The burial rites for eminent novelist, Prof Chinua Achebe who died on March 2, 2013, in the United States began Sunday in Abuja with a commendation service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

Some of the personalities at the service included the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Information Minister, Labaran Maku; former Anambra State governor, Jim Nwobodo and the Primate of the Anglican Church, Rev Nicholas Okoh who described the late literary icon as one who fought to restore the dignity of the African and a role model to the youth.

According to the former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and member of the Achebe National Transition Committee, Dr. Wale Okediran, Achebe’s body will now arrive from the United States,Tuesday, at 8:00am and will be received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport by government officials, writers, cultural organisations and other associates.

Okonjo-Iweala said Achebe was an important African figure and that the federal government was working with the Achebe family, the NTC and the South East governors to give the late writer a befitting funeral, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan, who would be attending the funeral, personally received Achebe’s son, Ike, in Abuja recently.
Information Minister, Labaran Maku, who described Achebe in superlative terms, said the writer ranked alongside William Shakespeare, Homer, among others and that he wrote from Afrocentrist perspective. This, Maku argued, perhaps denied Achebe the Nobel prize. He added that “the prize is not the most important thing. The most important thing is to write. Achebe put Africa in the book shelves and restored the dignity of the African which had been abused”.

Former vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission, Ernest Ndukwe, said Achebe was a great patriot young Nigerians should emulate.

In his commendation service, the Anglican Primate, Most Rev Okoh, said Achebe was God’s gift to Africa, Nigeria and the Igbo. Thanking God for Achebe’s life, Okoh said “Achebe is great because he spread his God’s gift to the world, thus exposing the cultural conflict in Igboland in early colonial period in Nigeria”.

The cleric urged Nigerians to emulate Achebe’s life of giving, especially, in this time Nigerians go to India for health issues. He tasked the federal government to build a well equipped hospital in the land to reduce the number of people rushing abroad for good treatment noting that one of the reasons Achebe gave for not returning home was lack of good medicare in Nigeria.

Okoh noted that the principled nature of Achebe has made him a role model for the youth while castigated those who choose wealth over moral principles, saying that wealth is transient and limited. Okoh submitted that if the youth imbibe Achebe’s principles, there would be a moral revolution in Nigeria.

WEST BROMWICH – English football witnessed the end of an era on Sunday as Alex Ferguson signed off as Manchester United manager with an extraordinary 5-5 draw at West Bromwich Albion in his 1,500th and final game.

On a sun-kissed afternoon at The Hawthorns, the ground with the highest altitude in the Football League, the 71-year-old Scot who propelled United to the summit of English football on 13 occasions bowed out with a hectic game full of the attacking football that he loves.

The champions led 3-0, and then 5-2, but West Brom scored three times in five minutes, with substitute Romelu Lukaku completing a second-half hat-trick in the 86th minute to prevent Ferguson from signing off with victory.

Ferguson, who amassed 38 trophies in 26 and a half years at Old Trafford, will be joined in retirement by 38-year-old midfielder Paul Scholes, who made his 718th and final appearance for the club as a 69th-minute substitute.

Prior to kick-off, fans queued to buy souvenir edition match-day programmes, which contained a fulsome 40-page tribute to Ferguson from West Brom.
The Scot was welcomed onto the pitch with a guard of honour from both sides and the hosts’ generosity did not stop there, as slack defending enabled United to establish a 3-0 lead inside 30 minutes.

In the sixth minute, Javier Hernandez crossed from the right and the untracked Shinji Kagawa beat United old boy Ben Foster with a near-post header.

Three minutes later, United were again afforded space on the hosts’ left flank and a drilled cross from Antonio Valencia was inadvertently turned in by floundering defender Jonas Olsson.

United’s fans were predictably boisterous, throwing a red flare onto the pitch at one point, but their exuberance provoked an angry reaction from the home support, with stewards and police obliged to intervene.

In contrast, the game itself was almost completely devoid of needle, and Alexander Buttner exploited further inattention from the home defence to dispatch a crisp shot into the bottom-right corner from Tom Cleverley’s pass on the half hour.

James Morrison pulled a goal back in the 40th minute by sweeping in a Graham Dorrans cross and Lukaku cut the deficit to a single goal by steering a low shot past United goalkeeper Anders Lindergaard five minutes after coming on at the break.

United responded immediately, however, with Robin van Persie converting a Valencia cut-back to claim his 26th league goal of the season before Hernandez turned in a low cross from substitute Ryan Giggs to make it 5-2.

Olsson compounded a dreadful afternoon by hoisting a volley over the bar from only four yards, before the self-effacing Scholes came off the bench for the final game of his long and distinguished career.

Victory would have seen United equal their best-ever Premier League points tally of 91 in a 38-game season, but instead, Youssouf Mulumbu and Lukaku scored twice within a minute before Lukaku bundled in Marc-Antoine Fortune’s cross with four minutes left to complete an incredible comeback.

It was a disappointing end to the game for Ferguson, who wore a rueful smile as he shook hands with opposite number Steve Clarke before walking onto the pitch to say goodbye to the United fans for the very last time.

No one captures the essence of proverbs better than Africa’s highly celebrated writer Chinua Achebe, when he wrote,”  proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”

We present few of Achebe’s words of wisdom collected from his written works. Which is your favorite? If we have omitted your most preferred , you can add it as well.

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

“You cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Who ever planted an Iroko tree – the greatest in the forest? You may collect all the Iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. it will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there…so it is with greatness in men.”

“We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practically put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye n’ani ji onwe ya: “He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.”

“If you want to eat a toad you look for a fat and juicy one.”

“An only palm fruit does not get lost in the fire.”

“A man who lives on the banks of the Niger (river) should not wash his hands in spittle.”

“A man does not challenge his Chi to a wrestling match.”

“When a new saying gets to the land of empty men, they lose their heads over it.”

“The eye is not harmed by sleep.”

“We do not want to be like the unfortunate child who grows his first tooth and grows a damaged one.”

“Shall we kill a snake and carry it in our hand when we have a bag for putting things in ?”

“If a man returns from a long journey and no one says nno (welcome) to him, he feels like one who has not arrived.”

“A debt may get moldy but it never rots.”

“The most horrible sight in the world cannot put out the eye.”

“The sun will shine on those who stand, before it shines on those who kneel under them.”

“If a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings.”

“When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.”

“Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.”

“An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb.”

“The lizard that jumped from a high Iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one else did.”

“Eneke the bird says that since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching.”

“Those whose palm kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble.”

“When a person says yes, his Chi (personal god) says yes also.”

“A man that makes trouble for others also makes trouble for himself.”

“If one finger brings oil, it soils all the others.”

“When a man blasphemes what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing.”

“A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving.”

“As a man danced so the drums were beaten for him.”

“Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.”

“When a handshake goes below the elbow, then know that it has turned into something else.”

“It is praiseworthy to be brave and fearless, but sometimes it is better to be a coward. We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live.”

“Wisdom is like a goatskin bag; every man carries his own.”

“ If the lizard of the homestead should neglect to do the things for which its kind is known, it will be mistaken for the lizard of the farmland.”

“A boy sent by his father to steal does not go stealthily but breaks the door with his feet.”

“When an old woman hears the dance she knows her old age deserts her.”

“It is only when you are close to a man that you can begin to smell his breath.”

“If a blind man does not know his own stick, tell me what else would he know ? “

“If you fail to take away a strong man’s sword when he is on the ground, will you do it when he gets up? “

“When a mad man walks naked, it is his kinsmen who feel shame, not himself.”

“A madman may sometimes speak a true word, but you watch him, he will soon add something to it that will tell you his mind is spoilt.”

“A goat does not eat into a hen’s stomach no matter how friendly the two may be.”

“A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday.”

“The inquisitive eye will only blind its own sight.”

“A man who does not lick his lips, can he blame the harmattan for drying them ? “

“If we fall back, can we complain that others are rushing forward ?”

“When suffering knocks on your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool.”

“What a man does not know is greater than he.”

“Only a foolish man can go after a leopard with his bare hands.”

“In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace.”

“When we hear a house has fallen do we ask if the ceiling fell with it ?”

“The death that will kill a man begins as an appetite.”

“If a man sought for a companion who acted entirely like himself, he would live in solitude.”

“He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger.”

“The greatest liar among men still speaks the truth to his own son.”

“A boy who tries to wrestle with his father gets blinded by the old man’s loin cloth.”

“When we see an old woman stop her dance to point again and again in the same direction, we can be sure that somewhere there something happened long ago which touched the roots of her life.”

“When brothers fight to death a stranger inherits their father’s estate.”

“The man that brings ant-infested faggots into his hut should not grumble when lizards begin to pay him a visit.”

“A disease that has never been seen before cannot be cured with every-day herbs.”

“No matter how many spirits plot a man’s death, it comes to nothing unless his Chi (personal god), has a hand in the deliberation.”

“A man who means to buy palm wine does not hang about at home until all the palm wine in the market is sold.”

“The language of young men is pull down and destroy; but an old man speaks of conciliation.”

“It is the fear of offence that makes men swallow poison.”

“A man of sense does not go hunting little bush rodents when his agemates are after big game”

“No man however great is greater than his people”

“Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache”

The remains of celebrated writer, Chinua Achebe is expected to be flown into the country, today to kick-start a week-long burial rites. Achebe died on March 21, 2013 at 82.

Meanwhile, the people of Ogidi, hometown of the literary icon, weekend said they were prepared to work with other committees set up for a befitting burial of their illustrious son.

Achebe, a former president general of Ogidi Town Union, belonged to the highest titled group in Ogidi known as Ndichie Une.

Chairman of media and publicity sub-committee of the committee set up by Ogidi for burial as well as a member of a similar committee set up by the Anambra State government, Chief Bob Manuel Udokwu, who briefed news men in Awka, said that what matters to Ogidi people is that their son was accorded a befitting burial.

According to details of the burial activities released by Udokwu, Achebe’s body would arrive Nigeria on May 19. There would be prayers at the Ecumenicasl Center, Abuja same day, while cultural events and reading of Achebe’s books would take place the following day. There would also be an Airport reception for him by members of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA,and Ogidi people at the Abuja Airport before the body departs for Enugu Airport where the body would be received by South East governors to be led by their chairman, Mr. Peter Obi.

He said that though the body would not be taken to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, there would be a procession for him and other ceremonies in that institution, while the body would arrive Awka on the 22nd to be received at the Amansea border by a cross section of Anambra people.

Thereafter, there would be a brief church service for him at the Alex Ekwueme square in Awka to be led by the Anglican Bishop of Awka. The body would arrive Ogidi on 23rd for a funeral service at St Phillip’s Anglican Church, Akpakaogwe,Ogidi where the primary school attended by Achebe

Ex-beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima went emotional last Sunday when she relived memories of the circumstances that led to her  imprisonment about four years ago for manslaughter, following the death of a medical doctor, Suraj Giwa.

She spoke last Sunday at Xovar Lounge, a celebrity hangout  located in Lekki, Lagos while being honoured by the management of the outfit as the first female president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN. The occasion afforded her the  needful opportunity to address some of the burning issues that affected her life and career in the past. It was a  moment of retrospection that Ibinabo was looking forward to, and she did not disappoint.

Put on the hot seat, the moderator, Segun Arinze, himself former president of AGN took the mother of three, through the tortuous journey of her life. Responding to some of the questions put across to her by the audience, Ibinabo admitted that she went through hell in the past. While her ordeal lasted, she said, she put her trust in God who saw her through. “Because I believe in God,  I have been able to stand strong to become who I am today,”she said.

Ibinabo however, disclosed that she is setting up a foundation to cater for the welfare of families of accident victims. According to her, “I do have a foundation which I’m setting up. In 2006, I had an accident and a medical doctor,  Mr. Suraj Giwa died in the process. A lot of things went wrong, I was sent to jail because of the accident.

It is quite painful, it’s taking me this long because I needed to find myself again. The foundation is going to be for the families of accident victims. I’m going to get people to talk to them and to heal their wounds. What I went through, I was healed by the grace of God.”

The event was classy as it was attended by top notch celebrities  including Julius Agwu, AY, Joseph Benjamin, Folunke Daramola, Doris Simon, Klint Da Drunk, Victor Olaiatan, Charles Novia, Fedlis Duker, Gloria Ibru among others.

Lagos – A medical practitioner, Dr Anthony Adimekwe, on Friday described hypertension as the commonest cardiovascular disorder, as well as the number one cause of life-long drug treatment. Adimekwe, a Resident Cardiologist in the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. According to him, there is an urgent need to promote public awareness of hypertension and to encourage the public to prevent and control this `silent-killer’. The World Hypertension Day (WHD) is commemorated on May 17, every year. The theme for the 2013 event is “Healthy Heart Beat – Healthy Blood Pressure’’. According to the cardiologist, hypertension is an increase in blood pressure to a level that can damage body organs. It is commonly known as High Blood Pressure. “Hypertension has to do with an increase in the level of blood pressure. It has to be high to such a level that it can damage body organs. “In medicine, that level has been defined to be greater than or equal to 140/90mmHg of blood pressure, as measured using a sphygmomanometer, on a person’s arm. Hypertension usually has no symptoms. “However, to diagnose hypertension, this raised blood pressure must be seen to be consistently raised at three consecutive measurements, taken at least one day apart from each other,“ he said. Adimekwe noted that the prevalence rate of hypertension in the country was about 32.8 per cent. “In Nigeria, a recent rural and semi-urban community-based study in Enugu State puts the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria at a range between 32.8 per cent and 46.2 per cent. “While a meta-analytical study published recently in the well-respected online PubMed publication (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23272273 ) estimates the nationwide prevalence to be between 8%- 46.4%,“ he said. The cardiologist identified two major types of hypertension. “There are two types of hypertension. There is the primary and the secondary hypertension. The Primary constitutes about 95 per cent of the cases, while the Secondary is about five per cent. “Primary hypertension is largely genetic and hereditary; thus, it runs in families. “However, the predisposing factors of hypertension include too much intake of salt, alcohol, absence of fruits and green vegetables in the diet, lack of exercise, living a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and many other factors.

A baby delivery syndicate was recently unearthed by the Police and a key suspect arrested and paraded in Lagos, alongside two other women who were believed to have paid certain sums of money respectively, to be delivered of babies.

Forty three years old Joy Ibe who lives at Ajah area of Lagos, said she has been married for 18 years without any issues, a dilemma that prompted her to run up and down seeking for fruit of the womb, until she came in contact with a Port Harcourt based 50- year old woman identified as Oby George, who was noted for helping women deliver babies after paying an agreed amount of money to her.

Joy told news men how she met Oby, and what followed after that:  “one of my neighbours visited Nigeria and heard about Oby, after she travelled back to the Unites States, she text me Oby’s number and  asked me to contact her if I am interested.

I called up Oby and told her my problems, she gave me her address to come and meet her in Port-Harcourt. When I got to Port-Harcourt and met with her, she gave me some herbs which I took until it was time for me to deliver.  I paid her N2, 700.000 for triplets.

The only signs I have as a pregnant woman is my swollen tommy and legs which you can see, I still see my period sometimes.  I have not gone to the hospital for scan, because the instruction given to me was that the scan will not be able to identify the babies in the womb.

On the day I was arrested by the police, Oby had invited me to Port-Harcourt for check-up, so she could ascertain if I am due for delivery. I went and she checked me, after that she said I was not due, that I have to wait for a little longer.

But because it was late for me to travel back to Lagos that very day, she said I should pass the night at her house, I obliged, that was when the police came and arrested us.  From what I am seeing right now, I don’t believe that I am pregnant despite my swollen tommy and legs.

Another victim, a 61 years old woman  identified as  Cecilia Adesope who has not had issues before, told newsmen that  she was brought to Oby, by a woman still at large, who had told her Oby would be able to help her, she was asked to go to Port-harcourt for delivery, after she paid the sum of N1,500.000.

“When I got to Port-harcourt for delivery, which was after the pregnancy period, I was given something like a fish to chew, after I did, I felt like going to the toilet. When I got out of the toilet, I was asked to lie down and push with all my power, after that I heard cries of babies.  I also noticed some blood on my private part, and was given a pad to use.

I did not go to the hospital during the pregnancy period, because I was instructed not to do so, as the hospital scan will not see the babies.

How I was arrested: when I returned to Lagos with my set of twin babies, I decided to take them to the hospital for inoculation injections. The hospital management must have suspected that I did not really give birth to the babies, because as we were waiting for the injection, the police came and arrested me.

Oby George’s story:  The Port-Harcourt based 50-year old woman identified as the person that has been ‘helping women deliver children’ also gave her account of the part she played in Mama Cecilia Adesope’s case: “Cecilia was brought to me by one Mrs Okoro now at large, who has been treated, she pleaded with me to help her deliver a set of twin babies.  That all her life she has not had any child of her own, that she is desperate.

Mrs Okoro told me that we should use my apartment since her husband was around and she does not want him to know about this issue. So I agreed and the sum of N1, 500.000 was paid into my account for the job. On her due date, she travelled down to Port-Harcourt and we all went to my place.

I gave her some herbs to chew after which she went to the toilet, she got out, we asked her to lie down and push with all her might while I held her hands.

At a point, we used a razor blade to give her some tear so that blood will come out, and make the whole thing look real. Mrs Okoro then brought the babies, whom she had arranged from somewhere,  that was when Mama heard the cries of babies.

When asked how she met Mrs Okoro,  Oby told newsmen that she knows Mrs Okoro very well, as both of them work together in ‘helping women deliver’.

Oby who told newsmen she has been in this business for over a year said she could not remember the number of children she had helped women deliver.

Also arraigned at the Police Command -Ikeja were some members of a notorious armed robbery gang.

The gang was rounded up around 2am on the 16th of May, 2013; when members of the Police Anti -Robbery squad received information that a member of deadly member of an armed robbery gang who has been terrorizing residents of Lagos and neighbouring states, identified as Mustapha Owolabi a.k.a Gbebo, resides at Alagbado area of Lagos.

At the information, a team of crack SARS Operatives swung into action and arrested Mustapha, who on interrogation, confessed to series of armed robbery operations in Lagos and environ. He also disclosed that their operational arms are with their gang leader, one Murufu Aleba, now late who resides in Ifo town –Ogun state.

The gang leadre’s house was raided around 3am, when all of a sudden, the deceased gang leader and two members of his gang, opened fire on SARS operatives, who equally retaliated.

The two casualties were rushed to Sango-Ota general hospital, where they were confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.

Consequently, “one F/No. 387951Cpl. Sunday Fafoluyi a.k.a OPC and the gang leader Morufu Alabe were fatally wounded; while two of the robbers scaled the fence and escaped. Two AK-47 riffles, seven AK-47 magazines fully loaded, one hundred and eighteen rounds of live Ak-47 riffle ammunition, three single barrel pistol and sixty live cartridges” were recovered from the house of the deceased gang member.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

In the just concluded Ghana Music Awards, Wizkid fell giants; beating super hot artists P-Square, Iyanya, Davido, Flavour  and D-Banj to win the African Artist of the Year award.The awards took place at the La Palm Hotel in Accra.

ABAKALIKI – EBONYI State Police command with members of Ebonyi Youth Assembly, EYA, weekend secured the release of the kidnapped Medical Director of St Paul’s Hospital, Dr Pius Manyike, who was kidnapped two weeks ago in the state.

Manyike,  a Consultant Pediatrician with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, FETHA,  who was kidnapped at No. 15A Owerri Street, Abakaliki, by unknown gunmen was in the early hours of Sunday released by his abductors following  manhunt staged by youths and the police.

When contacted, the Ebonyi state Police Commissioner, CP Moses Saba Ndagi who confirmed the release of the abducted doctor Sunday morning, however, said that he was yet to get details on the matter.

Meantime in a chat with journalists, the President of Ebonyi Youth Assembly, Comrade Chinedu Ogah disclosed that the abducted doctor was released following efforts by the Ebonyi State Police command and the Ebonyi youth assembly members who trailed the kidnappers to their hideout at Okpoto in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state.

Comrade Ogah stated that the youth group and the state police command with the use of mobile phone tracker were able to trail the hideout of the hoodlums adding that the girlfriend of the kidnapper’s kingpin was also arrested when she put a call across to her partner.

“The youths of Ebonyi state were able to gather information concerning those responsible for his abduction and in the early hours of today, the doctor was released.

Reports reaching our news desk has it that over 160 Nigerian students who are on the federal government scholarship in Russia are now begging to survive due to non-payment of their allowances since the past six months.

The leader of the Association of the Federal Government Doctoral Candidates in Russia, Godwin Ezinkwo, made this known on Wednesday during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs.

Ezinkwo who stated that about 150 under graduate and 10 post-graduate students were currently studying in Russia on the FG scholarship, disclosed that it was a bad scholarship arrangement by the Nigerian government.

Ezinkwo informed the committee that for six months now, they have not been paid their allowances, a situation that made them to begging to beg their counterparts from other African countries like Ghana, Zimbabwe and the rest for assistance.

He noted that most of the students currently face eviction from their houses due to their inability to pay for accommodation.

Ezinkwo was quoted as saying, “Russia is a very hostile country in terms of weather and other things. It is very embarrassing and difficult to cope.

Nigerian students are now living at the mercy of other African scholarship students like Ghana, Zimbabwe and all that. They lend money to us, so Nigerian students are like beggars. They’re begging, if one has to use that word. It’s that bad. It’s demoralising.

“We also have to bring up the issue of accommodation. The agreement in its raw form provides accommodation for students, but unfortunately some of the host countries do not honour this agreement. Students are made to pay for accommodation, but they’re unable to pay for the accommodation, because their stipends and remittances for at least six months have not been paid. As I speak to you now, students are going to be evicted from their hostels because they cannot pay for the accommodation.”

“We have the issue of medical insurance. Because the allowances for all these have not been remitted, students are also going to be evicted, because you cannot stay in somebody’s hostel if you’re not medically certified,” he added.

Ezinkwo, who described the scholarship as the worst form of scholarship obtainable from Nigeria, noted that the association had written so many letters to the office of the Nigerian Ambassador to Russia in order to have a one-on-one interaction with him on their plight, but all in vain.

While responding, the Chairman of the committee on Diaspora Affairs, Rep Abike Dabiri-Erewa (ACN, Lagos) assured that the House would do everything within its reach to unravel the matter in order to help the students.

She said, “It is shameful that Nigerian students that are sent on scholarship to other countries have resorted to begging. It is really a sad commentary. You don’t deserve this kind of treatment. We should be ashamed that this is happening. How can you be good ambassadors if you’re treated this way?

“We are going to do our work. We’ll meet with the ministry of education and the relevant stakeholders and find out what the real situation is. We will get back to you when we finish our findings” Hon. Dabiri-Erewa assured.