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Tag: Awolowo

  • Speaker Abbas congratulates Tribune at 75, hails Awolowo’s foresights

    Speaker Abbas congratulates Tribune at 75, hails Awolowo’s foresights

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has congratulated the African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, on its 75th anniversary.

    A Pan-Africanist and former Premier of Nigeria’s defunct Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, established the newspaper outfit in November 1949.

    The Speaker, who described Tribune as a legacy newspaper, noted the impact of the media outfit in Nigeria in the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras, especially in the old Western Region and the current South-West geopolitical zone.

    Speaker Abbas hailed the foresight of the late Chief Awolowo in venturing into the media space, saying several politicians like him have followed the example.

    While commending the Awolowo family for sustaining the legacies of their patriarch, the Speaker extended his congratulations to the management of ANN Plc for keeping the flag flying.

    Noting the newspaper’s invaluable contributions to Nigeria’s democracy, Speaker Abbas urged the Tribune titles to continue to uphold the ethics and qualities of good journalism in the country.

  • 2023: APC founding member drums support for Osinbajo, likens him to Awolowo

    2023: APC founding member drums support for Osinbajo, likens him to Awolowo

    A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Preye Aganaba, said Nigeria could not afford to miss the option of having Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as President the way it ignored the services of late Obafemi Awolowo.

    Aganaba, who described Osinbajo as the best presidential aspirant among other contenders in the APC, said his entrance into the race marked a beacon of hope for discipline and selflessness in public service.

    Referring to the professor as a man with enviable moral pedigree, Aganaba, a former governorship aspirant in Bayelsa , said Osinbajo had been nurtured in the progressive mould with a strong drive for transformational leadership.

    He said when Osinbajo served as a Special Assistant to Prince Bola Ajibola at the Hague and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State under former Gov. Ahmed Bola Tinubu, he introduced judicial reforms.

    Aganaba said Osinbajo further demonstrated honesty and integrity when he was in charge of the Social Investment Programme (SIP), insisting that the Vice-President discharged his responsibilities with humility.

    “Unlike some ambitious politically exposed persons, who take advantage of the slightest opportunity to betray their boss, Vice-President Osinbajo has remained a loyal Vice-President.

    “When President Muhammadu Buhari was faced with health challenges, he stood by him in prayer and made sure it did not affect the smooth running of the administration of the country.

    “This is why he has strong appeal among youths, women and progressive conscious persons across the country.

    “Since he announced his intent to run for the presidency, he has resisted all attempts at pushing him into headlong collusion with one of the frontline presidential aspirants, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is widely regarded as his political godfather.

    “This is a direct reflection of his discipline, humility and respectful mould of character and learning.

    “Therefore, the APC presidential primary is a defining moment of choice of a transformational leader with integrity.

    “For once, Nigeria cannot afford to miss the Osinbajo option, the way we lost Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the best president Nigeria never had.”

    Likening the Vice-President to a philosopher king, Aganaba noted that Osinbajo possessed the cerebral disposition, a temperament to unite the country for prosperity.

    “Above all, Professor Osinbajo has the strength of character to harness and translate the nation’s long sought collective vision into reality if elected as president come 2023”, he said.

  • Why Obasanjo detests Awolowo, tried everything in vain to bring down his legacies – Bisi Akande

    Why Obasanjo detests Awolowo, tried everything in vain to bring down his legacies – Bisi Akande

    Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Bisi Akande has said he has never seen anything genuine in ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Akande, in his book, ‘My Participations’, narrated several instances of Obasanjo’s alleged attempts to bring him down.

    The former Osun State governor added that even after he had been rigged out in 2003, Obasanjo did not relent in his effort to bring him closer to himself for the purpose of rubbishing him.

    Akande said during the centenary celebration of the Baptist Church in Abeokuta, Obasanjo announced that he was “an example of a prudent and honest governor”.

    “He said I was the most credible. That didn’t make me to have a change of opinion about Obasanjo.

    “I have never seen anything genuine about him despite his self-glorification,” Akande wrote.

    He claimed the ex-president’s nationalism and patriotism were fake, adding that his ambition to be the centre of Nigeria’s universe made him express constant hatred for the late Obafemi Awolowo.

    “It was this vaunting ambition that made him express constant hatred to the most altruistic and selfless leader of our time, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    “He continues to wonder till tomorrow why the Yoruba people, especially after his tour of duty as a two-time President, continue to elevate Awolowo to the highest pedestal while they have no respect for him. So, he would wonder to his grave!

    “In his detestations for Awolowo, he is ruled by a virulent inferiority complex, believing that he needed to do everything to supplant the greatness of Awolowo or undermine his legacies.

    “That was why he launched the Universal Basic Education in 1978, knowing that free education would be the core of Awolowo programme for the Second Republic.

    “That was also why he continued in this line during his two-term disastrous presidency.

    “For the reason that I was not dancing to his tune, Obasanjo did everything to depress and discredit my government and undermine us in Osun state.

    “Indeed, he wanted my government to collapse and once I had problem with Omisore, he adopted him as a willing tool and railroaded him into the Senate despite his detention for the assassination of Bola Ige,” he wrote.

    He accused Obasanjo of ordering that Osun State should be short-paid by N216 million monthly from the Federal Allocation.

    “At the beginning, we were earning about N150 million when our salary bill was about N260 million.

    “Suddenly, the price of crude oil was rising and the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) was back in the account.

    “So instead, of our own income to move from N150 to N300 million, we were experiencing reduction.

    “Suddenly also, they decided deducting N216 million from our allocation.

    “We went to the Budget Office in Abuja to find out why they were making the deductions and we were told it was ‘order from above,’ meaning they were acting on a directive from the Presidency.

    “My finance commissioner, in frustration, advised that perhaps we should bribe them. I said “No”.

    “I wanted to know what the cause of this order from above was but we didn’t find out anything. They did this for a few other states too.

    “They claimed they were deducting for some inexplicable international debts.

    “But I came to know the sinister motive when Oyinlola became governor and they paid the arrears of the deductions to his government,” Akande added in the autobiography.

  • Buhari more popular, respected, accepted than Awolowo, Azikwe, Shagari, other great nationalists – Adesina

    Buhari more popular, respected, accepted than Awolowo, Azikwe, Shagari, other great nationalists – Adesina

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, says President Muhammadu Buhari has attained greater acceptance among Nigerians even more than some fathers of the federation.

    Adesina made this assertion on Thursday in an article titled “The Essential Buhari: Vp Osinbajo Got It!”.

    In establishing his argument, the presidential spokesman alluded to a comment made by Professor Yemi Osinbajo in London last weekend.

    Speaking with top officials of the Nigerian High Commission, Vice President Osinbajo said “the President is possibly the most popular Nigerian politician that we ever had in generations”.

    Osinabjo added that “he (Buhari) is possibly the only person, who can go into a place or somewhere without bossing people to gather and they will come and listen to him speak”.

    Building upon this premise, Adesina said he totally agrees with the VP’s assessment of the president.

    “I am old enough to have seen our colourful and even swashbuckling politicians in action. I have seen the great Obafemi Awolowo. The charismatic Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa). Shehu Shagari. Amino Kano. M.K.O Abiola. Bashir Tofa, and many others in action. But I have not seen anyone with the kind of attraction, magnetic pull, that Muhammadu Buhari has. And that is round the country, north and south. People swarm around him as bees do to honey.

    “I have been around the country with the President. I have also been to several countries of the world with him. I have not seen any other Nigerian leader, past or present, with his kind of allure, pull, fascination, magnetism. And that is why VP Osinbajo is right to have described him as possibly ‘the most popular Nigerian politician that we ever had in this generation,” Adesina submitted.

    The special media aide stressed that he has personally experienced the love, loyalty, and dedication Buhari enjoys from Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion, or age, adding that it is above the acceptance that has been accorded other politicians both past and present.

    Below is the full article as published on Adesina’s official Facebook page.

    “THE ESSENTIAL BUHARI: VP OSINBAJO GOT IT!

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is an honest man. Whatever he tells you, please take it seriously. You can even take it to the bank, as it’s a cheque that will never bounce.

    Last weekend in London, while speaking with top officials of the Nigerian High Commission, VP Osinbajo said of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Mai Gaskiya (Honest Man): “The President is possibly the most popular Nigerian politician that we ever had in generations. He is possibly the only person, who can go into a place or somewhere without bossing people to gather and they will come and listen to him speak.

    “We need that level of credibility to be able to solve problems in our country. And I think because of his level of credibility, despite everything, he is still the only one that can call everyone, and even people who do not necessarily agree with him know that he is a man of his words.”

    There may be a tendency to say; what else do you expect a number 2 man to say of his principal? He won’t excoriate or flagellate him in public, and because he may possibly need his support for the number one position at a time in the future, so he would say sugary things.

    For a typical politician, ambitious, cold, calculating, scheming, yes. But those of us who work with the duo know that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is not in that mould.

    He is honest, factual, totally dependent on God for whatever the future holds. Nothing is a matter of life and death, and so he could have chosen to keep quiet about the attributes of the President, so that he wouldn’t be misconstrued.

    When he said Buhari was possibly Nigeria’s most popular politician that we have had in generations, I believe it, not just by the hearing of the ear, but because my eyes have seen it.

    I am old enough to have seen our colorful and even swashbuckling politicians in action. I have seen the great Obafemi Awolowo.

    The charismatic Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa). Shehu Shagari. Amino Kano. M.K.O Abiola. Bashir Tofa, and many others in action. But I have not seen anyone with the kind of attraction, magnetic pull, that Muhammadu Buhari has. And that is round the country, north and south. People swarm around him as bees do to honey.

    I have been around the country with the President. I have also been to several countries of the world with him. I have not seen any other Nigerian leader, past or present, with his kind of allure, pull, fascination, magnetism. And that is why VP Osinbajo is right to have described him as possibly “the most popular Nigerian politician that we ever had in this generation.”

    I remember that day in August 2017, when the President returned to the country finally from his medical vacation. From January of that year, he had been in and out a couple of times, but spending weeks and months outside, attending to his health. And finally, on August 19, he returned home, triumphantly.

    We were at the airport to receive him. I have told the story a number of times, to dispel the idiocy that it was a certain Jibril of Sudan that came back, and not Buhari. The daughter of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, was getting married. And I had attended both the church service and reception, decked in full Yoruba traditional attire of Agbada and a cap to match. Straight from the ceremony, I went to the airport to join the welcome party for the President.

    We the principal aides were on a line to receive the President as he descended from the aircraft. And he shook hands with each person, having one wisecrack or the other to say, as is typical of him. When he got to me, he said, “Adesina, this is the best I’ve seen you dressed.” And we both laughed.

    Jibril of Sudan? How did he know I was Adesina? How would he know how I normally dressed? Idiocy, I say again. But that is just a digression, not the story I really want to tell to support the topic at hand.

    We entered the vehicles lined up, and the convoy moved. It was perhaps the longest journey I’d ever witnessed from the airport to the town. Where did they come from? Like locusts, they swarmed onto the road, at many times forcing the convoy into a crawl. I didn’t know that such huge population resided in the communities along the airport road.

    Not induced or procured in any way, the people trooped out in their thousands to welcome the President back home.

    A multitude of ordinary Nigerians, the ones bearing the brunt of whatever was happening in the country then.. they came onto the roads, waving, cheering, heralding the man they loved back into the country. Many times, the convoy was forced to a dead slow, until the President had to wave at them, and they cheered uproariously.

    It took double or triple the normal time before we could get to the Presidential Villa.

    When about a year later, those who thought they owned the country told the President pontifically to dismount from the horse, and not run for a second term in office, I thought they were overreaching themselves. And so it was. The President ran in 2019, and he won, even with a wider margin than he did in 2015, when he had knocked a ruling party off its perch.

    So, when Professor Osinbajo says we possibly have the most colorful, popular politician with us, it is by no means patronizing. Even now, with all the challenges in the country, let President Buhari make a public appearance anywhere, he is still happily received, against the conjecture of naysayers and evil hearts, who conjure unrealistic things.

    Now, having such a leader in our country, one who wants nothing for himself, and is only actuated by touching the lives of the people positively, how should we utilize him? Give maximum support, and help him to realize his vision, not virulent opposition as we see from certain untutored quarters. It is in our collective interest to support such a man for the glory and benefit of our country.

    VP Osinbajo said only Buhari has the credibility to be able to solve some problems in our country now. Yes, he’s the one the populace chose, voted into power, despite all odds. Hear the VP: “And I think because of his level of credibility, despite everything, he is still the only one that can call everyone, and even people who do not necessarily agree with him know that he is a man of his words.”

    Very true. This is our President, a man out to serve, and not to be served. The virulent opposition we see in the land can only be self-serving, an odious attempt to grab power for power’s sake. I’ll rather follow an honest man, for the sake of our country.

    One more thing. The VP also told his London audience that we are better off as one people, one country. “Yorubas are not better off on their own. Igbos are not better off on their own. The North is not better off on its own. We are better off as one nation, that is why we are strong, and that is why we can face the world.”

    One hopes those beating the drums of discord, evil speech and dismemberment are listening. Nigeria is stronger, better off as one united entity. Issues we have can always be resolved, without breaking into splinters. That is the only way the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”

     

  • Letter to Chief Awolowo – Omoh Giwa

    Letter to Chief Awolowo – Omoh Giwa

    Dear Chief Awolowo,

    I hope it is not presumptuous of me to ask how you are faring on the ‘Otherside? Your response depends on if you are beyond the Pearly gates or closer to warmer regions. I ask because I am at odds on this paradox. Should you be resting in the bosom of Olodumare, can you quietly whisper in His ears this quagmire I am about to explain to you?

    Are you wondering what this situation is and what can be worse than our sinking economy? Huge debts? Renewed agitations for secession by the Igbo and fresh ones by the Yoruba? Or that we have lost face at the Olympics? Or Hushpuppi is snitching on a ‘respected’ Nigerian Public servant? I think this takes the cake. In my years on earth, I do not think I have heard a more paradoxical yet ironical statement (I know I am exaggerating but when you are through reading this you will be as confused as I am). Since reading the conflicting article, I have been unable to get it off my mind. It has even prevented me from enjoying the Olympics and Big Brother Nigeria. But I digress.

    Nigerians often tag you ‘the best president Nigeria never had’ yet some historical texts put your infamous advice to the Gowon regime led to an economic blockade that claimed the lives of innocent children and women. Am I digressing again? Please forgive me. Your death should absolve you like it did for Abba Kyari. Not the Police one, this is the other one or maybe the third one who can even keep up with these things?

    Before your ascension to loftier heights beside the Big guy (you’ve been gone for quite a while o! What do you people do all day up there because it seems to be affecting His responses to our calls o!), you saw Mr Integrity usurp power from a civilian right? Well would you believe that over fifteen million Nigerians voted him back to power? Would you believe that he is in liaison with your successor (I mean your ‘Leader of the Yoruba’ successor). As though this was not bad enough, they gave him their vote of confidence a second time.

    Kwarupshion Undertaker, either oblivious to the paradoxical-irony of his statement or an insensitive attempt to mock us, in London said: A person cannot succeed outside his personal educational qualification and whoever misses education has missed everything.

    This is not the first time Mr Principled would make such an ironical statement. Do you remember his first speech after hijacking power from Shagari? He said, ‘The planless downright incompetence and irresponsibility which characterised the current government… The Nigerian Army could not stand idly by while this country was drifting towards a dangerous state of political and economic collapse through the continued ineptitude and insensitiveness of a political leadership who were apparently unwilling to change’.

    Even his first regime cannot be considered as a successful dictatorship, yet he kept touting himself the messiah Nigeria needed. You would think he’d see the symbolism in his speech then and his administration now but like I said, it is either flying over his head or he mocks us behind his newspaper while eating the finest beef jerky the First kitchens can provide. How can you be the thing you hate so much?

    You think that was ridiculous? The same man whose certificate was in contention down to falsified documents and misspelled names stated the importance of education and how one can never move beyond the level of their educational qualification. Such impetus! Can you see what is troubling me yet? If a person can never succeed above their level of educational qualification and his is suspicious, what does that spell of our collective fate? Doom? Destruction?

    His leadership saw our debt increase with two major recessions and inflation so high it seems we are reaching for the clouds yet he cannot see the truth in his statement and do the honourable thing. You’d think he would surround himself with professionals right? Do not get me started on the crop of advisers he has surrounded himself with. Did you see the viral video where the former Minister for Health said not every doctor can be a specialist? He was asked what was being done about the mass relocation of doctors out of Nigeria and his response was that after several years of studying, examinations and training not all of them would practice and some should learn a trade like farming. He added that his tailor was a doctor while wearing his impeccable bespoke attire.

    You do not want to get me started on the below poverty-line of many Nigerian professors, teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers etc. Graduates of higher learning after years of unemployment diversify to menial jobs yet the Integrity General claims one cannot rise above their educational qualifications. What educational qualification did he present before leading the most populous black nation? What qualification did his red-eyed friend in Ikoyi present before being tagged Asiwaju?

    Bloomberg in March of this year claims that the unemployment rate in Nigeria is the second highest in the world with 33% as more than half of our labour force is either unemployed or underemployed yet Corruption General makes this statement at a summit in London publicly if I might add.

    I wonder if he considers himself a comedian otherwise how does he account for this true yet false (or is it false yet true) statement especially for Nigerians. That one cannot move beyond their educational qualification might be the case for others but not for us as our Integrity Police is proof of the contradiction of this statement.

    Bye?

    Omoh Giwa

    Department of English

    University of Lagos

    P.S. I hope I’m not intruding on your eternal rest? Why should our ancestors rest when their adherents can’t?

     

  • Buhari mourns Awolowo’s daughter Tola Oyediran

    Buhari mourns Awolowo’s daughter Tola Oyediran

    President Muhammadu Buhari has sent his condolences to the family of late Premier of the Western Region and nationalist, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, over the death of Tola Oyediran, the eldest daughter of the sage.

    The President, in the condolence message by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday, commiserated with friends and associates of Mrs Oyediran, particularly her only surviving sister, Mrs Tokunbo Awolowo, over the sad loss.

    He urged the family to take solace in the investments of the deceased in making life better for others.

    Buhari prayed that the almighty God would receive the soul of the departed, and comfort all her loved ones.

  • Awolowo and Niger Delta Naked Children – Patrick Dele Cole

    Awolowo and Niger Delta Naked Children – Patrick Dele Cole

    Above is a photograph of Chief Obafemi Awolowo with naked children. People have all kinds of reactions to Nigerians being naked in 1952 – get over it, in most parts of Nigeria, at that time, being naked was common.

    I started primary school in Enugu in 1946. We lived at the General Hospital Quarters, at the General Hospital, next to the colliery quarters, the Nigeria Police and the Enugu Prison – all in Agbani. St. Bartholomew’s school was in Asata – a distance of about 5km from my house. I left home at 6am to walk to school through a slightly shorter course – walking to school by following the railway track.

    Agbani, Ogbete, Asata, Uwani are Enugu districts surrounded by villages on the various ethnic groups who brought in food items to the Ogbete market daily. On my way to school and back, it was common to see boys and girls and women naked carrying foodstuff, firewood, fruits, etc to the markets. In 1946, the District Officer published an order banning naked people from coming into Enugu – i.e markets and various parts of the town.

    I went to school with a small tin box made by the tinker near the market. Whenever it rained, I took off my clothes, stowed them in my school tin box and continued my journey either to or from school. This was what every school child did. We could not allow our clothes to be wet, because that was the only uniform we had, which we washed every weekend. To see a naked woman and a baby hanging on her while sucking milk was a common sight. Some of the women would bring their merchandise to the house. At other times, customers would buy oil – a special delicious oil for eating yam – manu akagbe, (I believe the Itsekiris have a similar palm oil – epo orun – which was very popular.

    With the anti-nudity ordinance, the women would normally be carrying the basket of yams, etc or large pots or tins of palm oil on their heads, but with a balancer – aju – between their heads and the baggage – thus steadying the load. That aju was a strip of cloth rolled tight and placed on the woman’s head before the load. It gave a perfect balance. On getting to the edge of the town near the market, they put down the load, unfurled the aju, which was originally a hand woven strip of cloth. This they tied to their waist and went to market. I saw no brassieres and the wrapper was the original mini long before Millicent Small thought about singing lollipop.

    In 1954, I started secondary school at Baptist High School. My father was then working at Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria (ATMN) in Barakin Ladi, Bukuru and environs. He used to teach moss code and trained many people in it – they ended up at the telegraph office sending off telegrams in Post and Telegraph (P & T). He believed that he had to live in a town with railways. He swore by them and hardly went anywhere by road except driving in the axis of Bukuru, Barkin-Ladi and Jos. So when I was on holidays, he would telegram me to proceed by train from Port Harcourt to Jos. He would have made arrangements with the Nigeria Railways station manager, to my great annoyance and embarrassment. My name would be blasted on the Nigerian Railway. I would then leave my friends for the Station Manager’s office, put on the train with instructions to guards, inspectors, etc to look after me for the 36 hour trip to Jos. Most of my friends would drop off at Aba, Uzuakoli or Enugu.

    My mother, on the other hand, swore that the only way to travel was via the Daily Times. From Port Harcourt, I would go to Onitsha and from there to Lagos to be picked up by relatives at the Daily Times depot.

    The railway trip passed several areas in present day Ebonyi, Kogi, Benue and Plateau. In nearly all these places from 1952-57, people came to hail the train as it sped along. Most people on these routes were naked or scantily clothed, jumping and hailing “train, train”. More people were clothed as we approached Kafanchan, but once we passed it, people were unabashedly naked.

    Quite a lot of people in Enugu and environs filed their teeth, which conjured up nightmare hallucinations in my head, especially given the stories of these parts. In Enugu there were stories of Abanidi – Egu. (The Night is frightful). These were horror, blood-curdling stories of the people of the area. It may well be that these were stories to keep a young precocious boy on the straight and narrow.

    Bukuru, Barakin ladi were mining towns like Udi, Emenike and indeed most of Enugu. ATMN, like the Nigerian Coal Corporation, built the roads, houses, supplied water and electricity to Jos, Barkin Ladi and Bukuru. I remember that the houses had fireplaces because the area could get cold.

    Travelling in Nigeria in those days helped to enforce the geography lessons we learnt at school – how Nigeria had aluminium, manganese, columbite, gold, etc, that we grew rubber, cocoa, kola nuts, sorghum, corn, cotton, sugar, etc. Most interesting in the geography book was the maps which described parts of the present day Kwara, Zamfara, Kebbi as “wild and uninhabited”. Another book described it as “unknown”.

    After Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s debacle in Western Nigeria, where Chief Awolowo in a midnight jingoistic coup wrenched power from him, returned to Eastern Nigeria and removed Prof Eyo Ita to become the Premier. The most pressing problem was the high cost of bride price among the Ibos and of course attempts by the Premier to finance the African Continental Bank. Ibo men simply could not afford to get married. Zik instituted a bride price ceiling of 12 shillings and six pence. The Ibos could once again marry so long as the bride price did not exceed the Government ceiling. Incidentally, a lot of people blame Zik for ousting Prof Eyo Ita. I do not. The East was the only region where the Premier, Prof Eyo Ita, did not come from the ethnically dominant group. Even the Mayor of Enugu was from the North!

    My family believed in the unity school idea. So my third son; I sent to Government Secondary School in Minna. He went fully decked with all the requirements of the boarding school- cutlery, provisions, shirts, underwear, socks, shoes, canvas, etc. He did not know anybody and neither did we. Before two weeks he called to say that almost everything he went with had been stolen, that he was on his last pair of underwear, the other five having been stolen. He said he had washed his last pair and could not put it out to dry. Instead he slept holding his underwear just outside his mosquito net. When he woke up, someone had stolen the wet pant and singlet from his sleeping hand! We took him out of the school and put him at the staff school of Unilag!!! Till today he is still particular about his underwear as are all his children!!!!

  • Buhari names train stations after Awolowo, Jakande, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Osoba

    Buhari names train stations after Awolowo, Jakande, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Osoba

    President Muhammadu Buhari has named train stations along the Lagos-Ibadan and the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri corridors after “deserving Nigerians”, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

    Among those listed are Obafemi Awolowo, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Segun Osoba, Lateef Jakande, Wole Soyinka and Babatunde Fashola

    Presidency aide, Tolu Ogunlesi, revealed this on Monday in a tweet.

    According to Ogunlesi, Ibadan Station was named Obafemi Awolowo the Apapa station was named after Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Olodo station was named Segun Osoba while the Agege station was conferred on the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

    Other personalities conferred with train station names include Lateef Jakande , Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Kajola station), and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Papalanto station).’

    Earlier in June, the President had approved the naming of the Railway Complex in Agbor – the operational hub of the Itakpe-Warri line – after former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    According to a statement from the Ministry of Transportation, Buhari conferred the names on the “deserving citizens” because of their contribution to “the progress and development of their respective communities and the nation at large.”


    Below is a full list of the Nigerians who were conferred with names of train stations:

    The Lagos-Ibadan with extension to the Lagos Port Complex at Apapa railway station

    Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Apapa station)

    Mobolaji Johnson (Ebute Metta Station)

    Babatunde Raji Fashola (Agege station)

    Lateef Jakande (Agbado station)

    Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (Kajola station).

    Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Papalanto station)

    Prof. Wole Soyinka (Abeokuta station)

    Aremo Segun Osoba(Olodo station)

    Chief Ladoka Akintola (Omio-Adio station)

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Ibadan station)

    Chief Alex Ekwueme (Operation Control Centre)

    The Itakpe-Ajaokuta/Aladja-Warri Railway

    Alhaji Adamu Attah (Itakpe station)

    Dr. Olushola Saraki (Ajaokuta station)

    Admiral Augustus Aikhomu (Itogbo station)

    Brigadier General George Innih (Agenebode station)

    Anthony Eromosele Enahoro (Uromi station)

    Chief Tom Ikimi (Ekehen station)

    Brig. Gen. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia (rtd) (Igbanke station)

    Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (Agbor Station Complex)

    Brigadier General David Ejoor (Abraka station)

    Micheal Ibru (Opara station)

    Alfred Rewane (Ujevwu station)

    Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe (Railway Village, Agbor)

  • BBNaija: Seyi Awolowo wins the power to save, replace housemate

    Big Brother Naija housemate Seyi Awolowo has won the Veto Power title after a game of high stakes.

    The Veto Power Game is a game of chance with each housemates having an equal probability of winning. For having the least amount of marbles at the end of the game, Seyi has become the Veto Power Holder for this week. This is the second time, he will receive the Veto Power badge in the Big Brother Naija House.

    There were twelve stools with a silver cup on it. The Housemates were to pick a stool and stand in front of it for the game. Once they chose their playing stand, they were not allowed to change or swap position.

    Once that has been settled, the Housemates were to pick a card from the magic hat.

    Two types of cards existed in the hat. The first type of cards is those with single digits’ zero to six while the second type of cards had the instruction “pass two marbles to the person next to you.”

    Having understood the rules of the Game, the Housemates proceeded to pick a card and place the corresponding number of marbles into their cups.

    A Game Of Three Rounds

    In the first round, the Housemates with the most marble were eliminated. In this case, it was Ike and Mike.

    The process was repeated in the second round and the Housemates collected marbles which were added to the previous ones they had. When this round was over and the scores tallied, Venita and Omashola were out of the game for having the most marbles.

    The third round saw Frodd, Seyi, Tacha, Cindy, Khafi, Elozonam, Mercy and Diane go through the card and marble process again.

    At the end of the third round, there was a tie between Seyi and Tacha. Both Housemates had three marbles each which made the game extend into another round. This time, Seyi won as he had the least amount of marbles. With his position came 100 Bet9ja Coins and bonus coins for his teammates.

    Seyi Awolowo now holds the power to Save and Replace a housemate on eviction list on Monday night.

  • Buhari re-appoints Awolowo as CEO of NEPC

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-appointment of Mr Olusegun Awolowo as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

    According to a letter signed by Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the appointment lasts for four years.

    Mr Awolowo, a lawyer and scion of the Obafemi Awolowo family, was first appointed to the NEPC position in 2013.