celebrity radar - gossips

Ondo State APC Primaries: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, By Doyin Odebowale

Published

10 years ago

August 24, 2016

I just read yet another letter written by one Femi Odere in Premium Times on the lingering crisis of confidence in Ondo State APC, arising from the alleged endorsement of an aspirant, Segun Abrahams, by a National Leader of a supposed public party. It takes a cursory glance at a few lines to discern vacuity propelled by sycophancy. Adopting a mediocre literary technique to veil hypocritical and beggary disposition, this writer attacked Dr Tunji Abayomi, an aspirant in the forthcoming gubernatorial primary election in Ondo State, for writing two letters to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on his opposition to the latter’s predilection in politics.

Nothing riles the mind of deep thinkers more than hypocritical posturing by certain elements who are always eager to throw words around to mask their mendicant intention. Emotional blackmail, a veritable weapon in the hands of the intellectually lazy and fraudulent persons, often comes in handy. Issues of national importance are reduced to base arguments bordering on affinity with respect to either marriage or some undefined friendship. The best treatment for such unwarranted and solicitous meddlesomeness should have been to ignore the writer and his apparent sponsors or would be benefactors, but not at this time. These are desperate times indeed. We must contest space with the arrogant. No honest person will fault the logic of Tunji Abayomi’s protestations at this period when aspirants had been requested to pay for nomination form and encouraged to canvass for votes. An individual does not constitute the party.

Our country faces a lot of challenges as a consequence of directionless, avaricious and mediocre leadership at all levels. The false mantra of service, liberally chanted by politicians as reason for hustling, always slips into discussions effortlessly. There are many of those who disturb our peace, routinely, who are known monsters in other spheres of human endeavour. If service, of the altruistic hue, is the prime consideration for the current hassles, we can be sure that very few aspirants will remain in the race. The self-appointed guardian angels of our collective destiny will have no reason to “endorse or impose” anyone since this type of exaction is alien in the lexicon of decent political engagement. They are in politics to accumulate wealth, tons of it, for themselves and members of their immediate families. They procure slaves who do their biddings and are willing to annihilate anyone who exhibits any streak of independence.

Mr Odere, like the inconsequential bird whose name he bears, chooses the role of a hungry palace bard, singing the panegyrics of his idol, Tinubu, who must not be criticised even if he is playing god in the affairs of men. He descended on one of the victims of overweening pride who had the temerity to challenge the god with clay feet. He acknowledges Tunji Abayomi as “a long time friend” of the emerging Emperor, who graciously visited a lesser mortal, such as he, in a remote village in Ondo State called Okeagbe from the Olympian height in Bourdillion. He reminds him of the “struggles” to “entrench” democracy in Nigeria during the military and how they both suffered privation for “emancipating” Nigerians from the shackles of the military oppressors and their civilian collaborators. He rounded off this gibberish with a foreboding. If APC loses the November gubernatorial election in the state, it will be largely traceable to the sacrilegious missive written to a god by a victim of hubris.

Since everyman reserves the right to decide his preference in life, I have little problem with the cavalier attitude of this man. He can change his father’s name to Tinubu to showcase unalloyed loyalty but the right he lacks is to attempt to teach a man, a lawyer, on the best cause to embark upon in defending his right if he perceives some manifest injustice. It is the height of insolence for someone, who claims not to know a person at close quarters, to insinuate dishonesty with regard to some money meant for legal defence allegedly converted by Dr Abayomi. This inelegant crier pretends to be distant from the political arena yet knows so much about internal workings of a platform such as the ruling party. Who else, save a rabid sycophant, will admit that two individuals share close relationship but one is permitted to violate, grossly, the tenets of friendship, with impunity, because he fought for democracy? If a fellow comrade, who shared perilous fate in the trenches with you, is deemed ill suited for a post, it is incumbent on you to explain to him and others, who equally propagate the sinking platform of dubiety, on the often repeated but unsubstantiated claim of comradely activities. We were all in this country when PDM was formed by late Shehu Musa Yar Adua. We remember those who sold their patrimonies for political relevance. Chroniclers of events have a different story to tell concerning the treacherous acts of characters who strut the political landscape with mendacious claims of valour.

This constant revisionism by simpletons is dangerous to the polity. How else can we categorise the idiotic tantrums, freely thrown at an aspirant who feels aggrieved by the nefarious intrusion of a friend who invited party officials and promised them money if they could do his wish? In whose interest was he doing that, the party or the people of Ondo State? What manner of logic will place the burden of blame on a victim while the perpetrator of confusion is praised to high heaven? A reference was made to an unexpressed intent to lead the NBA as president on several occasions. I am very sure that the oracle at Bourdillion will not be happy at this sloppy and ludicrous claim. At no time has Tunji Abayomi declared his interest in serving the Bar at that level , to the best of our knowledge, either in remote or recent times. We are active, sufficiently, at the Bar to know. The recent history of leadership of the association is public knowledge. And who says that a person cannot contest for as many times as he wishes if he belongs to an association?

Perhaps, it is only in APC that an adult must be subjected to all asinine manipulation. A National leader of a public party shares no blame for disrupting a process already set in motion by the party hierarchy. He has the power to “endorse” or “coronate” an aspirant whose main qualification lies in his being pliable. But a sycophant puts the load of culpability, squarely, on the cheated and oppressed. When ignorance drops issues, disparate and far flung, to justify hubris, knowledge cringes. Odere writes about Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama in spite of being in the same Republican Party as Senator John McCain. He also alluded to Obama endorsing Hillary Clinton when Bernie Sanders was still in the race. We can only sympathise with a country so afflicted with thick-headed stupidity and combative uppity. John McCain and Obama were candidates of two different parties in 2008. Powell did not invite delegates of a Republican Party to his house because he was the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. He served America diligently. He depended on his honest pension. He was not acting as a political merchant throwing dice on the table at a political casino. Obama is too intelligent to dabble into an issue of primary election. He does not have any business interest to protect. He had waited for Hillary to become the presumptive candidate of the a Democratic Party before his endorsement. He did not use his position as a leader of his party to sway delegates to decide either way, promising to fund his inherently subversive scheme. The APC example is only possible in a backward environment such as ours.

The APC National Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, has reaffirmed the commitment of the party to conduct a free and fair primary. It is not enough to taunt Tunji Abayomi on the predictable outcome of the organised charade. We just hope that the damage done is redeemable. Buhari was not given a chance by many enemies of this country, including the major beneficiaries of his presidency. He won in spite of the dollars. People resisted the political merchants in PDM. The people of Ondo rejected Tinubu and not Akeredolu in 2012. They will be ever ready to do so again. Some leaders of APC are a menace to this country. The earlier we tell them so, the better it will be for us.

Tinubu’s predilections should not be, necessarily, conterminous with those of APC. Nemesis waits, anxiously, to punish this unbridled haughtiness.

Dr Doyin Odebowale,
Dept of Classics,
UI.

celebrity radar - gossips

The Unfinished Conversation: Five Years of Missing T.B. Joshua BY FEMI OYEWALE

Published

19 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Sahara Weekly

The Unfinished Conversation: Five Years of Missing T.B. Joshua BY FEMI OYEWALE

”In life we meet to part, we part to meet, but parting is the sweetest sorrow.”

Five years have vanished like a vapor, yet the echoes of his voice remain as vivid as a morning sunrise. June 5th marks the anniversary of the transition of a man who was not merely a global religious icon, but a father, a mentor, and a beacon of profound simplicity in a complex world. As I pen this, I find myself still navigating the shores of denial. How does one write a tribute to a man whose influence was as vast as the oceans, yet whose heart remained as humble as the desert sands?

The Last Assignment

Time truly flies, but some moments are frozen in the amber of memory. I recall with poignant nostalgia that I was among the final few with whom he spoke before stepping out for his last assignment on the pulpit on June 5,2021. Unknown to many, we shared an uncommon bond—a father-son relationship that stood the test of time.

Just an hour before that glorious, final ministration, my phone rang. We discussed the fulfillment of prophecies and my planned assignment to South Africa, an assignment he promised to single-handedly finance. By God’s grace, I have traveled the globe, and ninety percent of those journeys were bankrolled by him. Before ending the call, he spoke with finality: “Femi, go and watch it.” I never knew it was a parting shot. I never knew those words would be the threshold of eternity. Perhaps that is why, despite being part of his burial media committee, I lacked the courage to write until today.

From Fear to Faith: The Beginning

My journey to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) was written in the stars of fate. Then a reporter for Encomium Weekly, under the tutelage of the legendary Mr. Kunle Bakare, I was recommended to handle media work for a “prominent client.” When the name “T.B. Joshua” was mentioned, my heart sank.

Having cut my journalistic teeth under titans like Mr. Femi Adeshina and Mr. Dele Alake, I had heard the tales, stories of monsters, of shape-shifters, of dark magic. As I drove to Ikotun, I recited every Psalm I could muster and texted my parents my destination, unsure if I would return. I arrived expecting a beast; I was introduced to a brother. I met a man so profoundly simple, so devastatingly ordinary in his humility, that if not for his presence on Emmanuel TV, I would have sworn I was meeting an impostor. That was the day the fear died, and a lifelong relationship began.

The Man Behind the Mantle

I am not here to validate a legend; I am here to honor a human. I have been privileged to stand in his office, his personal room, his private altar, and his prayer house. What did I find? Not a demigod, but a man who lived for others.

A Heart of Forgiveness: Like the father in Luke 15, no matter the depth of the offense, a sincere “I am sorry” was all it took to be welcomed back into his fold.

The Weight of Misunderstanding: I remember the pain of the building collapse. He asked me, with tears that shattered my heart, “Femi, can you believe they said I used these people for rituals?” That was the first time I saw the iron man break.

A Channel of Healing: I recall a man brought to the prayer line who had previously declared, “Even if T.B. Joshua is the devil, if he can take this pain away, I am ready.” The moment those words left his lips, the Prophet walked over, touched him, and the healing was instantaneous.

He was a comedian, a teacher, a preacher, and above all, a man who loved his family and his ministry with every fiber of his being. If most clergy possessed even half the global influence he wielded, they would have long ago become arrogant demigods. T.B. Joshua remained, to his last breath, a servant.

A Legacy Enduring

It has been five years, yet it feels like yesterday. Many of those who cast stones in the shadows often came seeking his light in secret. Today, as we remember him, I see that legacy thriving. Prophetess Evelyn Joshua is truly holding the torch, preserving the foundation with grace and strength.

Good morning, Prophet T.B. Joshua. You live on in the lives you changed, the doors you opened, and the heart of your many disciples who will never forget the man who taught them that true greatness is found in the simplicity of love.

”He was a man globally misunderstood, yet a man whose name alone opened doors globally. He lived for others, and in doing so, he became immortal.”

celebrity radar - gossips

Let’s build a future where access to healthcare is strengthened…….Oba Odugbemi

Published

3 days ago

June 2, 2026

Sahara Weekly

Let’s build a future where access to healthcare is strengthened…….Oba Odugbemi

A call has gone to every stakeholder in the health sector to build a future where access to healthcare is guaranteed and strengthened.

The Onilisa of Lisa Kingdom, Oba Oladele Odugbemi make the call in Lisa while donating a Sanitary Sterilisation Box to the Lisa health centre.

Oba Odugbemi said that the donation became necessary in order to further strengthen the capacity of the health centre for the benefits of the people.

The royal father stressed that his foundation, Oladele Odugbemi foundation would continue to make meaningful impacts in community healthcare aimed at complementing the efforts of government in healthcare delivery system.

He pointed out that the foundation reflects its unwavering commitment to promoting quality healthcare services, enhancing hygiene standards and supporting health institutions with essential tools that contribute to safer and healthier communities.

According to the monarch, all stakeholders in the health sector should work hand-in- hand with government to take healthcare to the doorsteps of the masses as government cannot do it alone, hence health is wealth.

Oba Odugbemi also charged the governments at all levels to declare a state of emergency in the health sector so that every Nigerian can have smooth access to healthcare delivery system in the interest of the country and for the benefits of the masses.

The monarch therefore said that the foundation would continue to care for the people through empowerment by ensuring that masses have good and quality health condition.

The Sanitary Sterilisation Box was presented by the Foundation Director, Hajia Suliat Odugbemi – Tinuosho to the Matron of Lisa Community Health Centre, Mrs Temitope Nofisat Sanni who received it on behalf of the health centre.

celebrity radar - gossips

Inside the Success of Yoruba Cinema’s Biggest Stars

Published

1 week ago

May 27, 2026

Sahara Weekly

Inside the Success of Yoruba Cinema’s Biggest Stars

King of the Screen: Why Odunlade, Muyiwa, Femi Adebayo Remain Yoruba Movie Giants

The Yoruba movie industry has continued to produce legendary talents whose influence stretches beyond Nigeria to global audiences. Over the years, some actors have distinguished themselves through consistency, versatility, box office success, and cultural impact.

Among the numerous stars in Nollywood’s Yoruba sector, three actors have remained dominant figures whose names constantly resonate with fans and filmmakers alike — Odunlade Adekola, Muyiwa Ademola, and Femi Adebayo.

Odunlade Adekola: The Street King of Yoruba Cinema

Popularly regarded as one of the most entertaining actors in Nollywood, Odunlade Adekola has built a unique reputation through his energetic delivery, comic timing, emotional depth, and strong connection with grassroots audiences.

From comedy to action and emotional family dramas, the actor has consistently proven his versatility in blockbuster productions. His ability to interpret diverse roles effortlessly has made him a household name across Nigeria.

Industry observers believe his dominance on social media platforms, where his movie clips frequently go viral, has further strengthened his popularity among younger audiences.

Beyond acting, Odunlade has also contributed immensely to mentoring upcoming talents and expanding the commercial value of Yoruba films.

Muyiwa Ademola: The Master Storyteller

For many lovers of indigenous movies, Muyiwa Ademola remains one of the finest storytellers the Yoruba film industry has produced.

Widely respected for producing emotional and morally driven movies, the actor earned massive recognition through classic productions that focused on family values, culture, betrayal, perseverance, and societal lessons.

His calm delivery, deep scripts, and originality have kept him relevant despite changing trends in the entertainment industry.

Film critics often describe Muyiwa Ademola as one of the few actors whose productions combine entertainment with strong cultural education, making his movies timeless among older and younger viewers alike.

Femi Adebayo: The Modern-Day Box Office Force

Femi Adebayo has successfully combined traditional Yoruba storytelling with modern cinematic excellence, helping to project indigenous films to international audiences.

The actor, filmmaker, and producer has recorded major successes with high-budget productions that gained attention on streaming platforms and cinemas.

Known for his professionalism and attention to detail, Femi Adebayo has continued to push Yoruba movies beyond local boundaries while preserving cultural identity.

Entertainment analysts say his ability to blend culture, technology, and quality production has positioned him among the leading faces shaping the future of Yoruba cinema.

Growing Global Influence

The success of these actors reflects the increasing acceptance of indigenous Nigerian content globally. With streaming platforms creating wider access to local movies, Yoruba actors are now gaining international recognition and attracting new audiences.

Fans and stakeholders in the entertainment industry believe the contributions of Odunlade Adekola, Muyiwa Ademola, and Femi Adebayo have not only sustained Yoruba culture through film but have also elevated Nollywood’s global reputation.