Pastor Adeboye prays for UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, others

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG) Pastor E.A Adeboye, prayed for UK Prime Minister, David Cameron and the congregation at the ‘Festival of Life’ programme holding in London.
Cameron will lead the Conservative Party to participate in the UK general election holding on 7th May 2015, to elect the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Pastor Adeboye shared some of the pictures on his verified Facebook page, Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Read More

Why I conceded defeat to Buhari – Jonathan

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan spoke for the first time, yesterday, on why he conceded defeat to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in the March 28 presidential election, saying he did so to avert a collective tragedy.

President Goodluck Jonathan speaks during his visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, on March 12, 2015. President Jonathan visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on March 12, and launched a new online mobile platform, X-Gen, designed to increase local investment. The platform is targetted at increasing the number of local investors in the country and to enable about 30 millions domestic investors have access to the market. AFP PHOTO
President Jonathan was responding to remarks by the French ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Denis Guaer, who commended him for setting a record of humility, patriotism and courage in safeguarding the democratic process in Nigeria and Africa for which he will always be remembered.
The French ambassador told the President: “Nigeria is not only an economic power in the world today, but also a great democratic example. And it is all by your effort, Mr. President. The last elections and your response was truly a great achievement and you will always be remembered for it.”
In his response, President Jonathan said: “Since I assumed duty, I have been involved in quelling political crises in some African countries and I know what they passed through and what some are still going through. If you scuttle a system for personal ambition, it becomes a collective tragedy.
“You need to have a nation before you can have an ambition. It should always be the nation first. You don’t have to scuttle national progress for personal ambition. Democracy has to be nurtured to grow. Strong democratic institutions are the backbone and future of our democracy. They must be protected and nurtured. As for me, as a matter of principle, it is always the nation first.
Jonathan urges world leaders to support Buhari
“President Francois Hollande was our guest in Nigeria during the celebration of Nigeria’s centenary. He has been very supportive of the country in the fight against terrorism. I expect that the same warmth and goodwill will be extended to the incoming government.
“I expect that France will continue to work with the new administration, especially on issues of terrorism. The United Nations has been supportive as well. Our troops, supported by regional forces, have done very well in fighting the terrorists in recent times. What we need now is support to help our people get back their lives.”
Jonathan, who also had audience with the new ambassadors of Senegal and Ethiopia when they presented their letters of credence, called on world leaders and international institutions to support the incoming president, Buhari, to move the nation forward.
The President then appealed for patience, understanding and cooperation from all stakeholders in Nigeria, which he said General Buhari would need to move the country forward to greater peace, security and progress.
The French Ambassador, Mr. Guaer, the new Ambassador of Senegal, Mr. Boubacar Sambe and the new Ambassador of Ethiopia, Samia Zekaria Gutu, assured the President that they would do their best to strengthen relations between Nigeria and their countries during their tenure.
US to Buhari: We’ll support you to recover Chibok girls
Meanwhile, the United States has expressed its readiness to support President-elect, Buhari, to rescue the more than 200 girls seized by Boko Haram militants from Chibok school in Borno State one year ago.
American Vice President, Joe Biden, gave the renewed assurance in a telephone chat with Buhari in Abuja while congratulating him on his electoral victory.
The support, according to Biden, also includes the fight against Boko Haram.
Biden, according to  excerpts from their discussion, made available to diplomatic correspondents in Abuja, also said his cou

Read More

Iraq massacre site turns into ‘shrine’ of anti-IS war

On the Tigris River waterfront where jihadists executed hundreds of captured Iraqi army recruits last year, bloodstains are gradually being covered by streaks of candle wax dripping down the quay.

A symbolic tombstone has been laid where Islamic State group fighters carried out their assembly-line slaughter, shooting the young mostly Shiite men in the head before tipping them into the river one by one.

Two weeks after troops and militia retook Tikrit, the main site of the “Speicher massacre” — named after the military base near which the victims were seized — is fast becoming a pilgrimage destination.

Every day, dozens of Iraqi fighters visit the narrow quay of the river police building, located inside the sprawling palace complex that now executed dictator Saddam Hussein built in his hometown.

Relatives, some of whom will never have a body to bury, have streamed to Tikrit from the south and other parts of the country to see the last place where their loved ones were alive.

Delegations of clerics, students and artists have also travelled to the site, which is still haunted by one of IS’s worst atrocities but also symbolises and galvanises the commitment of those fighting against the jihadists.

“This is where the martyrs’ blood was spilt, this should become a museum to all Iraqis, a symbol of pride,” Sheikh Dargham al-Juburi said as he visited the site.

The black-clad and white-turbaned cleric, a representative of Iraq’s top Shiite religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, wept and prayed over the small marble memorial.

He went on to draw parallels between the improvised Tikrit shrine and Karbala, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad that was the scene of a 7th century battle considered a defining moment in the schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Speaking from the same spot a few days earlier, Moeen al-Kadhimi, a leader of the Badr Organisation — both an important political party and one of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite militias — vowed to preserve the site.

“We will rehabilitate this area so that it becomes a symbol of the crime committed by those Dawaesh (IS members) and their allies… so that it remains a mark of shame on their faces forever,” he said.

Kadhim Abdulhassan’s cousin was one of the up to 1,700 recruits who were seized by IS in June 2014 when the group swept through almost a third of Iraq.

He says he received a call from him on his mobile as the group was being herded to the palace complex. The line cut and he never heard from his cousin again.

Abdulhassan is a member of the Ketaeb Jund al-Imam paramilitary group and his job is to keep watch over what is now being treated like a holy site.

Every day, he takes up his post on a balcony overlooking the marble epitaph decorated with bouquets of plastic flowers and candles.

Sitting on his iron garden chair with peeling white paint, his machinegun pointed across the Tigris, his thoughts wander between grief and revenge when he stares at the water that carried the dead downstream.

“I remember them and I spend some nights crying because it’s a scene that hurts, something that is not easy,” said the 30-year-old, a green ribbon knotted into the shoulder strap of his desert camouflage jacket.

Iraqi authorities have found more than 10 mass graves believed to contain the bodies of Speicher victims. Remains are still being exhumed and taken to Baghdad for identification.

IS released pictures and video footage of some of the executions last year.

Combined with a call by Sistani for Iraqis to take up arms against them, the June 2014 massacre played a key role in the mass recruitment of Shiite volunteers to fight the jihadists.

Abdulhassan said that more and more people come every day to pay their respects to the victims and he hoped the numbers would keep increasing.

“This place will be with me until I die… I hope to bring my family and kids to visit, because it is sacred.”

Read More

Strange disease kills 14 in Ondo community

Akure—An outbreak of a strange disease at Ode-Irele area of Ondo State has claimed the lives of 14 persons.
Already, the state government and the World Health Organization have sent representatives to the community.
Also, the Personnel Protective Equipment purchased by the government for Ebola cases and their handlers had been deployed to the area.
The outbreak was noticed on Wednesday and 12 people reportedly died same day. Four others were rushed to the hospital yesterday and two of them gave up the ghost.
Some natives of the town alleged that the gods of the community were offended.
However, the state Health Commissioner, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, who led a delegation to the area, said the reason given by the natives could not be scientifically proved.
Dr. Adeyanju confirmed that 12 persons had died due to the strange disease, while reports reaching him was that two others, out of the four quarantined, had also died.
He said: “Investigations did not reveal symptoms of Ebola,” adding that the state government had moved into the area to curtail spread of the strange disease.
The preliminary report, he said, showed that the dead persons complained of headache and later lost their sight before they died.
He stated that it was not a case of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD.
According to him, “there were no cases of diarrhoea, vomiting and haemorrhage that are usual symptoms of the dreaded EVD.”
The commissioner said government would do everything possible to control the strange ailment, adding that World Health Organization, WHO, and other partners were already involved in the matter.
He said: “Samples taken from the victims have been sent to Lagos for proper investigation, while government had been engaging in advocacy to ensure that new cases are reported,” adding that concealment could be devastating.
Dr. Adeyanju asked relations of the victims not to bury the corpse of the affected people at home. He said they should take the dead to the cemetery and to take precautions during their burials.
He said the state government would have recovered the dead bodies from the affected families had the state a cremation law.
He said the state Disease Surveillance Team and volunteers engaged during the Ebola cases had been deployed to the area to control the ailment.
He warned against sensatio-nalizing the issues in the social media to avoid creating tension among the people.
He appealed to the people to rely only on official statements from the state government.
Meanwhile, many people have moved out of the area for fear of the strange disease.

Read More

Reps ask FG to recall envoy from South Africa

The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Federal Government to recall Nigeria’s ambassador to South Africa back home for “consultations” over the widespread attacks and killing of non-South African Blacks, especially Nigerians in that country.

Xenophobic attacks in South Africa have lately claimed lives and means of livelihood of many Nigerians, resulting in businesses and homes being shut for days.

A motion debated by lawmakers in Abuja, highlighted the plight of African migrants in South Africa‎, whom the House said were being “slaughtered like animals” by their South African brothers.

The motion stressed that Nigerians were among the victims.

The House specifically requested South African President, Jacob Zuma, to immediately investigate the attacks and punish those responsible.

The motion was sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa

“Nigeria frowns on the spate of killings of Nigerians in South Africa and requests President Zuma to investigate the cases and bring the perpetrators to justice,” she stated.

Dabiri-Erewa noted that though, Nigerians had suffered xenophobic attacks in the past in South Africa, the latest cases were ignited by comments credited to the Zulu King, ‎Goodwill Zwelithini, who had reportedly asked migrant Africans to return to their countries of origin.

The motion read further, “‎The House notes sadly that the recent attacks which have left many dead, businesses and shops vandalised, many beaten up mercilessly, were incited by a statement allegedly made by South African Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, who told African migrants to go home as they are no longer welcomed in South Africa.

“Son of President Zuma, Edward, allegedly echoed the same statement. This ignited a strong debate, and worse still, immediate backlash of violent reactions among the Zulus in Kwazulu, who unleashed terror on foreign immigrants, including Nigerians in Jo-bourg, Durban and Pretoria.

“They steal, break into their homes, businesses, take their properties, killing them.

“At least five have been killed in Durban, hundreds stranded and unable to return home.”

Many members, who contributed to the debate, expressed sadness over the turn of events in South Africa.

They recalled with pain, the sacrifices Nigeria made to free South Africa from the clutches of Apartheid.

“What is happening in South Africa is a demonstration of the shortness of their memory,” one member from Enugu State, Mr. Tobi Okechukwu, said.

Mr. Abubakar Momoh from Kogi State, advised South Africans to turn their anger against those who oppressed them and not fellow Africans who gave so much to secure their freedom.

The motion was passed in a unanimous voice vote at Thursday session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal.

Read More