Late M.K.O Abiola's family reject centenary award

The family of the late M.K.O Abiola has rejected the posthumous Centenary award to the winner of the 1993 Nigeria’s presidential election.

Kola Abiola, the eldest son of the late politician and businessman, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that the award was “not appropriate.”

“For us, what the government is doing is laudable. But our family will only accept what is appropriate. If what they are trying to give him is a gold award for the centenary, we don’t consider that to be appropriate,” Mr. Abiola said.

“With a gold centenary award, it means we have not left where we were when they tried to rename the University of Lagos after him. We said then that it was inappropriate,” he added.

The Federal Government had shortlisted 100 persons to be honoured with Centenary awards as part of Nigeria’s Centenary celebration.

By turning down the award, the Abiola family joins the families of late activist, Gani Fawehinmi, and late afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who had also rejected the posthumous awards on their patriarch.

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka is also considering rejecting the award, which is billed to take place in Abuja on Friday.

“I would have preferred that the entire day of infamy be ignored altogether. I’m even thinking favourably of just ignoring the obscenity, then turning up at the counter-event,” Professor Soyinka is quoted as saying.

On Thursday, the family of the late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, said that it would be “inexpedient” for them to receive the award in the face of the latest killing spree by the militant group Book Harm as well as the “putrid odour of corruption” in the alleged mission US20 billion in the NNPC.

Mohammed Fawehinmi, the late lawyer’s eldest son, also said that it would be morally incongruous and psychologically debilitating for the family to stand on the same podium with General Ibrahim Babangida to receive awards.

“In the list of the awards recipients published by the Federal Government, was the name of former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, who as military president, severally detained and tortured our late father,” Mr. Fawehinmi, a lawyer, said.

“In the course of one of such illegal and inhuman detentions, our late father’s cell was sprayed with toxic substances while in Gashua prison in 1987. The cumulative effect of that dastardly action led to our father, a non- smoker, contracting lung cancer which eventually led to his death on September 5, 2009,” he added.

Femi Kuti, the first son of the late afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, said it was unlikely that his family would receive the award from the Nigerian government.

“We have not heard such (of the award) but I can speak for myself, Federal Government should first apologise for the killing of our grandmother and the burning of Kalakuta,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

M.K.O Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential poll, arguably one of the most free and fair election in Nigeria’s history, died in detention five years later.

An attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan to rename the University of Lagos after the late philanthropist in 2012 resulted in a massive protest by students and lecturers of the institution.

Asked what the family would consider an appropriate honour, Mr. Kola Abiola said, “We leave government to figure that out.”

A source close to the Abiola’s, however, said the family believed the elder Abiola deserve the nation’s highest honour, GCFR (Grand Commander of the Federal Republic), having won the 1993 presidential elections, and laid down his life to usher in democracy in Nigeria.

The family, our source said, is also angry that the government had failed to pay the huge debt it’s owing the late politician’s businesses. They believe the debt is responsible for the collapse of the businesses.

Premium Times

Nigerians get life in prison for murdering UK soldier

Two Nigerian-born British citizens, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who were found guilty of the murder of UK soldier, Fusilier Lee Rigby, were yesterday sentenced to whole-life and 45-year jail terms respectively.

Adebolajo, 29, and Adebowale, 22, drove into Fusilier Rigby with a car before hacking him to death in Woolwich, South-East London, in May last year.

The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said Adebolajo's case was one of those "rare cases" warranting a whole-life term.

According to reports, the two men were absent during sentencing after a scuffle in the dock because as soon as the judge began to sentence them, they started shouting and scuffling with court security guards.

They had to be forced to the ground and were removed from court.

Sentencing the killers in their absence, the judge said they had been convicted on "overwhelming" evidence of the "barbaric" murder of Fusilier Rigby.

Adebolajo was the leader of the "joint enterprise", the judge said, but Adebowale played his part "enthusiastically."

The judge said the pair carried out the murder "in a way that would generate maximum media coverage. He had done absolutely nothing to deserve what you did to him", the judge said.

Leadership

Suspended central bank governor Lamido Sanusi takes president Goodluck Jonathan to court

Embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, went before a Federal High Court siting in Abuja to challenge the powers of President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend him from office.

In the suit he filed through a consortium of lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Kola Awodein, Sanusi, told the high court that his purported suspension was as a result of some discrepancies he discovered in respect of amounts repatriated to the federation account from the proceed of crude oil sales between the period of January, 2012 and July, 2013.

He maintained that his sin was that upon discovering the financial anomalies, he had cause to inform the National Assembly considering the fact that the revenue of the federation and the national economy was directly affected.

He further insisted before the court that his purported suspension by President Jonathan was aimed at punishing him for the disclosures he made with regards to how revenue that accrued to the federation was being mismanaged.

Sanusi contended that the President did not approach or obtained the support of the Senate, saying his discussions with several lawmakers including Senator Bukola Saraki, confirmed that the decision to oust him from office was unilaterally taken by the Presidency.

Consequently, he urged the court to restrain President Jonathan, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police, from giving effect to his purported suspension from office as the CBN Governor, pending the determination of his suit.

Besides, he begged the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing,disturbing, stopping or preventing him from in any manner whatsoever from performing the functions of his office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office of the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

In an affidavit he deposed in support of the suit, Sanusi averred: “I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me by senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct that the senate did not give the President any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria”

Sanusi told the court that his interlocutory application was necessary considering the issues raised in the suit, saying delay would entail irreparable and serious damage and mischief on him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN Governor.

He urged the court to exercise its discretion in his favour by granting the interlocutory injunctions as the President’s continued unlawful interference with the management and administration of the apex bank, unless arrested, poses grave danger for Nigerian economy.

It was his prayer that the court should order the maintenance of status quo ante bellum, which he said should be that he should return to his office as the Governor of the CBN.

Sanusi further averred that the actions of the President in suspending him from office was contrary to provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN Governor.

He said his purported suspension, “amounts to unlawful interference in the administration and management of the apex bank and is therefore illegal, null and void.”

He said it would be in the interest of Justice for the court to grant all his prayers.
Meanwhile, the suit, dated February 24, is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.


Vanguard

Video - Finance minister Okonjo-Iweala talks about alleged missing $20 million dollars

Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan has ordered an investigation into allegations that 20 billion dollars in public money has gone missing.

The allegations were made by Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, who discovered the money had disappeared from the accounts of the state run oil company, known as the NNPC, last week.

Video - Nigeria battles infatn mortality

One million babies die each year on the day they are born globally, according to new research by Lancet and Save the Children.

Forty million women are estimated to give birth every year without medical support.

A large number of these women live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nigeria is trying to improve its high rate of infant mortality.