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By Jide Ajani There is a decidedly fatal embrace in the air. In this instance, however, Danbaba Suntai would not be the first. Before Suntai, there was Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. But before Umaru, there had been, in other climes, Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, Woodrow Wilson, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Deng Xiao-peng, Ferdinand Marcos, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Menachem Begin – all these individuals had had one form of infirmity or the other, some bordering on mental disability, while in office. The lesson to draw from their situations, as explained in a book, WHEN ILLNESS STRIKES THE LEADER: THE DILEMMA OF THE CAPTIVE KING, by Dr. Jerrold M. Post and Robert S. Robins, is that these individuals as puppets and those shielding members of the public from the true position of their health as the puppeteers, are locked in an egregious and fatal embrace, “each dependent upon the other for survival - a captive king and his captive court” - while exploring what was described as the impact of physical...

By LEKAN BILESANMI Pa Adebisi Adegoke, 85, and a former chief relations officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, retired in 1990. In this interview, he speaks on how he, a Muslim, has been living with his Christian wife, Iyabo, 74, for the past 52 years and why the railway of his time was effective. The beginning I was born in 1928 in Oyan, Osun State. At a very early age, I was taken to Ghana where I started Quranic School. My uncle had sent for me to come there. The idea then was that I would be trading with him because he was a trader, and at the same time schooling, but it was when I got there that he discovered that that I was too fragile to be involved in trading. So, I started going to Quranic School first before going to conventional school. This was after I had clocked 13. I went to Ogbomosho Baptist School established by Ogbomosho settlers in Ghana. Then I went to Anshate Kotoko School. I returned home in 1946 after I had completed Standard Six. It was in Saint Paul’s Sch...

By Emmanuel Aziken, Henry Umoru, Ben Agande and Dapo Akinrefon President Goodluck Jonathan,yesterday, described the 14-year-rule of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as a blessing to the country. In a speech to the Special National Convention of the ruling party,  Jonathan noted the strides in various sectors of the polity including communication, power, education and transportation as progressive developments that only those in the critical segment of the opposition have refused to acknowledge. The President, in a speech covering 3,735 words, said the task before the party was “difficult, thankless but ultimately rewarding.” His speech to rouse the party faithful nonetheless did not stop six governors present at the occasion to walk out to form for the first time, a parallel faction of the ruling party. Before him, senior party officials, including the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the Chairman of the PDP Governors ...

By Victoria Ojeme and Faith Gora Ambassador Dahiru Suleiman is a retired diplomat. In this interview, he takes us through the world of diplomacy as it applies to Nigeria, mentioning where the country is getting it wrong and how the lapses can be corrected. What is Nigeria’s foreign policy currently like? Nigerian foreign policy has seen some modifications here and there.   During colonization and the fight against apartheid in South Africa, the foreign policy was based on the liberation of the continent of Africa from colonialism and the obnoxious apartheid policy, two, to defend the interest of the black race anywhere they are found in the world and, three, to protect and project a positive image of Nigeria and also to protect the interest of Nigerians wherever they may be in the world. After the colonization era and the collapse of apartheid, the foreign policy focus shifted to economic diplomacy and the idea was to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria. Up till now, the eco...

By Femi Fani-Kayode I am proud of the decision that the British Parliament has taken not to join in the attack on Syria. Prime Minister David Cameron has been badly humiliated and this is a great triumph for Ed Milliband, the Leader of the Opposition. Kudos to my friend, Mr. George Galloway,  MP, for his brilliant and stirring speech on the floor of the House of Commons on this issue. I must confess that the only speech that has moved me as much as Galloway’s in recent times was the riveting and spell-binding speech delivered by the Irish MP,  Mrs.Clare Daly, on the floor of the Irish Parliament where she described President Barack Obama as a ‘’war criminal’’ and a ‘’murderer of children’’. People like Galloway and Daly are amongst those that I would describe as today’s ‘’servants of truth’’ and history and posterity will be very kind to them regardless of the contempt, anger, insults and ridicule that they have been subjected to by the retrograde forces of conservatism that presently ...

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South,Sam Oyadongha, Yenagoa & Jimitota Onoyume, Port Harcourt How barons, military personnel, govt officials, IOC’s bleed the nation The fear over 2013 revenue target This is the concluding part of the investigative story on how members of a powerful cabal continue to conspire, robbing in the process, Nigerians of billions of dollars. It is very revealing but also represents a narrative on how mis-governance inspired by greed makes a mockery of the nation. Production projections NNPC said after repair works on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, which has a daily capacity of 150,000 bpd, “daily average crude oil production is expected to increase to 2.50 m/bpd which will exceed the national daily target of 2.48 m/bpd.” It added, “Our expectation is to increase production from the 2.48 to 2.55 m/bpd (both crude and condensate) for the rest of the year. We have the capacity and potential to maintain production above 2.55 m/bpd in the country. “All that...

By Soni Daniel, Emma Ujah and Henry Umoru Atiku, 6 govs form faction *Baraje, Oyinlola, Jaja lead faction *Other national officers to emerge soon Exactly 15 years after its formal launch, the lingering crisis in the ruling People's Democratic Party, PDP, degenerated, yesterday, when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and seven governors broke away, formed  a faction and named  new national officers for it. The governors are: Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Musa Kwankwaso of Kano, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Abdulfatah Ahmed   of Kwara, and Babangida Aliyu of Niger. The governors and their teeming supporters had earlier stormed out of the Eagle Square, venue of the PDP Special Convention, after they alleged  that the list of delegates for the election  of national officers of the party, scheduled to be conducted at the convention, and the contestants had been manipulated by the leadership to usher in their preferred candidates. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the PDP inc...

By  Femi Aribisala It is ridiculous to insist, as some Christians do, that Paul’s word is the word of God when Paul himself contradicts this.    No other person in the bible writes like Paul.  Far more than everybody else, Paul talks about himself.  He is always drawing attention to himself.  His epistles are littered with “I,” “me,” “my” and “mine.”    In Romans, Paul refers to himself 103 times.  In 1 Corinthians, he refers to himself 175 times.  In 2 Corinthians, he refers to himself 103 times.  In Galatians, which is one of his shorter books, he refers to himself 69 times!  Clearly, Paul is just as concerned about telling us about himself as he is about telling us about God.    Jesus says: “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” (John 5:31).  Virtually all of Paul’s credentials are his witness of himself.  This is a tell-tale sign that his word is not the word of God.  If God wants to talk about Paul, he would get others to do so.   All about Paul   With Paul, the go...

By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa Bayelsa State government yesterday dismissed the claim that the 45years old iron bridge linking the Igbogene and Okoloibiri communities in Yenagoa local government area of the state collapse, saying it was only shut down to motorists due to noticeable defects. The narrow bridge, used by the community and motorists traveling in and outside the state, was built by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the late 60s due to its exploration activity of the Ekelebo oil well in Okolobiri. The State Commander of the FRSC, Mr Vincent Jack, was quoted by some online news media as confirming the collapse of the bridge and stating that his men were engaged in rescue effort at the scene. But the Bayelsa government, through the Works and Infrastructure Commissioner, Lawrence Erudjakpo, said the reported collapse was not true. "Let me confirm to you that we got a report on the defective nature of the bridge and the possible threat of co llapse. We quickly ...

*Accuse police, businessman of being behind their ordeal By Onozure Dania The Baale of Kirikiri town, Lagos, Chief Waheed Sumonu Agunbiade, 82, and his deputy, Chief Kayode Ewarawon, are spending the weekend in prison after they were denied bail following their arraignment before a magistrate court late on Friday. Their arraignment late on Friday is alleged to be a ploy to keep them in prison for the weekend by the police. A businessman, who was said to have lodged a complaint of threat to life against them, was alleged to be working in concert with the police and the magistrate. The plot to imprison them got credence as they honoured an invitation to report at the Area B Headquarters, Apapa, Lagos at 9 am on Friday, and waited there unattended to until about 4 pm when they were taken to court for arraignment. The magistrate reportedly failed to release them on bail even on self recognition as traditional chiefs and they had to be taken to Kirikiri Prisons pending tomorrow when they ca...

By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Monsur Olowoopejo No fewer than 30 suspected oil pipeline vandals were, yesterday, arrested by the officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense  Corps, NSCDC, in Isheri-Oshun axis of Ogun-Lagos states border. This came a week after the NSCDC, Lagos command arrested eight  suspected vandals in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, LCDA. Among the suspects were two teenagers, identified as Micheal Oyedotun  and Azeez Ajani, who both claimed to be apprentices at different  fashion institutes, and a Pastor over illegal  possession of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. Sunday Vanguard gathered that the suspects: were arrested at about 3:00 am after a gun battle between the vandals and the officers of the NSCDC. It was also learnt that two  vehicles owned by the suspected vandals were impounded while over 20, 000 liters of fuel in drums were recovered.

By Akin Osuntokun As the cliché goes, all this would have been laughable if it is not so tragic. In the heat of the subsisting venom and vitriol, it seems nobody now cares that the first set of “deportees” from Lagos were no other than Yoruba indigenes of Oyo and Osun states. I say this because this knowledge is not reflected in the way and manner protagonists have been conducting the debate on the so-called “deportation” of Igbo from Lagos. This precedent completely nullifies the presumption and dangerous peg of tribalism on which the mutual trade in personal and ethnic slurs, derision, denigration, demonisation, and hubris has been hoisted. It tells us that Governor Babatunde Fashola’s action was not motivated and informed by ethnic calculations neither was it intended and directed against any particular group or nationality. It is a detribalised act but it is not a good policy. It is a joke carried too far. It is a conduct unbecoming of any government that aspires to be taken seriou...