our observations and position will be within the laws of the land.

    “The situation in Kogi State is a test case for the rule of law and our growing democracy.  APC is committed to its pledge to ensure a sustainable democracy in the country,” the party said.

     

     

  • Varsity mourns student

    Authorities of FUNAAB have described as unfortunate the demise of Miss Maria Modupe Atere, a 300-level student in the Department of Plant Physiology and Crop Production, College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT), of the university.
    Atere 22, was on a commercial motorcycle when she was knocked down by a car, on Camp-Alabata Road, around the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) gate, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
    When the sad incident occurred, some Good Samaritans brought two unidentified victims of the accident to a private clinic at Camp. Miss Atere was later discovered to be one of them. She was given first aid treatment before being referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, for better medical attention due to the severity of the injuries sustained. Unfortunately, she died in the process.
    However, contrary to negligence as it was alleged by some individuals against the university, Atere was never brought to the institution’s Health Centre for treatment, hence, no doctor had the opportunity to quickly examine her and arrive at a decision on the most appropriate form of medical treatment.
    Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, has approved a committee to investigate the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident.