The Fridays before the Monday
I was up so late I almost thought I would be too out to make my appointment this morning for 9:15AM. I had set the alarm for 7:55AM and after 4 snooze sessions I got out of bed and got ready.
Every three weeks, usually on a Friday, I go to see the oncologist who monitors my progress with the chemotherapy and how my blood is coping with the onslaught, though the previous meeting was Thursday all because the Friday was Christmas Day.
Much talk and much progress
This time, I arrived at the hospital with just 3 minutes to spare and before I settled down after registering my presence the young doctor was out to call me into his surgery.
He was quite impressed with my progress though I did let him know a number of issues I had since my last chemotherapy. I had been more sick than I had ever been and I had to find a way of managing the emesis through the drugs I already had.
After looking at my feet, I had been experiencing a bit of pain in my left sole, I have learnt visiting the doctor must be the opportunity to reveal that is tell him everything, they also need that information to fine tune whatever regimen you are on.
Other important business
I also took the opportunity to renew my prescriptions for the anti-emetics which now have new instructions along with an additional anti-emetic to be taken on the day of chemotherapy and the succeeding two days, the pain patches and foot cream all got updates too.
My new appointments were set and then I had to give blood for further analysis, there was a big queue at the blood testing clinic but I get the express badge which is an exclamation mark in a yellow triangle and your queue-jump to the very next person to be seen.
Let us pray
As has become my ritual, I called on the catholic priest with whom I had a long discussion on what I have been going through and how I have been responding to treatment, he then prayed for me and by the time I looked up at the hospital clock, it wasn’t even 10:30AM yet.
I’ll be back in hospital on Monday in the afternoon for my sixth session of chemotherapy; meanwhile, I probably have an eventful weekend ahead.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Nigeria: Dr Abdulmutallab deserves no honour, tell our Senate
The irony is lost
Irony is a concept it seems our lawmakers in Nigeria have lost, their propensity to align with the herd in stampede mode just beggars belief, I am left gobsmacked in incredulity.
I have just read that the Nigerian Senate Deputy President, one Ike Ekweremadu moved to have the father of the knicker bomber given a National honour. [1]
It is like feeding malevolent code to a computer, I should expect it to crash irretrievably at the illogicality of the command issued, but maybe one should try to understand the madness of this idea.
Honoured for fatherhood
Now, Dr Umar Abdulmutallab is the father or Mr. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [2], it is unlikely that the erudite personality with all his achievements would want to be honoured for being the father of a misguided son who was about to blow off his genitals and bring down a full laden aircraft of innocent people over a heavily populated American city.
Maybe, for instance, Dr Abdulmutallab might deign to consider it for having offered his son such privileged education in prestige institutions around the world and suddenly realising he had lost paternal contact posted a missing persons call like any concerned parent would.
Honoured for being an informant
That sounds implausible, but probably, he might be persuaded to accept such an honour for not finding ways to ground his son, but reporting his possible extremist views to the US Embassy in Nigeria but not the security agencies in Nigeria. An almost civic duty carried out with unpatriotic flair, the amazing bravery of a father telling on his son, though none of it really prevented what could have happened.
Then one could receive such a national honour for protecting ones global interests from the taint of terrorism but realising the possibility of absolution if ones son is sacrificed to the security agencies in the United States rather than trying to protect him and end up being labelled someone who aids and abets terrorism.
Honoured for celebrity
Perhaps an honour is well deserved for being the instigator by fatherhood of the man who put Nigeria on the global map of terrorism, who became the most talked about person in the world at Christmas 2009, a Nigerian par excellence, both notable and notorious.
If that all does not make sense, presumably some other countries want to honour Dr Abdulmutallab for being a rotten parent, who deigns to perform his civic duty in an unpatriotic fashion, reporting his son for extremist leanings and thereby protecting his global business interests, and so Nigeria should stupidity jump the gun and get in there first by honouring this selfless, courageous, brave and commendable heroism.
He deserves ignominy
Dr Abdulmutallab deserves no honour and really is would be atrociously contemptible for him to even consider showing up for anything talk less of an honour with regards to how his own son turned out.
At best, Dr Abdulmutallab is an almost hero but nothing he did prevented the act of terror his son almost succeeded in completing but for luck the he either fumbled his assignment or the quick acting of his fellow passengers on that almost fateful flight.
Ignominy and disgrace are the least that could be conferred on the Abdulmutallab family, at worst; they should be ignored, though I would like them all to be interrogated by the US Security services with the permission of Nigerian authorities.
The apology of our Senate leadership
There is no doubt that our senators know no irony, this act belongs to my Apes Obey Series [3] where Lord Lugard in his astute observation in the Dual Mandate confirms these traits in the leadership of the Nigerian Senate.
It goes on and on but we are the poorer for it that a person of the stature of the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate did not think through this despicable idea before submitting his motion, it is just incredible that he could not anticipate the irony of it all.
The stupidity of such a motion and the crass idiocy it confers on him was exemplified in the fact that he could only find the Senate Leader and nine other senators to support the motion, it was negatively received on the whole; but what a laughing stock it would make of Nigerians – there is no way Nigeria can be taken seriously with such people in leadership.
In my humble opinion, they do as much damage to our image as the pants bomber has done and arguably worse, they are a disgrace.
Sources
[1] Senate opposes national award to Abdulmuttalab | NIGERIAN TRIBUNE - News
[2] Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Introducing the Apes Obey! Series [akin.blog-city.com]
Irony is a concept it seems our lawmakers in Nigeria have lost, their propensity to align with the herd in stampede mode just beggars belief, I am left gobsmacked in incredulity.
I have just read that the Nigerian Senate Deputy President, one Ike Ekweremadu moved to have the father of the knicker bomber given a National honour. [1]
It is like feeding malevolent code to a computer, I should expect it to crash irretrievably at the illogicality of the command issued, but maybe one should try to understand the madness of this idea.
Honoured for fatherhood
Now, Dr Umar Abdulmutallab is the father or Mr. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [2], it is unlikely that the erudite personality with all his achievements would want to be honoured for being the father of a misguided son who was about to blow off his genitals and bring down a full laden aircraft of innocent people over a heavily populated American city.
Maybe, for instance, Dr Abdulmutallab might deign to consider it for having offered his son such privileged education in prestige institutions around the world and suddenly realising he had lost paternal contact posted a missing persons call like any concerned parent would.
Honoured for being an informant
That sounds implausible, but probably, he might be persuaded to accept such an honour for not finding ways to ground his son, but reporting his possible extremist views to the US Embassy in Nigeria but not the security agencies in Nigeria. An almost civic duty carried out with unpatriotic flair, the amazing bravery of a father telling on his son, though none of it really prevented what could have happened.
Then one could receive such a national honour for protecting ones global interests from the taint of terrorism but realising the possibility of absolution if ones son is sacrificed to the security agencies in the United States rather than trying to protect him and end up being labelled someone who aids and abets terrorism.
Honoured for celebrity
Perhaps an honour is well deserved for being the instigator by fatherhood of the man who put Nigeria on the global map of terrorism, who became the most talked about person in the world at Christmas 2009, a Nigerian par excellence, both notable and notorious.
If that all does not make sense, presumably some other countries want to honour Dr Abdulmutallab for being a rotten parent, who deigns to perform his civic duty in an unpatriotic fashion, reporting his son for extremist leanings and thereby protecting his global business interests, and so Nigeria should stupidity jump the gun and get in there first by honouring this selfless, courageous, brave and commendable heroism.
He deserves ignominy
Dr Abdulmutallab deserves no honour and really is would be atrociously contemptible for him to even consider showing up for anything talk less of an honour with regards to how his own son turned out.
At best, Dr Abdulmutallab is an almost hero but nothing he did prevented the act of terror his son almost succeeded in completing but for luck the he either fumbled his assignment or the quick acting of his fellow passengers on that almost fateful flight.
Ignominy and disgrace are the least that could be conferred on the Abdulmutallab family, at worst; they should be ignored, though I would like them all to be interrogated by the US Security services with the permission of Nigerian authorities.
The apology of our Senate leadership
There is no doubt that our senators know no irony, this act belongs to my Apes Obey Series [3] where Lord Lugard in his astute observation in the Dual Mandate confirms these traits in the leadership of the Nigerian Senate.
“an excitable person; lacking in self control, discipline, and foresight ... full of personal vanity, with little sense of veracity ... his thoughts are concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment, and he suffers little from the apprehension for the future or grief for the past ... and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or business; he loves the display of power, but fails to realize its responsibility; ... he has ... an instinct rather than a moral virtue.”
It goes on and on but we are the poorer for it that a person of the stature of the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate did not think through this despicable idea before submitting his motion, it is just incredible that he could not anticipate the irony of it all.
The stupidity of such a motion and the crass idiocy it confers on him was exemplified in the fact that he could only find the Senate Leader and nine other senators to support the motion, it was negatively received on the whole; but what a laughing stock it would make of Nigerians – there is no way Nigeria can be taken seriously with such people in leadership.
In my humble opinion, they do as much damage to our image as the pants bomber has done and arguably worse, they are a disgrace.
Sources
[1] Senate opposes national award to Abdulmuttalab | NIGERIAN TRIBUNE - News
[2] Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Introducing the Apes Obey! Series [akin.blog-city.com]
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
To Miep Gies protector of Anne Frank diaries
Anne Frank tours
I first visited an Anne Frank [1] exhibition in a church in Islington in North London some 16 years ago, the pictures and detail of the suffering of the Jews in the Second World War were harrowing but there were as personal story too, the diary of a teenage girl who was hardly in her teens about their daily life the courage of the very few who strove to keep her and her family from the grip of Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
Two days ago, the last of the Dutch citizens to aid and shelter them from harm died at the age of 100, her name was Miep Gies [2].
On my second visit to Amsterdam, in 1996, the Anne Frank Museum [3] was a must see for us and on that dull afternoon we trundled to the almost non-descript house and walked around the house, the enclave and noted the observations of Anne Frank on panels and boards all around the house, it really had that very old feel to it.
A tourist’s itinerary
My third visit was a chaperone to the parents of my friend with whom I visited 10 years before, the whole setup had changed, adjoining buildings had been acquired and the place now looked like a very commercial tourist attraction, probably one of the most visited in the Netherlands and for all intents and purposes, it is worth a visit.
Without going into much detail, Miep Gies, her husband and 3 other Dutch citizens helped conceal Anne Frank, her family and a number of friends, all of whom were Jews in a annex of the office they worked in.
It was an act of exceptional courage in a time of great suspicion and deception, it was difficult to know who to trust, the risk they took could have cost them their freedom as well as their lives.
Unfortunately, Anne Frank and her concealed colleagues were discovered and transferred to Nazi concentration camps where she died at the age of 15.
The preservation of memories and memorials
Miep Gies found the diary Anne Frank kept during the times of concealment and when Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father returned to the Netherlands, that diary was published and has made Anne Frank probably one of the most talked about victims of the Holocaust.
Coincidentally, the concentration camp site at Auschwitz in Poland is falling into disrepair [4] and there are appeals for aid to keep the infrastructure from falling apart and hence preserve an essential piece of memory about man’s inhumanity to man.
The narratives are very clear, the need for exceptional courage and bravery in preserving our humanity, the utility of documenting our daily lives for posterity and fact that we cannot afford for monuments of remembrance to waste away just because they look like relics of times long gone.
All these are signposts of history from which hopefully we can learn lessons to live better lives for ourselves, our communities and humanity at large. Rest in peace, Miep Gies and thank you for showing us your deep humanity and preserving the memories of times we must never forget.
Sources
[1] Anne Frank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] Miep Gies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam - the official Anne Frank House website
[4] Auschwitz asks Britain for help to preserve decaying death camp - Times Online
I first visited an Anne Frank [1] exhibition in a church in Islington in North London some 16 years ago, the pictures and detail of the suffering of the Jews in the Second World War were harrowing but there were as personal story too, the diary of a teenage girl who was hardly in her teens about their daily life the courage of the very few who strove to keep her and her family from the grip of Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
Two days ago, the last of the Dutch citizens to aid and shelter them from harm died at the age of 100, her name was Miep Gies [2].
On my second visit to Amsterdam, in 1996, the Anne Frank Museum [3] was a must see for us and on that dull afternoon we trundled to the almost non-descript house and walked around the house, the enclave and noted the observations of Anne Frank on panels and boards all around the house, it really had that very old feel to it.
A tourist’s itinerary
My third visit was a chaperone to the parents of my friend with whom I visited 10 years before, the whole setup had changed, adjoining buildings had been acquired and the place now looked like a very commercial tourist attraction, probably one of the most visited in the Netherlands and for all intents and purposes, it is worth a visit.
Without going into much detail, Miep Gies, her husband and 3 other Dutch citizens helped conceal Anne Frank, her family and a number of friends, all of whom were Jews in a annex of the office they worked in.
It was an act of exceptional courage in a time of great suspicion and deception, it was difficult to know who to trust, the risk they took could have cost them their freedom as well as their lives.
Unfortunately, Anne Frank and her concealed colleagues were discovered and transferred to Nazi concentration camps where she died at the age of 15.
The preservation of memories and memorials
Miep Gies found the diary Anne Frank kept during the times of concealment and when Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father returned to the Netherlands, that diary was published and has made Anne Frank probably one of the most talked about victims of the Holocaust.
Coincidentally, the concentration camp site at Auschwitz in Poland is falling into disrepair [4] and there are appeals for aid to keep the infrastructure from falling apart and hence preserve an essential piece of memory about man’s inhumanity to man.
The narratives are very clear, the need for exceptional courage and bravery in preserving our humanity, the utility of documenting our daily lives for posterity and fact that we cannot afford for monuments of remembrance to waste away just because they look like relics of times long gone.
All these are signposts of history from which hopefully we can learn lessons to live better lives for ourselves, our communities and humanity at large. Rest in peace, Miep Gies and thank you for showing us your deep humanity and preserving the memories of times we must never forget.
Sources
[1] Anne Frank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] Miep Gies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam - the official Anne Frank House website
[4] Auschwitz asks Britain for help to preserve decaying death camp - Times Online
Beware of Online Romance Fraud
No more a laughing matter
In August 2007, I made such great fun out of an Australian sheep farmer who had been tricked into travelling all the way to Mali to meet a young and beautiful Liberian bride ready to pay him a hefty bride price. In Silly Dingo hooked by Nubian money boobs [1], I had a field day of jest and comical levity which on the serious side included a kidnap for ransom and threats to his life but for the quick thinking of his embassy.
In a new report in The Independent [2], it appears this is a serious issue and no more a matter for idle jest in what is now known as “romance fraud”.
Romance fraud
What romance fraud entails is a fraudulent group setting up a profile of a prospective partner on some international dating site and luring suitors into the possibility of love and romance. The exchanges can get to a point that they are impossible to share with others and therein is the lure.
The target is unwittingly drawn into confidence and faith that it is enough to compel travelling to meet the partner who sometimes is in some West African country. On arrival, the target is kidnapped and held for ransom before release, by which time the “stupidity” of the target is public knowledge and seeking redress is almost impossible for the shame of it all.
Loving into crime
This is even made worse for those seeking same-sex relationships in countries where homosexuality is seen as taboo. There, desperate young men offering undying love of the type one cannot find in more “liberal” countries with commitments bordering of subservience are sometimes an irresistible lure and at the same time leave the target with the impossibility of reporting the fraud to the authorities.
The view is that these crimes are under-reported; the victims are left licking their wounds and rebuilding their pride having been damaged by these unfortunate alliances.
Be wary, be alert
That is not to say one cannot find love online and in these dating forums, it is just important that one be very wary of impossible promises, besides one should find alternative ways of verifying that the prospects are indeed real rather than frauds, in fact, no matter the level of trust developed engaging your embassy in ascertaining facts or even serious crime agencies in detective work has more than a useful end for the purposes of safety.
Once you become the welfare source for your prospect by sending money for everyday things of life, your suspicious should be aroused and be ready no matter the level of lewdness in exchanges has become to cut your losses and run.
The most important thing is not to be ruled by the prospect of the best sex you have never had with the most beautiful thing that does not exist but in empty words and false photographs.
Do not divulge any unique details like full names, full addresses (emails should do) and never your bank account details. If anything of this romance is too good to be true, it probably is, think of yourself being groomed and lured rather than being wooed.
Shamefully, Nigeria and Ghana show up as places where your travel to see your computer lover might well be an ordeal you will not wish on your worst enemy.
Source
[1] Silly Dingo hooked by Nubian money boobs
[2] Briton suffers 'romance fraud' kidnap ordeal - Crime, UK - The Independent
In August 2007, I made such great fun out of an Australian sheep farmer who had been tricked into travelling all the way to Mali to meet a young and beautiful Liberian bride ready to pay him a hefty bride price. In Silly Dingo hooked by Nubian money boobs [1], I had a field day of jest and comical levity which on the serious side included a kidnap for ransom and threats to his life but for the quick thinking of his embassy.
In a new report in The Independent [2], it appears this is a serious issue and no more a matter for idle jest in what is now known as “romance fraud”.
Romance fraud
What romance fraud entails is a fraudulent group setting up a profile of a prospective partner on some international dating site and luring suitors into the possibility of love and romance. The exchanges can get to a point that they are impossible to share with others and therein is the lure.
The target is unwittingly drawn into confidence and faith that it is enough to compel travelling to meet the partner who sometimes is in some West African country. On arrival, the target is kidnapped and held for ransom before release, by which time the “stupidity” of the target is public knowledge and seeking redress is almost impossible for the shame of it all.
Loving into crime
This is even made worse for those seeking same-sex relationships in countries where homosexuality is seen as taboo. There, desperate young men offering undying love of the type one cannot find in more “liberal” countries with commitments bordering of subservience are sometimes an irresistible lure and at the same time leave the target with the impossibility of reporting the fraud to the authorities.
The view is that these crimes are under-reported; the victims are left licking their wounds and rebuilding their pride having been damaged by these unfortunate alliances.
Be wary, be alert
That is not to say one cannot find love online and in these dating forums, it is just important that one be very wary of impossible promises, besides one should find alternative ways of verifying that the prospects are indeed real rather than frauds, in fact, no matter the level of trust developed engaging your embassy in ascertaining facts or even serious crime agencies in detective work has more than a useful end for the purposes of safety.
Once you become the welfare source for your prospect by sending money for everyday things of life, your suspicious should be aroused and be ready no matter the level of lewdness in exchanges has become to cut your losses and run.
The most important thing is not to be ruled by the prospect of the best sex you have never had with the most beautiful thing that does not exist but in empty words and false photographs.
Do not divulge any unique details like full names, full addresses (emails should do) and never your bank account details. If anything of this romance is too good to be true, it probably is, think of yourself being groomed and lured rather than being wooed.
Shamefully, Nigeria and Ghana show up as places where your travel to see your computer lover might well be an ordeal you will not wish on your worst enemy.
Source
[1] Silly Dingo hooked by Nubian money boobs
[2] Briton suffers 'romance fraud' kidnap ordeal - Crime, UK - The Independent
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Nigeria: Yar'Adua interview a hoax?
Developing news
Apparently, in the scramble to maintain the charade about the President of Nigeria, he granted an interview to the BBC [1] by telephone where these words seem to have been spoken.
“At the moment I am undergoing treatment, and I'm getting better from the treatment. I hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress, which will allow me to get back home, I wish, at this stage, to thank all Nigerians for their prayers for my good health, and for their prayers for the nation.”
A recording NOT an interview
I am sorry to say that this does not convince anyone that the president is alive or that it was not recorded before he fell ill and then played back from a recorder – this was a monologue, not an interview.
Nigerians would only be pleased to see and hear their president on television with proof that it screening was done on the same day it was shown.
At the tail end of the recording it appears the President is wishing the Nigerian football team success in Angola at the current African Cup of Nations competition which seems quite apt but then, I have been wishing Nigeria success since they qualified for the competition long ago and the draw with Egypt had been known for quite a while.
Just put him on television
I would not put it past the Machiavellian inclinations of his cabal of helpers to have schemed this all along since they even were not sure how long he would be away. A number of recordings that pick on seminal events that they already knew will take place and release the recordings as phone monologues sounding hollow to prove a point that I am afraid it does not prove.
Radio and telephone is not enough, no Nigerian should be bought by this, it has all the hallmarks of deception and his handlers have yet to come up with incontrovertible evidence and proof of his still being around to conduct any affairs to try an rope in the reputation of the BBC in such a despicable attempt at proving the imponderable is just plainly atrocious.
I will go as far as call this so-called interview a hoax, that hopefully would be exposed very soon, if not, that they should provide better proof and debunk my claim after which I would definitely eat humble pie.
The basic demand is – Put Yar’Adua on screen today! [2] Nothing less would suffice, once that is done and properly authenticated, we can get on with our business praying for his speedy recovery.
Sources
[1] BBC News - Nigeria's ailing President Yar'Adua breaks silence
[2] Nigeria: Put Yar'Adua on screen today! [akin.blog-city.com]
Apparently, in the scramble to maintain the charade about the President of Nigeria, he granted an interview to the BBC [1] by telephone where these words seem to have been spoken.
“At the moment I am undergoing treatment, and I'm getting better from the treatment. I hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress, which will allow me to get back home, I wish, at this stage, to thank all Nigerians for their prayers for my good health, and for their prayers for the nation.”
A recording NOT an interview
I am sorry to say that this does not convince anyone that the president is alive or that it was not recorded before he fell ill and then played back from a recorder – this was a monologue, not an interview.
Nigerians would only be pleased to see and hear their president on television with proof that it screening was done on the same day it was shown.
At the tail end of the recording it appears the President is wishing the Nigerian football team success in Angola at the current African Cup of Nations competition which seems quite apt but then, I have been wishing Nigeria success since they qualified for the competition long ago and the draw with Egypt had been known for quite a while.
Just put him on television
I would not put it past the Machiavellian inclinations of his cabal of helpers to have schemed this all along since they even were not sure how long he would be away. A number of recordings that pick on seminal events that they already knew will take place and release the recordings as phone monologues sounding hollow to prove a point that I am afraid it does not prove.
Radio and telephone is not enough, no Nigerian should be bought by this, it has all the hallmarks of deception and his handlers have yet to come up with incontrovertible evidence and proof of his still being around to conduct any affairs to try an rope in the reputation of the BBC in such a despicable attempt at proving the imponderable is just plainly atrocious.
I will go as far as call this so-called interview a hoax, that hopefully would be exposed very soon, if not, that they should provide better proof and debunk my claim after which I would definitely eat humble pie.
The basic demand is – Put Yar’Adua on screen today! [2] Nothing less would suffice, once that is done and properly authenticated, we can get on with our business praying for his speedy recovery.
Sources
[1] BBC News - Nigeria's ailing President Yar'Adua breaks silence
[2] Nigeria: Put Yar'Adua on screen today! [akin.blog-city.com]
Nigeria: Put Yar'Adua on screen today!
What is the real news?
This dreadful game of obfuscation and subterfuge has to end regarding the health and whereabouts of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
There were news stories in the NEXT newspaper stating the president was brain-damaged [1] along with the list of people maintaining this charade of ignominy that makes Nigeria a laughing stock.
The Punch newspaper suggested the president had been on life support [2] as far back as December, the ensuing logic is that the president might already have passed on, but that might just be jumping the gun.
It appears the newspapers have broken ranks and injected a sense of urgency that can cause pandemonium within the coterie of faceless and unaccountable persons holding the whole of Nigeria to ransom.
What presidential orders?
Now, one reads in the Reuters that his spokesman who was on a junket to Angola phoning home from Angola to say the president’s health is improving [3] and he has been ordered by the president to return to Nigeria on Tuesday.
In his words, “The president is alive and actually getting better, he is very much conscious, can talk and has been talking, including making phone calls to some people back home.”
So, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi is going to vicariously leave supporting the Nigerian football team in Angola to return to Nigeria and with that prove he is under presidential orders? That is laughable, if not completely risible. Maybe the president has lost his sense of fun and humour.
Well, that is just not good enough evidence or proof that the president is alive and well, if this spokesperson is not yet aware, we Nigerians do not trust by one bit any government official that proffers any view about the president until they can produce in controvertible evidence.
Do the Castro debunking
This is what would suffice, when President Fidel Castro of Cuba had speculation swirling about his health and fitness he was filmed in hospital reading the current dailies that also included being visited by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Nigerians would expect nothing less, the President filmed in his recuperating stance in hospital watching a current CNN or BBC programme has was first broadcast no longer than 6 hours before its publicity and reading Nigerian newspapers no earlier than that day before and the current day’s editions of English sections of Saudi newspapers. He must chat audibly and coherently with either a Saudi royal or a well-known Nigerian figure.
Preferably, this filming should be done with an announcement to the press corps in Saudi Arabia about when the filming starts and when it ended, the reproduction and distribution should be done in Saudi Arabia and once the provenance and authenticity has been verified we can accept what is seen.
Need for incontrovertible proof
The provenance and authenticity must follow internationally accepted chains of custody, nothing like some secretly filmed Al-Qaeda announcement, the film certified with voice pattern checks and definitely NO STILLS, this should also include a millisecond clock counter and no editing of the clip whatsoever.
In this day and age, without that kind of evidence, all announcements amount to kicking against the goads and outright lies in the least – it is no fault of the Nigerian public that the government maintains no trust in their activities, this is a sure way of winning that trust back and really arranging this amazing revelation should only take hours.
At worst, get the BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera to do the filming if they cannot get a Nollywood outfit to film something truthful rather than the fictional briefings we have been regaled with for 51 rotten days of atrocious effrontery showing up as buffoonery before the whole wide world.
Sources
[1] Yar'Adua is brain-damaged: 234NEXT.com
[2] The Punch: ‘President placed on life support’
[3] Nigeria president's health is improving: spokesman | Top News | Reuters
This dreadful game of obfuscation and subterfuge has to end regarding the health and whereabouts of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
There were news stories in the NEXT newspaper stating the president was brain-damaged [1] along with the list of people maintaining this charade of ignominy that makes Nigeria a laughing stock.
The Punch newspaper suggested the president had been on life support [2] as far back as December, the ensuing logic is that the president might already have passed on, but that might just be jumping the gun.
It appears the newspapers have broken ranks and injected a sense of urgency that can cause pandemonium within the coterie of faceless and unaccountable persons holding the whole of Nigeria to ransom.
What presidential orders?
Now, one reads in the Reuters that his spokesman who was on a junket to Angola phoning home from Angola to say the president’s health is improving [3] and he has been ordered by the president to return to Nigeria on Tuesday.
In his words, “The president is alive and actually getting better, he is very much conscious, can talk and has been talking, including making phone calls to some people back home.”
So, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi is going to vicariously leave supporting the Nigerian football team in Angola to return to Nigeria and with that prove he is under presidential orders? That is laughable, if not completely risible. Maybe the president has lost his sense of fun and humour.
Well, that is just not good enough evidence or proof that the president is alive and well, if this spokesperson is not yet aware, we Nigerians do not trust by one bit any government official that proffers any view about the president until they can produce in controvertible evidence.
Do the Castro debunking
This is what would suffice, when President Fidel Castro of Cuba had speculation swirling about his health and fitness he was filmed in hospital reading the current dailies that also included being visited by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Nigerians would expect nothing less, the President filmed in his recuperating stance in hospital watching a current CNN or BBC programme has was first broadcast no longer than 6 hours before its publicity and reading Nigerian newspapers no earlier than that day before and the current day’s editions of English sections of Saudi newspapers. He must chat audibly and coherently with either a Saudi royal or a well-known Nigerian figure.
Preferably, this filming should be done with an announcement to the press corps in Saudi Arabia about when the filming starts and when it ended, the reproduction and distribution should be done in Saudi Arabia and once the provenance and authenticity has been verified we can accept what is seen.
Need for incontrovertible proof
The provenance and authenticity must follow internationally accepted chains of custody, nothing like some secretly filmed Al-Qaeda announcement, the film certified with voice pattern checks and definitely NO STILLS, this should also include a millisecond clock counter and no editing of the clip whatsoever.
In this day and age, without that kind of evidence, all announcements amount to kicking against the goads and outright lies in the least – it is no fault of the Nigerian public that the government maintains no trust in their activities, this is a sure way of winning that trust back and really arranging this amazing revelation should only take hours.
At worst, get the BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera to do the filming if they cannot get a Nollywood outfit to film something truthful rather than the fictional briefings we have been regaled with for 51 rotten days of atrocious effrontery showing up as buffoonery before the whole wide world.
Sources
[1] Yar'Adua is brain-damaged: 234NEXT.com
[2] The Punch: ‘President placed on life support’
[3] Nigeria president's health is improving: spokesman | Top News | Reuters
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Nigeria: Umar Farouk alone in court
Charged with news
There was some catching up to do on the news front, going through my staple of UK based news websites represented by broadsheets, CNN, BBC, Reuters and a smattering of international news aggregators.
I did not expect any particularly new information regarding the arraignment of Mr. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [1] since the newswires had reported that he had plead “Not Guilty” to the 6 charges of indictment, none of which contained any derivation of the word terror.
I fail to see why US courts put those on federal charges in leg irons apart from a sanctimonious moralising stance of humiliating the accused – it is unlikely the person would bolt having been handcuffed surrounded by armed security personnel.
It is not like the prisoners have feet like lethal weapons of some obscure martial art manoeuvre ready to decapitate or defenestrate the deputy, the overkill exaggerates beyond the laughable.
Un-present representatives
The BBC sketch [2] of the young man’s day in court suggests he had a hobbling gait possibly due to the lap burns he suffered when his underwear lit up but did not blow up – God have mercy, incredible.
It was interesting to note that there was a delegation from the Nigerian embassy in Washington taking front row seats having flown to Detroit – I cannot say if they were there to protect his interests, ensure Nigeria’s name was not further besmirched or seeking some international publicity riding in the misfortune of another countryman.
One of the diplomats confirmed to the correspondent that none of the family members had come [to court or to the United States of America? One cannot say.]; This is a man with at least 10 siblings with whom he could claim paternal affinity, a mother, an absolutely rich father [whose global business interests have been inadvertently saved the taint of terrorism by conveniently snitching on his son], a possible troop of extended relations and not one of them could deign to make an appearance at court.
Image versus fraternity
The child has seemingly been disowned for the “shame” he must have brought on the family that they would rather never be found anywhere near him – I would not read too much into this but I am sure, if any of his family had requested a visa to be present with him it would have been granted on compassionate grounds – in times of trouble, one would think families would pull together and pull all stops to offer the moral support of physical presence.
I would suppose like it has been all his life, the big-wig daddy has probably thrown filthy lucre at the problem and the wads of cash would now stand as support, succour, shoulder and shield. It is a sad commentary but one has to wait and see.
To suggest the public image and status of this influential and respected banker’s family is paramount and more significance to them than fraternal loyalty to their misguided son would be a cruel damnation.
Brief or briefed?
What I found rather surprising was that Umar Farouk might not have heard the judge correctly about what level of school he had reached because generally speaking college in English usually refers to secondary school education whereas Americans read that as university education.
The judge then asked if he had attended secondary school which really comes across as daft because it is clear from the basic information we all have about Umar Farouk that he attended UCL in London and read mechanical engineering – whilst that is University College London, the emphasis in English would have been on the university rather than the college element of that name.
Hopefully, the judge is in the element of his brief and has been properly briefed about the cases he is presiding on and this, for instance, requires the judge be quite smart and sharp by which I mean should take time to read up and be informed on the cases in his docket, particularly from other information gleaned about Umar Farouk who has a Bachelors degree and was undergoing a Masters degree programmed he should not have been slighted with the question about whether he had attended secondary school.
Make yourself clear
An affront of prejudicial and denigrating belittlement totally uncalled for, one would say; you would think the judge just arrived from Mars and was swept into court completely oblivious of the news or what he was doing in court; I am not impressed at all and it will not augur well if it is put down to a procedural question or plain absentmindedness.
It would appear the judge has to put in the effort to make himself understood because Umar Farouk again stumbled at the next question about whether he had taken medication in the last 24 hours, the detail sunk in later on and Umar Farouk corrected himself.
If he did suffer burns injuries, it is likely he would be on strong painkillers which can have the effect of causing drowsiness or tardiness and that has to be taken into consideration but one would think the judge would have been briefed about all this considering this is a high profile suspect in a case that attracts global interest.
In any case the whole procedure appeared to take just about three minutes and the correspondent could read no emotion from Umar Farouk’s face but once again as he looked around courtroom, his life’s story was read back to him in slow motion, my parents are once again AWOL – he is again, alone and lonely.
Poor child!
Sources
[1] Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] BBC News - Abdulmutallab impassive in court
There was some catching up to do on the news front, going through my staple of UK based news websites represented by broadsheets, CNN, BBC, Reuters and a smattering of international news aggregators.
I did not expect any particularly new information regarding the arraignment of Mr. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [1] since the newswires had reported that he had plead “Not Guilty” to the 6 charges of indictment, none of which contained any derivation of the word terror.
I fail to see why US courts put those on federal charges in leg irons apart from a sanctimonious moralising stance of humiliating the accused – it is unlikely the person would bolt having been handcuffed surrounded by armed security personnel.
It is not like the prisoners have feet like lethal weapons of some obscure martial art manoeuvre ready to decapitate or defenestrate the deputy, the overkill exaggerates beyond the laughable.
Un-present representatives
The BBC sketch [2] of the young man’s day in court suggests he had a hobbling gait possibly due to the lap burns he suffered when his underwear lit up but did not blow up – God have mercy, incredible.
It was interesting to note that there was a delegation from the Nigerian embassy in Washington taking front row seats having flown to Detroit – I cannot say if they were there to protect his interests, ensure Nigeria’s name was not further besmirched or seeking some international publicity riding in the misfortune of another countryman.
One of the diplomats confirmed to the correspondent that none of the family members had come [to court or to the United States of America? One cannot say.]; This is a man with at least 10 siblings with whom he could claim paternal affinity, a mother, an absolutely rich father [whose global business interests have been inadvertently saved the taint of terrorism by conveniently snitching on his son], a possible troop of extended relations and not one of them could deign to make an appearance at court.
Image versus fraternity
The child has seemingly been disowned for the “shame” he must have brought on the family that they would rather never be found anywhere near him – I would not read too much into this but I am sure, if any of his family had requested a visa to be present with him it would have been granted on compassionate grounds – in times of trouble, one would think families would pull together and pull all stops to offer the moral support of physical presence.
I would suppose like it has been all his life, the big-wig daddy has probably thrown filthy lucre at the problem and the wads of cash would now stand as support, succour, shoulder and shield. It is a sad commentary but one has to wait and see.
To suggest the public image and status of this influential and respected banker’s family is paramount and more significance to them than fraternal loyalty to their misguided son would be a cruel damnation.
Brief or briefed?
What I found rather surprising was that Umar Farouk might not have heard the judge correctly about what level of school he had reached because generally speaking college in English usually refers to secondary school education whereas Americans read that as university education.
The judge then asked if he had attended secondary school which really comes across as daft because it is clear from the basic information we all have about Umar Farouk that he attended UCL in London and read mechanical engineering – whilst that is University College London, the emphasis in English would have been on the university rather than the college element of that name.
Hopefully, the judge is in the element of his brief and has been properly briefed about the cases he is presiding on and this, for instance, requires the judge be quite smart and sharp by which I mean should take time to read up and be informed on the cases in his docket, particularly from other information gleaned about Umar Farouk who has a Bachelors degree and was undergoing a Masters degree programmed he should not have been slighted with the question about whether he had attended secondary school.
Make yourself clear
An affront of prejudicial and denigrating belittlement totally uncalled for, one would say; you would think the judge just arrived from Mars and was swept into court completely oblivious of the news or what he was doing in court; I am not impressed at all and it will not augur well if it is put down to a procedural question or plain absentmindedness.
It would appear the judge has to put in the effort to make himself understood because Umar Farouk again stumbled at the next question about whether he had taken medication in the last 24 hours, the detail sunk in later on and Umar Farouk corrected himself.
If he did suffer burns injuries, it is likely he would be on strong painkillers which can have the effect of causing drowsiness or tardiness and that has to be taken into consideration but one would think the judge would have been briefed about all this considering this is a high profile suspect in a case that attracts global interest.
In any case the whole procedure appeared to take just about three minutes and the correspondent could read no emotion from Umar Farouk’s face but once again as he looked around courtroom, his life’s story was read back to him in slow motion, my parents are once again AWOL – he is again, alone and lonely.
Poor child!
Sources
[1] Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] BBC News - Abdulmutallab impassive in court
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