Where Is Daddy G.O.?

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is missing. I mean hiding. No, he has not fled the country. He is, as it should be, in fine fettle, dispensing dollops of Biblical wisdom to his extensive flock. But other than that, he has been hiding, by which I mean that he has morally abdicated. In the middle of a grave national emergency, the kind that most countries experience only once in a generation, the esteemed man of God has stood out by his conspicuous silence. And what a loud silence it is. The abduction of the Chibok girls has sparked considerable outrage both within and outside Nigeria. Within, a lethargic and episodic civil society appears to have found a timely cause célèbre. In several Nigerian cities, thousands of Nigerians, boasting nothing more than righteous anger, plus a firm conviction that it is the fundamental duty of a government to protect its citizens, have taken to the streets. In Abuja, day after day, protesters, mostly women, have organized peacefully but determinedly, even surviving the Federal Government’s recent cynical attempt to infiltrate and disperse them. In other parts of the country, and among the Nigerian diaspora, the common will appears to have been recharged. Of course it is regrettable that it had to take the tragedy of the abduction of nearly three hundred girls by a gang of murderous bigots for Nigerians to realize that we never had a state properly called, and that what we call a security apparatus merely flatters to deceive. Still, the significance of the moment cannot be overestimated, and the challenge from this point forward is to make sure that the proper lessons about state building and adequate preparation for social emergencies are taken to heart. It is this very significance that throws the silence of pastor Adeboye into bold relief. Why, you may ask, does his voice matter? The reason is simple. His intervention matters because he is one of the people who foisted the current occupant of Aso Rock upon us. No, he didn’t select him, and agreed; he did not openly campaign for him. What he did is more subtle and arguably more pernicious: He prepared the ground for the President’s social legitimation. Pastor Adeboye was instrumental to President Jonathan’s astute deployment of religious (read Christian) symbols and the enthronement of the narrative that he- the President- is God’s anointed, the man without political pedigree whom God himself has chosen. The visit to the Redemption Camp, the kneeling down for prayer, the malediction against the enemies of the President, the President’s own ostentatious spirituality- all are building blocks in the mighty edifice of his (President Jonathan’s) public presentation as a simple believer who did not hanker after power, who in fact abhorred all politicking, yet had power fortuitously thrust upon him. Pastor Adeboye was an active participant in the construction of this narrative. But he was not alone. Other members of an increasingly reactionary religious elite have played their part in its development. In the middle of 2010, I had a debate on the pages of The Guardian with one of them, Father Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese. With the champagne from President Jonathan’s official inauguration not even properly digested, Fr. Kukah went to town to invoke the divinity of the President. In an article titled “The Patience of Jonathan,” Fr. Kukah, finding political sociology too constraining, attributed the political ascendancy of the President to “a monumental act of divine epiphany.” Not satisfied with his own personal failure to adduce a concrete explanation, Fr. Kukah threatened those who might as follows: “This man’s rise has defied any logic and anyone who attempts to explain it is tempting the gods.” In that same piece, and in a subsequent wholly illogical response to my challenge, Fr. Kukah took comfort in astrology, claiming that the fact that the President is called Goodluck, and his wife Patience, can only mean that the gods themselves, for nothing other than an a mere appreciation of nomenclatural symmetry, had decided to reward President Jonathan with Nigeria’s highest office. Said Fr. Kukah: “Dr. Jonathan (yes, our President has a PhD) has done absolutely nothing to warrant what has befallen him. I am sure I can safely say he has neither prayed, lobbied nor worked for what has fallen on his lap. (My parenthesis.) Fr. Kukah is an intelligent man. So is Pastor Adeboye. Both are doctorate degree holders who, intellectually speaking, can roll with the punches. But both are bad for Nigeria, and decidedly so. They are not bad people. They are wonderful individuals who no doubt mean well for the country. But it is their politics that is bad for the country. In the case of pastor Adeboye, most readers will recall a time, before he became the go-to pastor whom you can count on to whitewash Nigerian politicians’ dirty laundry, when his political sensibility was right. No more. Same thing with Fr. Kukah, whose rightward social turn is as baffling as it is absurd. The common thing to both, as I have been pursuing, is that they literally connived in preparing the narrative of President Jonathan’s divine installation. And now that everything with the administration of the country has gone pear-shaped, both have retreated into an unbecoming and morally grotesque silence. Nigerians must pressure them to speak up. For all their bad judgment, they remain widely influential, and we need the weight of their reputation as we sustain pressure on the government to find and bring back the Chibok girls. More important, we need their apology, apology for selling us a bad product. President Jonathan is not, as I insisted then, a divine candidate. He is a good family man doing his best in the current circumstances with everything in his capacity. The problem is, he is out of his depth. Professor Obadare, a political sociologist, teaches at the University of Kansas in the United States.

Kefee’s Remains Arrives Nigeria, Branama Kitchen Closed

The body of late Nigerian gospel singer, Kefee Obareki, who died last Friday in America after being in coma for about 15 days, has arrived Nigeria. It was reported that the corpse of the late wife of Teddy Esosa Don-Momoh landed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos around 4pm on Tuesday and was received by few family members. The death of the Delta State-born singer shook the entertainment industry in Nigeria, with many expressing shock over her demise. It was gathered that a service of songs will hold on Thursday in Los Angeles, USA in honour of her. The service is being organized by Gofamint House of Testimony, in conjunction with the Rhema House. Meanwhile, there are reports that Kefee’s ‘Branama Kitchen’, located in Maryland, Lagos, has been shut since the news of her death hit town.

Mercy Aigbe In Double Celebration [Pictures]

Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry is in a special happy mood today, Wednesday, June 18, 2014, and the reason is not far-fetched.

Her two children, Boluwatife and Olajuwon have added another year. 

Boluwatife, a pretty lady, according to information, is 16 today, while her younger brother, Olajunwo, is four. It was gathered that Mercy Aigbe will mark Olajuwon’s day at his school. 

From Nigeriafilms.com, we wish Mercy Aigbe’s children belated birthdays. 

How Nkiru Sylvanus Movie On Kidnap Turned Into Reality

In December 2012, the movie industry was thrown into confusion after an actress, Nkiru Sylvanus was kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State alongside her colleague, Kenneth Okolie. For days, the two actors were in the den of their abductors, who demanded for ransom in order to set them free. Ironically, the pretty actress and former Special Assistant to Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State on Lagos Affairs was shooting her movie entitled ‘The Voice, and in the flick, Kenneth kidnapped Nkiru, which later turned a reality. Till today, no one has been able to understand that mysterious incident. According to her, “we continued with the movie as I and Kenneth learnt something from our captors which was helpful to us in our role interpretation.” ‘The Voice’, according to information available to Nigeriafilms.com, is set for premiere on July 13, 2014 at the prestigious Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. The thriller film was written and directed by Afe Olumowe, while Nkiru, who played the lead role, produced it. Other casts include Kenneth Okolie, Betty Njoku-Olumowe, Larry Briggs and Edwards Fom. According to the synopsis, Sandy (Nkiru Sylvanus) had been told by a stranger named Jeremiah (Larry Briggs) that she will die in 90 days. To prove that she will truly die, he tells her three unusual events will precede her death. They all happened the way the stranger told her. On the 90th day, another stranger named Solonzo (Kenneth Okolie) turns up and wants her money and may be her life. So he kidnaps her and holds her hostage until he could assess the 10 million naira check she had given him. Would she have the wisdom to live with him and would he have the patience to keep her alive? It is just 5pm, they have till 12 midnight of the 90th day to decide that.

Blame Keshi For Nigeria’s Draw Against Iran—Okocha

Former Nigerian midfielder, Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha, has blamed the Super Eagles poor outing at the ongoing FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil to poor technical quality from the head coach, Stephen Keshi.

According to Okocha, Keshi has not brought any changes to the team, noting that this is what all African countries have been facing in this tournament.

“His changes were poor. He took out Moses and brought in Ameobi. I think that was a wrong change,” he observed.

Speaking as an analyst on Supersport, Okocha said Keshi should be held responsible for the lame approach the team adopted in the goalless draw against Iran last night.

The widely regarded ‘best Nigerian player’ of his generation, with displeasure, said he hopes Nigeria makes it through to the next rounds because the country’s expectation is high and that in football, the best team wins the competition.

Movie Producers Now Chase Mercy Aigbe With Scripts

Information reaching us reveals that popular actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, is now the toast of many movie producers in Nigeria. The Edo State-born make-believe star, according to gist making the rounds, has been very busy on movie sets. It was disclosed to us that Mercy is at the moment one of the most wanted female acts in the industry and has also been spotted on several movie sets recently. It was further said that she now being wanted by both the English and Yoruba filmmakers. Few days after finishing on the set of ‘Otapowien’ Mercy was spotted on a Lancelot Imasuen set, shooting a new flick entitled ‘The Other Sides of a Coin’.

Christ Embassy Pastor In Trouble, To Marry Late Girlfriend

Vivian and her baby

A 29-old-man of God simply identified as Hillary will now marry his alleged secret girlfriend, who died after giving birth to a child allegedly fathered by him, Punch reports.

The pastor, said to be with Chris Oyakhilomhe’s Christ Embassy Church, reportedly began an illicit affair with a 28-year-old Vivian Ndukwu, a choir member in one of the Christ Embassy churches in Lagos, which resulted into a pregnancy.

“The pastor planned with Vivian to lie to her parents and relocate to a safe place where she could have the baby. She hid the pregnancy from her family and told them she was going to Abuja,” the report said.

Below is the other part of the report;

The secret romance continued until Vivian became pregnant. When it became obvious that they could no longer keep the pregnancy a secret, Vivian was said to have agreed with Hillary that she should relocate to Agbara town in Ogun State to stay with a woman who had an orphanage.

Vivian allegedly told her parents that she was going to Abuja. She stayed at the orphanage until she was delivered of a baby girl on May 3, 2014. It was learnt that eight days after the delivery of the baby, Vivian was taken to a hospital after she complained of fever and headache. She eventually died, while her remains had been taken to the Badagry General Hospital morgue.

The owner of the orphanage, Mrs. Grace Kato, however, claimed that Vivian never stayed at her place. She said, “Vivian called me three days after the birth of her baby. She said she wanted me to help her with the hospital bills, that she was stranded in the hospital. Out of compassion, I went to the hospital to help.” She admitted that she took Vivian home after delivery to rest at her place for two days before returning to her parents.

She added that Vivian, however, ended up staying at her place for five days before she died. She said, “I brought her to my house to rest for a day or two before taking her to her parents. In the process, I had to travel for my uncle’s burial. That was why she stayed that long because she was waiting for me to return. I came back on Saturday night, May 10, and the next day, she complained of a slight headache and we took her to another hospital nearby. That was where she died.”

The hospital where Vivian was said to have died, claimed that she was rushed to the hospital unstable and restless. According to a doctor in the hospital, the people on duty stabilised her condition and referred her to a general hospital. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “She was brought in on May 11, at about 1.20pm, unstable and restless. The story was that her complaint started that morning. Her blood pressure was also high. Being that we were not in possession of her past medical records, we acted based on clinical situation and referred her to a general hospital.

“The people that brought her left and so there was no one to take her to where she had been referred to hours after stabilising her condition. Several calls to the number they gave us were replied with one story or the other. At some point, the lady started gasping, and eventually died. It was not until the following day that they came to pick up her remains.”

The father of the deceased, Emmanuel Ndukwu, told our correspondent on the telephone that the orphanage founder had agreed with her late daughter to take custody of the child after delivery without the consent of the family. He said he and his wife knew nothing about the pregnancy, adding that his daughter left his house and told the family that she was going to Abuja.

He said, “After telling us that she was going to Abuja, we did not hear from her until her death. But we later learnt that Grace (orphanage owner) and her husband had organised a naming ceremony for the new baby without informing us. Emmanuel said he was not aware of the relationship between the pastor and his daughter until the sad incident. He said, “My family and the pastor’s family have met and we agreed that Hillary will perform all the marriage rites for my late daughter according to the tradition of our people. We are doing this because a child is involved. The pastor did not deny his responsibility, so the normal thing must be done.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, confirmed Vivian’s death and added that the matter was still under investigation.

She said, “The matter is under investigation at the Homicide Section of the SCID. The police is not aware of any negotiation between the two families.”

Omotola Advises Nigerian Leaders With Poetry

Photo Credit:Daniel Sync

Nollywood actress, Omotola Jolade-Ekeinde, has sent a note to all leaders, advising them to stay focus and try to protect their citizens from the snare of the Fowler.

The actress used her poetic skills to illustrate the worth and qualities of what a good leader should be able to do. Read below;

“The Excellent leader stays focused on delivering results.

“The Excellent leader protects his followers ... With his life (integrity)

“The Excellent leader does not wear his feelings and emotions on his face (logically unpredictable)

“The Excellent leader does not concern himself with gossip and petty distractions

“The Excellent leader's sole obsession should be to create change and leave a resounding legacy (record).”

D’Banj, Tonto Mark Birthdays

Self acclaimed ‘Eja Nla’, Dapo ‘D’Banj’ Oyebanjo and Tonto Dikeh are both marking their birthdays today, Monday, June 9, 2014. 

For D’Banj, his former label boss, Don Jazzy, has joined others to make the day special for him. 

Tonto, who is said to be always nervous of celebrating her birthday, says it makes her feel getting older and as such, will not be able to do some certain things she used to do in the past.

No doubt, 2014 has been very fruitful for D’Banj as he is been getting things going well for him. In May, he received an award at the 2014 World Music Awards held in Monaco. 

‘Bring Back Our Son’—Toyin Aimhaku Tells Stella Damasus?

Recently, it was reported that armed men attacked the house of movie producer, Daniel Ademinokan, who is believed to be Stella Damasus’ lover. The armed men were reportedly looking for Stella. 

Soon after the incident, the actress took to twitter to say she will not be intimidated to keep quiet. Stella had posted a video on YouTube, attacking the government and calling for the release of the missing Chibok girls, which has attracted global attention. 

However, Nollywood actress, Toyin Aimakhu, posted on her Twitter page, in what some believe is directed at Stella. According to Toyin, “madam, Nigeria is my country, nobody is killing anyone because no be only you do video. #visaexpire#bringour son back#attentionseeker#luvustill.”

Some have said Toyin’s ‘bringbackourson’ part of the tweet refer to Doris Simeon’s son, David, who is believed to be in Daniel’s custody in the US, where Stella is said to be at the moment with Daniel.

But it is not certain if Toyin is directly referring to Stella in her tweet but the guess work continues.