Dejected Ferguson admits "the best team won"

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United lost to the better side as Barcelona secured the Champions League crown in Rome, but he vowed to come back even stronger.

United were bright in the initial exchanges but after Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring after 10 minutes, there was only one team in the game as Barca over-ran their opponents in midfield.

Lionel Messi made it 2-0 after 70 minutes and the Red Devils could muster nothing in response.

Ferguson told Sky Sports 1: "In fairness we were beaten by the best team. We weren't at our best. The first goal was a killer, it was a bad start to the game. If you give them the ball they will keep it all night.

"But the best part of the game is that in adversity you always move forward quicker. We're all disappointed but we're a young team.''

Ferguson added a second striker at half-time, with Carlos Tevez replacing the ineffective Anderson.

Reflecting on that decision, the Scot said: "I brought on Tevez simply because I took the gamble of playing two through (the middle). Ryan Giggs, in the first half, provided something and some parts of his game were good but what we needed was someone to be there all the time.

"But they defended quite well. We had plenty of time and we had some half-chances which we maybe should have done better with.''

Ferguson claimed he was not surprised with the way Barcelona approached the game, even when they swapped Messi from a wide position up front into midfield.

And he put the blame for the loss squarely on his own players.

Ferguson said: "The disappointment was the use of the ball when we got possession. You have to wait minutes to get it back off them. Could be it was an off night. Could be it was a mountain too big to climb.

"We knew what a good football team they were. We had difficulty in defending against them. Messi dropped into midfield and they kept possession and made it difficult for us.''

Cristiano Ronaldo collected a yellow card for a foul on Puyol and it was a disappointing match for the United winger who went close with a couple of long-range shots but too often let his exasperation get the better of him.

Ferguson also admitted United missed the protective presence of Darren Fletcher in midfield who was suspended after being sent off harshly against Arsenal in the semi-final.

"He is one big-game player,'' said Ferguson. "It was a loss but they had losses also. And it is difficult to measure how big a loss it was.

"We've done well to get to the final, but we had to win it. It was a big opportunity for us. With the players we have we expected better, but losing the first goal was decisive for us. We couldn't recover from that.''

Ferguson, however, was generous in his praise of Barcelona and their manager, Pep Guardiola, who also won the Champions League as a player with Barcelona.

"You have to give credit to a very good Barcelona team,'' said Ferguson. "If they get in front of you they are very difficult to beat. They kept possession of the ball and made it very difficult to get back.

"When we did get possession we didn't do well with it. Credit to them, the better team won.''

On Guardiola, who has guided Barcelona to a treble of league title, domestic Cup and Champions League, he added: "It is a great achievement as a coach in his first year. Well done. Fantastic. Everybody enjoys their football and it is great credit to him.''

Veteran United midfielder Ryan Giggs admitted they did not play to their potential and that they were beaten by the better team.

"At times Barcelona can make you look silly because they keep the ball so well,'' Giggs told Sky Sports News. "At times we maybe chased it and didn't keep our shape as well as we should have. But still - we created chances and probably more chances than Barcelona.

"We said whoever turned up on the night would win and that proved to be the case. They turned up and played some great football - we didn't really. I think if we had gone a goal ahead, we're capable of keeping the ball like they are. But credit to them, they deserved it tonight.''

Lifeless Newcastle pay the price

Newcastle United have been relegated from the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Gareth Barry's 38th minute shot deflected off Damien Duff and wrongfooted Steve Harper for the only goal of the game.

Hull City's home defeat by Manchester United meant Newcastle only needed a point to survive but in a limp second half showing they failed to muster a shot on target.

Darron Gibson's superb strike sealed a winning end to Manchester United's season as Sir Alex Ferguson's second string proved too much for the battling Tigers.

Middlesbrough fell 2-1 at Upton Park as their drop to the Championship was confirmed. Goals from Carlton Cole and Junior Stanislas came either side of a Gary O'Neil effort.

Sunderland were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea at the Stadium of Light as Nicolas Anelka secured the golden boot. He lashed home a drive from 20 yards to give the Blues a 47th minute lead but Kieran Richardson equalised instantly.

Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole re-established Chelsea's lead before Kenwyne Jones grabbed an injury time consolation goal.

Liverpool ended Spurs' Europa League hopes with a 3-1 win at Anfield. Fernando Torres and an own goal from Alan Hutton gave the Reds a strong lead before Robbie Keane scored on his return to Anfield.

A late Yossi Benayoun goal sealed Liverpool's win.

Arsenal thumped Stoke 4-1 at the Emirates. James Beattie's own goal began the rout while Robin van Persie netted twice for the Gunners. Abou Diaby added the other goal. The Potters could only muster a Ricardo Fuller penalty.

Two goals from Leon Osman helped Everton sink Fulham, who qualify for the Europa League, while Jason Roberts' red card was the only incident of note in the goalless draw between Blackburn and West Brom at Ewood Park.

Wigan beat Portsmouth 1-0 at the JJB thanks to Hugo Rodallega's goal.

At Eastlands, Felipe Caicedo's early strike was enough to beat Bolton Wanderers.

Alhaji Ladi Lawal is dead.

Alhaji Ladi Lawal was the Group Managing Director of Daar Communications (owners of AIT, Raypower, Daarsat) and former Chairman of Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He died yesterday 23rd May after a brief illness. He has since been buried. He was aged 54. May his soul rest in peace, Amen.

Ekiti re-run: INEC declares Oni winner

Segun Oni, an engineer and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got the nod to return to the saddle in Ekiti State on Tuesday with his declaration as winner of the controversial governorship election re-run.

The Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner and Chief Returning Officer, Mrs Ayoka Adebayo declared Oni as the eventual winner of the re-run poll, which had kept the state on edge in the past few weeks.

Oni defeated his main rival, the Action Congress (AC) candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, but spontaneous protests from the party’s supporters greeted the PDP victory.

Oni vacated the governorship seat on the order of the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, which ordered re-run of the April 2007 poll in 63 wards across 10 local government areas of the state.
Reading the final results amidst deafening noise by AC and PDP supporters at the Christ’s Girls School Ado-Ekiti, collation center on Tuesday night, Adebayo announced that Oni polled the highest votes, scoring 111, 140 as against Fayemi’s 107,017.

The controversial ballots in Ido-Osi Local Government, which had the PDP candidate scoring 15,939 votes as against AG’s 3,793 votes were the decider.
AC had complained against the results, claiming to have won the legally collated results from three wards, while rejecting those said to have been collated in a police station.
It was alleged that the controversy led to the REC, Mrs Adebayo resigning her appointment and ‘disappearing’ for 48 hours, only appearing later to announce that she was still a “member of the INEC family.”

AC supporters booed as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official were led out of the collation centre by security agents to prevent them from being attacked.
Earlier, as the results of the four outstanding local governments that were announced AC chieftains, including Niyi Adebayo, former governor of Ekiti and Chief Jide Awe AC state chairman stood up to raise objection on the manner he results were announced.

They pointed out that the results ought to have been announced by Mrs Adebayo herself instead of electoral officers who also acted as the collation officers.
The collation center became rowdy as PDP and AC supporters were shouting on top of their voices.
Despite the plea by Acting Police Commissioner in the state, Yakubu Alkali, the crowd kept shouting “No more rigging.”

The REC, however, appealed to the people that any party dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll should go to court after the announcement of the result.
Earlier, the re-run election in Oye-Ekiti held amidst tight security, but characterized by low voter turnout, as the expected 18,000 votes projected by the political parties for grabs could not be realized.
The number of security men, including police, State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) could be rated as one security operative to one civilian in the town.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), John Ahmadu, State Director of SSS, Mrs Florence Ikanone and NSCDC boss as well as military personnel were in the town to ensure peace and orderliness.
Voting did not start until after 10 a.m as many natives had fled the town, while those who were around were scared by the heavy security presence.

The apathy displayed by the people of the town, in spite of the heavy presence of various party leaders, was so much that in some wards total votes cast were below 20, especially in Ward 2 Unit 15 where 768 people registered and the total vote cast were 9 with AC having 5, and PDP 4.
The excuse given for that was that most of the voters, who registered in the unit, were students and teachers of Government College, Oye where the polling booth was located.
The election was unique in the sense that the two prominent political parties in the election, AC and PDP, watched each other with eagle eye despite of the presence of security operatives in all the polling booths.

There were controversies in ward 2 as one Segun Ajayi, who was AC’s agent, complained that some people were coming with voter’s cards with blurred photographs, but the presiding officer, Arikwandu Augustine said those who came with blurred pictures were not allowed to vote at the unit.
No fewer than 15 policemen were stationed in each polling station, and no cases of ballot snatching nor stuffing had been reported in the two wards with 36 polling stations.

The leadership of both parties were in the town with the tags of election monitoring agent. The state chairmen of both AC and PDP, Chief Jide Awe and Bola Olu-Ojo respectively were in the town very early.

Former Governor Niyi Adebayo was also accompanied by Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Opeyemi Bamidele, who came in a black Honda CR-V with registration number Lagos LW 766 AAA, to Oye where he (Adebayo) was coordinating the AC agents.
Adebayo and Opeyemi did not leave Ward 1 Unit 9, which Rabiu Garba was the INEC presiding officer until the election was over in the area.

I once hawked ‘ice water’ in Lagos traffic –Yaw of Wazobia FM

Since pitching his tent with the Victoria Island, Lagos-based pidgin English radio station, Wazobia FM (95.1) as an On Air Personality (OAP), Steve Onu, aka, Yaw has warmed his way into the hearts of many radio listeners in Lagos and neighbouring states.

Interestingly, the popular anchor of Make Una Wake, the morning show between 6am to 12noon, who recently bagged two awards including, City People Awards and Mode Men Awards for Best On Air Personality is just one year on the job.
Yaw beat other contenders for the awards including, American born Inspiration FM OAP, Dan Foster and Rhythm FM’s Wild Child.

As if to justify his popularity among Lagosians, the Theatre Arts graduate of the Lagos State University, Ojo (LASU), was greeted with shouts of ‘Yaw’ by fans as he cruised in his black Nissan Xterra Jeep with customized plate number Yaw 2 into a fast food outlet within the National Arts Theatre for this interview.
Onu, who also combines his job with stage acting, MC and voice over, in this interview unabashedly spoke about his poor background, his job as an entertainer and how he copes with female fans among other issues.

Talking about my past
There is nothing wrong with the past because it is past. As a student, if one fails Mathematics and today he does very well in other subjects like the English language or Biology, does that make one a dullard? No, I don’t think so. I don’t care about what anybody feels about my past, I will tell you my past for you to know.

Before Wazobia FM
All that time I have been with the BBC. After that, I acted in a couple of TV drama such as, Twilight Zone and Flatmates. I was also involved with others, such as Dear Mother and Fuji House of Commotion. I was constantly featuring in different events at the MUSON Centre doing stage productions. Really, it wasn’t an overnight thing, I have been there waiting for my time to shine. That is the mistake lot of people make. I also compere and do a whole lot of other things.

My background and my status
Anything I say on radio, I always recall my upbringing to buttress that point. Because there is always one experience or the other that will be relevant to the point, which I am trying to make, I always like to use it encourage people by saying ‘look men, don’t think it is the end of the world’. I have gone through what I went through in the past and by God’s grace, I am where I am today. That is where I get my major materials for the show.

How I became a broadcaster
I went to the station with a friend, Bunmi Davies to see Mr Ibrahim Abubakar and incidentally, during our conversation, Abubakar said they want to set up a pidgin radio station. I then told Bunmi that I wouldn’t mind taking up a job with the station. It took me about three to four months to write my C.V because I have never written any before. Eventually, I was able to write one. On the day of the interview, I just wore a shirt and a pair of jeans with a cap, which made me look very odd. The other applicants were all in suit and tie looking very corporate. But I ended up getting the job. They called us in one after the other and you drop whatever you want to drop.

Acting on stage with Koffi
The play was intended to show the other part of me that most of my radio fans don’t know. Most people know me just as an OAP but the real me comes out when I am on stage. They saw it and I am sure they enjoyed it. We did two shows and we recorded full house in both shows. I hope to do it better in July. I studied Drama and so that is the main thrust of the show, we just added a little comedy and music for variety.

Humility as a virtue
My mother always reminds me that without the people, you are nobody. If tomorrow, you and every other person stop listening to Wazobia FM, then who is Yaw. I will be nobody. So I have no choice than to remain humble. As a person, it is not even in my personality because I wasn’t raised that way although, some people test one’s patience by going to the extreme. Somebody see me one day and he just slap me for back and began shouting ‘yes, na you dey talk for radio’. I was really mad. Although, I was angry a bit yet I couldn’t do anything about it. Another instance, someone saw me and just removed my cap and began to hit it hard on my head. In such situations, if one should flare up, they would say one is proud or something. But I just try to be myself and remain calm in any situation.

Most interesting part of my job
I am just who I am. My brother, na like dat wey I be na im I be. Whatever you hear me say on radio is what I say on a good day. The good thing is that the management allows me to be who I intend to be. They have not told me what to do or how to do it, and I think that is what is making the programme sell.

Coping with ladies
Really, I don’t know whether I am getting attentions. But even before I became a presenter, ladies have always liked me. Even if you are good in only Mathematics or English language, ladies will surely like you, it is as natural as that. I just try as much as possible to keep them at arms length.

Is Yaw married?
(laughs) Any other question? We dey, we dey kakaraka.

But people say you are not yet married.
(more laughs) In short, I don’t really know whether I am unmarried or not except as I dey hear am for your mouth.

A lot of young ladies will be reading this…
Dem wan marry me? Anybody who wan marry me, I dey o make una come marry!

Music industry in Nigeria
Our musicians are trying but at the same time, I am worried that our kids are being unduly exposed to a lot of rubbish. If they don’t talk about sex, they think it won’t sell. We have a lot of people fooling themselves around that they are musicians yet they don’t have anything to offer. But, I will say that we are still growing. I think we still have quite a few good materials out there?

Do you reject musical CDs?
Anyway, I am not in the library department that handles such things but they reject a lot of CDs. I don’t have a say, my own is just to collect materials from the library whenever I need it. The library controls everything that has to do with musical materials.

Daily routine
I wake up in the morning around 5am, pray and prepare myself for the show. I hit the studio between 5:30 am and 5:45am and then I go on air from 6am and round off by 12noon. I still stay around to do some production jobs and I later leave office by 1pm. From there, I am on my own and every day I have one or two things to do outside of my radio job such as voice over and commercials among others.

Rising popularity
Well, I give God the glory for that. But I still have several people, whom I respect such as, Basket Mouth, Ali Baba, Koffi, my friend and so many others. People say I am funny but that is just me because everything about me is fun. I like making people happy.

From Grass to grace
I will say life is just okay at least from hawking ‘ice water’ not sachet water during traffic in those days to riding a car now. So, I just give God the glory for the good things he has done for me. I won’t say it is little, especially when I compared it to where I am coming from.

What are your plans for the future?
I never believed I would be an OAP, I take my time to achieve one thing at a time. Initially, it was home video, next it was stage, then TV and now radio. Whatever comes my way, I take. God is the author and finisher of my faith. I leave everything to God.

How old is Yaw?
Yaw is in his 30s and still has many things to achieve.

To your fans
I say a big thank you to Lagosians and indeed Nigerians, who have been voting for me for awards. I have received about four or five awards so far, including Best On Air Personality for Mode Men Awards and City People Awards among others. I am just one year on the job. I also won an award organized by Opa Williams for Best TV Actor (Comic) and when I used to do stage productions, I also won an award. sunnewsonline

It’s not yet over for Eagles – Kanu

Portsmouth striker, Nwankwo Kanu, is still hopeful that Nigeria will pick the 2010 World Cup ticket in spite of Super Eagles’ not-too-impressive outing against Mozambique in Maputo recently.

The Atlanta Olympic Games gold medallist believes things can still turn around in favour of Nigeria in the qualifying series.
He, however, urged football pundits not to write-off Eagles, who are in the same group with Tunisia, Kenya and Mozambique, saying “in football, anything can still happen.

“Nigeria is a football-crazy nation and we have millions of good footballers. We know that many people are looking up to us to do well. That is one of the main reasons we have to put in our best anytime we are wearing the green and white kit of the Super Eagles.

“Yes, we hope to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and beyond. Our Under-17 team recently won the cadets World Cup, our Under-23 team also won silver medal in Beijing last year; they have all proved that talent still abound in Nigeria.

“We still have a chance in spite of our goalless draw outing against Mozambique in Maputo. You can see that we have picked ourselves up from a dismal African Cup of Nations in Ghana and having gone thus far in the qualifiers, we foresee no problems. We have to make sure we do things right, the administration, the nutrition, the medical aspect, other little things that can affect team performance. We will get there. When we get to South Africa for the World Cup, we can then proceed to focus on winning the competition.”

Kanu appealed to Nigerians not to lose hope as they were comitted to picking the only ticket in their group, come rain or sunshine.
“We have to approach these things with self belief, and if we can win tournaments at age-group levels and get to the finals in major global championships, we can get the best at the World Cup. But we must not get carried away yet. There is a job to be done, that is qualifying for the World Cup and we need to do that first.”
On whether he will still be around as a player in 2010, he said:
“Only God knows the future, but I still want to be playing by 2010 and beyond. It will be a dream come true for me to play for Nigeria in an African World Cup, the first of its kind.”sunnewsonline.

Atiku, a hopeless politician – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday sealed any hope of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar returning to its fold as it described him as ‘a hopeless and selfish politician.’

The party said that his bid to bounce back into political reckoning had fallen flat in his face and that his “selfish and overt political ambition” had made him susceptible to sundry miscalculations and misjudgments.

The former vice-president, who has made several efforts to rejoin the PDP in the last few months, had also incurred the ire of the Action Congress, a party on whose platform he contested the last 2007 Presidential election.

The PDP’s vitriol came a few days after former President Olusegun Obasanjo claimed at a function in Yola, Adamawa State, that Abubakar had begged him to assist him return to the party.

Ironically, Abubakar had at the weekend told journalists in Lagos that the PDP was not a credible vehicle for electoral reforms ahead of the 2011 polls.

“I do not think that the PDP government has the capacity and the ability to push through a real electoral reform that would satisfy all participants in the process,” he had said.

The former vice-president described the White Paper on electoral reforms as empty and called on ‘progressives’ to unite to form a mega-party that would serve as an alternative to the PDP.

But the PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, said that Abubakar ought to have been grateful to the party (PDP) for giving him a platform through which he served the country as a vice-president for eight years under Obasanjo.

The statement reads in part,“The attention of the PDP has been drawn to the statement credited to the former vice-president (Abubakar) and widely published in Nigerian newspapers of April 6, 2009, in which he made uncomplimentary remarks against our party and the President Umaru Yar’Adua-led Federal Government.

“Our instinct has always been to ignore Alhaji Abubakar whose overt selfish ambition has left a hopeless politician susceptible to all forms of miscalculations and misjudgements.

“ However, it appears that the PDP tolerance of him and his cohorts is daily being taken for granted, hence we wish to state as follows:

“That the former vice-president be reminded that but for the PDP which gave him a platform to emerge first as governor–elect of Adamawa State and then, as the vice- president of Nigeria for eight years, Alhaji Abubakar would have remained an inconsequential political quantity, whose influence would not have gone beyond his Jadda ward in Adamawa State.

“The former vice-president should, therefore, be eternally grateful to the PDP and not be consumed in the sojourn of ill-fate to disparage a platform without which he would have remained irrelevant.

“It is an irony that the former vice-president has suddenly woken up to the realisation that Nigeria does not have a system that can bring brilliant people to leadership when the same system elevated him to the nation’s number two.

“Did Abubakar deliberately and selfishly slumber away while he enjoyed the same system?

“What a paradox that the same man who sang Hosanna yesterday is today singing crucifice eis – crucify him at the top of his voice.

“That his attack on the genuine efforts and commitment of the Federal Government on electoral reforms is clearly opportunistic as Alhaji Abubakar as vice-president of Nigeria for good eight years cannot today be credited with even a single suggestion he made on how to reform the electoral system.

“If the PDP cannot bequeath a good electoral system as Abubakar said, is it the AC with its barrage of demi-gods and cult personalities that will?

“Is it the AC that is bereft of internal democracy? “Where is Abubakar if we may ask? Is he in the opposition? Which opposition? Is inconsistency a mettle of an opposition politics?

“We are not surprised that Atiku now has his eyes in the so-called nebulous mega party having lost grip of the AC with his self-serving antics.”

The PDP added that Abubakar had become “rudderless” because he had lost control of the AC.

It said, “Nigerians have come to know Alhaji Abubakar more than he thinks. For all his pretences, he is definitely not one of the champions of democracy.

“His recent desperation to repair a battered image and bounce back to reckoning has fallen flat in his face, hence his latest remarks which are symptomatic of a drowning man, latching unto every available straw for survival.”

But in a swift reaction, Abubakar said he had no regrets for condemning the PDP and the government of President Yar’Adua.

Abubakar, who spoke through his media office in Abuja, said the attack on his person for calling on the PDP and government to respect the wishes of Nigerians for electoral reforms was another confirmation that the party had derailed from the noble objectives of its founding fathers.

He said, “There is no doubt that Nigeria needs an electoral reform. The failure of government and frustration of our people over the lack of effective governance is a fallout of the bad elections of 2007.

“The linkage between credible elections and performance in government is now very clear to Nigerians. It is a pity if some latter-day PDP joiners cannot see what every reasonable Nigerian sees clearly today.”

The former vice-president said the minimum requirements for credible elections as contained in the Justice Muhammadu Uwais-led panel report on electoral reform had been abandoned by the PDP.

He said, “Many of the politicians in the party are afraid of free and fair elections. If these politicians are credible as they claim, why are they afraid of effecting electoral reforms that will guarantee the inalienable rights of Nigerians to choose their leaders?”

A credible electoral system, Abubakar argued, must include the appointment of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission and its board by an impartial body like the Nigerian Judicial Council.

Rooney, Scholes & Vidic Set To Return For Manchester Against Porto The Red Devils will welcome back a trio of stars in time for Tuesday's Champions Le

Manchester United will receive a boost for their Champions League tie with Porto at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, as a trio of key men are set to return.

Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic, players whose absence would seriously weaken any side, were forced to watch their side's dramatic 3-2 home victory over Aston Villa today from the stands, but should be back in action against the Portuguese outfit.

Industrious South Korean winger Ji-Sung Park is also set to be available for selection once more, though there is less favorable news concerning defender Rio Ferdinand and Brazilian midfielder Anderson, neither of whom look likely to be ready in time after picking up knocks whilst on international duty last week.

"I don't think any of the injured players will be back on Tuesday," United manager Alex Ferguson told MUTV.

"But we do have the suspended players back which is good. Vida [Vidic] will play alongside Jonny Evans at the back with John O'Shea moving to right-back.

"Rooney and Scholes are also available which will give us a bit more penetration and experience, and Ji-Sung Park will also be ready so I've got some good options for Tuesday."

There was also a slight doubt over Ryan Giggs, though this was more to do with the effects of what fatigue might have on the Welshman's veteran legs rather than any injury.

Ferguson concluded, "I'll have to assess how Ryan [Giggs] is after playing the 90 minutes against Villa. It's a big ask for someone at 35 years of age to play another game two days later at the kind of level we play."

Fayose, siblings in dirty war over dad’s burial

Disagreement over the final resting place of Pa Olorunfemi Oluwayose, renowned cleric and father of former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has snowballed into a dirty war among the deceased’s children.

Daily Sun gathered that the children of the late cleric are pitched in a battle over where and how to bury their father.

According to family sources, a meeting held at the Orita-Challenge home of the late Oluwayose went awry two weeks ago as Fayose, leading 10 of his siblings including the first born, disagreed with the 16 other children led by the second born, Ms. Modupeola Fayose, a United Kingdom-based nutrition expert and Apostle (Mrs.) Bimpe Oluwayose Sorinola, Fayose’s sister by same mother kicked against the burial arrangement for their father.

The Ayo Fayose camp which include the first born of the late Octogenarian, Olusegun Fayose and Mrs. Moji Ladeji want the old man buried in his home town, Afao-Ekiti, Ekiti State, while their other group insist on respecting an alleged last wish of the former Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) leader that he be buried in his Ibadan home, which adjoins one of the five churches he founded in his 50 years of work as an ecclesiastic activist and missionary in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Pa John Olorunfemi Oluwayose passed on February 14, but he is yet to get a befitting and quick burial as he reportedly instructed at his 82nd birthday celebration last year.
Both groups of his surviving children had published separate conflicting obituaries and funeral programmes.

While the Modupeola/Bimpe group fixed the rites of passage for between last Wednesday and Friday (April 1-3) to hold at the Orita Challenge residence of the deceased, Ayo Fayose’s scheduled theirs for April 9 and 10 at Afao Ekiti.

Although some of the children observed the April 1-3 programme, climaxing in a burial service at Oloruntedotimi CAC at Orita Challenge, Ibadan and interment, it was more of mockery, as the corpse could not be buried, having been ordered detained by the police allegedly on Fayose’s instruction.
Daily Sun gathered that when the Modupeola/Bimpe group got to the private hospital (names withheld) where the remains of the late cleric were being kept, the corpse could not retrieved as mobile policemen had been drafted to the hospital.

The group was said to have gone back disappointed with an empty casket, which they eventually interred with Pa Oluwayose’s priestly regalia and his Bible.
The development shocked mourners including relations and church members of the late priest.
The former Ekiti governor’s group is alleged by the Modupeola/Bimpe group to be backed by traditionalists in their hometown who allegedly had been cursing members of the camp for wanting to shame Ekiti.

An unrepentant Bimpe told Daily Sun last night: “They have given our phone numbers to Babalawos, traditional rulers and other dark principalities in Ekiti who have been cursing and making threats.”
The conflict has even assumed a frightening dimension as Bimpe alleged that she had been receiving threat messages on her mobile phone allegedly sent by her brother of same mother (name withheld), who is hand-in-glove with Fayose on the move to bury their late father’s remains in Ekiti.
Daily Sun gathered that the new Oyo State Police Commissioner, Baba Bolante has waded into the matter with a directive to the hospital in Ibadan, where the deceased’s body is kept not to release it to any of the parties.

A meeting of the family and elders of the late Pa Oluwayose’s church has been summoned by the police commissioner in his office at Eleyele headquarters today to broker peace among the feuding children.
A cynical Bimpe and Modupeola said they suspected the forum was to brow beat them into submitting to Fayose’s plan. But they vowed never to concede any ground against their “father’s last wish”
Contacted, former governor Fayose declined to comment on the development, asking when his father’s burial became an issue for newspaper publication.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Oyo police boss was out of town, attending a conference of commissioners of police in the federation with the Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro in Maiduguri.

But police spokesman, Miss Bisi Okuwobi, who confirmed the scheduled parley, said her boss had delegated two senior officers and herself to preside at the meeting.
Okuwobi also explained that the deployment of police detectives in the hospital where the corpse of Fayose’s father was being kept became necessary to avert a breakdown of law and order.
“In order to ensure that there is peace all over the state, the police have to step in to maintain law and order. Our interest is to ensure peace,” Okuwobi stressed.

Yar’Adua unveils logo, slogan on re-branding Nigeria

Nigeria has unveiled a new logo and slogan for its national rebranding campaign which the Information and Communications Minister, Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili says signals the march towards national re-birth. The slogan selected was Good People, Great Nation while the logo is simply the word – Nigeria but creatively interpreted.

At the unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, March 17th 2009 at the International Conference Centre - Abuja, several prominent Nigerians and members of the civil society, organized labour, private sector and students took turns in expressing their hope for a better Nigeria and their desire for a corrupt-free Nigeria and one that guarantees individual rights and liberties.
Nigerian President, Umar Yar’Adua was represented at the occasion by the Vice President Dr. Jonathan Goodluck and he urged Nigerians to support the campaign through value re-orientation pointing out that nation rebranding should not be seen as just a one-event affair. He decried the situation where the activities of a few Nigerians have come to taint the world’s perception of Nigerians and Nigeria.



General Yakubu Gowon, ex-Head of State and Chairman of the Occasion praised the Pete Edochie led- National Rebranding Committee for their choice of logo and slogan selected from thousands of entries sent in by Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Senator Ayogu Eze who represented Senate President Senator David Mark at the occasion said that the National Assembly will support the Ministry of Information and Communications in the re-branding project asking that all Nigerians should be carried along in the process.

His House of Representatives counterpart, Honourable Dino Malaye represented the Speaker Dimeji Bankole and he delivered a well received speech that had the whole house applauding him every step. In a firebrand but frank tone, he advised that Re-branding should start from the top, from the President and then cascading down to the Vice President and top Public officials who have a moral duty to uphold the rule of law at all times. He spoke on the need for genuine electoral reforms and care for citizen’s welfare. In a lighter mood, he advised that those entrusted with the re-branding campaign should not use the opportunity to rebrand their pockets promising that the National Assembly will be watching on behalf of Nigerians. Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili had earlier in her speech promised that her ministry will publish twice yearly a statement of account of the re-branding project.

With this, it is hoped that Nigerians will begin to reject the negative labels and adjectives used to describe and qualify both country and citizens by the western media and even by Nigerians themselves, and strive to do good, to think of nation first and stand proud and tall amongst other citizens of the world. As the slogan suggests, Nigeria is a great nation of good people.

9ice to perform in Ghana

Multiple-award winning singer, 9ice, is scheduled to perform in Accra for the very first time at the Accra International Conference Center, Accra, Ghana on the 28th March, 2009.The show will also feature Yes Record's flagship artistes, G-Xploit, whose hit track 'Bolu Molu Merete' has reached No.8 on MTV Base World Charts. In addition, rave-making Shank and fellow Yes! Record signee Steel will also be on the bill.SO,lets go there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inter-banks’ lending rates hits 20.25%

Inter-banks’ lending rates has risen to 20.25 per cent from 16.91 per cent last week as banks could not get enough naira to finance their operations.

According to agency reports, lack of cash inflow caused banks to scramble for the few cash around thus giving indication for a possible rise again above 20.25 per cent next week.

The agency further noted that most of the funds that came in through budgetary allocations to government agencies two weeks ago, have dried up, and many banks could not access the central bank’s repo window as they had no treasury bills to serve as collateral.

Also, it said, payment for foreign exchange purchased at the central bank’s bi-weekly auctions had also drained liquidity from the system as the CBN sold $849 million last week.
However, the liquidity crunch was worsened by the fact that there were no repayments in matured treasury bills in the week as none was due.

AC asks Alao-Akala to explain source of daughter’s stolen money

The Action Congress in Oyo State, on Monday, asked Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to explain the source of the $56,000 allegedly stolen from his daughter, Mrs. Olamide Alabi.

The said $56,000 was reportedly stolen when armed robbers attacked and took away Olamide’s Honda Accord 2008 Model car on February 13 in Ibadan.

The Secretary of the AC in the state, Mr. Dele Akinleye, told journalists during an interview that the amount allegedly stolen from the governor’s daughter as reported by a national daily (not The Punch) was too much for the lady to have in her possession.

Though the lady did not deny the robbery incident, she explained in a statement in Ibadan on Monday that no such amount was found in her car.

But Akinleye expressed surprise at the development and described it as unfortunate, especially at a time ‘when teachers and pupils of public schools were currently languishing at home over government’s failure to pay the Teachers Salary Structure.’

He insisted that Alao-Akala should explain the source of the money said to have been found with his daughter at this period of global economic meltdown.

He said, “I wonder how she (Akala’s daughter) could be taking such amount to a social event. That means she took more than that to the party because the report in the daily said she was robbed on her way back home.

“She must explain to us where she got the money because she is just a graduate of about two years from the Bowen University, Iwo. One wonders from where she got that type of money. That is the question we are asking Governor Alao-Akala to answer.”

Akinleye wondered why the governor claimed that he could not pay the TSS, yet his daughter was allegedly going about with huge sums of foreign currencies.

The story of Alao-Akala’s daughter’s robbery incident was broken on Sunday when the state police command paraded the hoodlums who had been the terrorising residents of some highbrow areas in the city, within the last two months.

The Deputy Commissioner Oyo State Command, Mr. Ralph Ibeazor, while briefing journalists, said luck ran out of the robbers on Sunday morning when they raided two hotels and some residential homes and were fleeing.

Ibeazor had said that his men gave them a good chase and caught them at Oluwo-Nla area of new Bodija, killing three of them while the other two were seriously wounded during a gun duel with the police.

He had said that two policemen also lost their lives in the process.

“These robbers had been terrorising residents of Ashi, Ikolaba, and Oluyole areas of Ibadan. it had been very difficult to get them. We are happy that we got them at last. This is one of our biggest catches this year. We will continue to get them.” The police chief had said.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in charge of the state command, Miss. Olabiisi Okuwobi, said on Monday that the command would soon track down a four-member armed robbery gang who are still at large.

Okuwobi also said that two of the suspects wounded by the police on Sunday had started responding to treatment at the hospital. She said adding that they had given useful information that could help the command in its investigations.

Electoral Reforms: Buhari raises alarm …they want to kill Uwais report

Former Military Head of State and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Presidential candidate during the April, 2007 general election, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has expressed doubt over the Federal Government’s sincerity as regards the much expected electoral reforms, saying the way the report of the exercise was being treated, right now, has shown that the whole efforts might, at the end of the day, become an exercise in futility.

Buhari, spoke in Lagos on Monday at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), where a book; Who really is General Muhammadu Buhari written on him by the former Petroleum Minister, Professor Tam David-West was launched.

He expressed apprehension that the way the white paper on the report was being tossed around, the government was set to reject the committee’s report and that Nigeria might return to status quo ante, regretting that the cynics might be proved right at the end of the day about the insincerity of the government.

The former Head of State, who, though lamented that the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Law were violated with reckless abandon during the 2007 elections, however, saw no need for any reform of the country’s law when the laws had not been properly tested and practised, insisting that it was the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and the people in government that needed to be reformed.

Speaking further, Buhari berated the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) intolerance of opposition with their “crush the opposition” attitude, saying, “PDP leadership are ignorant of the tenets of democracy.”
“It is not a crime to be in opposition, but it is a crime to threaten the opposition,” he pointed out, just as he charged the people that, “we have a duty to preserve peace and work for democracy,” saying, “if we cannot build on the legacies of our past leaders, we should be able to preserve them.”

And to make democracy work in Nigeria, Buhari said, “INEC must be independent and impartial, the Armed Forces/Police should be neutral, while the Judiciary should shun corruption and professional misconduct.”
Speaking in the same vein earlier, the chairman on the occasion and the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole advised the President to set up a committee of representatives of all the political parties that would chart a new electoral path for the country. He said it should not be the agenda of the President alone.

According to him, the reform should be the type that, “all of us can buy into, take it over and drive it,” stating that, “in 2011, people expect that elections would be finalised at the ballot box.”
“This is the time for action,” Oshiomhole charged Nigerians, while describing Buhari as, “an epitome of discipline, a patriot, accomplished soldier and complete gentleman.” “If Buhari was allowed to continue the crusade of cleansing Nigeria in 1985, the country would have been better for it because under Buhari, all Nigeria’s refineries were working,” he stressed.

According to Oshiomhole, something must be done to those who give government advice on which unworkable policies are made, warning that, if nothing is done to them, Nigeria would continue to be in crisis.
Former governor of Abia State and the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Progresssive Peoples Alliance, (PPA), Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, described both the author and the subject of the book as people of strong character, regretting that Buhari was a misunderstood personality simply because he wanted things to be done the right way.

While commending Buhari for resorting to the judicial settlement of the last election, he warned that, “when justice fails, what happen after that is violence,” just as he sermonised that, “What the nation requires now is collective oneness.”

Former minister of sports, Chief Alex Akinyele in his own comments assured Buhari that his admirers abound, saying he should not be discouraged by his critics.
Akinyele therefore seized the opportunity to regret that the war against corruption had not been won because everybody was guilty, saying until everybody agreed to change for the better the monster would continue to be with us.

While former River State military governor, General Zamani Lekwot urged writers to bring out people like Buhari to be recorded to serve as role model to other people, the publisher of the book, Mr. Agbo Areo advised the National Assembly to quickly pass the Freedom Of Information Bill if they had nothing to hide, saying it would minimize the tendency to write speculative stories by newsmen.

The overwhelmed author, Professor Tam David-West thanked those who made the occasion a huge success.
At the well attended event were former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111. Amanayanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom and of Opobo, Kings Edward Asimin William Dappa Pepple 111 and Dandeson Douglas Jaja respectively, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Lateef Adegbite, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and representatives of both serving and past states governors as well as representatives of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri among others.

M.I at silverbird

DATE: Thursday, March 5th, 2009
WHERE: Silverbird Concourse
WHAT: MI performing alongside those that collaborated with him on his album TALK ABOUT
MI Lyric Tee Shirts with fans favorite Lyrics on them
MI autograph signing session
TIME: 7pm-10pm
GATE FEE:FREE and also FREE DRINKS SPONSORED BY JOHNNY WALKER
You all need to be there

Ferguson: Newcastle Win Proves United Not Feeling Pressure Sir Alex Ferguson was in relaxed mood after victory at St James' Park.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was pleased to see his side beat Newcastle United and insisted his side had not felt any pressure before the game despite seeing title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool win yesterday.

The Red Devils had to come from a goal behind to claim all three points at St James’ Park, a victory that restores their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points.

Peter Lovenkrands opened the scoring for the Magpies before Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov handed the champions a 11th straight victory.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Ferguson insisted that victories for Chelsea and Liverpool yesterday had not affected his team’s performance.

“The team that plays first and then get a result, then the team that plays next will always says there’s pressure on them,” said the Scot.

“We’ve had that for years it’s never going to make much difference to us really whether we play before or after.

“We rely and trust the players to show their patience and show their experience and they’ve been through this time and time again it’s not like it's something new to them.”

Despite only winning by a solitary goal, Ferguson said he believed his side had fully deserved their win despite a strong display by the Tynesiders.

“We’ve come to Newcastle and it’s not an easy place and I think we’ve got quite an emphatic victory in the sense of coming back from one nil down and controlling the second half,” explained the United boss.

“I think tonight that we faced a different type of challenge.

“A Newcastle team pumped up, very aggressive, tackled everywhere, they really put a lot of work into their game.

“You’ve got to give them credit for that and we’ve withstood it and managed to get a result.”

The reigning champions are now seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, having played a game less than second-placed Chelsea.

EFCC arrests ex-gov Agagu over N25bn fraud

Barely a week after he was thrown out as governor of Ondo State by Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, is back again in the news, as he was nabbed by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday. He was picked up at about 8:00am in Abuja.

As at press time, he was still being held at EFCC facilities in the nation’s capital.

According to Daily Sun investigation, the deposed governor who was at the helm of affairs in the south-west state for nearly six years and some of his commissioners were being investigated by the anti-graft agency for allegedly misappropriating a princely sum of N25 billion belonging to the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) when the operatives got information that Agagu was planning to escape from Nigeria to Austrialia via London where some of his aides were said to be waiting to assist him with relocation.

“Agagu and some of his commissioners had been under the EFCC scrutiny over allegations that he misappropriated N25 billion naira belonging to OSOPADEC. Then, the operatives got wind of plans by Agagu to flee the country tomorrow (today) and then, promptly nabbed him,” a source said.
He is said to be co-operating with the EFCC officials.
When contacted on phone, EFCC spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi confirmed Agagu’s arrest, but declined further comments.

An observer told Daily Sun shortly after the news of the arrest broke out that it did not come as a surprise. According to the source, but for the “bogus immunity cover which he has been enjoying, he should have been in jail long before now.”
Meanwhile, apart from the N25billion OSOPADEC fund, Agagu, former minister for power and steel under president Olusegun Obasanjo, according to sources close to EFCC, is also being investigated over several other cases bordering on corruption.

For instance, Agagu had earlier been indicted by the House Committee of on Power which investigated how $16billion was sunk into electricity power project without concrete result during his tenure as Obasanjo’s minister of power and steel.
When Agagu appeared before the House panel, he said the $16bn that the House had claimed was spent was no big deal.
It was, however, gathered that the EFCC, which had earlier interrogated Agagu while he was still governor, was not satisfied with his testimony as he was said to have answered only the questions that he liked and parried others.

Also, the EFCC had a cause to stop N14 billion cheques issued in respect of some contracts allegedly awarded hurriedly in the dying days of his occupation of Ondo State Government House.
The government was alleged to have awarded a contract to SCC Nigeria Limited for Owena Water Transmission Project for about N14.4bn.
According to the commission, out of the total amount, the Ondo State Ministry of Works paid N3.8bn as mobilisation fees to the contractor.

Similarly, the anti-graft agency had on Wednesday January 14, 2009 raised the alarm on the plan of the Agagu administration to spend about N8bn from the state’s treasury through the award of contracts.
Earlier in 2007, Governor Agagu’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Chief Tayo Alasoadura was invited by the EFCC for interrogation over N4 billion placed on fixed deposit account at the moribund Gulf Bank. The money was trapped at the bank while the interest of the money was claimed to have been collected by the former governor.

EFCC also invited the commissioner early last year over illegal deduction from all the 18 local government councils in the state since the assumption of office in 2003 amounting to N18billion. The anti graft commission also invited Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and other key officers of the ministry for questioning.
The commission and its sister anti-graft agency, ICPC also invited the Commissioner for Finance in 2007 over illegal diversion of fund meant to execute projects at the riverine areas of the state by OSOPADEC.

The commission’s chairman, Adewale Omojua was also invited to Lagos office of EFCC for interrogations
The EFCC also invited the state Accountant-General Mrs Funke Ogundojutimi over cars loans and other fictitious allowances approved by Agagu for all his Special Assistants, Personal Assistants and other aides running to several million of naria shortly after the state election Petitions tribunal led by Justice Garba Nabaruma nullified Agagu election. The commission eventually stopped the payment.

Also, the EFCC arrested the contractor and some bank chiefs in the state over N14 billion Owena project hurriedly awarded by Agagu government in November last year for which he paid 56 percent to the contractor as mobilization fee. The EFCC invited Agagu’s Commissioner for Works, Olaitan Ayeni and other key officers of ministries of works and finance. The EFCC was able to stop the payment through a stay-of-execution order obtained from a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Shortly after he was declared Governor of Ondo State by the Appeal Court, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko had told the world that he was going to probe the six-year government of Agagu, even as ordered the freezing of the accounts of the State.

How Could Rihanna Take Back Chris Brown?

while Rihanna and Chris Brown's reconciliation after an alleged abuse incident has shocked family and friends, domestic violence experts say it's all too common for a woman to return – often repeatedly.

In fact, experts say, it's unrealistic to expect women not to go back to their abusers, be they husbands or boyfriends, as the victims grapple with feelings of guilt, fear, isolation – even love.

"It never surprises me," says Violent Partners author Linda Mills, who believes therapists and people close to couples in abusive relationships must accept this seemingly fact. "If you start with 'You shouldn't go back,' you very often lose the person [you are trying to help]. They won't talk to you."

Rihanna, 21, and Brown, 19, reunited last week in Miami about three weeks after he allegedly battered the singer early the morning of Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.

No Charges Yet Filed
Police continue to investigate the case and no formal charges have yet been filed against Brown, who was booked on a felony criminal threat charge. Brown has no known criminal background, and though people close to the pair say they've had a tumultuous relationship at times, there had never been any indication of violence until now.

After the arrest, Brown and Rihanna spent time apart. Brown released a statement at the time, saying, "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired" and noted that he was "seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones."

According to experts, there was nothing surprising in the reunion between Brown and Rihanna, who after spending time in Miami both returned to Los Angeles on the same plane Monday morning.

Reconciliation Period
According to psychologist and author Lenore Walker, the average battered woman endures three to five violent incidents, from having her arm grabbed to an all-out beating, before she gives up on the relationship.

The reconciliation usually happens during what experts call the honeymoon phase in the cycle of violence, that cooling-down period after the attack when the abusive partner often expresses remorse and begs for forgiveness.

"The man is saying he's sorry, he didn't mean it, that it'll never happen again," says Walker. "It's the loving behavior that reinforces a woman to stay, because they believe the violent act isn't a true reflection of their man."

If anything, the victim will often blame herself – and the attacker will agree with her. "The abuser also tries very hard to convince the victim that the attack was their fault," says Dr. Elizabeth Miller, a Sacramento, Calif., pediatrician and domestic violence expert. "It's common to say, 'Honey, if you hadn't upset me, this would've never happened.' "

In many cases, financial pressures draw a woman back, particularly if she has children and doesn't work outside the home. But even among those with money, there's still "psychological warfare," says Jeffrey Gardere, a clinical psychologist. "[An abuser says:] I'm going to isolate you. I'm going to put you completely under my thumb, under my power so if you leave me, then you are going to be in big, big trouble because you won't be able to take care of the kids or yourself."

Isolation and Love
But it's love, in all its complexities, that can often be the most powerful force for reconciliation for a battered woman. "They have insight into somebody in a way that none of us do," says Mills, who runs a program in Arizona that brings together couples with family members and a volunteer from the community to talk over what actually happened in a domestic-violence event. The process usually goes on for months.

"The ideal might be that we can separate people who are in a violent relationship, but the problem is that that's not the reality," Mills says. "I address the reality, which is that people go back, and they're looking for avenues for the possibility of working through this issue like any other rupture in a relationship, working through this issue to the point where the violence could stop."

Rihanna's Relatives Not Happy About Reconciliation

Rihanna may have spent the weekend in Miami with Chris Brown, but her family isn't quite ready for the tumultuous couple to reunite.

"Everyone wants them to take a break, to cool off," a relative of Rihanna tells PEOPLE after the pair returned to Los Angeles together early Monday morning. "No one wants them back together."

Family thought that the relationship was over after Brown allegedly battered Rihanna on Feb. 8. The couple went their own ways for awhile – he went home, while she recuperated in Barbados and Mexico – but the separation was short-lived.

The pair reunited in Miami last weekend, spending time at the Star Island mansion of Sean "Diddy" Combs. A source close to the couple told PEOPLE that the couple was "definitely together" and working on a reconciliation.

"I'm concerned," continues the relative. "I don't want her to make a mistake, and I don't want her to ever go through this again."

But the entire trip wasn't devoted to the relationship. While in Miami, Brown did some recording at a studio designed by Lenny Kravitz located in the Setai hotel. "He was here to record," a source told PEOPLE. He also spent some time Jet skiing at the beach.

The couple left Miami early Monday morning on the same plane, arriving in Southern California.

How IBB robbed Nigeria of nationhood –Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has painted a vivid scenario of how the former President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida robbed Nigeria the golden opportunity to attain nationhood through the annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993 won by the late M. K. O. Abiola.

Soyinka, who was delivering a lecture, entitled, “Between Nationhood and Nation Space,” as part of the late Obafemi Awolowo Centenary activities at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Kofo Abayomi, Lagos on Tuesday regretted that one of the ways a country could attain the much-needed nationhood was allowed to slip away.
His words: “Sometimes there are events, even of a fortuitous nature,

such as a concerted resistance to external aggression and domination, that can forge such organic bonds of common identity, survival and internal consolidation, that the nation space becomes, virtually overnight, a nation.
“An election, in very special circumstance, can prove such a catalyzing agent. On June 12, 1993, this nation space did have a chance to claim the beginnings of nation-being. Would we have emerged effectively as a nation? I am no prophet and have no interest in hindsight. I insist, however, that the nation claim did stand a chance of embarking on the route to affirmation.

“A democratic election, let me repeat again and again, is only one of the several means – as witnessed in the very special case of post-apartheid South Africa. Most nations we know of on this continent cannot even boast of one defining moment, a moment when the possibility of nation actualization was handed to them. Our chance came to us on June 12 1993, and we blew it,” Soyinka lamented.
While exonerating other Nigerians from the sad episode that has caused the country undeserved setback, the concerned Nobel Laureate put the blame squarely on the door steps of Babangida and some of his co-travellers, saying he did not believe in undeserved guilt.

Hear him: “No. I do not believe in undeserved guilt. The insincerity, indeed hypocritical, double-talk and matching conduct of a handful of individuals, their abuse of the trust of the people, scattered the hopes of that moment of nation-becoming!”
Going down the memory lane, Soyinka recalled how a winner emerged after an election that was universally adjudged the freest in the annal of Nigeria and how somebody annulled it under a flimsy and unacceptable excuse.

“A candidate – may I please remind you? – won a mandate across the national landscape, unambiguously defeating his opponent. That contest was universally adjudged to be impeccably fair.
“The aspirant to the mantle of state subdued his opponent even in that opponent’s most intimate constituency – his local ward. Now let anyone tell me that this did not resound like the starting-pistol of a nation race, a marathon of course, not a sprint, but a leap forward from the starting-block after so many false starts, several of them deliberately planned and cynically executed.

“The overseer of that debacle, General Ibrahim Babangida, then embodiment of the state, has finally opened up and conceded the undeniable – that election was true, and a victor emerged. History has taken note of his confessions and History sits in judgment, no matter what excuses are invoked by him. (But) None is acceptable, least of all the totally incongruous plea that, as the then Head of State, he feared that, that nation enterprise would be aborted by a military coup. I find that plea an afterthought, and unconscionable.

His loss of nerve - if that is what it was indeed – constituted a gross act of governance dereliction at a crucial moment. There were consequences. There were casualties. Homes and businesses were destroyed. (And) Nigerians perished.”
To Soyinka, other leaders, who came after Babangida also did not help matters just as he also blamed religion for making attainment of nationhood a mirage.

He spoke further: “Given recent events, I cannot end without mentioning, albeit briefly, the increasing reactionary role of the religious factor. Religion is one enemy of anyone who aspires to dictatorship in secular matters, we can call ourselves a nation. A theocratic order is anathema to nation-being, since it implicates exclusion, not inclusion.

“Only the secular order embraces all. To Religion all its deserving – spaces of privacy, protection, and cultural identity. Any religious following can evoke parallel but opposing sets of protocols, citing the authority of some unseen and unknowable god in realms that have no perceptible contact with the actual.

“Religion must therefore submit to community, to nation, otherwise co-existence becomes impossible and the human entity reverts to a state of brutishness.”
The Nobel Laureate, therefore concluded thus: “And thus, finally, the question: is Nigeria a nation today? My answer is - Not yet. Is Nigeria aspiring to be a nation? The answer - Unsure. Can it? Possibly. Should it? My answer to that is absolutely non-sentimental, purely technical and subjective.
“I prefer not to have to apply for yet another visa when I need to travel to Enugu or Borno.

If it is any consolation – let us simply remember – we are not alone in this predicament. So, for now, we may continue to sleep, dream, open our eyes at dawn on the recurring vision of nationhood on the horizon, hopefully not receding, indeed, almost close to touch, requiring only the complete surrender of hegemonic dreams, the ethos of inclusivity, the recognition of religious privacy, community primacy, and the manifested will of the authentic landowners of – a designated nation space.”