Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on security operatives to leave the popular Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo aka Igboho alone, saying he has learnt his lessons. The monarch in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari made available by his spokesperson, Alli Ibrahim on Friday disclosed that the tactics and approach of Adeyemo, popularly called Igboho, has been chastised by royal father’s in the region but sought the president’s magnanimity to let him off the hook in the interest of the nation’s unity, especially having been ready to step down his agitation. He added that hunting down Igboho could lead to suspicion and distrust in the country similar to the situation witnessed after the deaths of Chief Moshood Abiola and Ken Saro Wiwa. “Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho earned his popularity as an activist whose joy is to liberate the cheated. He started as such and grew with it. His strategy is not known to me because I’m not in his camp. Whenever I have information about his move, I do call him to order. He visited my palace sometime in 2018. I give pieces of advice when sought. Instead of Igboho to distinctively differentiate between agitation towards government and inter groups activism, he failed. “At a point, he abused stakeholders with spurious allegations. I was the first on the list for drumming support for one Nigeria. As a father, I’ve personally forgiven him. And I’m personally beseeching your Excellency as the number one citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to demonstrate your magnanimity by forgiving our promising son, Chief Adeyemo Sunday Igboho. “He is a novice in handling issues against the government. He is a gift to us in Yorubaland. He has pledged his readiness to listen to us. I appeal to your Excellency to slow down the security trail on Sunday Igboho. I have the assurance that adhering to this piece will go a long way in strengthening the unity of Nigeria. I promise your Excellency that Igboho will mind his steps henceforth. He has suffered a lot. He would step down agitations. I will bring him for a peace talk at the appropriate time. “Liberal struggles are won on intelligentsia merit. Arsenals without strategy is a defeated battle. These and many more, I supposed he has learnt and ready to mend his way. Nigeria is an indivisible entity that cannot be tore overnight for whatever reason. let’s forgive to move on and up. The strength is not only in diversity but also forgiveness”, the statement reads. Oluwo added that Nigerians have seen the might of government when it is ready to tackle any crime, commended the President for his determination to checking banditry and other criminalities across the country. According to the statement, We have seen the handwriting, when the government speaks different languages, the wise ruminates and take caution. I commend your efforts geared towards combating crimes, checkmating banditry and curtailing criminalities and your vigorous fight against corruption. Most importantly, your commitment to infrastructural growth is unequalled. One Nigeria, great future”.

The Chancellor, Anchor University, Lagos, Pastor William Kumuyi, says Nigeria and other African countries must empower the younger generation to usher in the desired transformation in the nearest future. Kumuyi made this assertion at the maiden convocation ceremony and awards of first degrees and prizes on Friday in Lagos. The convocation ceremony was tagged: “The Emergence of Peculiar Pearls (Class of 2019/2020).” He said African youths were yet to live up to expectations on many fronts, hence the need to train them to unearth and raise their potential. He said millions of young people had their visions crashed through wrong and early marriage and its consequences. “A good number are victims of destructive behaviours like drug abuse, immorality and other crimes. “These gloomy realities explain why Anchor University was established with the vision to be a citadel of learning for holistic human transformation and development. “As an undergraduate at Anchor University, you need integrity to become a total student,” Kumuyi said. He noted that Africa was considered the youngest continent because of its large youth population with about 60 per cent under 25 years. “According to the UN’s demographic projection, the median age in Africa for 102 is pegged at 19.8 “Beyond Africa, young people are very important demography of the world, they own the future but are less equipped for the future. “Nigeria, like the rest of Africa, must become deliberate about quality education to ensure young people are both relevant in the future and competitive globally,” Kumuyi said. Earlier in his address, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, lauded the mission, vision and core values of the institution, which he said placed emphasis on character building and spiritual values. Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Gboyega Soyombo, also commended the institution for surmounting the challenges of COVID-19 lockdown. “In addition to the spiritual emphasis, there is also the passionate pursuit of academic excellence on a global scale in teaching, learning and research. “This you have aptly demonstrated in the ability to hold lectures and conduct examinations for students during the COVID-19 lockdown. “I want to encourage the university to continue in its service to humanity in terms of education and empowerment in character development of the young people of Nigeria. “If the first four years of the institution has been this productive and inspiring even in the face of the global pandemic, the future of this university is no doubt, very bright,” he said. He charged the graduates to be good ambassadors of the university and use all they had gained both spiritually and academically to transform the nation. “To our young Nigerian graduates today, I congratulate you as you have written your names in history as the inaugural graduating set that will transform Nigeria. “There is no doubt that in years to come, we will continually hear of wonderful exploits of Anchor University,” he said. NAN

deal for the return, this year, of more than 130,000 Nigerian refugees, Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum said Friday. “We have set a deadline of the month of November-December for all the refugees from Nigeria, who are in the Diffa region (of southeast Niger), to return home, it is more than 130,000 people,” Bazoum told reporters on the sidelines of a G5 Sahel summit in Paris. Niger hosts tens of thousands of people who have fled from northeast Nigeria, where Boko Haram Islamists launched a bloody campaign a dozen years ago. Borno has borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed around 40,000 people and displaced more than two million. Its authorities are already trying, with limited success, to encourage internally displaced people in Borno to return to their homes. Niger is also fighting jihadist incursions on two fronts – on its western border with Mali and in its southeastern border with Nigeria, in the vast Lake Chad area. The Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian refugees and displaced people, according to the UN. The landlocked Sahel state is the world’s poorest country, according to the UN’s Human Development Index. (AFP)

It was a cascade of tears, whimpering sobs and free flow of emotions on Friday afternoon as the remains of renowned televangelist and founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, were lowered six feet beneath the ground. The 57-year-old was buried on the premises of his church in Lagos State. He was buried in the presence of his widow, Evelyn; his children, family members and other loved ones. Joshua was buried after a week-long funeral service which climaxed on Friday afternoon. Joshua, who was born on June 12, 1963, had planned to celebrate his 58th birthday on June 12, 2021 before he died on June 5, 2021. PHOTOS BELLOW: Details later…

This is certainly not the best of times for the Niger Delta Development Commission, as its corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt, was sealed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Although the reason behind the sealing could not be immediately ascertained as some staff of the commission seen outside the gate declined comments on the development. Our correspondent, who visited the NDDC headquarters located at the Marine base axis of the Rivets State capital around 11:10 am on Friday observed that the main gate and adjoining walls had over nine stickers with the inscription, “sealed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.” A security vehicle donated to the police was stationed opposite the main entrance, which carried the bold inscription ‘sealed’. A resident, who simply identified himself as Peter, told our correspondent that the seal was discovered when the staff of the interventionist agency were reporting for work. Peter, who said he runs a business near the complex, describe the development as a shock, saying most workers returned home after waiting in vain to gain entrance for hours. “We saw this seal on Thursday morning when the NDDC workers were coming to work, the situation caused confusion, many workers left while some waited around. “Some workers still came to work today (Friday) and the gate is still sealed, to be honest with you I don’t know why a Federal Government agency would seal off another Federal agency,” the resident said. A couple of months ago, protesting youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youths Council had sealed the same facility which was commissioned on Match 11, 2021 by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). The youths, who also sealed the Rivers State office of the NDDC located on Olu Obasanjo road, Port Harcourt, said their action was to protest the continued delay by the apex government in constituting a substantive board for the interventionist agency. Efforts to reach the Director, Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Dr. Ibitoye Abosede, proved abortive, as he neither answered calls put across to his telephone by our correspondent nor replied to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.