Gracious David West, the serial killer who terrorised Rivers State some months ago, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to killing nine young women in different hotels.

He was formally arraigned before Justice Adolphus Enebeli of the Rivers State High Court where he pleaded guilty to nine out of 10 charges preferred against him by the police...

Read More: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/serial-killer-gracious-west-pleads-guilty-to-killing-9-women

There was a time when living together with your intended partner before you tied the knot was heavily frowned upon.

Nowadays, however, people rarely bat an eyelid when boyfriends and girlfriends live together how much more an engaged couple...

Read More: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/living-together-before-marriage-gain-or-pain

The relative peace witnessed in Benue state may again be disrupted by a fresh attack on a farmer in Guma Community by armed men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

The Next Edition gathered that suspected armed Fulani herdsmen, on Friday last week, attacked one Mrs. Grace Zeku on her farm and amputated her hand.

The attack took place at Gboogyo village, Guma local government area which is a border community with Nassarawa state...

Read More: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/herdsmen-attack-benue-community-amputate-farmers-hand

The Nigerian culture, indeed the African culture elevates marriage.

It does not matter if you’re from the North, East or South, the approach to marriage is the same. Parents, family, friends and sometimes even the individuals themselves, put pressure on young ones to get married before a certain age.

Women bear the brunt of this pressure the most. By 25 years of age, parents start looking at their daughter in a certain way. If she enters her 30s and is still not married, the pressure intensifies because they believe there’s an age that a man will not find her wife material again...

Read More: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/are-there-left-over-women-men-in-nigeria

Adenike Oyetunde is a Lawyer, Social Media Personality, Founder of Amputee United and cancer survivor, and most importantly, an amputee who has decided to encourage others through her story. She lives to spread hope, and joy wherever she can.

Adenike who lost her limbs to cancer at the age of 20 has also added a beautiful feather to her hat as an author of the book ‘Adenike.’

She spoke with THE NEXT EDITION about a variety of issues.

TNE: The picture of you in a brown suit went viral and introduced you to people who didn’t know you before, tell us about who Adenike really is.

It became clearer to a lot of people who did not know what it was so they had a visual image to what the journey was after that picture. I am grossly optimistic, someone who loves life, someone who is sold out to problem solving, problem solving comes to me very naturally. I’m a lover of books, I try to be a reader of books as well. I like good food. I love compliments, that happens to be one of my love languages. I like good life. Adenike doesn’t like to stress herself when it comes to hair. I don’t like making my hair but every now and then I’ll go out of my way to ensure I do something about my hair. I love cleanliness. Adenike hates mosquitoes with a passion to the point that I’ll wake up in the night once I hear the sound and turn on the lights and sitting still till I find it. Adenike is a God lover, a connector of people. Adenike is joy. Adenike is hope.

TNE: Your leg was amputated because of cancer, can you share with us what type of cancer and how you dealt with finding out you had cancer to agreeing to have your leg amputated.

Well, the kind of cancer was osteogenic sarcoma and in my book, Adenike, I took my time to explain it but I’ll share some about it. It was basically osteogenic sarcoma which means cancer of the bone and it was in my leg.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/its-unreal-to-think-with-prosthetic-limb-life-becomes-normal-adenike-oyetunde

Come home, Atiku Abubakar come home

Long before the nationality controversy, attempts were made to get former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to return to his ancestral home in Wurno, Sokoto State, The NEXT EDITION can authoritatively report today.

Relations, community leaders and political associates said they knew about Mr. Abubakar’s ancestral connections with Wurno many years ago.

They also said subtle moves have been made to get the former vice president to establish contacts with his family members back in Wurno.

Mr. Abubakar’s origin became a major controversy shortly after he challenged the outcome of February’s presidential election which he contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Born in Jada, Adamawa State on November 26, 1946, Mr. Abubakar is being stigmatised because at the time of his birth, Jada was not a part of Nigeria.

Promoters of the birther controversy have insisted the former Vice President is a Cameroonian and not a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

They also claimed that his father, Garba Abubakar is from Jada, a community that was administered by the United Nations in 1946.

But weeks of investigations by this newspaper have shown the former Vice President is a blue-blooded Nigerian, having the ancestry of both his father and mother from prominent families in the country.

Mr. Abubakar, said to have been named after his paternal great grandfather, is originally from Sidingo, a village in Wurno Local Government of Sokoto State.

His grandfather was said to have migrated to Jada in present day Adamawa State shortly after colonial troops captured the Sokoto Caliphate and the alternate Caliphate of Wurno.

During the period aptly described by historians and top hierarchy of the Caliphate as the “Great Exodus,” thousands were said to have left Sokoto and Wurno, the two most important Caliphate towns at the time.

The grandfather of the former Vice President, Abdulkadir Abubakar, was said to have been one of those who migrated from Wurno during the exodus...

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/investigation-untold-story-of-atiku-abubakars-ancestry-links-with-sokoto-caliphate-part-ii

Senator Dino Melaye has said only the foolish and stupid will leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He also insisted that PDP will dislodge the APC from Kogi government house come November 16, when the state governorship election holds .

The controversial Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, made his thoughts known on Sunday in a tweet at his personal page.

He simply wrote: “Only compound fools and people with degree in stupidity will leave PDP for APC. APC will be defeated in Kogi state.”

Recall that Melaye, who contested in the governorship primary for the PDP ticket in the state and lost, recently rejected an appointment to direct the party’s governorship campaign.

He alleged that the primary which produced Mr. Musa Wada as the party’s flag bearer was neither free nor fair.....


Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/only-fools-stupid-people-will-leave-pdp-for-apc-melaye

After passing six empty checkpoints in Adamawa, the truck conveying dozens of cattle slows down at a checkpoint a Mataba Appawa Gida in Lau, Taraba State, and the driver sprightly looks down and chatswith the policemen at the road-side. The dialogue lasts 15 seconds.

Turning to the fixer, he said, “Give me one thousand naira,” and the amount was thrust into his hands.

Then, the driver hands the note to the armed officers and a barricade is removed for him to continue his journey.

The driver, a tall and skinny man, is flagged down at yet another checkpoint, 200 metres away, and he pays N500 after begging the Nigerian Immigrations Service (NIS)officers who are armed with AK-47 assault rifles.

At the next checkpoint 50 metres away in this restive state beset by herdsmen clashes, the truck-man doubles his pay-out, this time, to policemen.

Less than 10 kilometres into the journey, over N2, 500 had been paid. But this is a 900 kilometre journey from Adamawa in Nigeria’s far north to Akwa Ibom in the south.

The charges are illicit, and are hardly receipted.Security operatives manning roadblocks across the country routinely collect bribes from all classes of travellers.

But just how high the amounts could go for traders on the north and south routes, and most importantly, how such brazen illegality can practically push the prices of goods up, has never been documented.

Working undercover for weeks, THE NEXT EDITION obtained first-hand evidence that proves the shocking scale of corruption and extortion by the nation’s security forces on federal and state roads, and how this has significantly tuned up the cost of food and goods, leaving average Nigerians to pay dearly for them.

In the journey undertaken in January, this newspaper found that traders conveying foodstuff and livestock between northern and southern Nigeria spent a minimum of N300, 000 per trip on extortion by security operatives and criminal gangs parading as state and federal agents.

When this amount is added to the N550, 000 paid for truck hire, a minimum of N842, 000 is spent to convey foodstuff and livestock between Northern and Southern Nigeria, we found.

Traders expectedly transfer this cost on ordinary Nigerians. This has seen cattle that should sell for N140,000, sold for between N180,000 to N200, 000 down in southern Nigeria.

Also, 20 litres of cooking palm oil that should sell in the north for N7,000, goes for almost double the amount for the best quality.

In interviews, traders shared with this newspaper, their templates for arriving at the final sale price for their goods, depends on the amount they pay security operatives, fake revenue officials and gangs.

The implication is that with the attendant hike in cost of goods, an average family that earns N80,000 monthly can buy far less food than they should be able to afford had the illicit charges on the highways been waived.

In our investigation, THE NEXT EDITION correspondent, who joined a truck from Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, to Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, counted a total of 154 checkpoints.

The investigation was carried out a few weeks after the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police ordered the dismantling of checkpoints across the country.

The order followed an earlier report by this paper, which showed how bribe-taking security operatives pushed petrol and food to Boko Haram and sabotaged the war against terror.

READ ALSO: INVESTIGATION: Bribe-taking Nigerian security forces pushing petrol to Boko Haram, sabotaging war

A few days after the report was published, the leadership of the Nigerian Army came hard on some of its operatives identified in the story.

It also ordered all checkpoints to be dismantled across the country while it invited some of the commanders involved in the crime to Abuja for interrogation.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Next Edition’s Report: Military Dismantles Checkpoints in Adamawa

A week after the military ordered its operatives off the country’s highways, the former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, issued a similar order to the police.



Mr. Idris directed that operatives should set up observatory posts and should not be found mounting checkpoints.

READ ALSO: NEXT EDITION’s Report: IGP Orders Removal of Checkpoints across Nigeria



Making the trip

To carry out the investigation, our correspondent contacted the Adamawa State Chairman of the Amalgamated Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers Association of Nigeria (AFCDAN), Inua Abubakar, and asked for assistance to start a cow-selling business.

Our correspondent told Mr. Abubakar of his desire to buy cows, goats and rams from the Ngurore Cattle Market for sale in Nasarawa Cattle Market in Uyo.

The cattle dealer, who is also a transporter, therefore, assigned his aides to assist our correspondent in buying the animals and foodstuff needed to start the business.

On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, our correspondent, assisted by two of Mr. Abubakar’s aides, bought two cows, a ram, 10 goats and assorted foodstuff at the busy Ngurore Cattle Market in the outskirts of Yola town.

The cows cost N130, 000 each while the 10 goats cost N12, 000 each and the ram, N25, 000.

As a beginner, he reasoned that it was impossible to pay a whopping N550, 000 to hire a truck to Akwa Ibom. He, therefore, advised our correspondent to wait for South-south-based cattle dealers, who would be coming to the market the next market day (Wednesday).

The animals were moved to one of the Fulani herders, who operate a holding farm near the cattle market until there was a truck loading for Akwa Ibom.

The farm owner charged N3, 000 for the one week the animals were kept and fed.

On Thursday, December 20, 2018, a cattle dealer from the South-South, Ibrahim Dada (not his real name) accepted to load the animals and foodstuff alongside his 32 cows and four goats for the trip to Uyo.

Mr. Dada, who was introduced by a kind-hearted cattle trader at Ngurore Market, also gladly accepted to serve as a fixer for our correspondent in the course of the investigation.

He has just paid N550, 000 and hired a DAF truck that would convey the animals and foodstuff, including Irish potatoes, tomatoes, onions and vegetables, to Akwa Ibom.

As the animals and foodstuff were loaded by the truck boys who our correspondent later learnt received N25, 000 each on a single trip with the duty of protecting the animals and ensuring they do not fall on another.

Even with their attention, two of the goats bought by our correspondent died when cattle fell on them as the truck hit dangerous potholes during the long journey.
A section of Ngurore Cattle Market, Yola South LGA, Adamawa State, where our correspondent bought cows and foodstuff for the investigation.
Truck boys on top of the truck trying to control the cows after loading them.


Our correspondent sitting at the sleeping bay behind the truck driver just before the journey began on December 20, 2018.

What every apprentice must know

Mr. Dada opened up on the ordeal of traders on the nation’s highways as a way of introducing his apprentice to the business.

While applauding security operatives for doing a “good job” by reducing the cases of armed robberies on the roads, he said traders and drivers, especially those conveying livestock and foodstuff pay outrageous sums in bribes.

According to him, every truck conveying livestock and foodstuffs pays a minimum of N500 at every checkpoint.

“In fact, they demand N1, 000 at every checkpoint and youth gangs demand more. You dare not try to give them anything less,” he narrated.

“If you run away, security operatives will allow you go but no matter the distance you cover, they will pursue you with a motorcycle and force you to make a U-turn and drive back to the very spot you were supposed to pay the money.

“Sometimes, they will give the driver the beating of his life and then delay the vehicle for hours before collecting double of what they initially demanded.

“But if they don’t want to come after you, they will alert the next checkpoint and you will be forced to go back and pay double of what you were asked to pay,” Mr. Dada had said.



The long and tortuous journey

The DAF truck took off at 10.45am from the loading bay near Ngurore Cattle Market with 34 cows, 14 goats, a ram and the foodstuff.
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Before boarding, the fixer had struck a deal to allow his apprentice (our correspondent), to occupy the sleeping bay located directly behind the truck driver.

The driver, Isa (not his real name), a petit Fulani man in his early 30s, was friendly and could speak pidgin English.

When our correspondent informed Isa that he (the reporter) would be taking pictures along the way including how he bribes security operatives,

he responded jovially, Oga you no get any trouble at all. You go see everything and Insha Allah; we will get to Uyo tomorrow.



Between Ngorure and the border between Adamawa and Taraba states in Mayo Belwa, the truck passed six checkpoints – four were manned by police and the remaining two by soldiers.

Curiously, there were no security operatives in sight when the truck passed the six checkpoints.

After Zing, the next checkpoint was located near the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Unit Command in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The FRSC operatives merely signalled the driver to go on when the vehicle got to their observatory post.



Flurry of checkpoints and bribes

The floodgate of checkpoints opened in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State and continued to Cross River State.

The first bribe paid was at a police checkpoint in Maraba Appawa Gida and the police sergeant was not discreet about his intention as he simply greeted the truck driver and added, “Malam where is my N1, 000,” and the driver handed him the money.

He thanked the driver and handed him a stick of sugarcane, ordered the barricade removed and waved the vehicle on.

During the trip, which is approximately 900 kilometres on one of the most deplorable federal highways in the country, policemen and soldiers shamelessly flouted the directives of their leaders.

Our correspondent saw first-hand, how armed gangs, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) used checkpoints to fleece traders.

Fake federal revenue officials and others purporting to work for Benue, Taraba and Cross River states, also created barricades along the route to charge traders.

The only agencies whose operatives did not extort from the truck throughout the journey were the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

Benue State recorded the highest number of checkpoints with 84, followed by Taraba with 36 and Cross River with 24, Adamawa with seven and Akwa Ibom with only three.

While all the four other states collected revenue for livestock and foodstuff transported through federal highways passing through their domains, Akwa Ibom charged nothing and had no revenue agent or gangsters on the roads.



Adamawa State did not have any revenue agent on the highway but sundry revenues were collected at the truck’s point of departure.



Out of the 154 checkpoints recorded across the five states the truck traversed, the Nigerian Police had the highest number with 91, followed by criminal gangs with 18, some of which created barricades less than 200 metres from police and military checkpoints.

The Nigerian military came third with 17, followed by the NIS with six, while the FRSC had four and the NCS and the NDLEA had three checkpoints, respectively.



Madness on the highway

While the police had the highest number of checkpoints and caused the most delay, the youth gangs, which brandished dangerous weapons, however, extorted the largest amount of money in the course of the trip.

The driver and fixer occasionally argued with the policemen and got rebates which enabled the payment of N500 instead of the fixed N1, 000 bribe, but the gangs were mostly not open to negotiations.

Apart from the few instances where they escaped into the bush at the sight of revolving lights from approaching police vehicles, the gangs were brutal and unkind in their demands.

Just as the security agencies kept vigil to extort mostly truck drivers, the gangs never missed an opportunity to get their own share.

There were no gangs’ checkpoints anywhere in Adamawa and Akwa Ibom states.

Our correspondent reported a few checkpoints after the vehicle exited the Jalingo city gates, but ran into multiple checkpoints while approaching Wukari.

From Wukari, the checkpoints were endless and some were located less than 200 metres apart.

This newspaper learnt that the duplication of checkpoints along the highways is a deliberate ploy to extort more money from truck drivers who travel mostly at night.

For instance, when a team of policemen consisting of between four to five operatives are assigned to a checkpoint, they break into three different teams and recruit local youth to help them extort from motorists.
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That explains why it was commonplace to find teams consisting of two policemen and three local youth manning checkpoints about 200 metres apart.

Curiously, some of the gangs that operated within the Taraba, Benue and Cross River states created barricades less than 300 metres from checkpoints manned by Nigerian security operatives.

Findings by this newspaper showed the gangs work for local politicians, a situation that made the police and the military turn blind eyes their criminal exploits.

Even when our correspondent complained to the police and the military about the activities of the gangs, they instead demanded their share of the bribe than take action.

At 1.22am, the truck got to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Quarantine Service post in Katsina-Ala where the truck stopped and paid N18, 000 and got government’s official receipts.

While the movement inspection form carried the correct date, with the authorizing officer’s phone number indicated as 07031198950, the inspection fee receipt with No. 2549 was, however, dated December 18, 2018

At 1.23 am the truck got to the NDLEA checkpoint in Katsina Ala, whose officials never checked the truck for drugs but insisted the driver pays N1, 000 and vowed to delay the vehicle until the money was paid.



Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/investigation-how-bribe-taking-security-operatives-gangs-force-nigerians-to-pay-dearly-for-food-part-1

A lot of men have lost the love of their lives simply because they didn’t have the courage to approach the lady when they had the opportunity.

That first step in starting a relationship can be quite hard.

Well, worry no more. We have for you some ready made, witty pick up lines and if you are a Christian brother trying to catch the fancy of a Christian sister, you will definitely love the lines.

They are hilarious and if all fails, you can be sure to get the girl laughing even long after she leaves your presence.

The lines are courtesy of Emmanuel tweeting @bigblaqboy.
He wrote, “I just wanna share these pickup lines again to bless the brothers who are too shy or out of words when “shooting their shots” at Sister “whoever-she-is”

1.. “So last night I was reading the book of numbers, then I realized, I don’t have yours!”

2.. “I wish you knew that you have been floating my ark for some time now, can I know your name?

3.. “Is it hot in here? Or is it the Holy Ghost burning inside of you?”

4.. “I don’t mean to sound prophetic, but I can see myself buying you pizza next weekend”

5.. “Your hair is as beautiful as a flock of lambs descending from Gilead”

6.. “I am an Ephesians 5 kind of guy, and I really want to meet your proverbs 31 kind of woman”

7.. “Excuse me, is your name Faith? Cos you’re the substance of things I’ve been hoping for”

8.. “What is your name and number so I can add you to my prayer list?”

9.. “You are as gorgeous as Eve, and I believe one of my ribs belongs to you”

10.. “I wish I was Joseph perhaps you could help me interpret the dreams I’ve been having about you”

11.. “I wish this was the time of Noah, I really would love to walk into the ark with you as a pair”

12.. “Now I know why Solomon had 700 wives because he never met you”

13..”Just want you to know that for you I would slay two Goliaths and run away”

14. (If she is in the choir) “Wow, I love your choir ministration today, please can you send me that song on WhatsApp, would love to learn it.”

15. “I know this might sound awkward, but every time I walk towards you I feel like I’m being led to Bethlehem.”

16.. “Each time I look at you I see the transfiguration because you are always glowing”

17.. “I didn’t know angels like you flew this low where Shepherds like me can find you.”

18.. “Every time I am around you I practice speaking in tongues, cos I always run out of things to say.”

19.. “I am not trying to say I’m a good shepherd but I’ve left 99 sheep to come and find you.”

20.. “Please I don’t know again, you can add your own, it is not everything somebody will tell you.

If you had a good laugh, comment below the line you would use as a guy and as a lady, the one you will respond to if a guy used it on you.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/witty-pick-up-lines-the-christian-brother-style

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.” – Sir John Dalberg-Acton

The above quote by the late English Baron, Sir John Dalberg-Acton truly encapsulates the story of the former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.

Born Robert Gabriel Mugabe on February 21, 1924, to a carpenter in what was then Rhodesia, a country ruled by the white minority, he was educated at Roman Catholic mission schools.

Armed with a scholarship, he headed to Fort Hare University in South Africa, where he took the first of his seven academic degrees before proceeding to teach in Ghana.

During his time in Ghana, Mugabe was greatly influenced by the pan-Africanist ideas of Ghana’s post-independence leader Kwame Nkrumah.

He also found love there and married Sally, a Ghanaian.

With his Pan-African ideology, Mugabe returned to Rhodesia in 1960, and aligned with Joshua Nkomo to work for the African nationalist.

He later broke away in 1963 to become a founding member of the Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia.

He was unrelenting in criticising the white minority government and in 1964 after a speech in which he called the then Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith and his government “cowboys”, he was arrested and detained without trial for 10 years.

While in prison, his son died, but he was not allowed to attend the funeral.

In 1973, Mugabe was chosen as president of ZANU and on his release from prison, a year later in 1974, he went to Mozambique where he directed guerrilla raids into Rhodesia.

There is no doubting Mugabe’s contributions towards Zimbabwe’s independence.

In word and deed and without fear, Mugabe insisted on freedom for the black majority in Rhodesia.

He was perceived as the most militant of the black leaders and the most uncompromising in his demands.

In 1976, while on a visit to London, Mugabe was said to have declared that the only solution to the Rhodesian problem would come out of the ‘barrel of a gun.’

However, in 1979 at Lancaster House, London, via a peaceful agreement, a Constitution for the new Republic of Zimbabwe, as Rhodesia was to be called, was set up and February 1980 was chosen for the first elections.

At close of elections, Mugabe, to the surprise of most outside observers scored an overwhelming victory. His party secured a comfortable majority, although the polls were marred by accusations of vote-rigging and intimidation from both sides.
As independent Zimbabwe’s first prime minister, Mugabe preached democracy and reconciliation.

Along the line, however, he was corrupted by the political power at his disposal.

For the 37 years of Mugabe’s rule, Zimbabwe witnessed high levels of violence, corruption and economic disaster.

His victory at the polls initially had many white people uncomfortable and ready to leave the country, his moderate, conciliatory statements reassured many of them and his other opponents.

He promised a broad-based government, with no victimisation and no nationalisation of private property.

He promised reconciliation.

Mugabe also launched an aggressive expansion of access to healthcare and education for black Zimbabweans, who had been hitherto been marginalised under white-minority rule and people felt it was all good.

But little did they know. Abraham Lincoln once said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

This, again rings true with Robert Mugabe, who metamorphosed from a freedom fighter to a tyrant.

He constantly criticised the West, mostly the country’s former colonial master, the United Kingdom, denouncing it as an “enemy country.”

He also became brutal in his treatment of political opponents.

In the mid-1980s, thousands of ethnic Ndebeles seen as Joshua Nkomo’s supporters were massacred in his home region of Matabeleland.

Mugabe was also fingered in the killings, carried out by the Zimbabwean army’s North Korean-trained 5th Brigade.
In 1987, he abolished the office of prime minister and became the president. He was to be ‘elected’ for a third term in 1996.

By this time, it had become obvious to many that Mugabe was nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, though he still enjoyed some support.

With a singular decision in 1992, Mugabe destroyed the economic base of the once prosperous country and everything began to go down hill thereafter.

At the death of his first wife, Mugabe married Grace Marufu, with whom he had three children.

In 1992, he introduced the Land Acquisition Act, permitting the confiscation of land without appeal with the plan to redistribute land at the expense of more than 4,500 white farmers, who still owned the bulk of the country’s best land.

But Mugabe’s critics accused him of distributing the farms to his cronies, rather than the rural poor and with that, Zimbabwe moved from being one of Africa’s biggest food producers to having to rely on foreign aid to feed its population.

Things grew from bad to worse and in early 2000, with his presidency seriously threatened by the newly formed Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, led by former trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe again launched attacks on the farmers, seen as MDC backers.

His supporters, known as “war veterans” occupied white-owned farms and a number of farmers and their black workers were killed.

The presidential election of 2000 saw Mugabe winning 56.2 per cent of the votes while Mr Tsvangirai got 41.9 per cent.

Following allegations of intimidation of MDC supporters, the MDC, the US, UK and the European Union refused to recognise the election.

The Commonwealth also suspended Zimbabwe from participating in its meetings until it improved its record as a democracy.

For a man who started out so well and had every opportunity to end up like a Mandela, Mugabe truly misused his powers, a malady that unfortunately afflicts many African leaders.

In May 2005, Mugabe sadly oversaw a crackdown on the black market termed Operation Restore Order, which allegedly led to some 30,000 street vendors being arrested and whole shanty towns demolished, eventually leaving an estimated 700,000 Zimbabweans homeless.

Zimbabweans, by this time have become truly disenchanted with Mugabe and this resulted in his losing the first round of the presidential elections in March 2008.

However, he later won the run-off in June after Mr. Tsvangirai pulled out following sustained attacks against his supporters across the country.

As tensions got higher on the political scene, the economic decline in the country also accelerated, with inflation rates reaching unimaginable levels.

After hundreds of people died from cholera, partly because the government could not afford to import water treatment chemicals, Mugabe agreed to negotiate with his long-time rival about sharing power.

After months of talks, in February 2009 Mugabe swore in Tsvangirai as prime minister, but the marriage between the two wasn’t cosy and Mr. Tsvangirai’s reputation was the worse for that experiment.

In 2013, Mugabe won 61 per cent of the votes ending the power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai. The election of course was said to have been married by widespread violence and other irregularities.

At 89 and in spite of failing health, Mugabe clung on to power even as the question of who would succeed him began to occupy national discourse.

His advancing years, and increasing health problems, led to speculations as to who might replace him.

In 2015, speculations became rife that his wife, Grace would succeed him. This was even as Mugabe announced his intention to contest in the 2018 elections.

To put paid to speculations over his successor, Mugabe, in February 2016, announced that he would remain in power “until God says ‘come’”.

The Zimbabwe National Army, however, had other plans and couldn’t wait for God’s time.

Since they couldn’t send Mugabe directly to God, they decided to put him aside to wait on God.

On November 15, 2017, the army therefore placed him under house arrest and made his former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa leader of Zanu-PF.

Yet, he refused to resign until, November 21, when the speaker of the House of Assembly announced his finally resignation as a motion to impeach him was being debated in the parliament.

Mugabe negotiated a deal which spared him and his family from prosecution and enabled him to keep his various businesses. He was also granted a house, servants, vehicles and full diplomatic status.

On September 6, God finally asked him to come and he went, aged 95.

In his reaction to Mugabe’s death, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, tweeted: “May Robert Mugabe’s soul rest in peace. He started well, stayed too long and ended tragically. An African hero all the same and a leader that honestly meant well. His life is a lesson for all in public leadership roles – groom successors and leave when the ovation is still loud!”

If only Mugabe had heard and listened to the above advice, his end would have been better, but it can still be a lesson to other leaders on mistakes to avoid.
At best, the life and times of Robert Mugabe can be said to be a perfect example of how not to lead.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/robert-mugabe-how-not-to-lead

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.” – Sir John Dalberg-Acton

The above quote by the late English Baron, Sir John Dalberg-Acton truly encapsulates the story of the former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.

Born Robert Gabriel Mugabe on February 21, 1924, to a carpenter in what was then Rhodesia, a country ruled by the white minority, he was educated at Roman Catholic mission schools.

Armed with a scholarship, he headed to Fort Hare University in South Africa, where he took the first of his seven academic degrees before proceeding to teach in Ghana.

During his time in Ghana, Mugabe was greatly influenced by the pan-Africanist ideas of Ghana’s post-independence leader Kwame Nkrumah.

He also found love there and married Sally, a Ghanaian.

With his Pan-African ideology, Mugabe returned to Rhodesia in 1960, and aligned with Joshua Nkomo to work for the African nationalist.

He later broke away in 1963 to become a founding member of the Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia.

He was unrelenting in criticising the white minority government and in 1964 after a speech in which he called the then Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith and his government “cowboys”, he was arrested and detained without trial for 10 years.

While in prison, his son died, but he was not allowed to attend the funeral.

In 1973, Mugabe was chosen as president of ZANU and on his release from prison, a year later in 1974, he went to Mozambique where he directed guerrilla raids into Rhodesia.

There is no doubting Mugabe’s contributions towards Zimbabwe’s independence.

In word and deed and without fear, Mugabe insisted on freedom for the black majority in Rhodesia.

He was perceived as the most militant of the black leaders and the most uncompromising in his demands.

In 1976, while on a visit to London, Mugabe was said to have declared that the only solution to the Rhodesian problem would come out of the ‘barrel of a gun.’

However, in 1979 at Lancaster House, London, via a peaceful agreement, a Constitution for the new Republic of Zimbabwe, as Rhodesia was to be called, was set up and February 1980 was chosen for the first elections.

At close of elections, Mugabe, to the surprise of most outside observers scored an overwhelming victory. His party secured a comfortable majority, although the polls were marred by accusations of vote-rigging and intimidation from both sides.
As independent Zimbabwe’s first prime minister, Mugabe preached democracy and reconciliation.

Along the line, however, he was corrupted by the political power at his disposal.

For the 37 years of Mugabe’s rule, Zimbabwe witnessed high levels of violence, corruption and economic disaster.

His victory at the polls initially had many white people uncomfortable and ready to leave the country, his moderate, conciliatory statements reassured many of them and his other opponents.

He promised a broad-based government, with no victimisation and no nationalisation of private property.

He promised reconciliation.

Mugabe also launched an aggressive expansion of access to healthcare and education for black Zimbabweans, who had been hitherto been marginalised under white-minority rule and people felt it was all good.

But little did they know. Abraham Lincoln once said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

This, again rings true with Robert Mugabe, who metamorphosed from a freedom fighter to a tyrant.

He constantly criticised the West, mostly the country’s former colonial master, the United Kingdom, denouncing it as an “enemy country.”

He also became brutal in his treatment of political opponents.

In the mid-1980s, thousands of ethnic Ndebeles seen as Joshua Nkomo’s supporters were massacred in his home region of Matabeleland.

Mugabe was also fingered in the killings, carried out by the Zimbabwean army’s North Korean-trained 5th Brigade.
In 1987, he abolished the office of prime minister and became the president. He was to be ‘elected’ for a third term in 1996.

By this time, it had become obvious to many that Mugabe was nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, though he still enjoyed some support.

With a singular decision in 1992, Mugabe destroyed the economic base of the once prosperous country and everything began to go down hill thereafter.

At the death of his first wife, Mugabe married Grace Marufu, with whom he had three children.

In 1992, he introduced the Land Acquisition Act, permitting the confiscation of land without appeal with the plan to redistribute land at the expense of more than 4,500 white farmers, who still owned the bulk of the country’s best land.

But Mugabe’s critics accused him of distributing the farms to his cronies, rather than the rural poor and with that, Zimbabwe moved from being one of Africa’s biggest food producers to having to rely on foreign aid to feed its population.

Things grew from bad to worse and in early 2000, with his presidency seriously threatened by the newly formed Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, led by former trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe again launched attacks on the farmers, seen as MDC backers.

His supporters, known as “war veterans” occupied white-owned farms and a number of farmers and their black workers were killed.

The presidential election of 2000 saw Mugabe winning 56.2 per cent of the votes while Mr Tsvangirai got 41.9 per cent.

Following allegations of intimidation of MDC supporters, the MDC, the US, UK and the European Union refused to recognise the election.

The Commonwealth also suspended Zimbabwe from participating in its meetings until it improved its record as a democracy.

For a man who started out so well and had every opportunity to end up like a Mandela, Mugabe truly misused his powers, a malady that unfortunately afflicts many African leaders.

In May 2005, Mugabe sadly oversaw a crackdown on the black market termed Operation Restore Order, which allegedly led to some 30,000 street vendors being arrested and whole shanty towns demolished, eventually leaving an estimated 700,000 Zimbabweans homeless.

Zimbabweans, by this time have become truly disenchanted with Mugabe and this resulted in his losing the first round of the presidential elections in March 2008.

However, he later won the run-off in June after Mr. Tsvangirai pulled out following sustained attacks against his supporters across the country.

As tensions got higher on the political scene, the economic decline in the country also accelerated, with inflation rates reaching unimaginable levels.

After hundreds of people died from cholera, partly because the government could not afford to import water treatment chemicals, Mugabe agreed to negotiate with his long-time rival about sharing power.

After months of talks, in February 2009 Mugabe swore in Tsvangirai as prime minister, but the marriage between the two wasn’t cosy and Mr. Tsvangirai’s reputation was the worse for that experiment.

In 2013, Mugabe won 61 per cent of the votes ending the power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai. The election of course was said to have been married by widespread violence and other irregularities.

At 89 and in spite of failing health, Mugabe clung on to power even as the question of who would succeed him began to occupy national discourse.

His advancing years, and increasing health problems, led to speculations as to who might replace him.

In 2015, speculations became rife that his wife, Grace would succeed him. This was even as Mugabe announced his intention to contest in the 2018 elections.

To put paid to speculations over his successor, Mugabe, in February 2016, announced that he would remain in power “until God says ‘come’”.

The Zimbabwe National Army, however, had other plans and couldn’t wait for God’s time.

Since they couldn’t send Mugabe directly to God, they decided to put him aside to wait on God.

On November 15, 2017, the army therefore placed him under house arrest and made his former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa leader of Zanu-PF.

Yet, he refused to resign until, November 21, when the speaker of the House of Assembly announced his finally resignation as a motion to impeach him was being debated in the parliament.

Mugabe negotiated a deal which spared him and his family from prosecution and enabled him to keep his various businesses. He was also granted a house, servants, vehicles and full diplomatic status.

On September 6, God finally asked him to come and he went, aged 95.

In his reaction to Mugabe’s death, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, tweeted: “May Robert Mugabe’s soul rest in peace. He started well, stayed too long and ended tragically. An African hero all the same and a leader that honestly meant well. His life is a lesson for all in public leadership roles – groom successors and leave when the ovation is still loud!”

If only Mugabe had heard and listened to the above advice, his end would have been better, but it can still be a lesson to other leaders on mistakes to avoid.
At best, the life and times of Robert Mugabe can be said to be a perfect example of how not to lead.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/robert-mugabe-how-not-to-lead

Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, who is currently on a self-exile, said he contemplated suicide due to alleged persecution he was subjected to after he left office in 2015.

He alleged that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; and Senator Ali Ndume were some of those behind his persecution.

The Punch Newspaper quoted the former minister as saying since he left office in May 2015, he had been viciously maligned to the point that he contemplated suicide.

Adoke said this in his book, “Burden of Service” due to be presented soon.

According to him, so intense was his persecution that life was no longer attractive to him.

He was further quoted as writing, “To wake up every day and see my name being unjustly maligned on the internet was no longer bearable. Being hunted for what I did not do felt like a death sentence on its own. It is time to force my exit from this world, I told myself.

“I walked to the terrace of my rented semi-detached maisonette in The Hague, The Netherlands. I looked down. Plunging a few metres seemed to offer an instant relief instead of waiting endlessly for my vindication.

“I would become totally blank to shame and sorrow within seconds. I would never have to worry about the lies and the persecution again.

“My blood would be on the hands of those who hounded me to my death. They would live the rest of their lives with a bleeding conscience, assuming that they had any such thing. Death, rather than life, seemed very attractive to me now.”

Adoke, however, said he later came to his senses and chose life over death based on the fact that if he ended his life abruptly, nobody would tell his side of the story, while his family members and friends would live with the stain.
He said his traducers would also claim that his death was an escape from justice.

“I decided to live and tell my story,” he said.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/i-contemplated-suicide-after-office-former-attorney-general

Bad habits are just that – Bad. Some of them, however, can be good for you. While it is not encouraging to develop these bad habits, it’s useful to know which one of them you may be finding hard to break that is actually adding something positive to your health or life.

Losing your temper

No one wants to lose their temper. It leads to other bad things – saying or doing things you may regret later and so on. It’s definitely unacceptable to do in a social setting.

Research would tell differently. It was found that losing your temper could actually be good for your health. Venting your emotions is believed to reduce the effects of stress. A Swedish study found that men who bottled up their anger when unfairly treated at work doubled their risk of having a heart attack!

The best route to take would be to find a healthy way of losing your temper so you enjoy the benefits doing that brings

Being Messy

We all know that one person who is unorganized, clothes are dropped where they are taken off, nothing ever seems to be in order. Being messy has been linked to being creative. While a messy work desk or bedroom makes one regard the owner of the space as being disorganized, recent research would

argue not. According to research results in the Psychological Science by Kathleen Vohs and colleagues at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, it suggests that being messy can boost creativity. Vohs and her team carried out a number of experiments for the paper, “Physical order produces healthy choices, generosity, and conventionality, whereas disorder produces creativity.”

In one experiment, 48 participants were assigned to either a messy or tidy room. Participants were asked to think up as many uses for ping pong balls as they could and to write them down. Independent judges then rated the participants’ answers for degree of creativity. Results showed that participants in both tidy and messy rooms produced the same number of ideas, but those generating ideas in the messy room were more creative. Those in the messy room were (on average) 28% more creative and five times more likely to produce “highly creative” ideas. Vohs concluded that messiness and creativity are strongly correlated, and that “while cleaning up certainly has its benefits, clean spaces might be too conventional to let inspiration flow.”

Who knew being messy can be a sign that you’re just 28% more creative than the person who folds his clothes and puts everything in place? Now you know!

Swearing

Using curse words can be a shock to hear especially in the Nigerian Culture. But did you know swearing helps to relief stress?

According to a study by the University of East Anglia, swearing at work could help employees cope with stress and maintain solidarity. Imagine standing together at the fax machine and swearing together at the slow machine, definitely can encourage some sort of bonding at the work place.

Meanwhile, researchers at Keele University’s School of Psychology found that swearing can provide effective short-term relief from pain. If you have ever screamed out a curse word when you stubbed a toe, you already know this. However, the study also notes that swearing should be reserved for crises only, as the higher the daily swearing frequency was for participants, the less pain relief they experienced.

Coffee Drinking

Taking in too much of coffee, hence caffeine can have detrimental health effects. However, the intake of small amounts of caffeine can speed up your metabolism, boost exercise endurance and reduce your risk of gallstones and kidney stones.

A study done by the Harvard Medical School has also found that women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day are less likely to be depressed, while a separate research has showed that drinking three cups cuts risk of age-related diabetes.


Therefore the key here is the quantity. Drink just enough of your favorite hot beverage and you’re actually helping your body.

Daydreaming

Daydreaming will most likely be discouraged by any one. Most view it as being unproductive and as a sign of laziness. The researchers from the University of British Columbia will say differently. They found that letting your mind wander every now and then can actually help boost your problem-solving abilities. The study found that when participants minds wandered, the parts of their brain associated with problem-solving became more active than when focused on routine tasks. This may have increased the time it took for them to finish their task at hand but it also unconsciously allows one sort through other important problems in your life.

There’s something to be said about mulling over a problem and getting lost in it that allows you to reach a solution. So daydream away!

Fidgeting

Do enough fidgeting and you will burn some calories. While parents, teachers may discourage this in their wards, adults can benefit from it.

Research suggests that fidgeting can burn up to 350 extra calories a day! Implying that it can help you to keep off those excess pounds. This is because fidgeting speeds up an individual’s metabolism by stimulating neurochemicals in the body, thus increasing the ability to convert body fat into energy. So, if you tend to tap your foot a lot, pace while thinking, or you’re a restless doodler, you are burning calories!

Skipping a shower

This is quite the controversial one. No one wants to make this a habit. However it’s worthy to not that daily washing not only strips your skin of the natural oils that keep it hydrated and supple, it could also strip your skin of good bacteria that help to prevent disease.

So if you want to take this literally try skipping a shower on a day that you will not be too busy or on a day when you won’t be vigorously working out because doing it on a day after you ran a 10k will do no one any favours.

Gossiping

While this may not be a habit to hone or encourage, gossiping has it’s advantage. Those who engage in it have the added advantage of learning about people around them faster. Gossip also reduces stress and anxiety because it allows your body release feel-good hormones when you sit around and ‘chat’ with friends.

Nail biting

Nail biting is seen as a very nasty habit as it’s assumed you’re actually taking in all the germs that reside under your nails. While this is so, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Some doctors have postulated that this small-scale exposure to germs helps build up your immune system, making you less likely to get sick in the long run.

So if you’re finding it hard to kick that habit, you can console yourself with this at least.

Chewing Gum

Chewing gum helps boost alertness and thinking. Helps boost thinking and alertness. In the book Senescence and Senescence-Related Disorders, Kin-ya Kubo and colleagues noted that chewing gum immediately before performing a cognitive task increases blood oxygen levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus—important brain structures involved in learning and memory—thereby improving performance.

Another study showed that reaction time from chewers was 10% faster than non-chewers.

The research team also reported that up to eight areas of the brain are affected by chewing—most notably, the areas concerning attention and movement. As Andy Smith of Cardiff University neatly summed up: “The effects of chewing on reaction time are profound. Perhaps football managers arrived at the idea of chewing gum by accident, but they seem to be on the right track.”

So get chewing. If you watch the English Premier League, chewing gum definitely seems to help the coaches who pace tne sidelines endlessly during a match.

Source: https://www.nextedition.com.ng/bad-habits-that-are-good-for-you