Anthony Joshua defeats Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round

Anthony Joshua became the unified heavyweight world champion by adding the WBA belt to his IBF title with an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko in a thrilling fight.

The 27-year-old was knocked down in round six but twice had Wladimir Klitschko on the canvas in the penultimate round before the referee stepped in. England's Joshua remains undefeated as a professional, with 19 victories. The bout drew a record post-war British boxing crowd of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium.

Source: BBC Sports

The UK Sun news has printed an apology to Ross Barkley

The UK Sun news has printed an apology to Everton and England footballer Ross Barkley over an article in which its former editor Kelvin MacKenzie compared him to a gorilla.

The newspaper said it had been unaware of Mr Barkley's heritage and there was "never any slur intended".

The 23-year-old footballer's grandfather was born in Nigeria.

The Sun said it had been contacted by Mr Barkley's lawyers, who had made a formal complaint about the piece.

In the article, published on 14 April, Mr MacKenzie said looking at Mr Barkley's eyes had given him a "similar feeling when seeing a gorilla at the zoo".

His eyes made him "certain not only are the lights not on, there is definitely nobody at home", he wrote.

Alongside the article, was an image of a gorilla next to a picture of the midfielder.

The columnist is currently suspended by the newspaper.

The Sun's apology, printed on page five of the paper, said that as soon as Mr Barkley's background was drawn to its attention, the article was removed from online.

The apology did not extend to other elements of the article, in which Mr MacKenzie suggested that the only people in Liverpool who could earn as much as footballers were drug dealers.

The Sun apology in full:

"On April 14 we published a piece in the Kelvin MacKenzie column about footballer Ross Barkley which made unfavourable comparisons between Mr Barkley and a gorilla.

"At the time of publication, the newspaper was unaware of Mr Barkley's heritage and there was never any slur intended.

"As soon as his background was drawn to our attention, the article was removed from online.

"We have been contacted by lawyers on behalf of Ross Barkley, who has made a formal complaint about the piece.

"The Sun has apologised for the offence caused by the piece.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise personally to Ross Barkley."

Source: bbcnews

Photos: EFCC Ibrahim Magu and DSS DG Lawal Daura in a warm hand shake at Aso Rock mosque

The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu and the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) Lawal Daura joined President Muhammadu Buhari at the mosque in the presidential villa. Babagana Monguno, national security adviser, and some dignitaries also observed Jumat prayer at Aso Rock.

Femi Fani-Kayode: The Seven-Fold Yoke And The Cabal That Owns Nigeria

Femi Fani-Kayode, a respected thought-leader in Nigeria, shares an article written by a friend of his detailing the Islamist cabal that “owns Nigeria’. 

Permit me to share a scholarly, revealing and I daresay disturbing intervention which was sent to me by a friend. The author wishes to remain anonymous.

He wrote as follows:

“The disruptive power of the Hausa-Fulani cabal is a structural reality and will only get worse, no matter where the President of Nigeria comes from. It is a seven-fold yoke which we must break for the sake of our children.

1. THE POLITICAL YOKE:

Globally, out of the 16 Federal Republics in the world, Nigeria is the only federation where land mass is used as a primary criteria for creating federating units.

NO Southern leader (civilian or military) has ever had the guts to create any federating unit; all the federating units have been created by Northern military adventurers. 20 federating units were created from only one region (North), while 17 federating units were created from 3 regions (East, West and Midwest).

Competent leaders are easily filtered off by the rigged political structure. At every election, the evil and corrupt Northern cabal needs only a few Southern collaborators to impose any presidential candidate upon the two foremost political parties, only for the electorate to formalize one of the candidates with votes.

That’s why Nigeria has been having such mediocre leaders as President, in a country awash with extremely capable presidential materials.

This also explains why since 1960 no Southerner has ever led Nigeria except by accident.

The FIRST coming of ALL 3 Southern leaders – Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966, Obasanjo in 1976 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 – followed the death of Northern incumbents!

The fourth and only other Southern leader was Ernest Shonekan and his coming followed the forced “stepping aside” of a northern Head of State in 1993. He lasted for 3 months after which he was toppled and replaced by another northern military Head of State.

For 2019 the presidential contest is being set for Atiku vs Buhari- two Fulani representatives of the Cabal.

2. THE ECONOMIC YOKE:

Nigeria is the only oil-producing country where oil wells are allocated to individuals. The Hausa-Fulani cabal allocated over 80% of the oil blocks either to the Northerners or to their Southern fronts/allies. The names of these oil block allottees are in the public domain.

3. THE RELIGIOUS YOKE:

No other faith is mentioned in the Nigerian Constitution, except Islam. For instance, in the 1999 Constitution, Christ, Christians and Christianity are not mentioned even once; whereas Islamic signposts are strewn all over the Constitution – Sharia is mentioned 73 times, Grand Khadi 54 times, Islam 28 times , Muslims 10 times, etc..

That Constitution was written SOLELY by one Muslim Fulani Jihadist named Prof. Auwalu Yadudu (Special Adviser to Abacha on Constitutional Matters).

While the 1979 Constitution emphasized Nigeria’s secularity, the 1999 Constitution of Yadudu is a de facto Islamic Constitution, and the Cabal ensured that Yadudu was there to fight that position at 2014 National Political Conference.

Subsequently, during Obasanjo’s government, the same Northern cabal formally adopted Islam as the State Religion in the core Northern States. Obasanjo refused to even discuss the issue, except to state that it would ‘fizzle out’. He knew fully well that it would not ‘fizzle out’ but was afraid of confronting the cabal.

4. THE CULTURAL YOKE:

The Sultanate forms a major pillar of the Hausa-Fulani cabal. As permanent president-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) the Sultan is the permanent leader of all Muslims in Nigeria (whether they are Northerners or Southerners). As the permanent chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) the Sultan is the permanent leader of all traditional rulers in all 36 States of Nigeria & Abuja. By the way, the current Sultan was the brigadier-general Commanding 241 Recce Battalion Kaduna.

Many public policies are determined only with the tacit approval of the Sultanate of Sokoto and the Emirates.

For instance, when the Gender Bill was introduced in the National Assembly, the Sultan ‘killed’ the bill simply by criticizing it publicly.

Even Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (the world’s most revered monarch) would never criticize Parliament publicly, because that would be an abuse of royal privilege.

5. THE ADMINISTRATIVE YOKE

Nigeria is the only African country that built a new capital from scratch (using resources from the oppressed, deprived and degraded Niger Delta/South East ).

The Cabal claimed that the location of Lagos by the ocean was a security risk, but this was just an excuse to Northernize national public service. A careful look at the map of Africa shows that only 2 nations have central capitals. The most common location for African capitals is at the coast.

London (United Kingdom) is situated at the edge of England on the River Thames. Washington DC (USA) is located along the Potomac River on the East Coast of USA. Paris (France) is located at the edge of France in the north-bending arc of the river Seine.

When Lagos was capital the governors of Lagos State were from East, West and North. Since the capital moved to Abuja, NO Nigerian leader has ever had the guts to appoint a Southerner as substantive FCT Minister. The FCT minister must be a Northerner, preferably a Muslim (the current FCT Minister was appointed while he was executive secretary of the Hajj Commission).

6. THE DIPLOMATIC YOKE

Any Christian leader who questions Nigeria’s membership of the two main international Sharia-driven bodies (OIC & D-8) faces the wrath of the Hausa-Fulani Cabal. So far, only Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe has ever had the guts to seriously question Nigeria’s involvement in these Islamic bodies and as a result Ukiwe was summarily dismissed from office.

7. THE MILITARY/SECURITY YOKE

Nigeria is the only federation in the world where all MAJOR security agencies are headed by only one section of the federation and only members of one faith.

Army – Northern Muslim. National Security Advisor – Northern Muslim. Minister of Defence – Northern Muslim. Minister of Internal Affairs- Northern Muslim. Airforce – Northern Muslim. Police – Northern Muslim. Economic Financial Crimes Commission- Northern Muslim. National Civil Defence Corps – Northern Muslim. Department of State Security – Northern Muslim. Immigration– Northern Muslim. Prisons Service– Northern Muslim. Federal Road Safety Corps – Northern Muslim. Nigerian Customs Service – Northern Muslim. Chief of Defence Intelligence – Northern Muslim. Director of Military Intelligence – Northern Muslim. Fire Service – Northern Muslim. National Emergency Management Agency – Northern Muslim. Nigerian Ports Authority- Northern Muslim.

No southerner has been made substantive comptroller-general of Customs in 30 years.

Even with all his braggadocio, Olusegun Obasanjo dared not break the jinx in all this years as Nigeria’s president.

Again no southerner has ever been appointed as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since the day it was established in 2003.

Finally the only southerner that was EVER appointed National Security Advisor was killed after he was unceremoniously removed from office by Goodluck Jonathan after the cabal blackmailed and arm-twisted him and told him that if he wanted peace he must appoint a northerner back to that post.

The above multi-faceted enslavement to the Hausa-Fulani Cabal is not an accident. Read the book by Harold Wilson which clearly states how and why the British laid the foundation for the Hausa-Fulani hegemony in Nigeria.

The principle guiding the Cabal was clearly set forth by the cabal’s patron saint, Sir Ahmadu Bello who said to the media:

“The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and NEVER ALLOW THEM TO RULE OVER US and NEVER ALLOW THEM TO HAVE CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN FUTURE.“ – (The Parrot Newspaper, October 12, 1960).

Freedom from the Cabal is NOT about “North versus South”. In fact, the greatest victims of the Northern cabal are the Northern masses themselves. The struggle entails “Northern Cabal versus All of Lovers of Freedom”.

Nigeria is structurally unworkable and MUST EITHER BE RESTRUCTURED OR BROKEN. The Hausa-Fulani cabal will resist this with their blood, but there is no other way out of the enslavement for us and our children. We cannot continue ‘suffering and smiling’ in this un-restructured zoo called Nigeria.

The words of Harriet Tubman are relevant here. She said,

‘I freed a thousand slaves: I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves’ “.

The author of this brilliant intervention has given us plenty of food for thought.

He argued the matter in a detailed, succinct and concise manner and he stated the case very well. Though there were one or two omissions, his research is outstanding and his analysis is factual, insightful and incisive. The truth is that he has said it all.

Sadly many in Nigeria do not know that they are slaves to the cabal because they cannot feel the yoke or see their chains.

Yet slaves they are and it is time that we opened their eyes, broke their yokes, cut their chains and freed each and every one of them.

That is precisely why yours truly, and millions of others, insist on restructuring our country or, failing that, dividing her and going our separate ways.

May God deliver us. Happy Easter. (CONCLUDED).

Femi Fani-Kayode is a lawyer, a Nigerian politician, an evangelical christian, an essayist, a poet and he was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was the minister of culture and tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and as the minister of Aviation from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007. He tweets from@realFFK.

#BBNaija: Television As Madness by Reuben Abati

What a relief! So, the Big Brother Naija reality television programme is finally over. It ended Sunday evening with 23-year old Efe Michael Ejemba, University of Jos graduate of Economics and singer winning the N25 million + SUV at stake, with 57.6% of the votes from over 24 million voters across Africa.  Warri, where Efe’s family lives, erupted in excitement. At the Multichoice viewing centre in Ikeja, Lagos, where Katung Aduwak took charge so brilliantly, there was a similar eruption of incandescent joy. I was relieved because for about 70 days, the Big Brother Naija show was a big distraction, crass capitalism at its most cynical edge, a source of unmanageable madness in homes and on the streets. Now that it is over, it is time for some honest frank talk for the attention of all stakeholders involved.

Let me start with the lessons, on a positive note, before delivering the blows. Lesson one: In a very instructive manner, the Big Brother Naija reality television show promoted the ideas of choice and people power at the heart of democracy. Televised across Africa, the viewers had the final say in determining who stayed in the house or left during eviction moments on Sundays. The votes were collated, audited and confirmed by Deloitte, a firm of auditors and thus, the viewer as the voter determined the outcomes. In that regard, a reality show of that sort promoted a consciousness of democracy, choice and influence and it further explained why the people from Nigeria to Cape Agulhas all the way up to the Mediterranean sea took fierce ownership of the programme. In a continent where power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and every access to power, fame and influence is seen as an opportunity to oppress and demean, whatever is done to promote a consciousness of choice and the civil society is laudable.  Multichoice, thanks.

Lesson Two: in every business concept, perseverance pays.  Multichoice has been running its Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Africa concepts for a number of years. Apparently, this year’s Big Brother Naija has been the most impactful, the most profitable and probably also, the most exciting.  In one week, over 11 million persons voted to determine the eviction. In the final week of the programme, over 24 million persons voted – that is more than the total number of persons who voted in the Nigerian Presidential election in 2015.  This year, Multichoice has made more money from the Big Brother franchise than it has ever done. The programme was sponsored by PayPorte, and with all the voting, and the money spent on recharge cards, Big Brother and Multichoice are the biggest winners. In the end, it is all about business and profit. Everybody has been used. In business, once you have a good, attractive product and you can capture the market, you can fool everybody and make profit.  Multichoice, weh done - in Falz, the bad guy’s voice.

Lesson three: humility pays. At the end of the day, in the last week of the programme, the decision by the viewing public was a moral, sentimental one. The biggest star of the programme was, I don’t know what you think, TBOSS (real name: Tokunbo Idowu), half Nigerian, half-Romanian. She dominated the space with her Jezebelic antics, even got some of the male participants ousted by entrapping and outsmarting them with her sexual wiles. She projected herself as a sex object, the ultimate manipulator, the champion Delilah of the Big Brother Africa series. She even made a joke of the entire Big Brother concept by saying she didn’t need the money and if she won, she would spend it in two weeks to pay off debts, and in any case, she had men hitting on her, offering to take her on a ride in their private jets. She played the role of a female barracuda.

Given her looks and talents, she would have been a perfect winner. She would have looked good on the billboards. But she lost because of her arrogance. Attitude is everything: this is the lesson of TBOSS’s disgrace and humiliation. When she was sent out of the House as the second runner up, the viewing centre in Ikeja, Lagos, including Kemen whose nemesis she was,  danced in joy. “They are taunting me?” she asked Ebuka, the anchor. No, sweetheart, they were making a far more serious statement about you.  The melodramatic ending of Big Brother Naija 2017 is its only redeeming outcome.

Bisola, the first runner up does not even have a degree but she showed talent and resolve, even if her whorish flirtation with Thin Tall Tony is so cheap and self-denigrating.  Her One-Nigeria consolation prize is something big she should take seriously. Efe won because of his humility. He is considered the poorest and the most needy of the contestants. Patrons of the programme chose to vote for the contestant who looked and sounded like he would need the money and the opportunity. They gave him a chance in life, although the organizers must ensure that going forward, the show does not become a poverty alleviation scheme.

Bisola came second because she too looked like she needed help. Debbie Rise and Marvis also made the finals, but that was meant to be a great compliment to their good conduct, but they didn’t have enough support to make it to the top. TBOSS is the main star who lost. I hope she was taken out of South Africa with a private jet or maybe a submarine! Beauty is not everything, baby.

Lesson four: Marketing helps. Branding is everything. Propaganda is profitable. Packaging is nice. Big Brother Naija is nothing but marketing, branding, propaganda, and packaging. A reality show is supposed to be nothing but reality, virtual reality as it happens, but let no one deceive you, everything that happened in the 70 days of BBNaija was packaged, marketed, carefully branded and manipulated. Ebuka, the Big Brother, thumbs up, the scenic designers, kudos, the content developers, three hearty cheers, Multichoice, you guys are the smartest capitalists around, well done! The finale was a bit overdone though, dragged out, over-delayed. Tiwa Savage (hey baby, watch that growing fat around your waist and thigh), Tuface (thanks TuBaba but next time tell Annie to twerk for us- what was that!). In all, the power of television was well advertised.

Now the hard knocks: I rate the theatre high but I consider the whole show a sham, a 419 manipulative effort by a corporate agency, long overdue for an ethical review and scrutiny, a bad influence on corporate ethics. The owners of the programme are just a bunch of insultive, manipulative and exploitative capitalists, feeding on public need for distraction and the negligence of the authorities.  Big Brother Naija 2017 is something that should never happen again in the shape we have seen. If Multichoice as a corporate investor wants to make a contribution to Nigeria, it must find ways of doing so in more meaningful forms.

Reality shows have become an established form on television, but whereas there are reality shows that promote talent, music, human capability and genius, enhanced relationships, and intellect, Multichoice, through its Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Africa franchises seems committed to the promotion of base values, chiefly adultery, prostitution, love of money, nudity and sex. What just ended as Big Brother Naija 2017 was nothing other than the corralling of some human beings into a zoo, pressured to behave like nothing but animals. The organizers made money devaluing other human beings. Multichoice and Payporte, the sponsors, turned alcohol and pornography into legitimate sport.

TBOSS and the other girls kissed and got groped by the boys on live television putting their upbringing to shame. TBOSS, who claimed she didn’t need the money even exposed her breasts on live television more than once. I have seen better breasts TBOSS. I am not too sure those private jet owners will be excited by your fluffy, South-looking, slightly bigger than mangoes breasts. If the same men see bigger assets, I mean, those interesting Ojiakor-like ones that look like papayas, pineapples and watermelons, they will not send private jets, they will deploy submarines and fighter jets!

And that ‘s why you got N500k in the end, way back behind Bisola with her hard facial features, and Efe whose victory is based on poverty logistics and appeal. But I have no doubt that TBOSS will end up doing better in the larger, outside market than the other finalists, because even those who did not vote for her, know in their hearts that she represents the message of the programme.

It is a wrong message and that is why Big Brother Naija drew more audience in Southern Nigeria than in the North. In the last week of the programme,, every town in Southern Nigeria was  seized by the #BBNaija fever. Prayers were offered in churches for Efe. One lady threatened to commit suicide if Efe did not win. Another one said she would not stop crying until Efe won.  Nollywood stars declared support for housemates. There was Team Bisola, Team Efe, EfeNation, TBOSSNation, TeamDebbieRise (small), TeamMarvis (even smaller). There were public processions even in universities.  We were told how to vote. Twitter was on fire. What I saw was nothing but sheer madness.

T-shirts were printed. One musician turned his personal car into a billboard. Nigeria became a mad house because of one reality television show. It looked like mass hypnotism at work.

But it should not be allowed to happen again. BBNaija should not be hosted and staged in South Africa as has been the case. Multichoice, Payporte and their partners made crazy money and got brand promotion off the back and sweat of Nigerians. Do the maths; we got peanuts in return. We were told BBNaija could not be staged in Nigeria due to electricity problems so the studio had to be in South Africa. And the Nigerian government looked the other way. Wawu! All the billions that the South Africans are running away with, after giving our boy a Kia SUV and some N25m, who is going to collect the Value Added Tax on that? Nigeria or South Africa? See the real Gobbe! All the staff who worked on the programme with extremely marginal exception were South Africans. Where were the Nigerians?  Abi, Lobatan oh.

The Nigerian government must assert itself. Nobody henceforth must brand anything involving primary production, Nigerian off Nigerian soil. We can’t get far by wearing made-in-Nigerian clothes on Mondays and Wednesdays, turning the country into an extension of Nollywood, but we can gain a lot by insisting that economic production and profit based on Nigerian talent and resource must have significant Nigerian content.

Congratulations Efe; the grace of God is forever sufficient, but sorry Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote at 60

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is 60 and understandably the entire country is busy paying tributes. He is the richest man in Africa, but more than that he is one of the most successful, forward-looking and resourceful entrepreneurs in the entire continent. He has investments and connections virtually everywhere.

I think a special remark should be made about his less known attribute - his humility and humanity.  Aliko Dangote, for all those who have related with him closely, is a very humble man. His life is not driven by money, but belief in hardwork and the impact that he is able to make. He is helpful, supportive and kind, always believing he can make a difference. I offer a special testimony.

Many years ago, before the Abuja job, I used to visit Aliko at home, sometimes on my own and sometimes with my family. On one occasion, he gave my first son money as he saw us off to the door. It was that kind of money that caused a fight between father and son. My son wanted to hold on to it, and there I was insisting the boy must hand over the money because it was enough to pay his and his sibling’s school fees. The innocent boy said the money was for him. How could it have been for him?  We resolved the fight, big fight, right there, with Aliko pretending not to notice.

On another occasion, Aliko asked if I had built a house and I told him I was building a house somewhere in Ajah. This was in 2006.  He said we should go there.  He jumped into my miserable Tokunbo car and followed me to the uncompleted building.  He walked round the building and asked me what I wanted. He ended up giving me enough cement to complete the house and the money to paint it. He told me I should contact him if I wanted to build any other house, but after that other house, I stopped bothering him, because it was obvious the bricklayers knew cement was free, and they were busy taking advantage.

I went to Abuja to work. The true story of that job is best told by Aliko Dangote, Mr Alex Ibru, Rotimi Amaechi, Femi Otedola and Ojogbane Adegbe. They supported me as best as they could without interference. It was Oronto Douglas who made the phone call. One day, every story will be told. Thank you Alhaji, for being a friend and a brother. Thank you. May you see many more seasons.

BBNaija Winner Efe #BasedOnLogistics receives his SUV

Speaker Yakubu Dogara Shows his Payslip in response to El-Rufai

Well, even 'Speaker' is his first name...