Jerry Douglas' Blog

The Department of State Security, DSS, has paraded the two suspects, who allegedly carried out the bombing of the Saint Andrews Protestant Military Church at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State. The two suspects, whose names were given as Ibrahim Mohammed, aka Alilullah and Mohammed Ibrahim Idris, were paraded by the DSS Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Marylin Ogar, at a press briefing in Abuja. Mohammed, 18, hails from Ilobu Village in Ilobu Local Government Area of Osun State, while Idris, 50, a yam hawker comes from Jalingo, the Taraba State capital. Ogar said the two men would be handed over to the military for further investigation while other suspects arrested in connection with the bombing were being questioned by the service. The DSS director maintained that the service was determined to work with Nigerians and bring to an end the evil activities of unpatriotic elements and restore peace and harmony to the society. Mohammed confessed ...

Former president of Ghana, John Kufuor has described former president Olusegun Obasanjo as 'a prophet' and 'a living legend' who can be described as a rock of Gibraltar. Kufuor praised Obasanjo on Friday in a lecture he delivered at a programme to celebrate the former president at the Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun state, southwest Nigeria. Kufuor said very few people are celebrated while they are alive, and in most cases people wait until when leaders passed on before they were celebrated. "Obasanjo is a prophet recognised in his own town and indeed in the whole of Africa. There are two things which a few people know that bound me and Obasanjo together. And this will be the first time I will mention it in the public. "I was in government in my country between 2001 and 2009 while Obasanjo was in power from 1999 to 2007. When I assumed office in Ghana, I met an economy that was flat on its tommy, everything was grounded. The fuel we h...

Some National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members can hardly communicate in the English language, the Director-General of NYSC, Brig-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia, said. Okore-Affia made the statement in Ilorin while addressing the 2013 batch a pre-mobilisation workshop. He said that the level of academic deficiency among corps members had heightened corps rejection and redundancy. "Unfortunately, too, we have corps members who can hardly communicate in the English language, let alone being able to teach in the classrooms. "This worrisome development has resulted in a situation whereby members of the public wrongly condemn the NYSC for the poor academic standards displayed by these corps members," Okore-Affia said. He said the inability of academic institutions to produce eligible corps members had become a herculean task for NYSC management. He added, "Going through the figures presented for mobilisation by Corps Producing Institutions (CPIs) in year 2012,...

The 26-year-old has suffered a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a thigh injury in September, but made a comeback last week, starting both of the Gunners' fixtures. The Frenchman has endured a long list of injury setbacks throughout his Arsenal career, but Wenger believes a fully-fit Diaby can help his side claw their way back into the league's top four. "With the way we have structured the team, Diaby is an important part of the puzzle in our team because he adds qualities that we need in the middle of the park," Wenger said. "He has power and long strides. Diaby is the closest to Patrick Vieira in his style that we have seen for a long time." After a string of problems, Wenger now feels Diaby will get the chance to fulfil his undoubted potential. "I faced exactly the same questions with (Robin) van Persie and for a while everybody thought Van Persie will never play a season, but last year he played 55 games," he added....

He started out as a music producer. But when it was time to kick off his career as a rapper, Abudulrasheed Bello chose to be called Johnny Just Come (JJC). From his days as the founder of the group, JJC and the 419 Squad, which had D’banj and Don Jazzy as members, till now when he is a solo artiste, this musician who is also known as Skillz has remained relevant in the scheme of things. While most artistes who started out in 1999 like he did are panting for breath, JJC just scored another hit with African Skank. His earlier single, We Are Africans still draws music lovers to the dance floor. In this interview with TS Weekend, the KORA award winning rapper talks about almost everything from his love life, religion, career and to why it makes sense trying catching up with those he once taught how to play music. TODAY IS SUNDAY, DID YOU GO TO CHURCH? No, I didn’t. I went clubbing yesterday. So I slept late. I couldn’t go to church and this question kind of makes me feel guilty. ...

Born to the same mother, on the same day within just eight minutes of each other, grown up doing almost everything together, the duo of Peter and Paul of P-Square have in January, 2013, parted ways... to two different vacation spots. For many, December is the holiday month they look forward to every year. This is not the same for P Square who do back-to-back shows, helping fans enjoy their holiday by performing at concerts, end of year parties and various kinds of events. P-Square definitely had one of their busiest seasons last year. Now, for these hard working Jacks, it’s time to play; and they are choosing different vacation spots in the United States. Last week, Paul was spotted in Atlanta, while Peter told us he’s hanging out with in San Francisco with kids Cameron and Lola. The multi-award winning duo and triple Headies winners at the 2012 edition say they’re "chopping their money".

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State says Lagos is the only state that can survive if crude oil supply – the mainstay of Nigeria economy - is shut down. Fashola explained that this was possible because the government in the state had made it a policy to implement the laws on taxation to the letter, which allows it to have funds for capital project. He spoke on Thursday during the state’s sixth Taxation Stakeholders Conference in Ikeja. The governor said, “A life without tax is a lie. If they shut down on oil, this is the only state that can survive. Everything that we have done in the past six years was funded by our taxes. “Since I became governor, I have not made any tax law; only implementing the existing laws on taxation.” Fashola, however, observed that majority of the state residents had not been paying their taxes, saying the government had started prosecution to achieve higher percentage in tax compliance by residents of the state. He said, “While our populat...

The Speaker of the Bayelsa State Assembly, Kombowei Benson, yesterday disclosed the identity of those behind the Monday  abduction of his mother, Benitah Kombowei , saying they are members of a dreaded cult group in the state and have demanded for N40million as ransom. According to the Bayelsa Speaker, the kidnappers had during contact with him said he was singled out due to his  involvement in the passage of the Anti-Cultism Bill into Law and his anti-cultism posture . The bill provided a minimum sentence of 10 years to anyone found guilty of cult related activities in the state. The Speaker also revealed that the kidnappers confirmed that his alleged interference in the election of officers for the Community Development Committee in his area and the alleged frosty relationship among the leadership of the State House of Assembly was part of the reason he was targeted. The 78-year-old mother of the Speaker, Mrs. Betinah Benson,  was abducted  in the early hou...

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Progressive Peoples Alliance in Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State have called on former Governor Orji Kalu to return to their respective parties. Leaders of the parties visited Kalu in his country home on Wednesday separately and presented membership cards of their respective parties to the former governor. The chairmen of PDP Wards A and B in Igbere, Joseph Chika and Amadi Kalu, said it was time for Kalu to return to the party which he helped to establish. Chika said Kalu’s decision to stay out of politics had been affecting the people negatively, especially with regard to party politics. “We urge you to come back to your home,” he said. He said Kalu was one of the few people that formed, nurtured and financed the PDP, but was victimised by some selfish people.” The leadership and members of the PPA in Wards A, B and C of Igbere also urged Kalu to come back to the party he left as the chairman of the Bo...

Suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, has told an Abuja Federal High Court that the National Judicial Council was wrong to seek the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan to recall him. Salami was suspended by the NJC on August 18, 2011, after a face-off with then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu (retd). But after agreeing to reinstate him in May 2012, the body forwarded its recommendation to Jonathan, who refused to act on it on the grounds that the matter was subjudice. In his submissions in a suit filed by 11 human rights lawyers, for themselves and on behalf of the Registered Trustees of Centre for the Promotion of Arbitration, Salami contended that the council was wrong to seek Jonathan’s approval to reinstate him. The plaintiffs, are by their suit before the Abuja FHC seeking an order of mandamus to compel the President and the NJC to recall Salami. The plaintiffs listed Jonathan; the Attorney-General of the Federatio...

The Federal Government has increased from 776 to 1,200 the number of troops it is contributing to the military expedition in Mali, aimed at regaining the control of the northern part of the country from Islamic insurgents. President Goodluck Jonathan gave the new figure on Thursday in a letter he sent to the Senate seeking its approval for the deployment of troops to the terror-stricken country. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim, had earlier on Tuesday announced that the Federal Government would send 776 troops as Nigeria’s contribution to the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA), spearheaded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The president in the letter addressed to Senate President David Mark, which was read on the floor of the Senate, also  explained why the country is sending troops to Mali . During the consideration of the president’s request before it was subsequently approved by the Senate, Senat...

Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo on Thursday reiterated his desire for the team to win the 2013 Africa Nations Cup. Yobo re-emphasized his wish on the team’s arrival in Nelspruit, South Africa for the competition which kicks off on Saturday. The Fenerbahce defender who alluded to the fact that the 2013 tourney should be his last told reporters that getting the trophy would be a wonderful way to retire. He said, “And I want to leave the stage by winning something for the team so that those coming behind will have something to look up to. We want Nigerians to support us and know that this young team has the ability to deliver but they must be patient with us and remain behind the team at all times”. The team had on Wednesday afternoon left its Faro, Portugal training camp by road to Lisbon from where the 23 players and officials led by Coach Stephen Keshi were joined by a member of the football federation and Enyimba of Aba Chairman, Felix Anyasi Agwu. It was from there that th...

In spite of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country, Nigerian security agencies now have a fresh challenge to contend with. The new task, according to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubike Ihejirika, is the presence of suspected terrorists believed to have been trained by Malian rebels, in Nigeria. Boko Haram terrorists, like the Malian Islamist rebels, have for years held the Northern part of Nigeria by the jugular, killing and maiming people, especially Christians in their quest to Islamise Nigeria. Ihejirika however, told journalists at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji, Kaduna State on Thursday, that internal security was being intensified to track them down. “We are aware that most of the terrorists in this country today were trained in Mali. “We are also aware that as of yesterday, there was still an influx of some chaps trained in Mali into the country,” he said, shortly after the first batch of Nigerian troops to the African-led In...

Ojia, the only surviving sister of the 27-year-old medical doctor, Irawo Adamolekun, who was shot dead in traffic at the Anthony Village end of Ikorodu Road, Lagos, last Friday said her brother was not assassinated. Ojia spoke to our correspondent outside Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos on Thursday where a funeral service was held for the deceased. Ojia, also a medical doctor, said the man who pulled the trigger and killed her younger brother must have been one of the many frustrated young Nigerian youths. She blamed Irawo’s death on the failure of government at all levels to provide enabling opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the country. She said,  “My brother was not assassinated, I repeat, my brother was not assassinated. He was murdered because the country failed the individual who held the trigger. He (the gunman) who robbed my brother and killed him wasn’t given the opportunity to go to school, he wasn’t given a job. “Every cit...

The latest round of bickering and mudslinging between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan took a new twist when the former chose the auspicious occasion of a CNN interview to criticise Jonathan’s approach to the Boko Haram insurgency. He said, “To deal with a group like that, you need a carrot and stick. The carrot is finding out how to reach out to them. When you try to reach out to them and they are not amenable to being reached out to, you have to use the stick”. Prior to Obasanjo’s recent comment, he had stunned his audience, at a gathering to review the unemployment situation in the West African sub-region tagged, the West African Regional Conference on Youth Employment, held in Dakar, Senegal, as he fired salvos at his protégé. The ex-President as a guest speaker predicted a revolution was looming in Nigeria if the high rate of youth unemployment which he put at 72 per cent remained unchecked and should the Jonathan government fail to create e...

Hundreds of raucous, enthusiastic fans turned up at OR Tambo Airport to welcome the Super Eagles, with expectations raised sky high for a first trophy in 19 years. The squad arrived in South Africa yesterday morning, with fans asking for Keshi to bring home the cup. But the coach was quick to temper those expectations: "Of course we have come here to compete for the trophy, but we cannot say we will win it. What we have to do is take each game as it comes. And then we’ll see how it goes." Captain Joseph Yobo took time to praise the courage of the coach in selecting young players to compete at the tournament: "He has been there before, has captained the team and all the players trust him and believe in him and we all want to play for him."

The National Chairman of the crisis-ridden  Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,   has said the party is superior to the offices  of  President and  governor. Tukur, in a veiled reference to the lingering battle for the control of the soul of the  PDP,  advised the party members and other Nigerians to learn to build institutions and not individuals. He spoke on Thursday while hosting the Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Ramalan Yero, at  the party’s national headquarters in Abuja. Yero’s visit was  his first since he assumed office following the death of the former Governor of the state, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, in a helicopter crash with the former National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi (retd.), on December 15, 2012. Governors elected on the platform of the party are currently at loggerheads with Tukur over the running of the party. Also, some members of the NWC  are  against some of the decisions taken ...

House of Representatives said on Thursday its resolution asking the Federal Government to revoke the operating licence of Dana Air was irreversible. It said the recommendations of the House report on the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash in Iju Ishaga, Lagos, should be fully implemented by government. One of the recommendations demanded the sacking of the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Damuren, for alleged professional misdeeds. A member from Delta State, Mr. Osai Osai, in a motion, observed that the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, flouted the House report by authorising Dana Air to resume operations on January 4 while the lawmakers were on break. Osai recalled that the minister allowed the airline to resume operations without “first addressing many issues that arose from the June crash, like safety and payment of compensation to families of victims”. On the Dana licence, Osai said the House called for its revocation on the grounds that ...