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BREAKING: FG Invites Controversial Kaduna Cleric For Questioning

Published

1 month ago

March 25, 2024

The federal government said the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi has been invited for questioning over his comments on the activities of bandits in the country.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and orientation disclosed this while addressing journalists at the State House, in Abuja on Monday.

Recall the controversial cleric faulted the Federal Government on the continued use of force or kinetic means to secure the release of victims of kidnapping.

Gumi said the government ought to go closer to the bandits and study them to provide them with better living conditions.

According to him, the government’s use of force has now turned the bandits into monsters.

He said, “These bandits are getting more vicious. Before they were not doing this. They are heading to softer targets and we can only attribute this to the kinetic approach.

“Now we are fighting bandits. They are anonymous. You cannot fight someone you don’t even know. We said let’s go in, let us know them, let’s map them out – know who they are and where they belong. All this intelligence information is virtually not there.

READ ALS: Teacher Abducted With Kaduna Schoolchildren Died In Captivity – Gov

“The high-handed approach to the matter is what is making it worse. Now they are kidnapping children and threatening death, which they were not doing before. So, I think what to do is really go back to the drawing board and be truly non-kinetic.”

On how to halt the trend, he said government should design a programme like the amnesty initiative for the Niger Delta militants.

“You need a programme just like the Niger Delta, a programme which will bring them out of their forests, educating then, giving them healthcare, giving them peaceful life. This is how you entice people to abandon violence and militancy.

“But when you continue dropping bombs, they will find no sympathy and empathy for our children. This is it. An eye for an eye. This is what is happening. So, we have to change our tactics, we have to change our styles.

We know leaders of bandits

“The government, everybody knows their leader. In fact, there is a book, ‘I am a bandit by one Murtala, an Academic. He listed more than 160 bandit leaders. We know their leaders by their names but you don’t know their foot soldiers.

“You don’t know all of them. So, you just know their leaders. If you don’t know their foot soldiers, how can you be fighting? They can just come into the town as civilians and then go out,” he said.

News

How God Saved Me From Firing Squad – Gospel Artiste, Buchi

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

A popular gospel singer, Buchi Atuonwu, simply known as Buchi, has revealed how God saved him from firing squad.

During an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief program on Friday, Buchi said he and some other people were already lined up for execution by the firing squad.

He said despite not being religious, his desperation to be alive made him call on God and make a promise to dedicate his life to serving Him in exchange for his life if spared.

He narrated, “At a point in my life, we were laying up for execution. Indeed, the people who were to execute us were already kneeling, ready to fire. It is true that I called out to a God that I didn’t know, saying if you save me, I will serve you. Since we don’t have all the time, let me just say that He saved me from that firing squad.

“Then I devoted my life to serving him. To see that my music is not empty and that it becomes an extension of a classroom for me having been a teacher in the university. The stage became an extension of the classroom. Who says musicians can not sing about GMOs, government policies, trends, events, and happenings that inform the quality of life of the people?”

Speaking on what influenced his choice of music, Buchi said his background and an intention to make a change after being spared from death were the factors responsible for his style of music.

“I come from a peculiar background. Night club DJ and at the same time a university lecturer and transiting to the choir of a church having been involved in the campus confraternity, drug abuse, and youth violence amongst others.

“My kind of music has to be somewhat different. Influenced by that background and also with an intention to make a change, it led me to the kind of stories that you are referring to. Stories that manured the songs that I put out, such as gun running and violence,” he stated.

No relationship between reggae music and weed

Speaking on a controversial comment that every musician must use performance-enhanced drugs to perform at their best, Buchi said it is a narrative sold by people, adding that there is no relationship between reggae music and weed.

“It is a narrative sold by people interested in the matter. It’s like saying to watch a good movie, I need popcorn. yes, they go together, people buy it and do it. They practice it. It is also like saying to watch a good football match. I need a particular kind of drink with me.

“It is okay to sell your products and ideas but I don’t have to accept it absolutely because I know that I can watch a good movie without popcorn and I can also watch a good football game without the drinks in question. In the same way, there is no relationship between reggae music and weed.

“Yes, I have been there, and now I am here. I know for sure that the substances that I took at that time did not enhance my performance. It is true that you have to be in a certain state of mind to give your best, but drugs don’t take you there. There are so many other things like deep thinking and concern for what you are that can take you there.”

In January, the music star refuted claims that his genre of music— reggae was connected to his past romance with marijuana.

His response followed criticisms from those who questioned the inspiration behind a book he published.
PUNCH

News

UNIBEN Ex-deputy VC Is Dead

Published

10 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

A Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Benin, Edo State, Prof. Pius Iribhogbe, is dead.

Until his demise, Prof. Iribhogbe was also a consultant trauma surgeon, head of the Department of Surgery and coordinator of the School of Paramedics at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.

The academic scholar passed on in Saudi Arabia.

UNIBEN’s Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, who confirmed the surgeon’s death said the school was yet to issue a statement.

News

Residents Displaced As Rainstorms Wreck Havoc In Edo Community

Published

12 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

Lampese community in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State has been ravaged by rainstorms.

The incident was said to have occurred Friday as a result of a heavy downpour which affected many houses including the electricity transformer.

An eyewitness account described the incident as very unfortunate following the level of devastation.

Residents of the community have therefore called on the state and local governments and all concerned authorities to come to their rescue with a view to proffering urgent solutions and resettling displaced residents.

Reacting to the situation, the local government council chairman, Tajudeen Suleman, who said he was far away in Enugu State for an official engagement, disclosed that he has mobilised the council officials to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment immediately he got the news, promising to visit victims as soon as he returns today.

He also said he was in touch with the state deputy governor, Marvellous Omobayo and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on moves to fast track the process of resettling affected persons.