Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari told National Assembly members yesterday that the opinion of the public about them is negative.

The president said Nigerians saw the politicians as people who were getting too much money to do little job. He spoke at the National Assembly while the House of Representatives launched the Green Chamber Magazine.

Buhari, portrayed by information and culture minister Lai Mohammed, said the magazine's launch would shift people's perception of the National Assembly.

"Hitherto, the public perception of the National Assembly is that of a bicameral legislature where too relaxed and overpaid members are merely placing money notes in their pockets for little work done.

“This wrong perception has resulted partly from the lack of understanding of the enormous work of lawmakers, especially outside the glare of television cameras,” he said.

He said the magazine would give the public access to accurate information that would polish the house's reputation and highlight the great work that was done by the members.

“Including the enormous work that goes into the passage of a bill as well as committee duties. In addition, it will help the house to tell its own story, rather than relying on others to take charge of their narrative. It is said that no one can tell your story better than you,” he said.

There is a long list of epic fights in the literature, from Luke vs. Vader, from Rocky vs. Apollo, from Ip Man vs. those 10 black belt dudes. Now the trailer for the forthcoming fantasy film "The Iron Mask" is promising a highly volatile and exciting clash between the action stars of Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Okay, the fight is probably not going to be that long and it doesn't even seem to be a major part of the film at all. The Iron Mask' is a Russian-Chinese film originally released in China in 2019 under the title' Viy 2: Journey to China,' a follow-up to the 2014 movie' Viy: The Forbidden Kingdom,' which was loosely based on Nikolai Gogol's novel of the same name

That's right, there's another such movie out there in the country. The film is set in the 18th century and it stars Jason Flemyng as an English cartographer sent to map the Far East of Russia, and discovers dragons, black magic, and a king of dragons? Clearly.

The books on which the film is based are kind of like "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" because they feature a cartographer who encounters many folklore and public domain characters.

The first story was a horror novel about a cursed Ukrainian forest that inspired the "Black Sunday" of Mario Bava, while this film seems to introduce characters like The Man in the Iron Mask, but also the character of Schwarzenegger seems to be called James Hook, although it is uncertain whether he is the famous Captain Hook or whether he is just a named drop.

But wait, although the biggest names attached are Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film also stars Charles Dance ("Game of Thrones"), as well as one of Rutger Hauer's final performances. We'll have to wait to see how the war turns out, as "The Iron Mask" doesn't have a release date in the U.S. yet, but it's arriving in the U.K. Theatres, and on request on April 20.


Watch Trailer Below:

Patience Oseni

It has been reported that one of Nollywood's veteran actors, Patience Oseni has sadly died.

The sad death was announced by Nollywood actress, Ejiro Okurame via her Instagram page on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, where she shared a photo of the actress and captioned it with a post.

"You fought a good fight... God bless your soul as you meet with your Creator.. Rest in Peace Legendary MA Patience Oseni," she wrote.



The actress is said to have passed away on Monday, February 17, 2020. May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace from all of us at PULSE.

Originally from Ogun state, the started her acting career in 1995 when she first starred in the movie 'Deadly Passion.' Patience Oseni rose to prominence in Nollywood back in the late 1990s with her role in the movie 'End Of The Wicked.'

Illustration Photo

The state commissioner for health, Professor Akin Abayomi, confirmed in a statement released on Wednesday February 19th that a patient is currently in isolation at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Abayomi called on people to be patient and not panic, as the government will do everything in its power in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Center for Disease Control

“The Ministry of Health through Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health Directorate is currently carrying out ‘contact tracing’ to determine those who may have been infected in line with international standards while we beef up our other surveillance strategies.”

The Commissioner stressed the need for members of the public to ensure and maintain an adequate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation at all times as part of prevention and control measures against the spread of the disease in the state.

 “Members of the public are further advised to avoid contact with rats, to always cover their food and water properly, cook all their food thoroughly, as well as block all holes in the septic tanks and holes through which rats can enter the house and clear rat hideouts within the premises. 

“Isolation wards have been prepared to manage suspected and confirmed cases, drugs, and other materials have also been prepositioned at designated facilities while health workers have been placed on red alert and community sensitization activities intensified” the commissioner said

Abayomi noted that prevention and disease control remained a shared responsibility of all people by adhering to the highest standards of personal and community hygiene as well as environmental sanitation.

He advised residents to store household refuse with tight-fitting covers in sanitary refuse bags or dust bins to prevent infestation by rats and rodents; to properly dispose of refuse at designated dump sites and not in the drainage system and to store food items in rodent-proof bins.

Lassa fever has now been reported in 19 states with more than 20 deaths so far.
   

Oluwo                  Abgowu

Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, has again denied assaulting Ogbaagba's Agbowu, Oba Dhirulahi Akinropo during a peace meeting over the land tussle between monarchs in Osun State's Ivo axis.

Oba Akanbi, who said he was only historically battling corruption, asked his detractors to leave him to God. He warned them against a hurried judgment, without knowing the matter.

He accused other monarchs of being land grabbers, claiming they were taking over family lands, selling them with impunity and imprisoning anyone who tried to challenge them.

He wrote on Instagram;

I did not punch anyone it's all lies !!


Oluwo denied the allegations that during a state peace conference he kicked Agbowu of Ogbaagba, Oba Dhirulahi Akinropo.
He asked those peddling lies against him to apologize for the matter, stating that there was never a time when he punched Agbowu, adding that they had only altercation they could handle.
Remember that the Oluwo, who was invited by the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the zone to the Zone 11 police headquarters in Osogbo, allegedly beat Oba Dhirulahi Akinropo during the peace meeting with Bashir Makama.

Addressing journalists at Nigeria Union of Journalists ' Correspondents Chapel in Osogbo on Tuesday, Oluwo said he will be judged by his intent to defend the helpless poor.

He told his critics to leave him to God and warn them against hurried judgment without knowledge of the matter.

The traditional ruler said most critics are ignorant of the hardship that some monarchs are inflicting on their subjects in his domain.

Oba Akanbi revealed that the affected monarchs had lorded themselves over their subjects, seized family land and impunity selling, and imprisoned anyone who tried to challenge them.

He also expressed concerns about how innocent members of the family are being sent to jail because the monarchs have manipulated their case by their accomplice.

He said that Bororo's current influx to his domain, invited by these Obas, called for concern selling lands to them for peanut. He announced the transportation of thousands of Bororo to Oori, a village under Iwoland and their Baale, Olori collected money and signed a memorandum of understanding without the consent of the Government. Do you want me to be harboring this?

The Oluwo also expressed disappointment at the fact that most Nigerians hailed bad leaders but vowed to continue fighting corruption in the traditional system just as President Buhari maintained,  is fighting political corruption by turning deaf ear to critics.

Suspects

Ogun State Police Command men have arrested five suspected robbers who hid behind an operation in their herbalist's house.

The accused robbers were arrested on Tuesday after residents on Akorede Estate, Olomoore, behind Crescent University, Abeokuta, reportedly unleashing terror on January 21, 2020.

In a statement released on Tuesday, State Police Public Relations Officer Abimbola Oyeyemi named the suspects as Tosin Adebanjo, Toheeb Ogundare, Ahmed Oloyede, Emmanuel Ogunshina, alias Emma SARS, Adebisi Remilekun and Sukanmi Ogundimu (the herbalist).

Oyeyemi said one Alfa Rifhat Ashraf was wounded by the suspects while raiding a house at midnight.

He added that the men also dispossessed the victim and his wife of five handsets, one laptop,  the sum of N60,000 and other valuables.

The PPRO said, “On receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson,  gave a marching order to the DPO Lafenwa division, CSP Muraina Ayilara, to go after the hoodlums and bring them to justice.

“In compliance with the CP’s directive, the DPO and his operatives commenced intelligence and technical investigation of the case which led to the arrest of a member of the gang.

“The arrested gang member led the operatives to the house of an herbalist at the Olomoore area of Abeokuta, which serves as a hideout for the gang.

“On getting there, the place was cordoned off. Surprisingly, the hoodlums attacked the police with cutlasses, consequent upon which one of them was shot and five others arrested, along with the herbalist.

“Recovered from them were one laptop, five different types of handsets, one cutlass and charms.

“The gang leader, who is popularly known as AK, escaped and a serious manhunt has been launched to effect his arrest.

“The victims have identified some of the arrested culprits as those who invaded their house on that day.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Keneth Ebrimson, has ordered the transfer of the suspects to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad  for discreet investigation.”

Atletico 1 VS Liverpool 0

Liverpool was the victims of an old-fashioned masterclass at the Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as Diego Simeone's side grounded a 1-0 victory in Madrid to give themselves hope to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Saul Niguez lifted the roof by scoring in the fourth minute before Atletico's defense kicked in at a booming Wanda Metropolitano, stifling the European champions and denying them a single shot on target.

If Alvaro Morata hadn't slipped in the second half when given a good chance, Atleti might have even taken a two-goal lead to Anfield, where they can expect an onslaught next month.

Even though Liverpool is still in favor of overcoming this deficit and going through it, the Atleti fans ' roar at the final whistle, aimed at their fist-pumping players on the pitch, suggested that Simeone's team believe now.

Few had tipped them to keep this tie alive for the second leg, let alone advance, despite their own stuttering form, while Liverpool, unbeaten in the Premier League, is gunning for a triple.

Jurgen Klopp said there was a "results machine" on Monday Atletico but the temptation was to see his words as platitudes, not a precise reflection of a side that sits 13 points behind Real Madrid's La Liga leaders and has already lost six times this season.

Under Simeone, however, Atletico has also become synonymous with overcoming the odds, just as they did when they won the Spanish title in 2014 and then reached the Champions League final twice.

We called the spirit here for all their struggles this season to deliver the kind of performance full of tenacity, determination and courage that would always be needed to give them any chance of success.

Simeone was surprised to start Thomas Lemar this year for the first time, while Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa both came back from injury, the former from the beginning and the latter from the bench in the second half.

Liverpool, who started with their planned eleven, blitzed multiple opponents with explosive beginnings, but they were the ones who rocked early as Atletico snapped at their heels, pressed hard and relished to be the first in any loose ball.

They took the lead, aided by a hint of fortune as Liverpool failed to clear the corner and for Saul to stab in from three yards the ball cannoned back off Fabinho's foot.

On the pitch, Simeone beckoned his players to remain calm but they danced in the corner while the fans were delirious and given hope in the stands.
Atletico was given a lead to defend and the remainder of the half was largely a picture of Liverpool dominating the ball but failing to break down the 10 red and white shirts in front of it.

Their best chances fell to Mohamed Salah but, before sidefooting into an open net, he passed the mishit clearance of Jan Oblak to offside Firmino, and then saw a deflected shot fly over.

Oblak's error came shortly after Virgil van Dijk's equally unusual mistake, whose poor header may have proved costly, only for Morata to miss the chance from the angle.

Sadio Mane was replaced by Divock Origi on a yellow card at half-time while Lemar made way for the more conscientious Marcos Llorente.

Simeone could sense the excitement from Liverpool and he responded by flapping his arms frenziedly to demand further support.

At the back post, Salah drifted into space but went low, and Atletico came unscathed through another pressing spell. Morata should have even made it two but slipped on Lodi's cut-back when he was about to pull the trigger.

He was taken off with 20 minutes left, along with Salah, and shortly afterward Costa made his return to a stream of home support acceptance. When the final whistle blew the roar was even bigger.

AFP

Illustration Photo

                       
The 1967 Nigerian civil war, better known as the Biafra War, began as a result of the Igbos ' decision to break out of Nigeria. The Easterners felt isolated from the Nigerian government over which the Northerners were dominant.

During the war, quite a number of things happened that some of the media organizations in Nigeria did not aire or publish. There are so many details which have never been revealed about the Biafrans.

So many pictures of fallen soldiers and extremely hungry Nigerian children flooded the west communities media.

Find below some of the thought-provoking pictures of the Biafran war of 1967:

1) A Wounded Biafran Soldier on a Makeshift Stretcher 

A Wounded Biafran Soldier on a Makeshift Stretcher

A picture of a wounded Nigerian soldier being carried by his fellow soldiers on a bicycle. Fighting is such a distasteful case. The soldier could not even get a proper stretcher to help wheel him to treatment at the hospital.

2)Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu Inspecting Newly Recruited Officers Into the Biafran Army

Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu Inspecting Newly Recruited Officers Into the Biafran Army

 Nationalist and Armed  Governor Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu inspecting some of the newly recruited officers in 1968. This has been during the war's tensed weather. Most teens were drafted into the army without prior training and made to face war.


3)  Starvation and Malnutrition Confronts Biafran Children

Starvation and Malnutrition Confronts Biafran Children

One of the unfortunate effects of the war is this. The Nigerian government has suspended the export to the East of relief materials such as food, medicines and all other basic amenities. The idea was initiated by Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the finance commissioner and one of the head of state's advisers. Sad to note, the then Biafran Nation's poor children suffered the fierce whip of a war they hadn't orchestrated.

4) Biafra residents Flee Their Homes For Safety

Biafra residents Flee Their Homes For Safety

 Cross-section of Nigerians who fled their homes in 1968 after they felt the heavy blow of the war. The society they once knew was no longer free, their homes had become a death trap for them. Fear and survival instinct overwhelmed the sense of entitlement. Even if their freedom would cost them, they had to escape to a safer world.

5) Young Nigerian Displays An Act of Humanity 

Young Nigerian Displays An Act of Humanity

A young Nigerian wounded was rescued by a fellow Nigerian from the danger zone. It became glaring that the struggle against humanity was not between Nigerian troops and the Secessionist group.

Humanity takes precedence over faith, race, language, community or social status. That is a theory as old as the very creation itself. We all preach it but it was practiced during the war by this anonymous Nigerian.

6) A Biafran soldier With Grenade on his head

A Biafran soldier With Grenade on his head

 A Biafran soldier carries a sophisticated and delicate weapon that the French government supplied in 1968. It was rumored during the war that the French Government was throwing their weight behind the Biafra secessionist group. Nevertheless, the French government disclosed their reasons for supporting Biafran during the war in another article that circulated online. We claimed it was not for the Biafra State breakaway. According to a memo for African and Malagasy Affairs issued by the French Secretary-General, Jean Mauricheau-Beaupre stated that France was funding Biafra because of Oil and ERAP.

7) The Biafran Army and Women in Search of Food

The Biafran Army and Women in Search of Food

 The Government of Nigeria refused to continue sending relief supplies to the Igbos when the fighting became violent in 1968. Biafrans had to walk hundreds of miles in search of food which made them vulnerable to Nigerian troop attacks.

8) Commander Adekunle Benjamin Leads Nigerian troops In Port Harcourt 

Commander Adekunle Benjamin Leads Nigerian troops In Port Harcourt

Nigerian army troops, headed by Commander Benjamin Adekunle, take a look at the Port Harcourt map. The Nigerian troops were seeking a strategic way to enter the city of Port Harcourt during the 1968 war to take possession of it from the Biafran forces.

9) Nigerian troops advance The Nigerian armored car

Nigerian troops advance The Nigerian armored car

 forces attacked the city of Biafra with an armored car in the Biafra Region. People with a big penchant for war movies would know the nefarious job this gun can do. Nothing ever survives on the ground destroyed by that armored car.

Sad to say, the above photo was not taken during the making of the movies.

10) A Biafran Culture Reduced to Dust

A Biafran Culture Reduced to Dust

 If only one could reach the community's picture during the good old days preceding battle. A whole village was reduced to dust, war had turned a once lively and bubbling city into a desert.

You have some thought-provoking images of the Civil War in there. Those who fail to learn from history will repeat it once again. It is expedient for all Nigerians to begin preaching peace and not war, to impose unity and not secession.

President Buhari                                                                 Leah Sharibu

On Tuesday President Muhammadu Buhari commemorated the kidnapping of the last captive Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu.

Two years after a faction of the Boko Haram sect–Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) kidnapped the teenager, the president said the federal government has redoubled its effort for freedom.

President Buhari in a statement which he personally signed

A group of protesters demanding Leah Sharibu’s release from captivity.

He emphasized that Nigerians have the right to practice any religion of their choice and no one has the power to force another against their will to change their faith.

The President, however, gave a promise that his government would continue to work to ensure that Leah, as well as other children and victims of terrorists, recover their freedom.

He added that this would be done by the government, without discriminating against any religion or ethnic group.

On 19 February 2018, some insurgents stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe State, and abducted Leah and about 100 other girls.

The other girls were released weeks after the kidnap while the terrorists held Leah in captivity for failing to renounce her religion.

An audio clip appeared six months later in which the kidnapped schoolgirl pleaded with President Buhari to help her recover her freedom.

Leah also sought help for her family in the clip, and asked the government to passionately treat her case.

Last year, the family of Leah and the campaign group Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) commemorated her first year in the custody of the militant, and called on the government to ensure her release.

WE’LL CONTINUE TO SEEK AND SECURE RELEASE OF ALL CHILDREN AND CAPTIVES OF TERRORISTS – PRESIDENT BUHARI

On the second anniversary of Dapchi, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes the following statement:

Two years ago, 110 innocent children from the town of Dapchi were taken, against their will, by the terrorists of Boko Haram. 107 survived the ordeal. Today all but one – Leah Sharibu – are returned to their families.

Now aged 16, Leah remains in the hands of the terrorists – they say because she refuses to renounce her Christian faith.

We say, as the government for and of all Nigerians, that no person has the right to force another to change their faith against their will and that all life is sacred.

This government continues and seeks to secure the release of all children and captives of terrorists – and we do so regardless of their creed or the name of their creator.

As we redouble our efforts for Leah’s return, we can never allow the terrorists to divide us – Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Christian. We are all Sons of Abraham. And all Nigerians have the same worth and rights before the law, and before God.

Signed:

Muhammadu Buhari,

President and Commander-in Chief,

Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Abuja.

18-02-20