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KIDNAPPING FINALLY CAME HOME
KIDNAPPING FINALLY CAME HOME
….And with horror
A few days ago, I was engrossed in a heated argument with a friend who will , in a matter of weeks, be relocating to the UK. Of course he is just one of the families I know who have concluded plans to leave. Many of my friends have since left with their entire families having given up on their fatherland.
The argument had centred around my friend’s determination to sell his house and never to return to Nigeria for any reason in the future, kind of burning the bridges behind him. I argued that North or South, East or West, there will never be any place like home. Home ? He insisted home didn’t have to be your home town, state of origin or country. Then I remembered my late mother always saying IBI TOKAN ENI BA TI BALE NILE ENI – Home is that place where you’re at peace and your mind is at rest.
As I drove back home from my friend’s house I began to ask myself whether my friend was not right after all. I was not home yet, when my friend put a call through to me and ,as if starting the argument all over, asked me, “look what will I miss in Nigeria when I leave ? Is it the bad roads I ply everyday that has made me addicted to analgesic, is it the consulting clinics that you call hospitals, or your universities that you have shot for six months or the insecurity that could not make you travel to Oro in Kwara state to attend a friend’s father’s funeral a few weeks ago because of the fear of being kidnapped ?” And then he nailed it. ” And you keep talking of hope for Nigeria, where is that hope with the type of politicians whose only agenda is to steal, kill and destroy our future and that of our children”. All efforts to persuade him that Nigeria will come out of the present state of hopelessness, as he had painted it, fell on deaf ears. I gave up and hung up.
Minutes later, another friend called and asked what we “were doing about the menace of kidnappers in Ogbomoso, our home town”. He was calling from the US. I assured him the situation was under control, especially with the recent arrest of the suspected kidnappers of the Farm manager of the former governor of Oyo State, late Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala. I told my friend that ” ogun Fulani o le ko Ogbomoso lailai”
I was wrong. The following morning ,I got a call from a classmate of mine. He went straight to the point. “Gbenga Owolabi, our secondary school colleague and your kinsman has been kidnapped and we need to raise five million naira in ransome to free him.”
Now Gbenga Owolabi , was the man who had laboured in foreign land and made good in life. He thought of contributing to the development of his place of origin and came home to invest in it. He had a hotel, built to standard among other investments that provided employment opportunities for our youths in Ogbomoso. He was kidnapped on arrival from the US. I mean the very day he arrived in Ogbomoso. He was kidnapped along with a final year student of LAUTECH who wanted to keep herself meaningfully busy for the duration of the ASUU strike in the institution and took up a part time job in Gbenga’s hotel.
Raising the five million naira ransome was not difficult to save the lives of these two patriots. Sadly, they were killed by their kidnappers along with the bike man that took the ransome to them . The man who was sent to deliver the ransome escaped with bullet wounds and we can only pray he survives to tell us what transpired.
Gbenga was a jolly good fellow. Humble and urbane. His friends and close associates testify to his generosity. We only communicated once in a while on Facebook as we were not really close in our days in secondary school but from all I have heard of him , Gbenga was a nice guy. He had an emotional attachment to his roots.
My prayers go to his wife and children. I checked his Facebook page yesterday to look at his face over and over. His timeline was filled with prayers by his wife in the hope that he would return to her and the children in due course. And then she finally submitted – THE RUBICON IS 💔 BROKEN. Indeed, for Gbenga, the Robicon is finally broken – with family, friends , Ogbomoso and Nigeria. And the world at large.
May the soul of the departed find rest in the bosom of their Creator. May the Lord heal our land.
Let Mr Mohammadu Buhari know that this generation of Nigerians have a choice. They cannot remain here and salvage what he and other politicians have destroyed. For those who want to japa, I wish them well. For those who have japaed and don’t want to come, stay where you have peace and your mind is at rest. And for those who wish to help to salvage the ruins , may the Lord help us. This ,definitely, isn’t the Nigeria of my dream.
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Laffmattazz: Lagos 3rd Coming Features Star-Studded Lineup with Dbanj Gandoki, Akpororo, Taooma, Seriki Dariya, others
We Must Build A Virile Legislature For The Future, Speaker Obasa Says
Speaker Mudashiru Obasa of the Lagos State House of Assembly, on Sunday, counselled members of the House to strengthen the legislative arm of government ahead of the future.
Dr. Obasa gave the advice in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the opening of a three-day budget retreat for lawmakers and staff of the House with the theme: ‘Optimising the legislature’s power of the Purse’ for effective service delivery in Lagos State’.
The Speaker challenged the lawmakers to be committed in their legislative duties as they must leave lasting legacies for the future, strengthen governance, responsibility and accountability.
He charged the lawmakers on improved and effective legislative oversight functions being one of the responsibilities of the legislature.
“What we do now is really not about us; it is for the totality of the system.
“I appreciate this budget retreat. Each one of us must be responsible in carrying out the assignments we are tasked with. This is very essential.
“We carry out budget scrutiny based on what is presented by the executive. Once we give a go-ahead, it means the executive must comply and treat it accordingly because it has become a law.
“Going forward, all the reports of each committee must be presented at the floor of the House. This will help us decide on how to act for the sake of transparency and accountability,” the Speaker said.
He advised the lawmakers against docility in the task of ensuring that Lagos continues to weather economic storms.
“We all have roles to play and, in doing that, sentiments and self-benefits must be removed. The day you start with self-benefit, you have become a failure.
“If you do your job the way you should do it, you will earn your respect and will be held in high esteem by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“We are here today again to look at how we can improve on the laws we make at the House of Assembly as well as our oversight functions.
‘Let’s continue to be dedicated and loyal and I am sure we will get there. Let’s always straighten the path for Lagosians and those coming behind us,” he urged.
In his opening remark, the Clerk and Head of Service of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, described the retreat as an avenue to have insights into the state’s budget.
While commending the Speaker, he urged the participants to “be attentive and take home fresh ideas and knowledge.”
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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