The Fallacy of Two Sovereigns-FRED ONYEOZIRI

One argument which incumbent governments and their advisers employ against the demand for a sovereign national conference is that two sovereigns cannot coexist in one system. What they imply here is that the incumbent government is a sovereign and convoking a sovereign national conference amounts to setting up another sovereign body. This will make two sovereigns, and we cannot have two sovereigns in the same system.

But is the present/incumbent government a sovereign one? The answer is of course “NO”. Any argument that suggests the contrary is arrogant, self –serving and misleading.
In 1999, the Nigerian People, who remain always the authentic sovereign in this land, gave the Obasanjo government a restricted mandate to govern this country. That mandate was restricted in three senses. One, the mandate to govern was restricted to last for four years.

Any extension beyond that four year period required a fresh mandate. Two, while the mandate lasted, the government was bound by the constitution which is the fundamental law of the land as distinct from the general ordinary laws which the government and its national Assembly are allowed to make. Action outside this constitution or fundamental law is a violation of the mandate. Three, the Obasanjo government was supposed to operate on the basis of the manifesto which the ruling party presented to the Nigerian people during the electioneering campaign. Usually, the manifesto of a political party forms part of the party’s mandate when in power. Unfortunately, for us in this country, parties may even get elected without any articulated manifesto.

Is Clara Chime a victim of love? By Sam Omatseye

The news came to everyone rather surreptitiously. The governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, reportedly detained the first lady. The image was unsavoury: a governor, in his hectoring majesty, ordering the security aides to corral Clara. The image takes on more dramatic hue as we imagine the screaming first lady pinned down, her hands wrapped around her back, forced either to sit down or lie down, her clothes out of joint, before the doors are locked against her.

This contradicts the temperament and powers of first ladies. First ladies often pin down their men, extract special favours and sometimes ride more glorious convoys than their husbands. Quite often, aides fear them more than their husbands. A person can be fired but a soft word from the first lady can redeem the job. Even when the governor confesses a special softness for an aide, the first lady who shares a contrary standpoint could reverse the affection. She could make life so difficult for that aide and the governor that her triumph is a foregone conclusion.

She is the prop, whisper and, sometimes, bully behind the throne, the pillow-talk queen. That made it quite difficult for many to digest the narrative of a humiliated power dame. But some who had followed the story of Governor Chime had observed some traits counterintuitive to this picture of governor-first lady relationship.

We remember Chime ushering in the New Year with stories of his failure to let anyone know if he was sick and why he would not convey, in simple language, why he could not communicate with the people of the state. The people who voted him into power knew nothing about the person they voted for, whether he was alive or dead. Consequently, the rumour mills buzzed, and depending on who you asked, they said Governor Chime suffered from one illness or another. Imagination overthrew reality.

He never loved the media, and saw any reporter or editor as a predator in his holy of holies. In his recent press briefing, he said he did not hate the media but he had issues with them because when he was ill, some newspapers reported his death. No excuse for newspapers that soared on fiction. It was irresponsible, especially on a delicate matter like death. But Governor Chime fertilised errant imagination by not providing facts as the first information officer of the state. He never saw his own shortcomings. He only saw others’.

Chime only recently knocked down the building of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries in his state against court orders. Is that not impunity? Does the law matter to the man who defies a court order? Again, he tried to resolve issues he had with university lecturers by unleashing dogs after them.

Against these news reports, some members of the public had judged the governor as Clara’s predator. But then, he organised a press briefing, and the governor said that his wife was afflicted by mental illness, and he had to restrain her to keep her from ridicule. She was present at the occasion, as well as her present doctor, Aham Agumoh, as well as Clara’s brother.

Governor Chime tried to paint himself as the husband and protector. And not a few people were impressed. But humans rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has been pushing a different narrative. He said the woman had hired him as her attorney. But the woman had said that she did not hire Falana in the open interview. Yet, a letter leaked to the media that she had contacted a certain chief whom she wanted to contact Falana on her behalf. She admitted in the interview that her letter leaked. That corroborates Falana’s position that she wanted his help. The reporters did not ask Clara Chime why she wrote the letter and whether she insisted on the contents. I contacted Falana and he said Clara’s mother told him to help free her daughter from the grasp of the governor. He also said the woman asked him if she sounded like somebody who was mentally disturbed.

Two important developments bear investigation. One, why did she ask for a different doctor, and why did she have to scream for the matter to be brought to the fore? The same doctor appeared in the press briefing. Was he supposed to appear there, according to his professional oath, even if the governor wanted to clear his image as a wife bully? Yet, she accepted in the open press briefing that Dr. Agumoh was her doctor, the same doctor she wanted replaced.

The other question is, did Clara act under duress in the press briefing? What did they discuss with her when they took her away from the media for several minutes?

What are the details of the doctor’s treatment that have riled even members of her family? Tony Igwe, Clara’s brother, may not have represented other members of the family given the fact that the members object to the present treatment of their daughter. This was clear in the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission. Both Chime’s and Clara’s families did not agree on how her matter was being handled. Could it be that her so-called mental condition is exaggerated? She described her state as nervous breakdown.

If her situation is not as bad, then is Chime along with Dr. Agumoh not acting like Dr. Bero in Soyinka’s play, Madness and Specialists, where the specialist becomes in a sense guilty of what the patient allegedly suffers? German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “There is always some madness in love. There is also always some reason in madness.” Is it a case of too much love, which itself can injure, or violated love? Shakespeare calls it “cold fire,” “wolvish-ravening lamb,” or “fiend angelical.” Is Clara a victim of love?

It is always a delicate matter in psychiatry not to over-treat a case or it may itself pass as madness. That was the case in Achebe’s short story, The Madman, when a sane man of high nobility, with no clothes on, pursues a madman, who stole the sane man’s clothes, into the market place. We cannot just forget that the Soviet Union established asylums for dissidents.

Even the NHRC contradicted itself when it said it was established that she suffered from depression and hallucination. In the five-hour session it had with her, it did not see any such evidence. It is a human rights body, what was its business making judgment about her mental condition, especially when it knew the two families did not agree on the treatment? If they did not agree on the treatment, it means they did not agree on the diagnosis.

In one breath, the NHRC agreed with a diagnosis and, in another, set up a committee to examine her true state of health. The NHRC said Clara had access to her son and keys to the apartments, but it had no knowledge whether or not that is a recent development prompted by her outcry. The NHRC’s retraction was an afterthought. It has compromised its integrity as a body.

This has been happening for all of four months, and Governor Chime’s desperate press conference was not actuated by any chivalry but a necessity to save his name. It is not so much that he is interested in transparency.

When he was flown out of the country, he did not believe in transparency then. He owes Enugu State citizens as well as Nigerians explanations for keeping the matter under wraps while he was abroad. His illness was more important to Nigerians and Enugu State citizens than that of his wife. The health of a whole state hung on him as the carrier of their mandate. No one voted in Clara Chime.

It was wrong, and even wrong-headed to present himself as a latter-day convert to the doctrine of transparency. May be he is not a convert. He was just pushed to the corner by the cries of the media and the fulminations of Falana. So he acted not out of conscience but necessity. So, he is not Clara’s hero.

PDP Suspends Oyinlola

There seems to be no end in sight to the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as its National Working Committee (NWC) Monday wielded the big stick yesterday, when it suspended its former acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; the party’s National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; its former Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; and National Vice Chairman, Northwest of the breakaway faction of the PDP, Ambassador Ibrahim Kazuare.

Ostensibly, the decision was meant to forestall any move by the New PDP to enforce the reinstatement of Oyinlola as the party’s scribe following a Court of Appeal judgment Monday reversing his removal by a lower court.

Also, PDP directed that the four suspended party members should face the Umaru Dikko-led National Disciplinary Committee of the party, while maintaining that the party was yet to get the Court of Appeal order that reinstated Oyinlola as the national secretary.
But Oyinlola, in a swift reaction said: “This is part of the impunity we are protesting against. None of us has been queried or requested to give explanations for any alleged offence.

“And if they are reacting to the issue of the New PDP, why did they decide to leave out the serving state governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives who have been very vocal? It’s all an attempt to circumvent the ruling of the Court of Appeal.
“Certainly, the last has not been heard on this matter and I am sure that the truth will prevail over falsehood.”

Should Boko Haram be labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization? – By Christopher O’Connor

On November 13, two Subcommittees in the US House of Representatives – Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade – will hold a joint hearing to discuss the threat posed by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, better known as Boko Haram. In the wake of persistent and heinous attacks on civilians perpetrated by its militants, most recently an attack on a wedding party claiming 30 lives, Congress looks poised to propose legislation compelling the US State Department to label Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). When debating this legislation Congress should be asking not if Boko Haram is a terrorist organization, but does this legislation contribute to promoting human rights and security in North-East Nigeria?
In June 2012 the US State Department labeled Boko Haram leaders, including Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar, and Khalid al-Barnawi, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, but it has so far resisted pressure to add the organization to the FTO list. Many Nigeria watchers in Washington, including former Ambassador John Campbell, have backed the US State Department’s approach, arguing that “it [Boko Haram] does not pose a threat to the American homeland” at present, and that “Americans could become a Boko Haram target” if the US government is perceived as  closely aligning with Abuja’s war against the group.
Despite these concerns, many in Congress are likely to argue that the United States cannot tolerate a radical insurgency that burns down schools, shoots students, and decapitates motorists. Designating a group as an FTO introduces new tools designed to combat the organization, including financial restrictions, and disincentivises organizations or individuals from associating with it. The potential impact proposed legislation will have in weakening Boko Haram is, however, unclear. Those individuals and organizations likely to be associating with, and/or funding, Boko Haram at this time are unlikely to be swayed by US disapproval. Several of Boko Haram’s potential associates are already proscribed by the US government.

Lack of Secrecy tears Reps apart

 

The leakage of the House of Representatives report on the purchase of N255m BMW bulletproof cars to the media tore members of the investigation panel apart on Thursday.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority bought the controversial cars allegedly for the use of the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah.

She appeared before the panel to deny that the cars were purchased for her.

Some newspapers, including The PUNCH, had scooped snippets of the report on Wednesday ahead of the report presentation before the House on Thursday (yesterday).

Investigations showed that the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, which conducted the investigation, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, was enraged that the media had foreknowledge of the content of the report.

Some key members of the committee also expressed disgust over the development, saying that it exposed the “lack of trust” among the members.

“The chairman has been raking all day; she has been restless.

“She has asked almost all members of the committee how the media got what they reported today (Thursday).

“The matter caused disquiet among the members; they are seriously suspecting one another.

“More so, she insists that the media published a distorted version”, a source close to the committee, confided in The PUNCH on Thursday.

The PUNCH learnt that some members, who suspected that the final report might be doctored, had volunteered pieces of information to the media.

Efforts to get the report proved abortive on Thursday, as Onyejeocha guarded it jealously till she laid the document.

She also declined to comment on the content of the recommendation as she consistently expressed bitterness over the snippets.

When The PUNCH traced her to her office after laying the report, Onyejeocha was further enraged.

She claimed to have printed only one copy, which was submitted to the House on Thursday.

She shouted, “Up till this morning, we were still writing this report; I don’t know where you newspaper people got what you reported from.”

“It is just that this investigation is sensitive; I would have disowned the entire report and call for a repeat of the investigation.”

N255m car scandal: Reps’ panel indicts Oduah, NCAA

 

There were indications on Wednesday that the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation had established some infractions against the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

The committee is investigating the controversial purchase of two bulletproof BMW cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority allegedly for Oduah at a whopping N255m.

However, she testified before the committee, which is chaired by Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, and denied that the cars were bought for her use.

The panel  ended  its public hearing on the transaction on Monday.

Oduah was expected to appear before   the Senate    on Wednesday but could  not because of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Findings by The PUNCH indicated that  the Onyejeocha –led committee  might  lay its  report before the House on Thursday (today).

It was gathered that after deliberating on records before them, members of the panel had established some infractions against the minister and the NCAA.

Sources close to the committee confided in The PUNCH that “at least four issues are no longer disputable.”

According to findings, one of the issues is “extra-budgetary spending”, while the second is “approval beyond ministerial limit.”

It was learnt that the committee also established a case of “violation of public procurement procedures.”

Similarly, the panel confirmed that “indeed, N255m was spent to buy two bulletproof BMW cars and the use of waivers meant for EKO Games to import the cars.”

One of the sources told one of our correspond

Ndigbo: Towards Selfless Leadership

The scenario in Enugu and Abia States had all the trappings of the unbelievable.  That is when you think of the usual nature and character of political gatherings in the South-east. The respective halls set aside for the event in these two states were filled to the brim. Besides friendly banter and last minute comparing of notes by representatives of various organisations, there was calm. There was also a conviviality that could best be described as uncommon when groups come together to present their respective positions on the same issue. Although most of the people came early, chief among them some of the leaders of the South-east zone, the air of restlessness and irritation that often accompanied any event that came close to starting late was absent.

On both occasions, in Abia and Enugu States, the people were assembled to meet with the National Dialogue Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan. The committee’s mission in the South-east was to ascertain how the people wanted the talk shop to be organised. As soon as the work plan of the national committee was made public, painstaking consultations began across various divides. In the end, major stakeholders and power centres in the South-east resolved that the zone should speak with one voice on the simple matter of whether Ndigbo wanted the conference, how it should be organised, who should attend and the legal framework for such a venture.

That’s how it came about that the opinions and positions of the various organisations were subsumed under an umbrella submission. That is also how it came about that it was Ohaneze that rose to speak on behalf of the South-east. Most of the other high profile organisations only sent credible representatives, with the brief that they should only get up to announce that the position of Ohaneze was indeed the agreed position on the issues under reference. The surprise of many people was palpable, even though they were part of the consensus decision. While they found themselves excited about everything, they were dazed to discover that the series of meetings and reconciliation of positions which had been going on for nearly two weeks before the event yielded something after all. It was during these earlier consultations that issues were trashed and positions fine-tuned.
The logic of the new thinking about consolidation is that, notwithstanding its challenges, Ohaneze Ndigbo is generally regarded as the apex pan Igbo organisation. Besides this body, there are so many others, such that counting them may present enough work to keep the National Population Commission busy for weeks. But it can be helped to do better, not killed. Thus when some very prominent persons from the South-east floated the South East Peoples Development Association (SEPDA), there were concerns about further political balkanisation of the zone and the consequent undermining of group cohesion. The fears were totally unfounded, as the goals of SEPDA were beyond all that.

The objective of the main drivers is to offer direction, draw and deploy capacity, engage stakeholders and potential partners in a quiet resolve to offer selfless leadership to a region traumatised by reckless power seeking by persons of questionable credibility and controversial antecedents. Working quietly and unobtrusively, SEPDA has repaired many political bridges, applied soothing salves to frayed political nerves and appears poised to insists that good should be done without the ‘do gooder’ prancing all over the place or claiming accolades for it. That is why the association also took up the matter of ensuring that the people of the South-east were not just involved in the proposed national dialogue, but that they actually understood what the issues were at any moment and made informed decisions and contributions.

In this regard, one of the challenges that presented itself when the dialogue was announced was the possibility of Ndigbo coming out to sing discordant tunes, as usual. But SEPDA leadership reasoned that the dignity of a family in the Village Square is best demonstrated when the family sends just one person to speak on its behalf before the community; with any subsequent speakers elaborating on one or two minor details. It was also the thinking that no kindred gains respect by ridiculing its elders and that a family that sends out several people to represent it in the Village Square has announced the absence of wise elders within its fold. It is folly for a family to bring too many voices into a matter that will not be decided by votes and it is proof that the family cannot manage its human resources in a sane manner.

Ndigbo says that no one hails a drunken and staggering man as “Ide ji uno” (the pillar that holds the fort, or house). It is also common Igbo wisdom that you do not give the title of “onu na ekwuru oha” (spokesman of the people) to the dumb, lest your people be struck with constraints of the vocal cords. Thus SEPDA summomned one and all to think like a people with a purpose and a sense of history.
Ndigbo Lagos, Aka Ikenga and several other high profile organisations representing strong Igbo positions, populations and perspectives across several fronts conducted themselves with uncommon dignity and propriety.

They responded by forwarding their considered positions for integration into a common South-east position. With this head start, any group with the submissions could have decided to posture as the ‘new face’ of Ndigbo in national affairs. With so many active politicians, former governors, retired Generals and sundry powerful active politicians in the SEPDA fold, for instance, it would have been a simple matter of announcing that SEPDA had ‘retired’ Ohaneze. But that did not happen. Instead the drivers of SEPDA told Ohaneze what it was doing, put the positions together and met with Ohaneze to arrive at a final, common position.
In the end, it was possible to draw capacity and leverage a common effort, rather than set and run an alternative platform – with the attendant discord and bad blood. What this has brought out is that the possibility of peace and cohesion is strong in the South-east. But it must be peace and cohesion that is predicated on a new realisation. That realisation is that a people can make great progress if they learn that not everyone must be on the front row in every event.

The additional realisation is that certain words sound better and more credible in the mouth of someone who may actually not have crafted it. A man is not diminished because he is working quietly in the background, just as there is no greater danger to a people than when they cannot manage the potential or actual excesses within their own fold. SEPDA has started on a commendable and firm footing and should continue on this trajectory.
One thing that must change, though, is the attitude so robustly displayed by the Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime. My admiration for Chime for the complete transformation of the urban outlook of Enugu is undimmed. While I prefer to believe that some truly phenomenal matters descended on him during the period of the visit of the dialogue committee to Enugu, I must put it on record that he could have given a much better account of himself. Everyone was appalled.
The Abia State governor and his chief-of-staff were fully prepared and ready for the event, as the state government mobilised everyone for the occasion.

But it was plain hell getting the government of Enugu State to give some kind of proof that Governor Chime was at least the owner of his own phone. He did not take calls or respond to text messages from representatives of the national dialogue committee for over a week before the event. While responses to calls and enquiries from Abia were always prompt, Enugu woke up less than three days to the event through the Secretary to State Government (SSG); a diligent and decent man who appeared hamstrung.
Abia State made it a national event. Enugu State tried very hard to make it a non-event, but failed. A few hours before the commencement of proceedings, representatives of the national committee were still desperately trying to get the venue cleaned and ready in Enugu. The chairs were also yet to be procured and taken to the venue. No one in government could do anything because the governor was said not to have given any clear instructions on some very basic things. Then there was the matter of the totally abhorrent accommodation that was nearly inflicted on the National Dialogue Committee, but which was rejected for fear of snake bites!
Whatever may have happened during the time of the visit, our hard working Chime knows that a host has very fundamental duties, to say nothing of when his guests are from distant lands. The government of Enugu State disgraced the good people of the state and should strive not to do so again. The unfortunate thing, however, is that you cannot call back a guest who has left with a bad impression in order to treat him well.

As for Abia State, one thing was clear from its handling of the events. The government knows how to mobilise its people to turn out for an event. Where it should place some greater emphasis when the real discussion begins is on the submissions of the various interest groups. Consolidation is always a way forward, especially when it is given in any discursive situation.

The South East Economic Summit
What needs to happen to make the South-east attract greater trade and investment? This was the central theme and question at the just concluded South East Economic Summit. Finding the right cocktail of policies and incentives to leverage the economy of the region is the only way to re-invent the energies and possibilities of the South-east region in the 21st century. But that is a matter we must discuss another day.

source-thisday

Column: Why Scandinavian women make the rest of the world jealous -Lynn Parramore

Icelanders are among the happiest and healthiest people on Earth. They publish more books per capita than any other country, and they have more artists. They boast the most prevalent belief in evolution — and elves, too. Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation (the cops don't even carry guns), and the best place for kids. Oh, and they've got a lesbian head of state, the world's first. Granted, the national dish is putrefied shark meat, but you can't have everything.
Iceland is also the best place to have a uterus, according to the folks at the World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap Report ranks countries based on where women have the most equal access to education and healthcare, and where they can participate most fully in the country's political and economic life.
According to the 2013 report, Icelandic women pretty much have it all. Their sisters in Finland, Norway, and Sweden have it pretty good, too: those countries came in second, third and fourth, respectively. Denmark is not far behind at number seven.
The U.S. comes in at a dismal 23rd, which is a notch down from last year. At least we're not Yemen, which is dead last out of 136 countries.
So how did a string of countries settled by Vikings become leaders in gender enlightenment? Bloodthirsty raiding parties don't exactly sound like models of egalitarianism, and the early days weren't pretty. Medieval Icelandic law prohibited women from bearing arms or even having short hair. Viking women could not be chiefs or judges, and they had to remain silent in assemblies. On the flip side, they could request a divorce and inherit property. But that's not quite a blueprint for the world's premier egalitarian society.
The change came with literacy, for one thing. Today almost everybody in Scandinavia can read, a legacy of the Reformation and early Christian missionaries, who were interested in teaching all citizens to read the Bible. Following a long period of turmoil, Nordic states also turned to literacy as a stabilizing force in the late 18th century. By 1842, Sweden had made education compulsory for both boys and girls.

UK GOVERNMENT SOFT PEDDALS ON NIGERIANS

Great news ! The UK government has announced plans to cancel the £3,000 cash bond that visitors from 'high risk' countries, including Nigeria, were to put up to enter Britain. Below is the latest update from The Sunday Times UK..

The government is to abandon a controversial plan to impose £3,000 immigration bonds on visitors from “high-risk” countries in Africa and Asia after Nick Clegg threatened to block the policy.

The move will be seen by Labour as a humiliating U-turn for Theresa May, the home secretary. It came after David Cameron backed off from a full-scale confrontation with the Liberal Democrat leader, who was blocking the scheme’s progress through cabinet.

A pilot project to target visitors from seven countries — including India, Pakistan and Nigeria — who would have had to pay a cash guarantee or deposit to deter immigration abuse was to have been introduced this month.

The plan was to make visitors forfeit £3,000 if they failed to return home by the time their visas had expired. But in an announcement this weekend the government said it was canceling the plans

Panic in Osun Community over discovery of shrine

Residents of Mosarajo village in Atakumosa West Local Government Area Osun state now live in panic even as many have fled the village following the discovery of an awful shrine in the village by security operatives.
Police and other security operatives including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had on Friday discovered a shrine where human parts were allegdly being sold in the village located close to Ile-Ife.
Already, four persons have been arrested by the Police for allegedly operating the shrine, which covers about an acre of land in the village.
Residents of the village now live in fear and panic even as it was gathered that many of them fled overnight for fear of being arrested by the Police.
Sunday Sun reliably gathered that a good number of people from all parts of the country patronize the shrine and many of them had been duped by those operating the shrine.
The shrine, which is a replica of the dreaded Okija shrine, was discovered by security operatives following a tip-off by some residents of the village.
The owner of the shrine who was simply identified as Aliyu (a.k.a Aburagbaja) a native of Inisa in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state was said to be using the shrine to defraud unsuspecting people.

Anambra State on the march again:Supreme Court Stops PDP from Kicking off Campaign

Bamanga Tukur

The Supreme Court Thursday barred the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from carrying out its planned campaign kick-off already slated for Saturday.

This followed an undertaking extracted by the court from Mr. Paul Erokoro and Mr. Garba Pwul, representing the party, its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and Mr. Tony Nwoye respectively.
The Vice-President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, was billed to lead the party's campaign in the state.
Also yesterday, the court stopped Senator Andy Ubah from joining in the appeal seeking to decide who should be the authentic candidate of the PDP in Anambra State. In a ruling delivered at about 6:30 yesterday, the Supreme Court refused Ubah's application to be joined in the appeal filed by Ukachukwu challenging the declaration that Nwoye was the candidate.

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had earlier declared Nicholas Ukachukwu as the candidate of the party but this was reversed by the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt division wherein, Tony Nwoye was declared as the authentic candidate.
Not satisfied, Ukachukwu through his counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN approached the apex court challenging the judgment of the lower court.
When the matter came up yesterday, Daudu noted that the court should order a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal decision stating that the party was planning to handover the flag to Nwoye on Saturday.

Counsel to PDP and Nwoye, Paul Erokoro SAN and Garba Pwul, SAN respectively gave an undertaken that none of their clients would do anything to tamper with the subject matter so as not to over reach the court.
Ubah had earlier through his counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN brought an application seeking for leave to be joined as an interested party in the appeal between Nwoye and Ukachukwu which will be coming up before the court on Monday. However, joined as respondents are the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nwoye and Ukachukwu.
Fagbemi hinged his application on the grounds that it was the recognised state executive of the party that conducted the primary that brought Ubah.

He further submitted that the Federal High Court had earlier given an order that the primary election could only be conducted by the Ejike Ogbeigbo led executive which the INEC complied with.
He submitted that the lower court turned down his client's application to be joined as a party before it hence the need to seek for a joinder before the final decision was reached by the apex court.

Opposing the application, counsel to the PDP, Erokoro submitted that the application was an abuse of court process as the applicant had earlier filed an appeal which had been entered and pending before the court.
He argued that contrary to the submission of the applicant, the national executive of the party was the only authority that had the power to conduct congress where party candidate for a gubernatorial election would emerge and prayed the court to dismiss the application.
Counsel to Nwoye, Pul opposed the application stating that the order which the applicant was relying on was given after the primary election had been conducted, submitting that the order could not have a retrospect effect.

He argued that the application brought by the applicant if granted would delay and complicate the existing appeal which the court had fixed Monday for hearing. He therefore urged the court to dismiss the application.
While also opposing the application, counsel to Ukachukwu, J.B Daudu SAN argued that it was incompetent because the applicant had failed to file a notice of appeal alongside with application seeking leave to be joined.
He argued that the application was an abuse of court process as the applicant had already filed an appeal which was pending before the court and prayed the court to dismiss the application.

After listening to the parties, the court rose for about one hour to write its ruling. In its ruling, the court held that the judgment of the court of appeal relied on by Ubah was not certified and therefore could not be admitted by the court.
It further held that there was a pending appeal filed by the applicant before the court and this instant one had constituted an abuse of court process. The court, as a result, dismissed the application as being unmeritorious.
Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday inaugurated its National Campaign Committee, with an advice to the voters to disregard the candidate and vote for the party. Sambo said that though the party is commencing the campaign rather late, but warned that one week was not late to ensure that PDP wins the governorship election.

“I want to remind you that we have a strong battle and we will win this battle by the Grace of God,” said Sambo who appealed to PDP members that have left the party to come back and ensure victory for the party.
Speaking before inaugurating the campaign committee, Tukur charged the electorate in Anambra State to disregard the candidate but the party as there is no independent candidate in elections in Nigeria.
“It is not the messenger but the party. There is no independent candidate in elections,” he said while charging the campaign committee led by the Sambo to ensure that PDP comes victorious at the election.

Photo: Meet The Ethiopian Men Who Compete To Be The Fattest By Drinking Cow Blood & Milk

For Ethiopia's Bodi or Me'en people, bigger is always better.
According to DailyMail,  the tribe, which lives in a remote corner of Ethiopia's Omo Valley, is home to an unusual ritual which sees young men gorge on cow's blood and milk in a bid to be crowned the fattest man.

Six months after starting the regime, the men emerge to show off their newly engorged physiques and for a winner to be chosen.


The champion fat man is then feted as a hero for the rest of his life.

Bizarre it may sound, See the pictures below






  







what do you think of these pictures?

An Open Letter To Mark Zuckerberg

Mr. Zuckerberg:
Facebook is failing marketers.
I know this statement sounds remarkable, perhaps even unbelievable. After all, you offer marketers access to the largest audience in media history and you know a remarkable amount about each of your users. As a result nearly every large company now markets on Facebook. Last year your company collected more than $4 billion in advertising revenues.
But while lots of marketers spend lots of money on Facebook today, relatively few find success. In August, Forrester surveyed 395 marketers and eBusiness executives at large companies across the US, Canada and the UK — and these executives told us that Facebook creates less business value than any other digital marketing opportunity.


Why are business leaders less satisfied with Facebook than with any other digital tool? We believe there are two reasons.
First, your company focuses too little on the thing marketers want most: driving genuine engagement between companies and their customers. Your sales materials tease marketers with the promise that you’ll help them create such connections. But in reality, you rarely do. Everyone who clicks the like button on a brand’s Facebook page volunteers to receive that brand’s messages — but on average, you only show each brand’s posts to 16% of its fans. And while your company upgrades its advertising tools and offerings monthly or more, you’ve done little in the past 18 months to improve your unloved branded page format or the tools that marketers use to manage and measure those pages.
Second, your company isn’t good enough at the pure advertising business onto which you’ve shifted your focus. We estimate your site now delivers tens of billions of display ads every day. But fewer than 15% of those ads leverage your ever-growing cache of social data to target relevant audiences. And your site’s static-image ad units offer marketers less impact per impression than they could achieve with the ad units other sites offer. The result? The executives we surveyed said Facebook’s display ads were significantly less effective than the display ads they buy elsewhere online. They also reported that Facebook ads were less valuable than any other marketing tactic they could use on your site.
I believe there’s still time for Facebook to refocus its efforts and realize its enormous potential. To do that, you’ll need to once again build bridges between companies and their customers, you'll need to fully leverage social affinity data within your ad targeting products, and you'll need to better listen to the marketers who drive your company’s financial success. But you must act quickly, before more marketers act on their growing dissatisfaction and start earmarking an increasingly smaller budget share to your company. I hope our research convinces you and your team to change course.

Nate Elliott, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Forrester

Comparison Chart: Christianity and Islam

 

Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and they have many points of contact. Both inherited from Judaism a belief in one God who created the world and cares about the behavior and beliefs of human beings.
The Prophet Muhammad knew Christians in his lifetime and respected them along with Jews as "People of the Book." Because of their monotheism and roots in the revealed Jewish Bible, the Prophet and his successors extended conquered Christians (and Jews) more freedoms than conquered pagans.
In the approximately 1,300 years of history since the life of the Prophet, the relationship between Christianity and Islam has rarely been harmonious. As it spread, the Muslim Empire quickly conquered much of the Judeo-Christian Holy Land and the Christian Byzantine Empire. The Christian Crusades of the 11th through 13th centuries, waged in large part against Muslims, served only to widen the divide between the two faiths. Constantinople, the "New Rome" and the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, fell to the Turks in 1453 and has lived under Islamic rule ever since.
In recent centuries, mutual distrust between Christians and Muslims has continued to grow. On the other hand, some have pointed out that the conflict has more to do with political tensions and divergent cultural worldviews than with religion, and efforts have been made by both Christians and Muslims to find common ground and engage in respectful dialogue.
To illustrate the similarities and differences between the two largest religions of the world, the following chart compares the origins, beliefs and practices of Christianity and Islam. Please note that numbers are estimates and beliefs and practices are oversimplified for brevity's sake.

History & Stats	Christianity	Islam
date founded	c. 30 AD	622 CE
place founded	Palestine	Arabian Peninsula
founders & early leaders	Jesus, Peter, Paul	Muhammad
original languages	Aramaic and Greek	Arabic
major location today	Europe, North and South America	Middle East, Southeast Asia
adherents worldwide today	2 billion	1.3 billion
adherents in USA	159 million	1.1 million
adherents in Canada	21 million	500,000
adherents in UK	51 million	1.6 million
current size rank	largest in the world	second largest in the world
major branches	Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant	Sunni, Shiite
Religious Authority	Christianity	Islam
sacred text	Bible = Old Testament (Jewish Bible) + New Testament	Qur'an (Koran)
inspiration of sacred text	views vary: literal Word of God, inspired human accounts, or of human origin only	literal Word of God
status of biblical prophets	true prophets	true prophets
status of Jewish Bible	canonical	noncanonical but useful as a (corrupted) inspired text
status of Jewish Apocrypha	canonical (Catholic); useful but noncanonical (Protestant)	noncanonical
status of New Testament	canonical	noncanonical but useful as a (corrupted) inspired text
summaries of doctrine	Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed	Six Articles of Faith
religious law	canon law (Catholics)	Sharia
other written authority	church fathers, church councils, ecumenical creeds (all branches); papal decrees, canon law (Catholics)	Hadith
Beliefs & Doctrine	Christianity	Islam
ultimate reality	one creator God	one creator God
nature of God	Trinity - one substance, three persons	unity - one substance, one person
other spiritual beings	angels and demons	angels, demons, jinn
revered humans	saints, church fathers	prophets, imams (especially in Shia Islam)
identity of Jesus	Son of God, God incarnate, savior of the world	true prophet of God, whose message has been corrupted
birth of Jesus	virgin birth	virgin birth
death of Jesus	death by crucifixion	did not die, but ascended bodily into heaven (a disciple died in his place)
resurrection of Jesus	affirmed	denied, since he did not die
second coming of Jesus	affirmed	affirmed
mode of divine revelation	through Prophets and Jesus (as God Himself), recorded in Bible	through Muhammad, recorded in Qur'an
human nature	"original sin" inherited from Adam - tendency towards evil	equal ability to do good or evil
means of salvation	correct belief, faith, good deeds, sacraments (some Protestants emphasize faith alone)	correct belief, good deeds, Five Pillars
God's role in salvation	predestination, various forms of grace	predestination
good afterlife	eternal heaven	eternal paradise
bad afterlife	eternal hell, temporary purgatory (Catholicism)	eternal hell
view of the other religion	Islam is respected as a fellow monotheistic religion, but Muhammad is not seen as a true prophet	Christians are respected as "People of the Book," but they have mistaken beliefs and only partial revelation
Rituals & Practices	Christianity	Islam
house of worship	church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, meeting hall	mosque
day of worship	Sunday	Friday
religious leaders	priest, bishop, archbishop, patriarch, pope, pastor, minister, preacher, deacon	imams
major sacred rituals	baptism, communion (Eucharist)	Five Pillars: prayer, pilgrimage, charity, fasting, confession of faith
head covered during prayer?	generally no	yes
central religious holy days	Lent, Holy Week, Easter	Eid-al-Fitr, Eid-al-Adha, month of Ramadan
other holidays	Christmas, saints days	Mawlid, Ashura
major symbols	cross, crucifix, dove, anchor, fish, alpha and omega, chi rho, halo	crescent, name of Allah in Arabic

Bola Tinubu's daughter installed as the Iyaloja of Lagos State

Former Lagos State Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu's first daughter, Folashade Tinubu Ojo was today October 29th installed as the new Iyaloja of Lagos and the President General of the Market Men and Women of Nigeria, taking over from her late grandmother, Habibat Mogaji, who died in June this year.

The installation took place at the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu 1. Before her new appointment, Folashade was the Deputy President General of the Market Men and Women.

So is she qualified to be Iyaloja of Lagos or did she get the title because of her father?

Oduah in another car scandal, faces Reps panel today

 

The embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, has been linked to    another car purchase scandal.

This time, Oduah is said to have also approved the procurement  of two Lexus Limousine cars and two Toyota Prado jeeps.

The minister  is expected to appear before the House Committee on Aviation which is investigating the purchase of two  BMW bulletproof  cars for her by the Nigerian Civil  Aviation Authority at N255m.

 But during the sitting by the Senate Committee on Aviation which is probing the crisis in the Aviation industry, the   Managing  Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria , Mr. George Uriesi,  said the  Lexus Limousine cars and Toyota Prado jeeps were in the custody of a bank.

Uriesi, who   said the limousines were bought  for  N60m each , added that  he did not have details of the cost of the Prado jeeps.

He explained that the bank whose name he did not give,    funded the purchase of the four vehicles.

The FAAN  chief told the six-member committee that  while Oduah gave the approval, somebody whose  name  he failed to mention, signed on his (Uriesi) behalf.

An obviously enraged Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Mr. Hope Uzodinma, lambasted  him  for receiving approval from the minister instead of the Federal Executive Council.

 He was therefore ordered to  appear again before the committee on Monday with details of the transactions.

Uriesi, who was  said to have   sweated  in the air-conditioned room while the session lasted, was   also asked to bring along with him,  details of other vehicles   bought for  the agency’s  directors.

The  Senate  panel also resolved to  inspect the N255m bulletproof cars parked at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation are set to  quiz  Oduah on Wednesday(today) over the controversial bulletproof  cars.

The minister, who  was  summoned  by the committee to appear before it on Tuesday, had written ,  explaining that she had travelled to Israel to sign the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Nigeria  and Israel.

On Monday, the committee  headed by Mrs.  Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said Oduah would  now appear on Wednesday and not  Tuesday as ealier scheduled.

It claimed that  the decision was to give all stakeholders the opportunity to prepare their documents.

But the   committee    warned that it would not hesitate to take necessary actions against Oduah if she failed to turn up today (Wednesday).

As of  10pm on Tuesday, it was unclear if Oduah, who was on Monday accused by  the  House Committee on Public Procurement of shunning similar invitations 12 times, had returned from Israel.

As part of its preparations for the hearing,  a five-member sub-committee of the Onyejeocha-led Aviation panel  on Tuesday discreetly inspected the controversial bulletproof  cars at   the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

 A source privy to the visit, informed The PUNCH that the aim was to “truly establish that the cars were bought.”

 The source added, “This is an investigation and you do not leave anything to chance.

 “The idea of the inspection team was to go to the location and physically see the cars.

 “All these will form part of the final report to the House.”

 When   contacted, Onyejeocha    confirmed that a team visited the airport to inspect the cars.

 She, however, parried questions on the details of what the team saw.

 The committee chairman  said, “Yes, it is true that we set up a committee to go and inspect the cars.

 “The committee went to the airport but they have not reported back to us.

 “If you are interested, come to the hearing tomorrow, please, PUNCH.”

 A senior official of the NCAA, who accompanied the sub-committee to the airport  said the lawmakers “saw the two bulletproof cars .”

The source added, “They   were satisfied. Some of them even stated that people were beginning to insinuate that  there were no cars. So, I think people can now ask the House members whether there are cars or not.”

Asked if  the committee members  were also shown the limousines parked at the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria site at the airport, the official said, “I don’t like joining issues, because people are beginning to write what they like.

“The cars we are talking about here are the bulletproof cars and not limousines.”

The House spokesman, Zakari Mohammed, said sanctions that could be imposed on Oduah if she failed to appear before the Aviation committee included issuing a bench warrant to facilitate her arrest.

He said, “What the committee will do is to apply to the Speaker (Mr. Aminu Tambuwal) for a bench warrant to be issued for her arrest.

“Once that is done and the speaker approves it, the Inspector-General of Police will be directed to arrest her and bring her before the committee.”

Citadels of learning, Boko Haram’s new slaughter fields – By Alkasim Abdulkadir

The insurgency in Nigeria’s North Eastern corner has once more brought into sharp relief the precarious balance between life and death in the region. Scores of people are killed on a daily basis and the frequency has also ensured a sense of ‘tragedy fatigue’ amongst the country’s populace.
The sustained escalation of attacks by the Nigerian army on insurgent hideouts has motivated the insurgents to retaliate, targeting areas regarded as soft targets like schools. This became more notable after the offensive at Kasiya forest, which left about 16 soldiers dead alongside 150 insurgents; one of the most deadly face offs between the Nigerian Army and the insurgents.
But the Gujba emirate in Yobe State had not previously seen the kind of the violence that tore up the College of Agriculture located in the sleepy town 2 weeks ago. The attack at Gujba saw the insurgents round up scores of students and shoot them dead. With phone networks switched off by the authorities it became impossible to call for help from Damaturu, some 30 kilometers away. Most of the dead were discovered the next morning beside the fence of the institution – the slaughter lasting for almost two hours.
One of the survivors, Idris, who was widely quoted, said they started gathering students into groups outside, and then they opened fire and killed one group before moving onto the next and killing them. According to the Provost of the College, those killed were between the ages of 18 and 22. This also shows that the demography of the victims of the insurgents is changing; they are now focusing on young people.

Expert interview: Jacob Zenn – On terrorism and insurgency in Northern Nigeria

Jacob Zenn is an analyst of African Affairs for The Jamestown Foundation focusing on radical groups in Northern Nigeria and a Policy Advisor for the Nigerian-American Leadership Council working to leverage the diaspora community to tackle security and accountability problems in Nigeria. We met in London to discuss the current trajectory of militancy in the region.
MT: Magnus Taylor – Editor, African Arguments
JZ: Jacob Zenn
Intro: Jacob Zenn argues that whilst radical groups in Northern Nigeria are, for obvious reasons, gaining international attention at present, there are very few people working on them that specifically study the movements themselves. Specifically, Zenn is seeking to understand the distinctions between different forms of radicalism in Northern Nigeria such as that of the insurgent group ‘Boko Haram’ in the North East and the more internationalist ‘Ansaru’ which he suggests has been responsible for attacks in the North West and Middle Belt Nigeria.
JZ: There is a grassroots movement in North Eastern Nigeria, commonly called Boko Haram, but almost all of the attacks that happened in the North West, such as Kaduna, Niger State and Abuja, didn’t have the characteristics of Boko Haram – those states were where the kidnapping of foreigners took place, that was also where the UN attack happened, and that was where the suicide bombings of churches happened. It was commonly said that Boko Haram carried out all of these attacks in the North West, but actually, if you do a case study of all of the major attacks in the North West you find that something doesn’t fit with the style, the targeting, the timing of what happens with militancy in the North East.
A lot of what the North Eastern group of Boko Haram gets credit for in the North West is actually carried through a really interesting milieu of international groups, who carried out these suicide bombings and vehicle bombings, which are not in the style of the North Eastern group.
If you look deeper into the case studies you’ll also find that whoever was the mastermind of the attacks has links to Algeria or the Sahel.
Take the example of Mr McManus (a British engineer) who was killed with the Italian (Franco Lamolinara) in Sokoto in March 2012. The kidnappers in the video were all wearing veils, which is not an Nigerian style and is the style of kidnapping was very much that of AQIM, specifically Mokhtar Belmokhtar (an AQIM-affiliated commander thought to be responsible for the In Amenas attack in Jan 2013) and Abu Zaid.
The group also first called themselves ‘Al Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel’ –at a time when we know that AQIM is trying to move beyond the Sahel and expand southwards.
The negotiator they used was also the same one that Mokhtar Belmokhtar has used for decades – Mauritanian opposition politician and businessman Limam Chafi.

Community Protests Against Mobil Oil Spill Thickens

A two-day conference, hosted by Nigeria’s leading policy advocacy group, Spaces for Change in Eket, Akwa Ibom State coincided with widespread community protests against the unpaid N26 Billion Naira compensation for the environmental atrocities committed by Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited in the state. The aggrieved host communities: Eket, Ibeno, Ona and Esit-Eket are demanding compensation for the numerous oil spills within the state, especially the November 2012 spills which had destructive and deleterious effects on the environment and adversely affected the socio-economic development of the inhabitants of the areas of impact. Among other objectives, the conference, “PIB: Pulling Together for Environmental Justice”  aimed to provide a platform for stakeholders in the oil and gas industry and oil-impacted communities to develop and initiate joint action towards transforming local agitations into opportunities for peaceful change, environmental justice and corporate accountability, within the context of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Local youth and women took the streets, chanting protest songs, mounting roadblocks and banners inscribed with varying messages of fury.  As the agitations thickened in tempo and speed, spreading across the four major oil producing communities, Mobil’s gates and facilities remained closed, forcing the company to shut down operational activities.  Particularly curious was the display of plantain tuskers, local deities and strange-looking cultural artifacts near the fence of Mobil’s airstrip at the Qua Iboe Terminal in Eket, where angry local youth invoked ancestral intervention in the current impasse between the oil conglomerate and the host communities.
Between August 13 and December 16 2012, no less than 10 incidents of massive oil spills have been recorded, resulting in adverse environmental impacts on the ecosystem and loss of traditional livelihoods. Despite admitting that the November 9, 2012 spillage in particular, was caused by a rupture in one of its pipelines, compensation remains unpaid several months after the incident occurred. To compound the situation, comprehensive clean-up and remediation of various sites of oil spills in order to restore the natural resources damaged or destroyed, have not yet taken place, constituting a legal infraction for which communities are entitled to legal remedies.
Another issue stoking the flame is the alleged state governor’s imperious meddling into the compensation dispute between Mobil and host communities contrary to Nigeria’s legal regimes on oil-related compensation. Widespread outrage and resistance greeted the announcement that Governor Godswill Akpabio plans to receive the compensation money on behalf of affected persons and communities, and use the funds to construct roads and other development projects across the largely-neglected oil producing communities. Perhaps most telling is that Akwa Ibom is the only Niger Delta State that has not complied with the constitutional stipulation requiring oil producing states to establish an independent commission to manage the state’s share of oil revenues derived from the 13% derivation fund. Unresolved questions of continuing illegality and a total lack of accountability for the state’s huge monetary allocations continue to fuel anger among indigenes of the state.
The situation in Eket is another sad example of unbridled corporate impunity that must be overturned in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. It further makes a strong case for the need to urgently reform the Nigerian oil regime, tightening and strengthening laws that protect the environment and expand community access to justice. Without any prior assessment of the extent of damage, and without holding any meaningful consultation with affected persons and communities, Mobil unilaterally announced an offer of N26.5 Billion Naira. How Mobil arrived at that compensation sum is still a mystery to industry watchers and communities alike. Tossing figures like carrots at polluted communities is consistent with the entrenched culture of impunity which has seen oil companies view paying compensation for oil spills as acts of charity or benevolence to communities they have wronged. In the same way, it is this often unchallenged impunity that makes them treat community demands for justice and accountability with distasteful condescension, and and consider them as “disturbance” to oil flow and production.

NSA scandal highlights Obama's unfulfilled promise

 Some did it for the money, some did it for idealism, others didn't do it at all. The United States has seen a number of high-profile leak scandals in the years, most recently involving former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed himself as the leaker of details of U.S. government surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans. Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after initially fleeing to Hong Kong. He has been charged with three felony counts, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act, over the leaks.

Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers in 1971. The top-secret documents revealed that senior American leaders, including three presidents, knew the Vietnam War was an unwinnable, tragic quagmire. Further, they showed that the government had lied to Congress and the public about the progress of the war. Ellsberg surrendered to authorities and was charged as a spy. During his trial, the court learned that President Richard Nixon's administration had embarked on a campaign to discredit Ellsberg, illegally wiretapping him and breaking into his psychiatrist's office. All charges against him were dropped. Since then he has lived a relatively quiet life as a respected author and lecturer.





Jonathan Pollard is a divisive figure in U.S.-Israel relations. The former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst was caught spying for Israel in 1985 and was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly called for President Barack Obama to release Pollard after Pollard's wife appealed to Netanyahu.   Wen Ho Lee was a scientist at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico who was charged with 59 counts of downloading classified information onto computer tapes and passing it to China. Lee eventually agreed to plead guilty to a since count of mishandling classified information after prosecutors deemed their case to be too weak. He was released after nine months in solitary confinement. Lee later received a $1.6 million in separate settlements with the government and five news agencies after he sued them, accusing the government of leaking damaging information about him to the media.