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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Creativity on Her Neck

And I was surfing facebook again today and came across this photo of Doyin Bakare an IT Solutions executive who creatively turned colorful office pins into a makeshift necklace. And they did look good on her neck. Its amazing how the most ordinary stuff lying around can become a cute ornament to make us look good.

All she needs to further enhance this makeshift necklace is to add a cute pendant to dangle in its necklaced glory. Nice one Doyin!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Truth About Winged Angels



By Segun Egbeyinka 

I walked into our family church one Sunday morning after a long period of absence and immediately something caught my attention. On the altar, just behind the pulpit, was a beautiful pictorial description of the astonishing event on Genesis 28:12; where Jacob, as he slept, dreamt of a stairway that reached from the Earth up to the Heaven, and angels were going up and down this stairs. It was excellent craftsmanship and I was, for a moment, lost in its sheer beauty until… I noticed something; the angels in the painting were pictured bearing wings. I racked my brain furiously, searching for any passage that I knew of in the Bible where angels were described with wings, but I came up empty. I eventually gained little from that morning’s sermon because I spent the entire time canvassing the known pages of my Bible for any phrase, sentence, or verse to justify the artist’s interpretation, but still found none.
Since then I have come across several photos depicting angels with wings and some other questionable Christian arts which have no real basis or origin in the Bible. All of these prompted the inspiration of this article; Fallacies of Christian Arts.

Angels are spiritual beings that acts as God’s messengers in carrying out five basic roles, which are; protection, provision, comfort, guidance and deliverance, for God’s servant. Not very much is known about the description of these heavenly beings, but the little we know surely didn’t depict them as winged-bearing creatures. The only heavenly beings described in the Bible as having wings are the Cherubims and the Seraphims. The Cherubims are described quite vividly by Ezekiel as beings with four faces, four wings and with wheels. The Seraphims were described by Isaiah as possessing six wings; they covered their faces with two, covered their feet with two and used the last pair to fly.

So, where did this idea come from? An idea that has become such a part of us that we would most likely view a painting of angels without wings with displeasure, rather than the other way round, a tradition that has become so familiar that no one bothered to question the painting that we all gazed upon every Sunday. In all biblical accounts, that describes man interacting with angels, never once was it stated that the angels had wings. Most of the time they are described as looking like men, and who have appeared unexpectedly.

“And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garment” Luke 24:4

“And there came two angels into Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them… Where are the men that came in to thee this night; bring them out unto us that we may know them” Gen 19:1,5

“And they appeared unto him an Angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of furnace” Luke 1:11

“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” Judges 6:12

And in some cases the person with whom the angel have made contact doesn’t even know it is an angel until the angel disappears,

“And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that speakest unto the woman… For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord” Judges 13:11,16

There is no recorded distinctive feature that separates the angels mentioned in the Bible from man, let alone a huge pair of wings behind their backs. If there was a striking distinction, then verses such as Heb 13:2 have been made of no effect;

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”

The idea that angels possess wings may have arose from the rationalization that since these heavenly beings move from heaven to earth, and all round the earth carrying out assigned task then the appropriate means of achieving this feat would be by the possession of wings. To this ideology I pose an important question; can the God who created the world and the elements in it be constrained by those same elements, such that He has to obey the laws that guide movement within them? The answer of course is No; and angels operate under the power of God.

So how did the wings come about? Some are of the belief that the wings came as result of the Israelites’ sojourn in captivity in Babylon; they believe they must have gotten the idea from the Babylonian gods all of which are depicted with wings. Some others believe the wings have its origin in Greek gods. While yet others, believe that the idea of a winged heavenly being seemed appropriate, if not exciting, and accounted for such depictions. Whatever is the explanation chosen, the fact remains that artists and writers who long ago absorbed the mythology of winged angels evidently never bothered to line up their notions with the Bible itself, therefore creating beings who are based solely on human imagination and speculation.

A very interesting and almost laughable fallacy is that of the Three wise men. Virtually everyone has once fallen victim to this, you just need to think back to your Sunday school days when your teacher shows you the picture of three happy men presenting gifts to a beautiful swaddled baby, and the topic of the day’s lesson would be; The three wise men. We grew up with this and it has become such a part of us; sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as three wise men; rather there were Wise men from the East.

“Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star appeared” Matt 2:7

Who presented baby Jesus with three gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I believe the fact that they presented three gifts accounted greatly for this age long misconception.

In conclusion, I recognize the fact the most essential thing about the Christian faith is Christ sacrifice on the cross and the subsequent salvation which it assures us of, and not the issue of Biblical Angelology and art work fallacies. But it is still quite as important, for us to identify and root out certain ideas and concepts that has become part of the Christian tradition but has no origin in the Bible, or those, which clearly contradicts the Bible’s teachings.


Segun Egbeyinka loves to write, loves to read amazing books, and he is also a sucker for great movies.This article was originally titled 'Fallacies Of Christian Arts'  and also featured on Naija Stories. Segun blogs at: www.olusegunegbeyinka.wordpress.com where he shares some of his most controversial and thought 


Image courtesy: 
www.exploremeditation.org


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Another Scapegoat: A Rotten Female Cop [Video]


No doubt about it, the news about a rotten cop demanding N25,000 bribe from a motorist that went viral and hit the headlines, has given Nigerians in diaspora a good idea of a good use for their camera phones and the social media.

The recently circulating news of a female cop demanding N100 bribe from a bus driver has equally proven this. Apparently, the act of phone paparazzi on corrupt officials is trending. I remember mentioning in the earlier post on the corrupt male cop that the video will ignite a sudden consciousness on the need to capture those corrupt elements in all paramilitary forces.


The Policewoman in the video sat in the bus like a principality demanding 'her money' be paid. And she got the money - such determination! Do we now say that what a rotten male cop can do, a female cop can do better?

LOL...I guess that's out of the question.

The Police claim to be looking into the matter to identify the Policewoman. Hmmm...I hope they are not putting us on 'is coming'. I can imagine the fear many corrupt elements may be having now.

For now all uniformed officials had better watch their backs; civilians are going gadget smart to capture their scrupulous antics; especially at this period when VIOs, LASTMA, and a host of others are out there in full force doing what they know to do best or worst.

The 'amebo' fun has just begun!..



Image Courtesy
www.punchng.com



Monday, August 19, 2013

Getting Jazzed Up By Babalawo [Funny Video]




You want Babalawo to do 'Jazz' for you abi? Then you must be ready to face the consequences. Don't ask me what this dude wanted, just watch and laugh. I don't know what language they were speaking but you can tell that a funny ritual was going on here.


Watching this cracked my sides. At first I was wondering what the whole fiasco was about until the whole exercise progressed to serious level and the 'customer' knew he was getting more than he bargained for. He even couldn't utter the right words when things heated up.

Wait sef...wetin dem dey talk? 






Saturday, August 17, 2013

Abusing The Future [Photo Art]

I came across this heart-wrenching work of art with an deep expose on horrible truths surrounding the different types of abuse children across the world have been subjected to. The photography clearly depicts each situation with startling symbolism. 




Image 1 - Refers to the Vatican pedophilia. 

Image 2 - Refers to the child sexual abuse in tourism in Thailand. 

Image 3 - Refers to the war in Syria. 

Image 4 - Refers to trafficking in organs on the black market, where most of the victims are children of poor countries. 

Image 5 - Refers to free U.S. weapons.

Image 6 - Refers to obesity, blaming the big fast food companies




Thursday, August 15, 2013

Decapitated Snake Bites Its Own Butt - (Video) [Viewer's Discretion Advised]


What do you do when you discover a snake hanging about your yard?
You kill it.
How do you kill it?
You decapitate it.
And then what? You stay the heck away from the decapitated head!
Why? 
This gruesome video will show you why.
The snake in the video is a venomous copperhead viper that was killed by a man in Alabama after he found the reptile in his back garden.
But then as he filmed it in the throes of death, the decapitated head sank its fangs into its tail as it trashed about.
Sam Billiter said he used a machete to decapitate the snake as he did not want it to bite his son or pet dog.
In the video, which he originally posted on Facebook, he can be heard to say: ‘It just bit itself… wow. The snake’s head just bit its body. This is crazy.’
Copperhead vipers can grow up to 1m long and although venomous they are very rarely fatal to humans.
Snake heads have been known to bite almost an hour after being separated from their bodies.
Did you get that? 
Don't even mess a snake's head after cutting it off. It could still seek revenge on you for cutting it off.

Traditional Ignorance: The Ibadan Mermaid Saga



When people say ignorance is a bad thing, one may not be able to grasp the magnitude of that statement until one actually finds himself in a situation that depicts it word for word.

Back in late July, there was this news agog about a fish seller Ramota Adeyemo discovering a strange creature amongst the frozen fish she's just purchased to re-sell in Ibadan. The creature was reported by some sites as a 'Fish with human parts' or a 'Mermaid'.
Some went as far as even describing what it looked like - that it wore 'braids'. Some even went as far as reporting that the creature was seen to have spoken to Ramota to allow it back into the sea or river in exchange for wealth or fortune.

Traditionalist were said to have warned her and threatened her that nothing must happen to the fish. Later reports would arise of Ramota and her family being attacked for harboring such a fish and not turning it over to indigenious traditionalists or area boys. 
The traditionalists had threatened that if the creature was not handed over to them, Ibadan would experience a serious flood disaster and that the 1980 experience would be a child’s play when compared to it.


On reading these reports I was skeptical. First nobody seemed to have been able to take a proper photo of this so-called fish except for this photo collage which part of it supposedly showed Ramota holding up the small fish. On looking at the creature, I saw nothing spectacular about it - despite the fact that the photo was not that clear.

Eventually a photo finally surfaced, and it was discovered that the so called 'strange creature' was actually a small octopus! 


Now you can imagine what those traditionalists must have felt like when somebody got that info across to them. What's really shocking is the fact that nobody could discern all the while that this creature was an octopus. And what does that tell us? People are ignorant!

The moment I saw the full picture of the creature I immediately knew it was an octopus or squid. Honestly, Ibadan people fall my hand big time! 

Haba!

What if it had been that 'blokkus' eating fish (The Pacu) that had been discovered by another ignorant person? They would have probably concluded that it was a spirit from the marine kingdom that had been sent to castrate unfaithful men. And I'm sure that traditionalists would have resorted to worshiping the nasty little critter and offering it sacrifices....oh and they would say if it was not accorded respect like that, earthquakes would rock Ibadan and 5,000 residents would run mad and loose their 'blokkus' by mysterious accident...


LOL!

Okay...my imagination is running away with me. But seriously...the ignorace is alarming. So people abound that don't know that the sea has other creatures beyond just titus, cat fish and stock fish varieties?

I just hope comedians will not use this as an avenue to make fun of Ibadan people...(drat! I think I just gave them an idea!) I hope no comedian is reading this entry!






Images Courtesy
www.adrienneadeyemi.com
www.thelocal.se
www.naijaurban.com








Wednesday, August 14, 2013

'Blokkus' Eating Fish on The Loose in Sweden


'Gbege' has officially landed for Swedish men. They now have to make sure they never go swimming butt naked for any reason. 
Why? 
A nasty little fish that delights in snacking on testicles may be lurking in the waters of Denmark.

The Pacu Fish a.k.a 'Ball Cutter'

Okay that is quite unnerving. A fish that eats testicle? Where did such minute monstrosity spring from? Though it was reported to be related to the infamous flesh eating Piranha fish, it certainly seems to have its own specialised affinity with the male 'blokkus'. Here's the report from the Metro website:

Swedish men have been warned to keep their swimming trunks on after a South American fish known for attacking testicles was found in the sea.

A fisherman in the Oresund Sound between Denmark and Sweden last week retrieved a 8 inch (21cm)  pacu – a relative of the piranha that is most commonly found in the Amazon region.

The freshwater fish, which can grow up to 35 in (90cm) and weigh up to 55 lb (25kg) has been nicknamed the ‘ball cutter’ for its attacks on the male genitalia.

Okay...why this is a serious matter, but I could not resist the urge to laugh. 'Ball cutter'? Who was the heartless nutcase that gave it that name? Soon you'll have vengeful women rearing these ferocious monsters in bid to get at their two-timing men. Anyway, let's continue:

Found in most rivers in the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America, they have also been spotted in Papua New Guinea, where it is believed they have been introduced to boost fish stocks.

Back in 2011, British angler Jeremy Wade caught a 40lb specimen in Papua New Guinea.

The latest discovery prompted the National History Museum in Denmark to warn: ‘Keep your swimwear on if you’re bathing in the Sound these days – maybe there are more out there!’

The specimen is the first one to have been caught at sea in Europe, the museum added.

‘The pacu is not normally dangerous to people but it has quite a serious bite, there have been incidents in other countries, such as Papua New Guinea where some men have had their testicles bitten off,’ Henrik Carl, a fish expert at the Danish museum, said.

They bite because they’re hungry, and testicles sit nicely in their mouth,’ he told English language news website The Local.

The Pacu was found in the Oresund strait
between Denmark and Sweden
 
‘And its mouth is not so big, so of course it normally eats nuts, fruit, and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target.

‘It’s not normal to get your testicles bitten off, of course, but it can happen, especially now in Sweden.’

The pacu was similar in appearance to its notorious cousin, the piranha, he said.

‘They are almost identical to the piranha, you couldn’t even tell from the outside. It’s just that they have different teeth. Flatter and stronger, perfect for crushing,’ he added.

Mr Carl said that the discovery of one pacu – which is currently undergoing DNA tests to confirm its identity – should not keep Swedish men out of the water.

But if more were found in the area, it could become a serious issue, he suggested.

‘This one was the first, but who knows, it’s probably not the last,’ he added.

In areas where pacus proliferate are found, fishermen have reportedly bled to death after losing their testicles to the fish’s crushing jaws.

If I were a fisherman and I read this bit (especially that last line), I would be mentally scarred for life and totally lose interest in the fishing business. 

Yeah...'cause I love my balls...and so does Wifey.





Images courtesy
www.metro.co.uk
Google Maps




Influences [Photo]


Found this deep yet funny collage on Facebook...


Funny as it seems, it sort of carries strong elements of truth, doesn't it?
Like the way our interaction with different cultures affect and influence us.
Okay...it might look kinda racist but hey...truth does not respect persons.
What do you think?



Wednesday, August 7, 2013

A Rotten Naija Cop & the Wonder of Phone Paparazzi [Photo + Video]

‘The Nigerian Police is your friend’ – that’s a well known mantra that has become the butt of jokes on the Police force because it’s nothing but a stark naked irony. The Nigerian Police has been flooded with elements that are giving the force a bad name.

Such is the case of the Police sergeant captured on video demanding N25,000 bribe from a motorist. He even went ahead and implicated other people in the matter by mentioning that he wasn't the only one involved as well calling out the name of one of his colleagues.

The video has heavily gone viral; blogs have carried the news, twitter has tweeted it, radio stations made it a topic of discuss this morning, blackberry phones are broadcasting it all over the airwaves. Surprisingly, the Police swung into action and responded immediately yesterday as the officer was arrested and is said to be awaiting room trial (Nigerian Police version of Court).

This is a clear warning that should make every corrupt official wary and careful of whatever they do on Lagos roads. The motorist was smart enough to record the incident.


Thank God for the kind of mobile phones we have today, people with diabolic intentions can’t get away with crime easily.  Almost every person on the street now carries a phone with camera attached to it; anytime there’s an event happening, you see people whip out their phones to capture stuff on their phones. This has made the internet richer with more videos and images.

I just have the feeling that this is just the beginning.

This video that implicated the cop will only ignite a sudden consciousness amongst Nigerians to be on standby to capture acts of corruption being perpetrated by law enforcement officials. LASTMA officials have had a dose of it, so has the police and army. Let see if corrupt Vehicle Inspection Officers, Federal Road Safety Corps members and other paramilitary officials can avoid being caught.


If you never saw the video, you can download it here.


What You Probably Never Knew About Condoms

Condoms are probably the most popular contraceptives but how much do we know about this famous (and infamous) latex?
                                    Everything you didn
                                   
Source

LOL...Have you learnt anything? Hope you have!

                                   
                                   
                                   

                       

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Was That Snoop Dogg Doing a Gospel Track? - [ With Downloads]


I always got my ears out to catch a unique sound and its no surprise that you'll find them everywhere; music that still embraces art form and creativity that's not vile or abused.Its amazing how much of good stuff like that can still be found on the internet. I came across these two again and couldn't resist sharing. 



Track: The Kill
Artiste: MC Adoga ft. Beautiful Lite

One thing that caught my attention about MC Adoga is the fact that he sounded like Snoop Dogg!

I very well know that rapping is not an easy art form of music, especially when you need to say stuff that makes sense or passes a message.Not every rapper can successfully describe a complete event with the use of simple, consistent and interlocking metaphor. 
MC Adoga  who is a Scepters national award winner and one of the most respected emcees in Minna, adopts the gangster rap style snyonymous with Snoop Dogg. He ends up sounding like what Snoop Dogg would sound like if he was a born again christian. He uses metaphors of voilence to depict spiritual battle against the flesh and its motivator - the devil. Female rapper Beautiful Lite features on the track with a silky smooth delivery that adds a contrasting flow to the rythmn.

The track highlights Christians ignorance; most of us attend church but have no intention of becoming moving churches, flesh at work!

You can download “Moni O” from the link below.





Track: Moni O
Artiste: C-Stas

I did an entry sometime back in May about this female group called C-stas and their unique smooth gospel sound that beautifully fuses African elements with western ones. 

The Divas which consist of Adenaya Abiodun (BeeNaya), Olayinka Temitope (layray), Nancy Ukpeh(nanatsa) and Ajayi Abiodun(BeeDel) are back , with another delightful single titled “Moni O”, their second official single produced by Okey Sokay. According to them, “Moni O” is a song that simply explains to us that regardless of the trials we face,the crisis happening all around the world.

These ladies are definitely gifted and sound very good together. I pray they stay long as a group and not break up like the popular male music group - Infinity.

You can download “Moni O” from the link below.







Saturday, August 3, 2013

The Chronicles X - Crash

Sibbyl cursed as her Toyota Camry sputtered and went into a fit of jerks and jacking thrusts.

No no no no! Please don’t do this to me…we’re almost there…Oh crap…damn you Mufu!

Mufu was the arrogant creep of a mechanic who regularly worked on her car. Sibbyl couldn’t understand why she still used him. Was he using ‘jazz’ on her? Every time he worked on the car, it seemed to get worse than before. Each time she went into a spat over some rubbish job he recently did which backfired, he would go into a volley of technical explanations of how the car’s mechanism failed due to one careless act of hers and thus end up turning the tables against her.

She would end up looking and feeling stupid, his superior knowledge of automobile technicalities making a mince meat out of her ignorance and pained outburst. She would look at his face to try and decipher whether he was telling the truth or just masquerading another bluff to siphon cash from her.

Mufu had serviced the Camry yesterday and given her a thumbs up that it was okay, so what’s with this sudden jerking?

She edged the faltering vehicle off the service lane on the expressway onto a bypass for vehicles to stop along the way. As if to acknowledge the move, the car gave one final spurt and stalled.

Sibbyl felt betrayed.

‘Mufu! God punish you wherever you are!’ She groaned slamming a fist on top of the dashboard.

She looked at the toll gate miles ahead down the straight unwinding expressway. She was supposed to branch off the road at a turning just beside the toll gate.

A small hold-up had built before the turning – consequences of paying toll for plying the road.

Sibbyl pouted in despair. She was going to be delayed for the reading session she was hurrying to attend.

 If only I had made it up to that turnpike, if only the car had decided to break down at that point, I’d dump the car and get a cab from the junction. If only…

There was no way she’d get a cab from the point where she was parked. She would have to embark on a long trek.

Mufu, you will pay for this…I promise!

Two cars sped past and she watched them in envy as they approached the toll hold-up in the distance. She was lost for what to do. She picked up her phone and looked at the screen, her mind racing on whom to call.

A loud startling sound of heavy scratching metal suddenly broke her concentration.

She raised her head sharply just in time to see a trailer transporting fuel zoom past her. Underneath the long vehicle, her eye caught sight of a long rod that had somewhat disconnected between the tyres and was dragging against the asphalt creating ominous sparks and a terrible scraping sound.

Sibbyl felt her heartbeat quicken. It was that peculiar kind of heart rhythm she usually got when she had the intuition that something terrible was about to happen.

The trailer suddenly lurched, probably in an attempt to stop. It went into a drift which buckled between the connection of the driver’s cabin and the adjoining long tank containing fuel. The lurch caused the tank to scrape hard against the road divider causing some sections to rupture and burst.

Escaped fuel splashed across the express mapping itself along with the coming destruction.

The trailer toppled and fell heavily with a loud crash to its side, sliding brutally along road. Bits of metal, glass and debris scattered in directions on impact of the fall. Its brutal friction on the fuel-wet tar gave birth to a blinding and deafening explosion.

B-l-o-o-d of J-e-s-u-s!

Sibbly gasped in utmost shock, almost fainting in the process as she watched balls of fire mushroom across the expressway consuming space, pedestrians, vegetation and the cars lined up at the toll gate. Its deafening sound drowned the screams of horror coming from victims caught in the blaze. The mushroom explosion bellowed further consuming more oxygen and every other thing in its path.

Sibbyl screamed as she felt her car shudder and rattle from the explosion.  The heat was intense and the whole atmosphere smelt of petrol. Debris hit the Camry like elements from a vicious weather, shrapnel flew in directions like missiles launched by hordes within the core of the flaming disaster.  A small piece of metal smashed into her windscreen leaving a webbed out crack at the right hand corner.

Sibbyl crouched into the leg space underneath the Camry’s steering and dashboard, totally numbed by fear and too scared to look any further or get out and run.

More explosions rocked the area. The lined up cars were now exploding as flames from the previous explosion caught up with inflammable matter within them.

Her life suddenly flashed before her eyes; the last time she saw her family, her friends, her best work that she’d put up on the Naija Stories Website but hadn’t gotten to see published, her plans, her dreams, the prayer she had uttered that morning for journey mercies…

She had never envisioned she’d die like this…in an explosion on an expressway in the prime of her life. Nobody wants to die like this – barbecued to death by flames and premium motor spirit.

Tears stung her eyes, more for those she would leave behind than for herself. She closed her eyes to stop the tears and wait dreading the magnitude at which the raging inferno would encapsulate her.

She whimpered each time she heard an explosion and cowered lower.

Then the explosions stopped.

All she could hear were the flickering of flames. The stench of burned fuel and smoke hung so thickly in the air and filled the car she felt she was going get asphyxiated to death.

Time seemed to drift pass.

Then she heard the shouting voices

Next she heard wailing sirens.

A heavy gust of breeze blew causing the smoke to clear away from the Camry. Inside the car, the carbon monoxide reduced as fresh air blew through.

She crawled out hastily onto the driver’s seat. Her head partially heavy from the brief smoke she had inhaled.

Cars had stopped all over the unaffected parts of the expressway.

People, a mix of neighboring residents and motorists, had gathered watching the burning carnage. Some were crying, others put hands on their heads to express their horror at the magnitude of the ghastly sight. Some ran to and fro doing whatever they could to salvage any soul that might have survived.

Sibbyl closed her eyes and exhaled a long sigh of relief.

The joy of still being alive was so overwhelming.

Heartfelt words of gratitude to the Almighty escaped her lips before she even realized it.

Then a dreadful thought zoomed through her mind.

What if her car had not broken down? She would have been on that toll gate queue with the other cars that perished in the blaze.

Her hands trembled as realization made her heartbeat drum a sequence again.

She made to remove the keys from the ignition and accidentally turned it.

The Camry started; its engine purring…without difficulty.




Friday, August 2, 2013

Boko Haram: Shekau Overthrown and...


While I have always despised the ideology and terrorist antics of the Islamic sect called Boko Haram, I have equally never believed everything about them. I believe there's so much conspiracy surrounding their existence, funding and operations. I have learnt over time that its not everything that you hear on news that is true and for us to keep hearing all kinds of stuff on Boko Haram reminds me of all the kinds of stuff that happened during the time of Osama Bin Laden.

Shekau

There were questions that remained unanswered, videos and pictures that aroused suspicion on the authenticity of everything we've heard surrouding Bin Laden until his final death which was vaguely reported with no corpse to show.

If Al Qaeda's existence and operations raised so many questions, then it would only fuel more suspicion of the existence of Boko Haram which claims to be structured and reputed to have acquired training from Al Qaeda.

Anyway, aside from that, the emerging news we are hearing now is that Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's leader has been toppled.

Below is a news report excerpt from www.naijapundit.com:

Shekau was deputy leader under Boko Haram founder Imam Mohammed Yusuf who was captured in July 2009 in fighting in the northeast of Nigeria and executed by Nigeria's Police force in what appears to have been an extrajudicial killing. The interrogation and Yusuf's bullet-riddled body were filmed on video.


Yusuf's death radicalized the Boko Haram leaders and led them to move underground and identify more closely with Al Qaeda. Following the founder's killing, Shekau emerged as the new leader of a revitalised Boko Haram in 2010 and he and other commanders refocused the group towards global jihad.

Shekau launched a series of well-planned assassinations and suicide bombings that targeted Nigerian police headquarters and the UN offices in Abuja among many other locations. Through a series of video appearances on television stations, notably Al Jazeera, Shekau emerged as the face of Boko Haram. Earlier this year, the U.S. placed a $7-million bounty on his head.

However, Shekau has been noticeably absent from recent public statements and is not one of the leaders who have engaged with government emissaries. It had been presumed that Shekau chose to voluntarily leave peace discussions in the hands of Boko Haram's leadership group.

It has now come to light that Boko Haram's leadership group sent representatives to the capital Abuja on 25 June 2013 where they revealed to the government that Shekau was no longer their leader.

Imam Liman Ibrahim, the spiritual leader of Boko Haram, explained that the teaching of Shekau was becoming increasingly harsh and began to depart from the Holy Qu'ran. "It was harsh, harsh, harsh", Imam Liman said when explaining the reasons for the change of leadership. "The beheadings, the killings, the recent death of students ... this is not the way of the Holy Qu'ran. We could tolerate it no longer."

Imam Liman explained that Shekau was given a choice of joining the peace dialogue with the Nigerian Government, forming his own sect or being killed. Several senior Boko Haram commanders including Shekau's Chief of Security and personal bodyguard, Abdullahi Hassan, have claimed that Shekau has since been shot in the lower leg, thigh and shoulder.

Shekau's exact fate is not known. A video clip recovered from a Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa Forest Reserve in the northeast Nigeria, raided by the military on May 16, shows Shekau limping, providing confirmation of reports he had been shot.

Interesting.

So Shekau had sort of become obsessed with terrorism that he kicked against the sects ideals; he had become sort of power drunk which gave way for the staging of a coup in the camp.

The information is kind of believable yet it all plays out like a nice movie plot. In fact, once the Boko Haram palava has been eradicated, Nollywood should seize the opportunity to do some small research and make a movie about this guy and the sect.

In the meantime, I'll just sit back and keep watching for the loopholes and questionable issues that will raise suspicion; yeah...that's what I'll be doing - listening to the news, but questioning the info.

You can read the rest of the report on Shekau's toppling here.




The Alausa Explosion - Fears Arising [Photos]


I'm sure when people first heard this explosion last night as it rocked the environs of Alausa, in Lagos, they must have suddenly thought that Boko Haram had begun terrorist operations in Lagos. This would have been worsened by the recent news of the arrest of fleeing Boko Haram members in somewhere in Ibafo.





But thank goodness it was just three fuel tanker trailers that exploded last night in a trailer park behind GT Bank.

While details as to the explosion, its vividly reminiscent of a similar kind of explosion that happened earlier in January in which two tankers also exploded at a loading bay belonging to Petrol-Cargo Limited in Apapa.

The Apapa explosion that happened in January


My question would be - what on earth is causing parked trailers to explode?

Was it sabotage or some person's careless act?

I hope this is seriously looked into otherwise we all have every reason to be wary of any fuel tanker parked around our neighborhoods.


Image Sources
www.thisdaylive.com
www.africanspotlight.com