Mallam Yuguda further stressed that unless royal fathers rescue the nation, the challenges of oil theft, insecurity and mutual distrust along ethnic and religious lines are potent enough to disintegrate the nation sooner than optimists thought.
Yuguda who spoke at an audience with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi opined that it was high time for, "traditional leaders across the country to put heads together to help find a lasting peace in the country.
"Political leaders are your followers and will accept your input as royal fathers to guarantee peace, harmony and love among NIgerians so that the country can move forward.
"The country is in dire need of royal leadership especially now that we are faced with challenges of oil theft, corruption, security and division along ethnic and religious lines.
"God has brought us together for reasons best known to Him alone and I think that was why he blessed us and made us to be intertwined along cultural, emotional and commercial activities beyond our control and understanding.
"I have come here with a delegation to appreciate your recent gesture which I accept as a gesture from the entire Yoruba race to, not only my family, but the entire Northern Nigeria and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III also acknowledges this fact and sends his warm regards," Yuguda stated.
In his response, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba :Lamidi Adeyemi assured the delegation that traditional rulers in the country will continue to play their roles because they are accountable to God almighty.
In his views, "several distortions can be made to the constitution which guides the activities of political leaders, but the covenant between traditional custodians is between them and their creator.
"We saw the pre-independent Nigeria, we have also been an indispensable aspect of the nation's one hundred years of existence and we shall not be tired of playing the role of uniting the nation in all peaceful way possible.
"The entire people of Oyo bestowed the title of Obasayero on you because you are a shiny example to industry, to service and to humanity.
Notable among the high-powered delegation that paid the monarch a visit was the Chief of Staff to the Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Yusuf Musa; Close Friend of the Governor, Alhaji Yarima Gobir; Renowned Businessman, Alhaji Sabo Abubakar as well as a retinue of aides in the Government House.
The accident occurred at about 10.10am some distance away from the popular Zarama junction market on the Mbiama-Zarama axis of the East West road.
The vehicles involved in the crash were Toyota Sienna car with registration number BJ 292 BWR and Toyota Hiace passenger bus with plate number YA 820 AAA owned by ABC Motors.
The deceased persons, all male, were in the passenger bus and were burnt beyond recognition while eleven others sustained serious injuries.
The ill-fated transport bus it was learnt was coming from Warri in Delta State and heading to Calabar in Cross River State when it crashed into the Toyota Sienna vehicle in front of it conveying a family of eight.
Though the family of eight escaped unhurt, three of the occupants in the passenger bus were not that lucky as they were burnt to ashes in the inferno that engulfed the bus.
Eyewitnesses told this reporter who visited the scene of the crash that the eleven persons in the burnt passenger bus who sustained injuries were taken to the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri by men of the Federal Road Safety who rushed to the scene of the carnage.
Miraculously, the occupants of the Toyota Sienna car which though suffered serious damage escaped unhurt.
The driver of the Sienna who simply identified himself as Martins told Vanguard that he lost control of his vehicle and veered off the road into the bush when the passenger vehicle rammed into his from behind.
The impact of the crash also caused the passenger bus driver to lost control and summersaulted severally before it went up in flame and burning to death three of its occupants who were trapped inside.
The Bayelsa State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Vincent Jack confirmed the death of three persons in the road accident when contacted.
He blamed the accident on overspending and wrong overtaking adding that the eleven injured persons were taken to the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital where they are receiving treatment.
The protesters made up of the community youths, old women and men were armed with placards highlighting their plight and recalling the atrocities meted to their defenceless population by the Nigerian military over a decade ago.
Saturday Vanguard learnt that the protest was also to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the military invasion which left Odi, one of the biggest communities in Ijawland in rubles in the wake of the killing of some policemen by some hoodlums.
The indigenes of the community said they were forced to take their protest to the busy federal highway which straddled the states of the South South zone due to the continued refusal of the federal government to obey the court order to pay their community the sum of N37.6bn for the injustice visited on its population by the Nigerian military.
It took the intervention of the police to prevail on the protesters to vacate the busy road and returned to their community where a memorial service was held to commemorate the destruction/genocide unleashed on Odi.
Spokesman of Odi community, Lt Commander Koku Imananagha (rtd), warned that they might be forced to take their case to the international community if their appeal to the federal government to pay them as directed by the court failed to yield result.
Speaking on the long drawn legal battle which went in favour of his community, he said, it was their resolve from the beginning to take the path of justice in pursuit of this matter through the courts of the land even though it was a clear case of total destruction/genocide against Odi by federal government.
He said, "So, it was a big surprise to see a Human Right abuse case in this 21st millennium dragging for 14 years. Eventually, 19th February, 2013 the Federal High Court Port Harcourt presided over by Justice Lambo Akanbi in a substantive suit awarded Odi community the sum of N37.616,871,000 only as compensation for the destruction of Odi to be paid within 21 days.
Despite the Inge road to this victory the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigerian instead of taking the path of glory to put smiles on the faces of the long traumatized people of Odi, chose to take us through further legal battle."
According to him, on March 12, 2013 the Federal High Court Port Harcourt still presided over by Justice Lambo Akanbi turned down a stay of execution filed by the Attorney General of the judgement sum without further delay to the law abiding citizens of Odi.
"Furthermore on 14th May, 2013, the Federal Appeal Court in Port Harcourt presided over by Justice Ejembi Eko granted the withdrawal application by the AGF for an out of court settlement with Odi community, for which the AGF did nothing thereafter.
"Consequently, on the 31st May, 2013, the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, gave a Garnishee a order Nisi compelling the garnishee (Central Bank of Nigeria) to pay the judgment Creditor/Applicant (Odi) the sum of N37,616,871,000. The Garnishee Order Nisi had a mandatory 17 days life span which gives the Federal Government yet another room to conclude the out of court settlement with Odi Community. This failed because of the inaction of the AGF.
"Finally, on 17th June 2013, the Federal High Court Judge Justice Lambo Akanbi pronounced as follows: That Garnishee Order Nisi is hereby made absolute directing the Garnishee (Central Bank of Nigeria) to pay the judgement sum of N37,616,871,000 which is judgement debt owed the Applicants by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as epitomized by the judgment debtors.
"Accordingly, in view of the sequence of legal successes in our favour and inaction of the federal government to pay the judgement sum, the good people of Odi are now appealing to the a human rights organizations, NGOs, the press and all well meaning individuals and groups to prevail on the federal government of Nigeria to do the needful in accordance with the judgement of the courts without any further delay," he said.
"Central bank governors don't comment on who they think their successor should be. It is not our business to do that, it is the President's decision. But if I have input at all, I will try to encourage that we announce a successor two to three months before the end of my tenure so that everybody knows who that person is, what the views are and so people prepare accordingly. By the way, some of the names are out there in the newspapers and more can come out later."
[*Flavour]
I work so hard to sound so original in my music. Right from when I released my first album, there has been a tremendous improvement in my music. And this time around, I had enough funds to do better videos which has distinguished my style from other artistes. Africans as a whole love originality, even though some might pretend about it .
If you are original in whatever you are doing today coupled with being down-to- earth, you will get to anywhere you want to. That has been the secret of my success. I began my career as a drummer for a local church in my home state, Enugu State.
What has actually kept you going till today ?
Having passion for what I'm doing. I have so much passion for music. I started singing at the age of 13. I went to the right source because I had some companies that gave me a scholarship as a way of encouraging me. They trained me in music. They believed in me becoming as a rising musician then.
The director always tell us that people used to regard musicians as irresponsible and wayward people. People who squander all their money on women and cars while trying to live a flamboyant lifestyle. If you are talented, you need to work hard to give back to the society. That has been my driving force. People now see me as a responsible person and an example to the young ones.
I have to keep my head low and stay humble and keep doing what I am doing well. So, the passion has kept me going. Initially, when I started, I didn't care whether I had some money in my pocket or not. I was just doing it for the love of music. But I wanted to get somewhere.
Where do you draw your inspiration from ?
I draw my inspiration from people around me, especially things that happen around me I like when things go bad and when things go good because it doesn't have to be good all the time.
So, all I do is to keep focus and balance the two situations that come my way. And sometimes friends around me inspire me even when my family were against my keeping too many friends, I still get close to them making them know that they are very important to me. To me, I think as a musician you should have a story to tell .Things around me inspire my kind of music .
Glo endorsed you recently. How do you feel about the endorsement ?
It's something great, it's not only Glo I still have a lot of awards both within and outside the shores of the country . Glo endorsement is a wonderful opportunity , it's good to associate with big brands and it's also good for big brands to recognize big artiste and not to just use the person to build up a platform.It's something nice and I am enjoying the relationship, the tour , interviews and the photo shoot; I am enjoying everything.
Can you share some of the pains and gains of becoming a celebrity ?
Let me start with the pains because it's the bigger part of the challenges we face as celebrities . The painful part of it is that we go through a lot and people don't know and they don't even care to know.
They just want to see you up there so what we go through as artistes every day is unimaginable. Even when you get to meet your fans , the way some of them will approach you is something else . Then the challenge of being on top of your game; But if you know what you are doing the pains will become a blessing and a watchword for you.
You have to take so many things away from you , you don't live your normal life again though not everyone. But left for me, I am free spirit. I want to wake up and walk around the street buy something that I want.
Sometimes you will want to have fun alone but you won't be able to do so because other people will want to associate with you; you don't have to chase them away because they are coming because they love your music even the once with bad intention you have to show them love and accommodate them.
Meanwhile, achieving my dreams and getting to where I want today remains part of the gains . I am also, not relenting on efforts. My work just keeps going and I have so many things to do and also achieve .
What are you working on presently ?
Presently, I have been performing almost every weekend. People invite me to perform at different shows and I've been working everyday, there is no day that pass I don't have something to do. I like surprises, and I also like to look at the market and know where I can make my impact. There are also different businesses I have been doing with some cooperate bodies .
We learnt you are coming up with a reality show. What is it all about ?
Yes, it's not that much. Iam just planning to come out with something very soon. However, I need to put everything in place before I can talk about it.
How have you been able to compete with other top artistes in the industry ?
If you have your own style , you just need to stick to it; be very versatile and at the same time, original because every now and then, new artistes keep emerging from the blues. You need to maintain the tempo.
The hardest part of the job is not to come up with a hit , but to be there and keep giving them the hit till when you retire . The drive is to just keep on doing what you are doing well and going deep into it . And always source for ideas , look for different things , know your market and the people that are looking up to you. What they think about your work .
For me, I havemade a lot of findings outside the shores of Nigeria. So, that alone makes it difficult because you are not just looking at the crown but also, you are looking at Africa at large. From Africa, you can hit the international stage.
Doing collaboration with other artistes is what is in vogue in the industry. In your own case, what are the conditions and things do you look out for before accepting to do collaboration with fellow artistes ?
I look out for somebody I can work with, and not someone that just want me to bless his song so that it will just be my glory. There are few artistes in Nigeria who can really release some good stuffs . In every song, I'm collaborating with any artiste, I always try to bring in something new. I bring my creative ingenuity to bear in every song I'm featuring in.
The truth is that I must always try to bring in something commercial; something I know the fans and lovers of music would embrace and hold unto. I spend quality time thinking about the listeners and I keep trying to put myself in their shoes. I always ask myself, what are the fans going to hold unto in this song, even if it's just a word or phrase?
So, I keep looking out for such word or phrase. I have to create that unique 'word' or 'phrase'. There is no way you will sing and be appreciated if you don't appreciate your fans and put them into consideration while composing a song. If you don't consider them you would end up singing and satisfying yourself instead of your fans.
So, what I bring to the table is the key factor in the success of most of my collaborations. But the essence of collaboration is to see two different artistes combining their styles. You tap into my fan base while I also tap into yours. For instance, Omawumi is good; she was the first runner up in the 2007 edition of West African Idols.
She is doing well in the music scene and has done good songs. So, in the song, Bottom Belle, she brought in something new while I also did. The same thing applies to other collaborations I have done with other artistes.
Do you have a price tag for doing collaborations with other artistes?
It depends on the relationship I have with the person. The only artiste I ask to pay me for collaboration is the person I stand to gain nothing else apart from the money.
But if you have a fan base, you don't have to pay me. I tap into your fan base while you also tap into mine. Except if you don't know what you are doing and you need me to fly, then that is where I will ask you to pay me.
Many celebrities are faced with one scandal or the other. How have you been able to stay away from controversy?
It's only God that knows the secret. I'm not better than other musicians just as they are not better than myself. No artiste that ever set out to be faced with scandals. It's always people around them that fan some of these scandals.
But the issue is that I try to stay away from trouble. For instance, I don't even go to clubs. Anything I want to do something, I do it in the comfort of my house. I party inside my house. I do my recording inside my house. When you start mingling and partying with everybody in different places that is where one or two things would start to emerge.
I'm either here in my house or in my second house in the Island. When you mingle much with people, at times you start trusting people that are not supposed to be trusted. You start having divided attention. You would take a picture and make joke with it and tomorrow it's all over the newspapers and internet.
So, the question is Who did it? Is it not someone you trusted? That's how it happens . Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, you just have to guide yourself in anything you are doing.
We also heard you proposed to your girlfriend?
People will always talk and turn around stories. But I am still single because marriage is not my priority for now. I still want to hit the top before thinking about marriage. It's not yet time. I am still concentrating on my music.
It was once rumoured that you were dating Tiwa Savage after doing a collaboration with her. Was it true?
I didn't feel bad when I heard about the rumour because I knowpeople will always talk even if we didn't kiss. While shooting the music video, the director came to us and said, you guys are playing love scene, you need to do something intimate. He urged us do it, and I now looked at Tiwa and she gave me a go ahead and I said 'yes' we can do it. There was nothing wrong with that. More over, we did music with passion.
Abdulahi, therefore, left the issue of bail to the discretion of the court. Justice Yunusa, adjourned the case till Dec. 30 for ruling on the bail application, but ordered the continued remand of the accused at the SFU. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the accused were arraigned on Dec. 23, following the charge of fraud and had pleaded not guilty.
The judge, however, ordered their remand at the SFU, pending the determination of their bail.
Abdulahi had told the court that the accused converted more than N15 billion from the defunct bank, in the guise of granting loans and overdraft facilities to various companies, without appropriate accounting records.
He said that they also converted and appropriated a total of 55.3 million dollars and more than N3.7billion belonging to the bank.
He said that part of the money was used to finance a non- existing refinery, while the others where converted to personal use.
Abdulahi explained that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 390 of the Criminal Code, Cap A6, Laws of the Federation, 2006.
Also, the Commandant said about 50 private guards companies were sealed within this period as they were discovered to be operating illegally within the metropolis. ''The Command has equally sealed over ten companies who defaulted in paying their annual renewal dues,''
As regards disaster management, he said the Command which is the emergency response team, has partnered with other agencies such as National Emergency Management Authority NEMA and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency LASEMA in the management of disaster scenes.
The peace and conflict resolution unit he said, has handled over 150 cases ranging from landlord/tenant conflict, marital conflict, breach of public peace, land disputes, relationship disputes, cases of assault, monetary conflict and child abuse. Out of these cases, over 80 have been resolved while the rest are still in progress.
''The command has deployed 2000 officers to various strategic locations within the metropolis to ensure adequate security during the Yuletide. Adequate security reporting and grassroots intelligence gathering by this unit has assisted the Lagos State government in checkmating the nefarious activities of some terrorist organisations like 'Boko Haram' across the state. The corps in collaborations with other security agencies recently tracked down some 'Boko Haram' members who were at the verge of causing mayhem to Lagosians,'' he added.
The Regional Development Sector got N43 million,representing 0.07 per cent of the budget while General Administration took N3.5 billion, representing 6 per cent of the budget.
The governor said the budget would focus on completion of ongoing projects and initiation of new ones that had direct benefit to the people of the state. Dankwambo said "we have tagged it "budget of restoration" because we are determined to further restore the confidence of the people of Gombe State in good governance.
He said his administration would also restore the lost glory of the state in the national and sub-national development arena and chart a cogent course of development".
The governor expressed gratitude to stakeholders in the state and development partners for their cooperation and support which enabled the government to execute "people-oriented projects" in 2013.
The Speaker of the House, Alhaji Inuwa Garba, assured the governor that the legislature would scrutinise the budget, to ensure that people-oriented projects were provided.
The ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Gov. Tha'anda Rubainu, commissioners, traditional rulers and some top government and private sector personalities in the state.
Legendary rapper Mode 9 came back this year to pick the "Lyricist On The Roll" title he has been winning until last year with his "Let It Go" single. Praiz won Best Vocal Performance Male for "Rich And Famous" and Nikki Laoye won Best Vocal Performance Female for "Only You". Jaywon's "This Year" was adjudged the "Best Recording Of The Year". Iyanya emerged the Artiste Of The Year, just as KCee' Limpopo emerged as the Song Of The Year.
Award presenters for the night included Mai Atafo, Stephanie Coker, Yvonne Ekwere, Koch Okoye, Darey Art Alade, Kemi Adetiba, Chin Okeke, Seyi Law, Lynxxx, Osas Ighodalo, Mercy Omo London, Toolz, Kelechi Amadi Obi, Funmi Iyanda, IllBliss, Jumoke Awolade James, Freeze, Tewa Onasanya, Chris Ihidero among others.
The awards featured stellar performances from Iyanya, Waje, Olamide, Phyno, Praiz, Seyi Shay, Niyola, Zaina, Yemi Alade.
But the highlight of the night was the induction of legendary Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal into The Headies' Hall of Fame.
The Fuji music czar who thanked the organisers of the award for the honour later closed the show with a five-star performance.
A woman from Orlu, Imo State showed off a giant Cassava tuber she harvested from her farmland, NairaNaijaNews reports. See photo below.
