Comming to Lokoja By Bintu Lakwaja

My flight from Abuja to Lokoja was short, I had hoped to rest my head and take a quick nap but as soon as the pilot had announced on the PA system that : "my name is captain Bintu Lakwaja, I am your pilot for today, the sky is clear, please fasten your seat belts and enjoy the flight", the same voice was telling us to prepare for landing at the local wing of the Rivnig confluence international airport Lokoja, it was a twelve

Immediate and Medium term imperatives for President Muhammadu Buhari by Nasir El-Rufai

1. Background:

In April 2015, I sent a short memorandum to you, Sir - then as president-elect. We never discussed the memo in detail and I am not even sure you got to read it bearing in mind the levels of human traffic visiting you in those heady days. I crave the indulgence of Mr. President to please read the memo (attached herewith as Annex II) and see how like every aspect of life, the memo was sometimes presciently accurate and at the same time off-target! It is on the basis of that message, and my commitment to write anytime I feel compelled that matters of urgent national importance confront you, that I address this with greatest respect and humility.

Mr. President, Sir

I address this and other past memos with all sense of responsibility for at least three reasons. First, I owe my modest political ascendency so far to you. Without your adoption and trust reposed in me and the recognition you have shown in spite of attacks on my person by some people around you, I will not be where I am today. I remain eternally grateful for this.

Secondly, Sir, poll after poll in Kaduna State before and after the 2015 elections clearly show that my fate politically and

The Story Of One Dino Of ABU by Azubuike Ishiekwene

We’re in trouble, but that’s not the worst part. The real tragedy is that we don’t know that we don’t know.
It took one week and a Senate summons for the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ibrahim Garba, to say that Senator Dino Melaye graduated from ABU.
And even then, his testimony left more questions than answers. In response to repeated press enquiries, ABU had promised to take a public position on Wednesday. But for reasons that can only damage the school’s reputation, it made a U-turn, saying it will not make any comment until the

RIGHTS OF AN ORPHAN IN ISLAM by IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI

 

THE 113^TH   KHUTBAH ON RIGHTS OF AN ORPHAN IN ISLAM  AT AREA 10 JUMA’AH MASJID ABUJA, BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI, ON 31^ST  MARCH 2017/ 3^RD RAJAB  1438 AFTER HIJRA

TOPIC: RIGHTS OF AN ORPHAN IN ISLAM

                             

 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

To proceed; My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, today’s khutbah centered on the rights of an orphan in Islam.

An orphan is a child who has lost his father or both his parents before the age of maturity. Islam as a universal way of living that covers all aspects of life, one of its teachings is the rights the of children to be protected, most especially those are less privileged and   orphans. Quran and sunnah of the prophet (SAW) are very clear concerning the issue of orphans living in

Saraki, Ndume And The Proxy War In Senate By Muyiwa Oyinlola

In this piece, MUYIWA OYINLOLA examines the frosty relationship between Senator Ali Ndume and the Senate President Bukola Saraki’s camp in the Senate since the former’s removal as Senate Majority Leader in January
Not in the last one year or thereabout has the Senate been enmeshed in internal crisis as it now obtains.
The last time the Upper Legislative Chamber was in disarray was during its choice of leadership in June 2015 and shortly thereafter.
It was not so long after that the it settled down for business even though Senate President Bukola Saraki was soon alleged to have been involved in asset declaration scandal, of which he is still facing litigation even though he has pleaded not guilty and

Buhari has what it takes by Engr. Abubakar A Fari

President Muhammadu Buhari

Building a nation requires one who has what it takes. It is not just any politician with money bags that is it. No. You need one that is it. President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) is it. PMB has what it takes. Quality and not just quantity is what it takes. One with strong mind, vision and the will to deliver good leadership is not just for every Tom, Jack and Harry with money to spend. Most Nigerian politicians desperate for power are in the class of what one politician calls “the rats and mosquitoes”.
Given the mandate to preside over the wealth of the nation, with hind sight, most of our

Quiet please, National Assembly is speaking! By Victoria Ikeano,

It is referred to as hallowed chambers which means it should be held in awe and those who are privileged to sit there should conduct themselves in the highest of standards to preserve its hollowness. But it appears its sanctity is being breached and people no longer accord it that reverence that should be its due as a place of sanctuary to be looked up to by the common man, to advance his/her interests as the highest law making body in the land; not when its leader has been herded into the accused box like a common criminal, docked before a law court on charges bordering on corruption. In this part of

Mr. President, welcome, but… by Victoria Ikeano

I can say without equivocation that many, many Nigerians are glad that Mr. President, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) is back, alive! Many unpalatable stories were weaved around Mr. President during his 50-day medical vacation abroad, the height of which was his rumoured death by agents of darkness. I purposely use the latter word because it is only a dark mind with dark intentions that can gleefully wish another death, putting out the fake news happily and joyfully spreading and sharing it on social media. As is usually the case with bad news this piece of

el- Rufai Memo To PMB By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

  

One major problem most politicians have is long-sightedness.According to the Cambridge English dictionary,long-sightedness is being able to see things clearly that are far away but not things that are near you.98 per cent of Nigerian politicians are affected with this syndrome.
How can one explain Kaduna State governor’s now famous memo to President Muhammadu Buhari. No doubt el- Rufai is arguably one of the closest governors to the president,and most Nigerians argue that what he wrote in the memois what he could have told the president personally and he is just a

Understanding Buhari by Azubuike Ishiekwene

Creative dysfunction is sometimes an unofficial government tool. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo occasionally set top government officials up against themselves to test their loyalty or ideas.
But there was no doubt who was in charge.
US President, Donald Trump, is reputed to have the worst cabinet in modern US history, comparable in its dysfunctionality only to Richard Nixon’s.

But again, there’s no doubt who is in charge.
In the last two weeks or so, there has been an outbreak of civil war in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, creating serious concerns about who is really in charge.
Buhari’s medical leave could not be responsible for it because there was no vacuum during his absence.
It started with the Foreign Affairs Minister

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FIVE BEFORE FIVE THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU By IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI

THE 112^THKHUTBAH AT AREA 10 JUMA’AH MASJID ABUJA, BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI, ON 24TH MAR 2017/ 25^TH  J/AKHIR 1438 AFTER HIJRA

TOPIC: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FIVE BEFORE FIVETHINGS HAPPEN TO YOU

 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

To proceed; My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, today’s khutbah centered on the hadith of the prophet (SAW): Take advantage of five (5) before five (5) things happen to you.

Islam considers life-time of person to

Uniform question By Femi Macaulay

 It isn’t trivial that the controversial Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), continues to trivialise the uniform of the agency by his unyielding refusal to wear it.  From the look of things, Ali is unlikely to wear the relevant uniform during his time as Customs chief. He enjoys the status, but it would appear that he is contemptuous of the uniform that reflects the status.

Ali seems to have come to the job with a superiority complex, thinking and believing that his background as a retired army officer means it is beneath him to wear the uniform of

Hilarious Reasons Why Nigerians Eat Meat Last

You must have observed at the restaurant that many Nigerians eat their meat last. It raises the question, why do they eat the meat at the end of their meal? The type of meat you will most likely to get in a restaurant include round about, ponmo, shaki, chicken, and cow/goat meat. Interestingly, this practice knows no gender as both boys and girls do it. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency shares some hilarious reasons why some Nigerians eat meat last.
You save the best for last
You order 3 wraps of Eba and sizzling vegetable and meat. The meat is like a trophy you are rewarded with after you have successfully dealt with the wraps of eba, Congratulations, this is your meat trophy, you can now eat it. You clasp your

UNITY AND BROTHERHOOD OF THE MUSLIM UMMAH BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI

THE 111^THKHUTBAH ON UNITY OF THE MUSLIM UMMAH DELIVERED AT AREA 10 JUMA’AH MASJID ABUJA, BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI, ON 17TH MAR 2017/ 18^TH  J/AKHIR 1438 AFTER HIJRA

TOPIC: UNITY AND BROTHERHOOD OF THE MUSLIM UMMAH

 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

To proceed; My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, today’s khutbah centered on Unity and brotherhood of the Muslim Ummah.

The Term Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation". In Islam, the word “Ummah” is used to describe the Muslims’ community across the globe. The phrase UmmahWahidah (One Community) in the glorious Qur'an refers to the entire Islamic world unified. Allah says: “Indeed this, your (ummah) religion, is one “Ummah” religion, and

Full Text Of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Address To The Nation On Arrival

 

I   am   deeply   grateful   to   all   Nigerians   –   Muslims   and Christians alike who have prayed and are continuing to pray for my good health. This is a testimony that in spite of the   hardship   being   experienced,   Nigerians   support the Government in its effort to tackle our country’s challenges.

The  best  way  for  me

DU’A: THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON OF A BELIEVER II BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI

  THE 110TH KHUTBAH DELIVERED AT AREA 10 JUMA’AH MASJID ABUJA, BY IMAM YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI, ON 10TH MAR 2017/ 11^TH  J/AKHIR 1438 AFTER HIJRA

TOPIC: DU’A: THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON OF A BELIEVER II

(Factors liable for accepting or rejecting prayers)

 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

To proceed; My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, today’s topic will focus on Factors liable for accepting or rejecting prayers).

First of all, scholars have explain that dua’ (supplications) is of two types: That of need (Dua’u mas’alah) and That of worship ( Du’a ibadah). The first category is a plain request made such as "O Allah, forgive me!", and "O Allah provide for me!" and so on. All of

Good Leadership: What we lack and what we need By Jibrin Ibrahim

Yesterday, the Savannah Centre held a policy dialogue on leadership, governance and security challenges facing the country. As usual, it was a very high-powered event with lots of interesting food for thought and above all good proposals on how the country can move in the direction of progressive change. In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Centre, Professor Ibrahim Gambari started with the observation that like the Chinese, we should see every challenge as an opportunity that would allow us to go upwards and forward. No challenge is above solution. He also made the important point that our country is too focused on elections rather than what happens in

When President Buhari returns… By Jideofor Adibe

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

By Jideofor Adibe @pcjadibe@yahoo.com (07058078841 SMS only)

People who believe that Nigerians asking questions about when Buhari should come back to the country are ‘busy bodies’ who should leave the President alone to recuperate and return to the country at his convenience, do not get it. There is something called ‘suspense’ - one of the hallmarks of a good story. An ‘exciting’ story is driven by suspense: it leads us down a path of expectations and builds tensions as the plot unwinds. Suspense helps to capture and sustain interest in a story.

Buhari’s medical vacation in the UK has been turned into a suspense-packed story. The

The Political Permutations Towards 2019 (II) By Abba Mahmood

For the first time since independence, the Igbo of the south east voted themselves out of the centre. Regardless of which party they followed, they always find a way of aligning to the centre – the NCNC/NPC coalition in the first republic and the NPN/NPP accord of the second republic. Being himself partly Igbo, President Jonathan got the total support of the Igbo and when he was defeated in the 2015 presidential election they suddenly found themselves in opposition, and they are not used to opposition. It was thus a matter of

Aremu Obasanjo At 80

OBJ

  By Leadership Editors

The world stood still for Chief Olusegun Obasanjo last weekend. Not only for clocking 80 years, but for opening the world’s largest presidential library measuring 29.7 acres. Before then, in terms of building size, the largest Library operated by the United States, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is that of Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum which stands at 134,695 square feet. It is followed closely by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at 134,293 square feet. Presidential libraries were

Dilemma of a deputy By Isyaku Dikko

Buhari presenting Osinbajo as Vice

Yar'adu taking Goodluck through

   I know the problems of a deputy because I was once a deputy and later a leader with a controversial deputy. As a deputy or vice, if you work hard people will say you are very ambitious, and if you slow down, they will say you are sabotaging your boss. Unfortunately, many bosses are suspicious of their deputies.
The problems of a deputy are largely associated with personalization of power. Instead of perceiving public office as a privilege to serve, it is perceived as an elevation to a higher social status, where power and authority are personal to the person who occupies an office. This makes the boss suspicious of anybody perceived to

Dangerous Illusions Of Social Media by Mariam C Mohammed

Since the turn of the decade, the social media has become a core component of our daily lives. We practically live, interact and conduct our daily activities on the major social communication platforms as much as we do in real life.
One of the many social media researches on the web says Facebook users make an average of 40 visits a month to the platform, spending about 23 minutes each time. That equates to 15 hours a month.
And how amazing has social media changed our lives, the way we communicate and relate to others and our perceptions of the world generally.
Now we can access almost whatever information we want at the click and make new ‘friends’ in an instant and connect with others wherever they are on the globe. With a simple Instagram or Twitter hashtag, we could raise global awareness on issues that concern us and

Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo (March 9, 1960–March 5, 2017) By Taiwo Obe

The book, Atiku-The Story of Atiku Abubakar, has the author’s name as Ojo Adinoyi. Unless, of course, you were familiar with the author or, and, knew that he was a special aide to the former Nigerian vice-president, you would have thought that it is not the same person as Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo.
But then, when he joined The Guardian as a reporter in June 1983 immediately after his National Youth Service Corps primary assignment at Radio Nigeria, Ikoyi, his name was simply Shaibu Ojo. To date, one of our colleagues at The Guardian still calls him, perhaps jokingly, Shaibu.
He had written an article celebrating Nigeria’s rich culture including taking pride in our traditional lines, signing it with “Shaibu Adinoyi-Ojo.” A reader responded wondering why he was bearing an Arabic name, Shuaib (that’s the correct spelling and

Who is to blame for Nigeria’s woes: the people or the leaders? By Oyinkan Medubi

The people’s behaviour in celebrating treasury looting is still reprehensible because they are adoring today what will make them cry tomorrow. However, the leaders’ behaviour is more condemnable because they are knowingly and recklessly leading the people to destroy themselves
Dear Reader, there are so many emotions coursing through my veins, along with what I hope is red blood, that I don’t know which one I should indulge first. Well, there’s the very shocking news that Spain has appointed a very beautiful woman as its, wait for it, Minister for Sex. Now, I say, that is a very hot one. Have you seen her picture? Man, she is hot, and her job is even hotter. She is charged with the onerous duty of jacking up the

Nigeria, under GEJ rejected British offer to rescue seized Chibok schoolgirls by guardian.com

RAF mission detected Boko Haram kidnappers but action was refused 

British armed forces offered to attempt to rescue nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, but were rebuffed by Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president at the time, the Observer has learned. In a mission named Operation Turus, the RAF conducted air reconnaissance over northern Nigeria for several months, following the kidnapping of 276 girls from the town of Chibok in April 2014. “The girls were located in the first few weeks of the RAF mission,” a source involved in Operation Turus told the Observer. “We offered to rescue them, but the Nigerian government declined.”

The girls were then tracked by the

Controversial Apostle Suleiman Dumps Pregnant Canadian Lover, Gets Her Detained In Lagos by Kadiri Abdulrahman

Controversial Apostle Suleiman Dumps Pregnant Canadian Lover, Gets Her Detained In Lagos
Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the founder of the Auchi-based Omega Fire Ministries, has been accused of dumping his pregnant lover, whom he promised marriage, and is using the police to silence her.
BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKMAR 05, 2017
Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the founder of the Auchi-based Omega Fire Ministries, has been accused of dumping his pregnant lover, whom he promised marriage, and is using the police to silence her. The lover, Miss Stephanie Otobo, is a musician based in

LIFE & GENEROSITY OF ABDURRAHMAN BN ‘AUF (RA): LESSONS FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENT BY YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI

   THE 109 KHUTBAH ON THE LIFE & GENEROSITY OF ABDURRAHMAN BN ‘AUF (RA): LESSONS FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENT DELIVERED AT AREA 10 JUMA'AH  MASJID ABUJA, BY YAHYA GARBA AL-YOLAWI ON 3RD MAR 2017/4TH J/THANI 1438AH

  TOPIC: LIFE & GENEROSITY OF ABDURRAHMAN BN ‘AUF (RA): LESSONS FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENT

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

 My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Today's sermon will discuss the topic: Life and generosity of Abdurrahman bn ‘Auf: Lessons for financial independent.

As Muslims our role model always is prophet Muhammad (SAW) followed by his companions (RA). The first generations of Muslims, the men, women around the Prophet who believe and supported the religion of Allah; those were trained by

Be A Change Agent By Lai Mohammed

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this edition of our Town Hall Meeting holding here in Umuahia. Today’s Town Hall Meeting is unique because it marks the first time we are holding the regular edition of the meeting for the second time in any particular zone. In other words, this is the second edition of the Town Hall Meeting for the South-East. The first edition was held in Enugu last year. I congratulate the government and the good people of Abia State for this landmark.

On another level, this is also a unique event in the sense that it is what  I will call two-in-one. In addition to holding this Town Hall Meeting here, we will also be launching, in this state, the national re-orientation programme ‘Change Begins With Me’ today. This is the first time these two flagship events will be held together. It then means that we will start off with the presentation of the