First Lady Returns from Foreign Trip

Dame Patience Faka Jonathan, the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan came back on Wednesday 17th October after six weeks absence from the Country. As usual the paid crowd and other political appointees were waiting to receive her at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja where the presidential jet that brought her back landed at about 4pm. She debunked the allegation that she went for cosmetic surgery but claimed she went for foreign trip. I wonder what type of foreign trip this was? So when you went for foreign trip, was it holidays, business trip or spiritual obligation? Why were the people not told? Is it not the taxpayers money that will be spent on her?

Anyway, it was a real show she put up at the Airport. When the aircraft doors opened, she came out with 'goggles' on then later removed them to properly acknowledged the hired crowd by lifting up her hands to wave at them as if she is the President.

I remembered the day she came to Lagos early this year for a 'Thank you' electorate tour. The roads were closed as all the women organisations in Lagos were threatened to be there or ceased to exist. One of my friends who is an executive in one of such association told me so. She said she didn't want to go but the threat forced her to. So when I saw the crowd, i knew there were either forced or threatened apart from the government officials, governors’ wives and politicians.

On arrival, as usual, the President's wife did not allow the opportunity to talk pass her. She is one of a kind. Unlike Turai Yar adua, who is seen and not heard most times, Dame Patience Jonathan wants to be seen and to be heard always. Hear her: “I am happy to be back in Nigeria.

“There are a few Nigerians that are saying whatever they like, not what God planned because God has a plan for all of us. “God has said it all, that when two or three are gathered in His name, that He will be with them. And Nigerians gathered and prayed for me (Prayed about what? If Nigerians do not know what ailed her and she said she was not in the hospital, so what did the country pray for?) and God listened and heard their prayers, so I thank God for that. “At the same time, I will use this opportunity to speak to those few ones saying that anybody that goes to the Villa or Aso Rock will die. “They mentioned the late Gen. Sani Abacha, they mentioned the late Stella Obasanjo, they mentioned the late President Umar Yar’Adua and other people. But why didn’t they mention those ones that went there with their families and succeeded and they still came out alive? “We should remember that Aso Rock is the seat of power and that is where God has ordained for Nigerians that our leaders should rule from and to rule us right. “At the same time, I read in the media where they said I was in the hospital. God Almighty knows I have never been to that hospital. I don’t even know the hospital they mentioned. “I have to explain what God has done for me( What did God do?). I do not have a terminal illness. I did not undergo cosmetic surgery, let alone a tummy tuck. “My husband loves me as I am and I am pleased with how God created me, I cannot add to it. “But at the same time, I will use this opportunity to thank my beloved husband and my children, my staff in general and all Nigerians for standing by me during my trying time." “God has given me a second chance to come and work with women of Nigeria, children and the less privileged. I have come to serve Nigeria. I have come to work with Nigerians, I am there for them. “Once more, I am pleased to be back. I love Nigerians; they are my family.” Nigerians wish you well and pray for the first family.

Power of We

I have always written about the environment and the flooding in Lagos anytime opportunity presents itself and this 2012 Blog Action Day is not an exception. This is the way to highlight and bring to the fore the efforts of our community in ensuring that we are not overrun by flood due to blocked canal in our locality. Almost five years ago, the state Government awarded the channelization and expansion of the Canal in our Community to a local contractor. The contract was for two years and the contractor worked day and night to meet that deadline. Suddenly everything stopped and the raining period was approaching. Weeks later, dirt and rubbish began gathering and Water hyacinth covered the canal. Before we could say Jesus is Lord, the canal which stretched across Aguda to Orile Mile 2 has been blocked. The situation became compounded with the commencement of the construction of the 10-lane-expressway from Iganmu to Badagry by the Federal and State Government and the blocking of canal at Alafia for the erection of concrete pillars. #bad12

When the rain now came, Aguda, Ikate and the whole of Surulere became flooded. Any time it rains, and no matter how little, the communities will be flooded. An appeal was sent to the Local Government Chairman for the Government to clear the canals and drainage channels to make the place flood free.

Anytime it rains, the whole area floods and water spills on to the street and houses. The floods hinders movement to schools and business places.

I remember July 10, 2011. The flood was massive. We had the Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello and some other Government officials coming to visit the site. He said the state government would expand some of the canals in Agege and other flood-prone areas to contain the massive floods that had been coming with the downpour in the state. He assured that the canal would be ready soon so we don't get to be submerged in flood any time it rains. Those were rhetoric. Nothing was done. Again, this year 28th June 2012, it rained and the whole area was flooded. I can’t forget what happened that Thursday. Water was everywhere and there was no way to pass. Most flats on the ground floors in the whole area were filled with water. I was worried for our neighbour and if on cue, she climbed up to solicit our help to bail out water from her flat. The rain was very heavy and it rained throughout the night. So many property were submerged and furniture destroyed. With that flooding of June, we mobilized ourselves into a pressure group. We did not wait for the officials to respond to letters of appeal but agreed to do something before lives are lost. In finding out why the area was always flooded, the Association realized 4 things: (1) that Lagos simply does not have the flood protection/drainage systems it requires. There has been no detailed assessment of the drainage needs of Lagos, considering its elevation, rainfall and drainage pathways. If this has been done, then there are requirements to ensure that flooding events like the ones we experience would not occur. Its not reclamation of land as most people think. (2) There is no proper routing and installation of drainage channels, with measures taken to prevent dumping. (3) The weather forecasting capabilities of the meteorology Department is poor. (4) No sincerity and will power by the Government to tackle the perennial flooding in the State. #bad12

After the findings on what causes flooding in the state especially in Surulere, the Landlord Association now decided that enough was enough. Protest was carried to the seat of power and the monitoring team assured that the government is committed to tackling the challenges posed by flooding in the state and the dredging of the canals have been captured in the 2013 Budget. The Association did not rest until the supervisor sent caterpillars to clear and dredge the Canal. Luckily, the rain has been falling but the area is not flooded and the Association has decided to pursue this option every 6 months. Without the members of the Association coming together to fight for their right from Government, we would have been counting the losses now because its been raining every day since. This really is the "Power of We" in action. #powerofwe

Flood ravaging Nigeria

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians are displaced, homes and houses submerged and Trillions of Naira of businesses washed away. Unfortunately, the people and the Government were caught unaware by the ravaging flood. The flood started from Kogi State and then Benue before spreasing to Edo State, Anambra State, Delta State, Rivers, Bayelsa, Tarabe and Adamawa. So far so many people have been killed and still counting.

The floods are due to extraordinarily heavy rains and the continued release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. Due to the continuous heavy downpour, water would continue to be released from the dam throughout October.

Minister Of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia. The Government was warned but the leaders thought the climate change was not going to affect Nigeria. Like they say "God is a Nigerian".

This is one of the community in Kogi that the flood has sacked but the people are still in their homes and the kids are wading through.

About thousands of people are in the camps in Kogi, Benue, Edo and Delta states. The few accommodated in camps are just a fraction of those affected by the flooding in all these States.

The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan visited the camp in Kogi and assured the people of Government help.

“I want to reassure all affected Nigerians that I share in their grief… The Federal Government has taken measures to assist the affected States, while considering long term measures to check future reoccurrence.

”

Cassava farm land submerged in the flood. Although the Minister of Agriculture assured the people that they will be no famine, i still wonder how the farmers would cope with their hard work and harvest lost to the flood.

houses

hospital being sacked and the in-patients and out-patients being taken to other areas for medical care.

Submerged area of Anambra state

Minister of State for Environment Lady Ada Okwuanu The floods have now spread through Benue state and down into the Niger Delta. I hope the Governors of Akwa Ibom State, Lagos and Ogun are taking precautions.

Killing of Students by Community

On Friday the 5th of October 2012, four students of the University of Port Harcourt Ugonna, Tekena, Lloyd and Chidiaka were badly beaten and burnt alive by residents of Aluu community for allegedly stealing phones and laptops in an off campus hostel.

The unarmed and slaughtered students were between 20 to 24 years old. They were beaten with sticks and any objects available, tied up and burnt without their attackers taking any measures to verify the charges against them or taking them to the Police.

The act of killing of students by the natives in the community where their off campus hostels are located is not new in Nigeria. It has been on for years from Ago-Iwoye to Ede, Owerri, Ilaro and all over the Country. I remembered two years ago when my daughter was still in Federal University of Technology, Owerri, a young lad from the community went into the hostel and demanded forcefully that a student give him his laptop. The student refused and was shot dead. His flatmates went to report the case to the community head immediately but the chief drove them away. When the students got angry, the villagers descended on the off campus hostel, killing, maiming and looting the hostel before setting it on fire. The same thing happened in Ago-iwoye, Ogun State University off campus hostel. There was a clash between the community and the students. Students were killed and properties destroyed.

These acts of killing of students by the communities where their off campus are sited, are barbaric and in-humane. No one deserves to die by burning in this age of civilization. From what i have read on net, Chiadika's father is well to do. He is a Management staff with Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). I dont see why a boy from a rich home will go to steal forty thousand laptop when he can afford the latest ones. The bereaved father is said to be seeking divine intervention over the cruel fate that has befallen his beloved son. "I have handed over the murderers to God," he told a relative.

From the story making the rounds on the net, One of the four boys loaned huge sum of money to an indigene of the community, an Aluu boy who is his friend. The chap decided to play smart and not pay back. The boy on that faithful Friday morning went with his other 3 friends to surprise his debtor to ask of his money. An arguments ensued and the Aluu boy started shouting that the Uniport boys AND Cultists have come to attack him. The community came out with pestle, sticks, stones kerosine and tyres. They stripped them naked, beat them and set them ablaze. The unfortunate aspect is the village head seating down and presiding over the killing of these young men. My GOD! That is so wicked, barbaric and satanic. So unimaginable and unthinkable. This barbaric act must stop! We call on all decent Nigerians to join in the fight against senseless killing of young Nigerians. These guys are the great future leaders of this Country. No matter the offense or crimes committed, no one deserves to die that brutality. they should have been handed over to the Police. We call on the Federal Government to vigorously and urgently pursue the issue. It is good the State Government and the Police have waded in and some of the killers arrested. They should not go unpunished. Justice must be done this time around to serve as a deterrent to those who always take laws into their hands.

Nigerian Women Pilgrims

Saudi Arabia, in apparent defiance of Nigeria's ultimatum, has deported 510 female pilgrims.

The deportees, mainly from Sokoto, Jigawa and Kano states, arrived at the Kano International Airport at about 8.30pm on Wednesday, aboard a Meridian Airline flight. The female returnees were among the Nigerian women pilgrims for the 2012 hajj detained in Medina and Jeddah for not having male escorts while trying to enter Mecca.

But from the spokeperson, there is an existing agreement between the countries to exempts Nigerian women from requiring a male relative to escort them during the Hajj pilgrimage, which costs about $4,000 per person. So if there is an an agreement and exemption, why the sudden change? Vice President Namadi Sambo had on Wednesday summoned the Saudi Ambassador to Nigeria, Khaled O.Y. Abdrabuh, to register the Federal Government's displeasure over the incident. Sambo also gave Saudi Arabia a 24-hour ultimatum to redress the situation. Spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Mallam Uba Mana, said those brought back were a part of 1020 earlier detained by the Saudi officials at the King Fahd Airport. He said the commission hoped that the Federal Government at the Presidency level would soon settle the matter which is already threatening the diplomatic relationship between the two countries. The envoy also gave the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal. the assurance that the dispute would be resolved within 24 hours when he met with him. The Speaker was nominated by the Federal Government to negotiate the release of the pilgrims with the Saudi authorities. But more female pilgrims were still deported. A total of 511 women arrived at the Kano international airport on a flight from Jeddah, most of them in tears. They had been kept at Jeddah airport as long as five days. According to Zainab Mohammed “

Some of us were kept in two halls for five days in humiliating conditions with little food, water and other basic needs and inadequate toilet facilities.Many of us have cold and fever. We did not have blankets and it was cold, especially at night

" Another woman, Maryam Abdullahi said officials humiliated them.

“I have never been so sad in my life like in the past three days, We were held like criminals in debasing conditions. We deserve human treatment and as women and mothers, we deserve to be treated with honour but the Saudis have shown that they have no heart.

” Before them, 102 Nigerian women returned to the country having been denied entry into Saudi Arabia because they were not accompanied by men. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria described the situation as “

unprecedented and worrisome development.”

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– Sheikh Gumi For Sheikh Ahmad Mahmud Gumi, the detention and subsequent deportation of Nigerian female pilgrims from Saudi Arabia was caused by government’s incompetence and the indiscipline Nigerian women exhibit in foreign countries. He said the action of the Saudi authorities did not come to him as a surprise because of the way and manner female pilgrims conduct themselves while in the holy land.

“During the days of President Yar’adua, I have severally called his attention to the atrocities committed by our female pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. Some of them would go to the holy land and vanish. They stay there to engage in acts that are not only against our religion but against even common sense and morality. I know the Saudis have respect for women but what our women do in the kingdom have made the Saudis to regard them as criminals. “Another issue is the way and manner our government portray themselves to the outside world. They were able to present themselves as incompetent personalities that can compromise the welfare of their people for some little gains. “Despite the indiscipline of some of our female pilgrims, I think the Saudi authorities ought to have, before now, informed our government of their decision to stop any female pilgrim from performing this year’s pilgrimage if she doesn’t go with Muharram,

” Well this weekend the Government that had earlier stopped airlifting to resolve the issue, has resumed. We wish all the Pilgrims a successful and fulfilling pilgrimage.

riots in Arab world

Again, riots have taken over the Arab world. This time, it has to do with Anti-islam video.

President Barak Obama

Destroying America's Symbol and Logo

Thousands have protested across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia against a film made in the US that depicts the Prophet Muhammad in a negative way by burning Buildings and killing people. American ambassador to Libya was killed in the protest in Libya. On July 1st 2012, the 14-minute video was posted on YouTube and was later picked up by various Arab TV stations. It was not popular until September when a Reliigious Egyptian TV channel presenter, Sheikh Khalad Abdalla broadcasted scenes and a clip from his show. It was dubbed into Arabic and posted online. Within days it had been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people and the rage began.

Christopher Stevens US Ambassador to Libya killed with three other Americans Embassy Staff. White House officials have asked YouTube to consider whether the film breaches its own guidelines. These guidelines include the stipulation: "We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we do not permit hate speech..." Google, which owns YouTube, said in a statement that the video was "clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube", but added that "given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt" it had restricted access to the video in both countries. But in Afghanistan, the govt blocked it. Access to the video also been blocked in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and India. The video "Innocence of Muslims" appears to depict Islam as a religion of violence and hate and its Prophet Muhammad as a foolish and power-hungry man. It also depicts Muhammad and his followers as killers, looters and extortionists. It opens with a scene in which a Coptic family in a newly radicalised Islamic Egypt is attacked by a group of Muslims while police look on without intervening. The father tells his daughters that Muslims want to kill all Christians and that the Islamic state is hiding their crimes. It then shows the Prophet Muhammad and his life with his family and his followers in the desert. He is shown having sex with his wife Khadija and other women. The video implies Khadija is behind the creation of the Koran, which is described as a combination of subversions of the Torah and the New Testament. In one scene the Prophet sanctions the sexual abuse of children; in another, he says he is gay. All these portrayals are indirect opposite of Islamic belief. His wife Khadija and his earliest companions are also revered in their own right in Islam, and so mocking these individuals is also considered serious blasphemy. The Koran is believed to be the direct word of God, revealed to Muhammad. Depicting Khadija as planning to concoct a holy book out of the Old and New Testament defies an intrinsic Islamic belief. I saw the trailer on the net and I watched for few minutes. Most of the people rioting have not watched it especially in Africa where access to the net is limited and costly. The entire film should be around an hour according to what i read but the trailer is only 14 minutes and that is what is widely circulated on the internet in English and Arabic. The Film is made by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian living in California. He is now in hiding but i know the American Government will find him although by then, a lot of innocent people would have been killed by the protesters. According to President Obama and the Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, these killings are senseless and the attacks unwarranted. << 1 Samuel 5; 1-12 >>

1) After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2) They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3) But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. 4) But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. 5) That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold. 6) Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.a 7) When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.” 8) So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?” The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9) But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic. 10) So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!” 11) The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or itb will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. 12) Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the Town rose to Heaven.

Our God is the Creator that was not created. He is the Mighty Man in Battle. He does not need us the created to fight for Him. He is JEHOVAH. When the ARK of GOD was arrested by the Philistians and taken to their land and kept in an unholy place, God dealt with their idol and the people. What am I saying? These killings are not needed. Anyone that blaspheme God will be punished by GOD and not humans. Even when we are attacked, Gods says He will fight for us and we will hold our peace. Please stop killing innocent people all in the name of defending religion. Religion is for the people and not against the people. May God help us all.