Following the publication on 13th January 2014 of the nominations for the Nobel Prize for “Men Of Letters”, the Trustees of Alfred Nobel, who amassed a fortune from his discovery of dynamite, have been inundated by complaints from women that there must be a similar prize for the other gender to be designated “Women Of Letters”. Here are some of the nominations from our beloved Nigeria.
Front page headline from “Sunday Vanguard” newspaper of January 19, 2014:
“I HAVE SHAMED MY CRITICS” – Stella Oduah.
Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, has explained why a handful of detractors remains unrelenting in the criticisms of her and the aviation industry.
The Minister lamented in Abuja yesterday that apart from the political side to her travail, “entrenched interests in the aviation sector which have been ripping off the sector in the past 38 years and held the sector and have been stifling its development” were behind the orchestrated attempts to disparage her.
Oduah, who sounded defiant, made it clear that she would not abandon the transformation agenda she was vigorously pursuing in the aviation sector because of the antics of her traducers so that Nigerians could derive maximum benefits from her struggle.
The Minister’s words: “For the over 38 years that our airports were a damning commentary on our status as part of the civilized world; or when our airspace existed without the requisite navigational facilities to make the airspace safe; these category of persons saw no evil and heard no evil while they happily clapped their ways to the banks!
This group has carried on with bitter venom, throwing decency and honour overboard, lying and misleading the Nigerian populace even when they know the truth because my team and I changed the game in favour of Nigeria attaining her pride of place in the comity of nations.
For this category, that is the entrenched, corrupt and profligate individuals and entities who have caused the serious rot in the aviation sector, I owe no apologies.
All I owe them is to further inform them that the current generation has seen through them and are no longer willing to tolerate their antics.”
Preferring not to comment on the controversial armoured cars saga, Oduah said the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan had changed the way of doing things significantly in the country as the president recognized the infrastructural deficit in the nation and had taken very bold steps to address them in order to bequeath to the next generation a nation that can compete favourably in the comity of nations and imbue our next generation with pride and patriotism.
The massive investment and the aggressive prosecution of this agenda in this regard have seen the aviation sector being transformed. Today, 22 airports owned by the Federal Government are at various stages of becoming decent and world class terminals.
Nigeria’s airspace has become one of the safest in the world with the deployment of modern navigational equipments and infrastructures. The oversight capacity of the whole sector has been strengthened with the relevant regulations in place and the training and retraining of personnel.”
The next nomination is from the front page of “Vanguard” newspaper of January 6, 2014.
Headline: “I SHALL COMMIT SUICIDE IF JONATHAN IS NOT RE-ELECTED IN 2015”
-Female lawmaker
“Bauchi State – The only female member in Bauchi State House of Assembly representing Bogoro State Constituency, Rifkatu Samson Danna, has vowed to commit suicide if President Jonathan is not re-elected in 2015.
Danna also canvassed for support for the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed’s 2015 gubernatorial ambition, due to his contribution towards nation building.
Danna who is on suspension from the House of Assembly spoke to newsmen in Bauchi, pointing out that she would not conceal her support for Jonathan’s presidential ambition following the laudable achievements his administration had recorded since inception.
Her words, “I want to declare my support to the presidential ambition of Goodluck Jonathan and I am putting my life on the line for it. I think if you believe in a cause, you should be able to make some sacrifices, even if it demands your life. It would sound ridiculous for people to hear me say this, but nevertheless, it is the pointer to the fact that I believe in the PDP (Peoples Democracy Party) and I am ready to die for it.”
She also lauded the president’s efforts at implementing his transformation agenda which had earned the PDP government acceptance, noting that the Federal Government had executed projects that had direct bearing on the masses.
It was the “Sunday Sun” newspaper of January 19, 2014 which provided the chilling and heart rendering letter from a teenage victim of gang rape.
Front page headline: “GANG ABDUCTS SCHOOLGIRL, RAPES HER
FOR THREE DAYS”
“The Edo State Police Command has arrested three suspected criminals who abducted a 17-year-old girl as she was returning from school and confined her in their house on Erediuwa Street, off Upper Sakonba Road, Benin City, Edo State for three days.
The evil gang of three, whose names and ages were given as Fred Musa, 23; Ezekiel Lucky, 22; and Benjamin Promise, 23, then took turns to rape the hapless girl for the duration of her confinement before she was rescued by the police following a tip off by neighbours, who heard her cry for help.
Recounting the incident to Sunday Sun, the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo said three suspected rapists after abducting the girl switched off her mobile phone thereby preventing her from making any distress call to her family.
However, providence stepped in when the girl began to shout for help through the window of the room where she was locked after her tormentors had gone out. Neighbours heard her cry for help and alerted the police, who quickly responded and rescued the girl.
One of the suspects, Fred Musa told Sunday Sun:
“During our school days, we used to rape ladies. We have been seeing the girl pass in front of our house. We tried to ‘toast’ her but she turned us down. We decided to abduct her while she was returning from school about 2.30 pm. We dragged her into our house and ordered her to take off her clothes. From that moment we detained her for three days and engaged her in marathon sex. We gave her food to eat, and we came in anytime of the day to bash her.”
On how their evil act was uncovered, another of the suspects, Benjamin Promise, said: “It was our neighbours who called the police and the girl was rescued. We were reluctant to release her because we just enjoyed her.” Recalling how deliverance from captivity came for the girl, one of the neighbours of the evil three, who didn’t want to be identified told Sunday Sun: “It was a shock when we heard the voice of the girl crying and shouting for help through the window where they locked her. Immediately, we went to the police station to report the ugly incident.”
By: J.K Randle
