Fayose demands unconditional release of Dasuki, Nnamdi Kanu

Fayose has demanded the unconditional release of embattled former NSA of Nigeria, Sambo Dasuki. The Ekiti state governor has urged President Buhari to reciprocate the mercy of God upon his life by also showering mercy on his fellow citizens. Fayose says that Buhari's continued disregard for court injunctions is a sin

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to unconditionally release former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

Fayose also called for the clause-less release of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu from prison custody.

In a statement on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose admonished Buhari to reciprocate the mercy of God upon his life by also showering mercy on his fellow citizens.

Fayose said: “You have received the mercy and favour of God. You have come back from medical vacation alive. By what people had said and by your own account, it is the mercy and favour of God that have seen you through as well as the prayers of everyone.

“It is incumbent on you to now also show mercy. I advise you to show mercy to Nnamdi Kanu and Sambo Dasuki and such other Nigerians that are suffering unjust, punitive, illegal, and unconstitutional incarceration under your directive or administration.

“Allow all those who have been granted bail by the court to enjoy their bail while their trial continues. This is the right, just, and merciful thing to do. To continue to disdain the court is reckless and unconstitutional. Moreover, it is a sin and it is oppressive.”

Naira appreciates against Dollar, Pound in forex market

The Naira on Monday, March 13, appreciated in all the major segments of the foreign exchange market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Nigerian currency gained three points to exchange at N460, from N463 posted on Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N550 and 476, respectively.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira was sold at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N547 and N482, respectively.

Trading on the floor of the interbank market saw the Naira closed at N306.00 to a dollar.

Traders at the market expressed delight in the interventions the CBN had made so far in boosting liquidity, adding that its sustenance would turn the economy around in the short to medium term.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said the association was expecting an increment in dollar sales to its members this week.

Gwadabe said that due to the stability in the oil sector and the increase in the price of oil at the international market, the CBN was now comfortable in entertaining ABCON’s request to increase the volume of dollar sales to its members.

The ABCON boss said that a boost in its weekly volume from 8,000 dollars weekly to 15,000 dollars would sustain the existing efforts in stabilising the Naira exchange rate at the FOREX market.

The financial expert added that the Naira was expected to extend appreciation across the major segments of the FOREX market this week.

NAN also reports that since the CBN began intervening at the FOREX market, it had spent an excess of 1.4 billion dollars in boosting liquidity at the market.

Some concerned Nigerians have hailed the effort of the CBN in boosting liquidity at the FOREX market, but added that the liquidity boost had not yet translated to the reduction in the price of goods and services in the country.

Nigeria, South Africa collabo to bust xenophobia

Nigeria and South Africa would launch a jointly run "early warning" system to track and deter xenophobic attacks against Nigerian migrants.

This was the resolution after a meeting between Nigeria's minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and his South African counterpart, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Monday, March 13

The meeting was to diffuse soaring tensions over a recent string of attacks on migrants living in South Africa which has elicited reactions in Nigeria.

"The early warning centre would allow us keep each other abreast of issues and help prevent violence," Nkoana-Mashabane said.

The new violence-busting forum will meet every three months and will be made up of representatives from both countries and include immigration officials, business associations and civil society groups.

Nkoana-Mashabane denied that the attacks on foreign nationals were targeted at Nigerians, adding that citizens of other countries were also affected.

On his part, Onyeama said he had received assurances that Nigerians in South Africa would be able to live in peace, even as he called for an end to the "mass attacks".

He added that groups in Nigeria calling for the retaliatory expulsion of South African residents and businesses "do not speak on behalf of government".

Last week, militant groups in the Niger Delta instructed have 18 South African companies and personnel to leave the region or risk attacks because of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Similarly, business activities at MTN headquarters in Falomo, Lagos, on Friday, March 3, were disrupted over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa by protesters under the aegis of the Human Rights Defenders and Advocacy Centre.

The Nigerian government last month called for the African Union to step in to stop xenophobic attacks on its citizens in South Africa.

Resonding to the crisis, President Jacob Zuma condemned the wave of xenophobic unrest and called for calm and restraint, saying that migrants should not be used as a scapegoat for the country's widespread crime problem.

There were several incidents last month of South African locals attacking migrants from Africa and elsewhere and their businesses in both the administrative capital Pretoria and the commercial capital Johannesburg.

According to the Nigerian Union in South Africa, there are about 800,000 Nigerians in the country, many of them living in Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) on Friday, March 11 staged a peaceful protest in Ibadan against the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

The students in their hundreds went round the metropolis to demonstrate against what they called inhuman treatment of Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa

Court dissolves lecturer’s marriage over domestic violence

A Jos State High Court on Monday dissolved the marriage of a university lecturer, Dr. Evelyn Iyah, over her husband’s alleged cruelty and incessant violence.

Iyah, on March 10, 2016 petitioned the court through her Counsel, Mr G. O Izere, to dissolve her marriage with Mr Iyah Iyah, because he had “lost his desire to love me”.

She further accused him of violence, cruelty and inability to live with her peacefully.

The lecturer also pleaded for an injunction restraining the husband from further threatening her life, or even entering her house.

“My husband behaves in a way that I cannot reasonably be expected to live with him.

“He is violent, cruel, shows open disregard for me and clearly does not love me anymore,” she told the court.

She also asked the court to compel the husband to return her monies – 13,090 British Pounds and N320,000 “with immediate effect”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, reports that since the case was filed, Iyah never entered any appearance and did not even acknowledge the court’s repeated summon notices sent to him.

NAN also reports that the court had to serve him by pasting the notice at his residence and office, which all came to nought as he did not show any interest on the matter

When the case came up on Monday, the Presiding Judge, Mrs. Christine Dabup, entered judgment in the applicant’s favour and dissolved the marriage.

She also granted all the wife’s prayers and gave an order to the defendant to pay up all monies in his possession.

“All the reliefs sought are hereby granted to the petitioner,” Dabup declared.

She accused the defendant of utter disrespect to the court, saying that he had not behaved in a way that suggested that he was reasonable enough for the petitioner to live with.

“The case has been in this court for one year now, but the defendant has not shown any interest in the allegations.

“I hereby order that the marriage stands dissolved,” she declared.

She also gave an injunction restraining Mr Iyah from further threatening the life of the lecturer, and barred him from entering her house.

Rant Here: Is Drogba a Nigerian or did he grow up in Nigeria. Who wrote this ad

Is Drogba a Nigerian or did he grow up in Nigeria. All the ads shows a foreigner talking so much about Naija as if he played for Nigeria or started playing in Nigeria. I will give whoever wrote the script for this advert a 2. Good advert but wrong location and wrong choice of jersey for the kid acting as young star.....

What do you think of this ad......................Rant Here

World wide web creator Tim Berners-Lee targets fake news

The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has unveiled a plan to tackle data abuse and fake news.

In an open letter to mark the web's 28th anniversary, Sir Tim has set out a five-year strategy amid concerns he has about how the web is being used.

Sir Tim said he wants to start to combat the misuse of personal data, which creates a "chilling effect on free speech".

He also called for tighter regulation of "unethical" political adverts.

The British computer scientist said he wants the people who have helped develop the web with blogs, tweets, photos, videos and web pages to help come up with practical solutions to make a web "that gives equal power and opportunity to all".

Users are often unable to tell outlets what data they would not like shared, Sir Tim said. Terms and conditions were "all or nothing.

Sir Tim said he wants to work with companies to put "a fair level of data control back in the hands of people".

He also expressed concerns that government surveillance is going too far and stopping the web from being used to explore topics such as sensitive health issues, sexuality or religion.

Social media sites and search engines must be encouraged to continue efforts to combat the problem of fake news, Sir Tim said.

However, central bodies deciding what is true or not should be avoided, he added.

Certain algorithms can favour sensationalist information designed to surprise or shock users rather than reflect the truth and can "spread like wildfire", Sir Tim said.

---

What is fake news?

Image copyright

The arrival of social media - and the fight for clicks - has meant real and fictional stories are presented in such a similar way that it can be hard to tell the two apart.

So-called "fake news" could be false information deliberately circulated by those who have scant regard for the truth but hope to advance particular (often extreme) political causes and make money out of online traffic.

Or it could be false information circulated by journalists who don't realise it's false.

Fake news has become so prevalent that the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee is now investigating concerns about the public being swayed by propaganda and untruths.

The committee was spurred by claims that voters in the US election were influenced by fake news, it said.

Pope Francis was reported to have backed Donald Trump's presidency campaign, for example, when he had not made an endorsement.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump himself has used the term fake news to refer to critical stories about his administration, picking out organisations such as CNN and BBC.

---

Sir Tim advocated transparency so users can understand how web pages appear on their devices and suggested a set of common principles for sites to follow.

And he raised concerns about how online political advertising had become a "sophisticated" industry.

Sir Tim said there were indications some targeted advertising was being used in "unethical ways" to keep voters away from the polls or directing people to fake news sites.

He suggested companies could put subscription payments and small automated charges in place to make money without these types of adverts.

However, despite highlighting issues on the world wide web which be believed need addressing, Sir Tim has admitted the solutions "will not be simple".

Get trained....Get Paid

Get trained....get Paid. Increase your income.

SXSW 2017: Why is the Vatican at a tech conference?

As Bishop Paul Tighe sat down for our interview, he joked that not only is he probably the only priest at South by Southwest, but also the only person with grey hair.

His presence here marks the first time the Vatican has attended the South by Southwest Interactive conference, and their panel - titled Compassionate Disruption - is one of this year's most talked about events.

"In a world where increasingly [we're] not invited to part of conversations, I think if people are interested in having us, we're delighted to be here.

"I want to learn and get a feeling for what are the things that are driving a generation of people who are in many ways shaping the world as we know it.

He glanced around the room.

"Really deep down, I see a lot of people looking for some sort of connectivity."

That's certainly true - though I get the sense for delegates here that means good wi-fi, rather than a strong sense of faith. So Bishop Tighe's mission is to get this industry to find real value in both.

Rough welcome

As the Vatican's Adjunct Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, one of Bishop Tighe's many responsibilities is to run the social media accounts for the Pope, as well as considering ways in which the Catholic Church can stretch its influence into our digital lives.

Five years ago, Pope Benedict decided to set up a Twitter account - @Pontifex - which is continued today by Pope Francis. It was a decision the Church at the time felt was hugely symbolic.

"There's an environment that is kinda rough," Bishop Tighe said.

"There's a lot of trolling, a lot of negativity.

"But if the people who want to use it for good withdraw from it, then the trolls have won. There is a potential here to build connections, to learn from people who might surprise us."

The Bishop winced a little as I asked him whether Pope Benedict received a warm welcome on Twitter.

"There was a welcome from many, but there was a huge amount of negativity," he said.

"There were people saying 'let's launch a Twitter bomb, lets force them out of this environment'. But we stuck with it and said 'no, this is too important a forum'."

He said the current Pope handed down a clear strategy for communicating - not preaching - on Twitter.

"When Pope Francis gave us our instructions he said 'the one thing I want you to be above all is try to encourage people. It's a tough world, it's a hard world, let's be at least encouraging'."

'Disturbed'

Ten years ago, SXSW Interactive enjoyed what's still its most significant moment - the "launch" of Twitter. The service had been around for a little while before appearing at the festival, but it was here that its popularity skyrocketed.

The Vatican was hesitant to get involved, unsure of how to interact with the new medium - and whether it should be there at all.

"Maybe for the Church this world has disturbed us, has disrupted a lot of our ways of forming community. It's making us think again about how to do our business."

Part of that business, he suggested, was in making people consider what kind of online world they want to exist in, and how to achieve it in the face of increased hostility and division. In explaining it he coined a phrase that may just resonate with his audience here.

"A few years ago, everyone was talking about User-Generated Content. But I think we also need to recover a sense of User-Generated Culture. That's the choice of individuals.

"If you're spending your day with a lot of negative stuff in the environment, it's easy to imbibe that, to take that on board. But the challenge for all of us is to try and say 'yes, I'm going to be there, but I'm not going to be conditioned by the less positive sides of that'."

God vs Big Data

While it's the Vatican's first time at SXSW, it's certainly not the first technology conference it has attended. Bishop Tighe also attended Web Summit in Lisbon last year, and there, as it is here, the hot topic was the growing power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

I put it to him that we are living at a time when the majority of people are far more likely to search Google for answers than they are to pray. When the Amazon Alexa in the corner of my kitchen can give me immediate answers based on data, why turn anywhere else?

"All the data in the world will still leave room for choices that I have to make," he said. "If we say big data will tell us what's right or wrong, then I am no longer an agent, and my choices have been determined for me. That doesn't correspond to my experience of being a human."

More profound, he said, will be the emergence of artificial intelligence and robotics in the working environment. Money aside, he argued we should be concerned about what a lack of work could do to our sense of self worth.

"Let's not romanticise it - some of the work that might be displaced is fairly tough, dangerous work and fairly menial. Maybe it's no great loss.

"[But] we need to reflect on how human beings who work are not just economic units producing products, they're people with stories and families."

I finished by asking him whether, given the chance, he'd offer some advice to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over how he could change the world's largest online community for the better.

To my surprise, he didn't want to change anything - but he made a plea for technology innovators and entrepreneurs to consider how to involve the Church and others in building their products.

"I think it's really a time for a good, robust conversation between programmers and people who are coming form different ethical and philosophical positions.

"We must ensure that our human values and achievements, in terms of respecting dignity and the worth of people, will somehow be programmed into the machines we work with."

According to bbc.com

President Buhari resumes work

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday finally resumed in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after his 49-day medical sojourn in London.

The President has also transmitted a letter to the National Assembly, informing the federal lawmakers of his return. 

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters  (Senate), Ita Enang, has arrived to collect the letter.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will soon be meeting wih the President in his office.

Instagram features 17-year-old Nigerian activist

A Nigerian poet/activist, Ugochi Egonu got a special mention on the official page of Instagram for her compelling thought about the best form of activism.

The 17-year-old who resides in Santa Clara, Califonia held that self-love is the most radical form of protest.

“If we learn to see the beauty in things we’ve been told are flawed — in womanhood, in blackness, in queerness — it becomes so much easier to fight for our rights and fight for other people who are struggling,” Egonu said.

Instagram described Egonu as one who combines art and activism in her poetry, seizing the opportunity to document and shape the Black Lives Matter movement.

The activist (@ugochiegonu) was featured on as part of the social media platform’s commemoration of the 2017 International women’s day.

Tonto Dike: Churchill killed our unborn child, he’s a yahoo boy.

Nollywood actress, Tonto Dike, has reacted to the latest claim by her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill that she pointed a gun at his brother and went ahead to destroy his properties.

In the video footage, a man, who identified himself as a Ghanaian police officer, Supt. Joseph Oppong, was seen, reading out what he said was Churchill’s statement, to the police, after his wife, Tonto Dikeh, destroyed some of his properties and pointed a gun at some people, while being drunk.

Tonto was said to have done all these because her husband was cheating on her. She allegedly brought petrol to burn down the house as well.

Recall that the actress had just a few days ago, revealed in a “Tell-All” interview that Churchill cheated and abused her while they were still together.

However, in a swift reaction to Churchill’s latest accusation, Tonto called her estranged husband a liar, accusing him of killing their unborn baby through domestic violence.

She also revealed that Churchill is a yahoo boy.

In a post shared on her Instagram page, she wrote, “The truth will always provoke lies. Laughing and dancing to my New song.

“Gun my feet. Drunk my feet. Liars the only thing you get right is your lies.

“Things yahoo boys do. I live you to God. Fraudster! Jesus won already. I’m too focused on positivity. Say no to domestic violence!

“Who reads the news of how you killed our unborn through domestic violence? Murderer!

“Same man who read your news should looking on your 419 schemes as well.

“God over everything.”

Chocolate City’s statement on Audu Maikori’s re-arrest.

Co-founder of Chocolate City Group, Paul Okeugo, has issued an official statement on Audu Maikori’s re-arrest and possible prosecution on Monday.

The statement chronicles how Maikori’s travails began; how he made efforts to correct any misunderstanding arising from the alleged ‘inciting’ commentaries; how the case has transformed from prosecution to persecution of ‎opposition figures in Kaduna state; and a call for peace and prayers for Southern Kaduna people.

Read the full text below:

AUDU MAIKORI HAS BEEN ARRESTED AGAIN!

True to statements made by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai last week at the Social Media Week Lagos in which he vowed to “prosecute”( or persecute) Mr Audu Maikori for statements in respect of the Southern Kaduna crises. Mr Maikori despite being ill has been ferried off to Kaduna state by law enforcement officers at the behest of Governor El Rufai, who is asserting that one of the pictures posted by Mr Maikori caused the death of Fulani in Kaduna State.

It is unfortunate that the governor has made this issue more about Audu Maikori

that we have forgotten what the real issues are about. The real issues are that hundreds of people from Southern Kaduna have been killed in the past year and there has been no clear indication that the arrests or prosecution of the actual perpetrators of these Mass Murders is imminent. There seems to be a keener focus on locking up or silencing people who are speaking up against the lacklustre response of the Kaduna state government.

Governor El Rufai claims that Audu’s posts “may” have incited violence in Southern Kaduna. Well let’s examine the tweet again. The link to the above story was posted on twitter The tweet stated the following words “Not a Very Merry Xmas for the People of Southern Kaduna” the tweet does not mention any inciting words; neither does it state “Fulani” or any other thing. The tweet has a link, which leads to the actual story:

In summary the article itself was not inciting, it laid out the history of the crisis dating back 20 years ago, indeed it acknowledged the efforts of the

Governor/Government but called for them to do more, and even outlines ideas and steps to help curb the situation and ended with this line “This is a plea for action and a prayer for peace for Southern Kaduna, Kaduna and all of Nigeria”. How can this article be read or interpreted as irresponsible, inciting or reckless?

The very next day, the 24th of December 2016 on Christmas eve it was reported that Goska Village was attacked by the murderous herdsmen, with the killing of scores of people. The pictures are all over the Internet and the reports were made by several news sites (see link) One wonders if the Governor will also arrest and charge Sahara Reporters for posting this story.

All this happened during a 24-hour curfew. Was it this article that incited suspected Fulani herdsmen in a remote part of Southern Kaduna with no Internet access to slaughter the people in that village?

The gaffe here was that the picture on the tweet was later discovered to be that of another genocide. Was that intentional?? Of course not. Many pictures come up when you do a Google search of the Southern Kaduna killings on the web, and really how can one just on the surface of it tell a Rwandan village from a village in Kaduna? Does this make the story any less true? Did the Fulanis not attack already before pictures were posted? Mr Maikori even posted an apology on both Facebook and Twitter for the picture, while still maintaining focus on the loss of life caused by the incident. Did this picture really start all this? Have there been any reprisals from Southern Kaduna indigenes on Fulanis? (None has been yet reported)

The second matter has to do with false story told by Mr Maikori’s driver: The driver has confessed to the IGP monitoring unit as well as the Marwa, Lekki Police Post confirming that he concocted the story in a bid to defraud Audu of some money. The details of the story are already widely publicized and there is no need to rehash it. What is worthy of note is that Audu personally investigated the matter after the School’s statement and took active steps to apprehend the driver and take him to the Police. He thereafter issued a copious apology to not just the College of Education, but the Fulani Community, the Southern Kaduna community and both the State Governor and government. In spite of all these Gov. El Rufai still arranged for him to be arrested, detained and investigated by the Police under the charge of “Criminal conspiracy and Incitement”

The narrative being sold by the governor is that Audu has been reckless and Irresponsible and therefore responsible for attacks? Does this make sense? Let’s examine this allegation: In the matter of the driver’s claim how could anyone actually verify the story? What reason would anyone have to doubt a story if a personal staff who has worked with them for months says that he lost his brother? Why would anyone think he lied, when on several occasions even more numbers of people have been killed in the same area?

The main reason for Audu’s advocacy and that of others like him is the helpless situation Southern Kaduna people have found themselves in. They are being decimated every day and when they speak up against it, they are called inciters or criminals. They are arrested, detained, threatened, taken to court and all sorts of charges are trumped up against them. Has this advocacy worked? Yes and this is evidenced by the serious attention the matter has seemed to garner, so much so that we have seen the recent establishment of battalions, arrests of some suspected killers and even the level of support the Kaduna State government has gotten both locally and internationally. If these advocates hadn’t spoken up only God knows how many people would have lost their lives by now.

PROSECUTION OR PERSECUTION

Last week the Governor took time out to attend the SMW Lagos where he made two scary statements

1. “We are going to prosecute him. He was arrested. His statement has been taken. He is on bail. He is going to be prosecuted. His fate will be decided by a judge”. He thereafter also added

2. “We (the state) are TRYING (please note the emphasis on trying) to link the dates of his (Audu Maikori) tweets/postings to attacks that MAY have happened the next day to Fulanis and if we are able to establish that causation, we will prosecute him.”

So two points jump out: –

Considering the fact that the “Fake picture” was made on the 23rd of December 2016 and his statement was made two months later, it would seem to me that any “LINK” or connection between the erroneous picture and any attacks should have been well established and/or reported by now. Second, if between the 2nd of March 2017 when the Governor made his statement and this week, evidence suddenly appears linking these “deaths” to the time of the statement, then it is safe to say that such evidence is fabricated or at least is tailored to meet an expected charge.
The second issue for consideration is how personally involved the Governor seems to be in this matter. He stated to several newspapers and media platforms that he would ensure Audu was prosecuted. In the matters relating to prosecution, the accused must first be investigated. It is only when a prima facie case has been established will he then be prosecuted. Anyone who watched the shocking video of the Governor can see clearly that he has already decided to prosecute Audu regardless of what happens because he needs a scapegoat. What was the crime? Speaking out against the slaughtering of people in Southern Kaduna.
This sort of statement, if there is ever need for it, should be made by the Attorney-General of Kaduna State, Director of Public Prosecutions of the State and not the Governor who is supposed to a neutral arbiter in such matters.

Clearly, the Governor has demonstrated which side he stands on. So contrary to his verbal statements this case for him is very personal. We should not be surprised if sometime soon, the Police suddenly find “new” evidence that indicts Audu. And needless to say, any trial held in this matter will be heavily tipped in favour of Governor El-Rufai. He has more than enough government resources and connections to make sure he wins at all costs.

Meanwhile, let us get back to the real issues. Are people being killed in Southern Kaduna still? Yes, in fact, during the weekend during which Mr Maikori was first detained, between The 19th of February and the 21st of February, another 21 people were reportedly killed near Kafanchan and Kaura according toThisdayLive.com Over 3,000 people have been displaced and compensation still has not been paid to many of these homeless people who have suffered- but surprisingly compensation was niftily paid to the Fulani community who are by the Governor’s self-admission, not even Nigerians!

The Governor has proudly announced this is at several fora. He says the justification of these payments is based on recommendations of the Agwai Report – unfortunately General Agwai himself has frowned at that position. He said that any recommendations for the payment of compensation would be to both aggrieved sides not just one-sided to the Fulanis and in his words the action of the Governor was “partial”. See

The real forensic analysis that should be conducted by the local and international media, civil society groups, law enforcement agencies and concerned citizens is the number of Southern Kaduna indigenes slaughtered by the Fulani aggressors between the times Governor El-Rufai started paying them up till this present day.

The real concern is how the governor has incentivized these killings because when you pay money to people who are killing innocent citizens, you have done nothing but provide the killers with the incentive to continue killing. Little wonder the crisis in Southern Kaduna has lingered this long.

We are at a critical point in this nation and Southern Kaduna is a very important part of the equation. Indeed the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo last week ensured he visited Kaduna to meet with some of the stakeholders to plead for the restoration of peace in Southern Kaduna by dialogue, by consultations and by forgetting past wrongs and working together towards a new peace pact – a development that was very welcome by all sides. I don’t see how the persecution of advocates such as Audu Maikori will help bring peace – instead it brings a further strain on any efforts of peace building. Let it be known that persecuting Audu Maikori is persecuting those who continue to cry out against the killings in Southern Kaduna.

This is a time for the Governor to reach out and broker peace in a state that has been war torn and not to further persecute a people who have suffered great persecution over the past one year for crying out for help.

Keep praying for the people of Southern Kaduna.

Arsenal’s squad needs major surgery, says Sunday Supplement panel

Arsenal’s squad needs a major overhaul in the summer, and that may be without Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, says John Cross on Sunday Supplement.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has come under huge pressure in recent weeks, and with his contract up in the summer, there could be a new face leading the club and bringing in players.

Cross, the Daily Mirror’s Chief Football Writer, says major surgery is needed on the playing squad at the Emirates, and that their summer recruits Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi have been “incredibly disappointing”.

 Arsene Wenger’s contract is up in the summer

“I think the board are looking for someone who can reinvigorate the team, go again,” Cross said on Sunday Supplement.

“I think this squad is going to need major surgery. Sanchez is clearly going to go this summer, in my view. They’ve offered Ozil an astronomical amount of money to stay, and he is yet to sign it, and in my mind that points to him leaving.

“Then he’s going to have to rebuild this squad without his best two players.

Mesut Ozil’s contract situation is still not settled

“Last summer, we heard an awful lot about how Wenger was going to rebuild the squad, he was going to go at it again because they’d had such a disappointing season.

Wenger: Criticism was unjust

Arsene Wenger said Arsenal were “unjustifiably criticised” for their defeat to Bayern Munich

“They somehow managed to squeeze into second place, and their plans of an overhaul were waylaid, and he ended up signing Xhaka and Mustafi as his big buys, and I think both have been incredibly disappointing.

“I’m not sure, based on that evidence, whether Wenger has got the nouse, energy and drive to go again.”

Patrick Vieira has come to the defence of Wenger, saying Arsenal’s players are to blame for the club’s current situation

Arsenal are now in the last four of the FA Cup following their victory over Lincoln on Saturday, and are still firmly in the hunt for a top-four place, but their Champions League humiliation by Bayern Munich in midweek may do most of the damage for Wenger.

The Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman said that game, including a miss from striker Olivier Giroud at 1-0, summed Arsenal up perfectly, and he agrees that the squad needs an overhaul.

“His mojo has gone at Arsenal. And that is the reason why it is time for them, as painful as it might be, to start again,” Ladyman said.

Ian Ladyman says Olivier Giroud is good, but not world class

“The key point in that game was about five minutes into the second half when Olivier Giroud had a free header from six yards to make it 2-0, and put it over the bar.

“That sums Arsenal up. Arsene Wenger thinks Giroud is good enough. Giroud, like quite a few of those players, is not good enough. He’s a good player, he’s not a world-class player, not good enough to lead the line for a team who wants to win the Premier League.”

Mayweather calls for June fight with Conor McGregor, comes out of retirement

The story that will never die reared its ugly head again on Saturday, when Floyd Mayweather announced in England that he is coming out of retirement.

This, of course, is massive news for boxing, given that Mayweather is the greatest boxer of his era and one of the best of all-time. And, being the showman he is, he played it for all it’s worth.

“Everybody get your phone out,” Mayweather says. “Post this to the internet as soon as possible.”

But he’s not coming out to face unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman. Or rising prospect Errol Spence. Or even a super welterweight fight with Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin.

No, Mayweather has set his sights, yet again, on UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

And then he went into a long and tortured explanation of how he, and not McGregor, would be the A-side in the fight. If you’re a boxing fan, it’s familiar talk. He said it all multiple times in the six years that fans were clamoring for him to fight Manny Pacquiao.

“When I faced Arturo Gatti [in 2005 in Atlantic City, N.J.], I went to his turf,” Mayweather said. “He was the A-side. I was the B-side. I beat him. I didn’t cry. I didn’t complain. When I faced Oscar De La Hoya [in Las Vegas in 2007], he was the A-side and I was the B-side. I didn’t cry. I didn’t complain. I beat him and I became the A-side.

“For Conor McGregor, I’m coming out of retirement, just to fight Conor McGregor. I don’t want to hear no more excuses about the money, about the UFC. Sign the paper with the UFC so you can fight me in June. Simple and plain, let’s fight in June. You’re the B-side. I’m the A-side. We’re not here to cry about money. I’m tired of all this crying about money and saying you want to fight. You’re blowing smoke up everyone’s [butt], if you want to fight, sign the paperwork.”Floyd Mayweather has set his sights, yet again, on UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

Mayweather went on to describe how he was at home and seeing news reports that McGregor wanted to fight him.

Of course, he threw a little zinger in with it as he told the story.

“I probably had silk pajamas on and they kept saying that, ‘Conor McGregor wants to fight. Conor McGregor wants to fight. Conor McGregor wants to fight,’ ” Mayweather said. “And to be honest, when they kept saying that, I was really like, to be honest, ‘I don’t know who the [expletive] that is.”

Mayweather said two members of his security teams are UFC fans and he had them pull clips of McGregor to fight.

He said he didn’t think McGregor was serious.

“He’s using my name for leverage,” Mayweather said.

That’s true, of course, just as Mayweather, who has been retired since defeating Andre Berto on Sept. 12, 2015, is using McGregor’s name for leverage.

It’s a joke of a fight under any circumstance because they’re different sports. Boxing and MMA are related, just as softball and baseball are related, but it would be unreasonable to expect the best fast-pitch softball hitter in the world to go into Major League Baseball and hit pitchers like Clayton Kerhaw and Madison Bumgarner.

McGregor has yet to respond, though he took a little shot at Mayweather with a tweet the other day. He posted a photo of one of Mayweather’s ‘The Money Team,’ vans after it was set on fire in England.