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Pyrates Gyration Video: Tinubu Unhappy With Soyinka’s Response
Recall that Soyinka who founded Pyrates Confraternity as a university student in Ibadan, Nigeria, described making a mockery of Tinubu due to his ill-health as distasteful.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and members of his campaign team are reportedly not happy Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, reacted to the viral video showing members of the Pyrates Confraternity mocking the former Lagos State Governor.
The one-minute video captured some Pyrates Confraternity members dressed in red and white attire dancing and chanting thus, “Hand dey shake, leg dey shake, baba wey no well he dey shout Emi Lokan,” roughly translated to mean “With an unstable hand and leg, a man with a frail health is sounding off that it’s his turn to be Nigeria’s president.’’
Recall that Soyinka who founded Pyrates Confraternity as a university student in Ibadan, Nigeria, described making a mockery of Tinubu due to his ill-health as distasteful.
“I have listened to the lyrics of the chant intently and I am frankly appalled. I find it distasteful. I belong to a culture where we do not mock physical afflictions or disabilities. Very much the contrary. The Yoruba religion indeed designate a deity, Obatala, as the divine protector of the afflicted, no matter the nature of such affliction. This sensibility is engrained in us from childhood and remains with us all our lives. It operates on the principle of mortal frailty to which all humanity remains vulnerable,” Soyinka earlier said in a statement.
“One of my favorite authors, about whom, by a coincidence, I had cause to write quite recently, was CLR James, author of The Black Jacobins, Beyond A Boundary etc. etc. I called him my ideological uncle. He suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, but remained alert, lucid and combative for decades after the onset of the disease. We interacted politically at the Tanzanian pan-African Congress, the Dakar Festival of Negro Arts and a number of other cultural and political fora.
“We met frequently in his lifetime, dined together in restaurants, despite his challenge. it would be unthinkable, and a desecration of his memory to be part of any activity that mocked his affliction. A further statement will be issued when I have made further enquiries into this strange, uncharacteristic outing of the association.”
According to SaharaReporters, a close source to Tinubu, However, said that the APC and members of his team are upset that Soyinka “systematically revealed that Tinubu got Parkinson’s disease, thereby confirming that he’s an invalid candidate.”
“They are angry that Prof. (Professor Soyinka) revealed too much about Bola Tinubu’s health condition,” he added.
Tobun Abiodun, a member representing Epe district 1 in the Lagos assembly, claims Mudashiru Obasa was impeached as a speaker to preserve the state and parliament.
On Monday, members of the Lagos legislature impeached Obasa as speaker on charges of gross misconduct and abuse of office.
Obasa was elected speaker of the Lagos assembly in 2015 and was in his third term.
Mojisola Meranda, Obasa’s deputy, was elected as the new speaker of the Lagos Assembly.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the impeachment, Abiodun, who was flanked by other lawmakers, said the decision to impeach Obasa was a unanimous one.
Abiodun said members of the assembly had enough of Obasa’s leadership.
“The members of the parliament today have decided to change the leadership of the house.
“You know the constitution made it clear that the house has the power to regulate its proceedings.
“The members of the house felt they have had enough of the leadership of Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa.
“Today, we have unanimously agreed that Mojisola Meranda will become the new speaker of the house.
“It was a resolution concorded to by all members of the parliament and so it be.
“We have resolved to work together and ensure that we move the parliament to the next level.
“We cannot open our eyes and allow the parliament to dwindle.
“We owe the constituents a duty of ensuring that the sanity of the house and integrity of the house is restored.
“We have unanimously agreed to carry out this action to save our image, and save the state.”
The forward operation base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy in Akwa Ibom state says it has arrested three persons over alleged petrol theft in the state.
Uche Aneke, commanding officer of the base, said the suspects were apprehended at about 11.30 am on January 10, while trying to smuggle 1,800 litres of stolen petrol to Cameroun.
“Our personnel on routine patrol around Bendero and Uta Uyata General Area of Mbo, intercepted a wooden boat carrying about 1,800 litres of petrol,” Aneke said.
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“The product was carefully concealed under cargos which included packs of soft drinks, biscuits, sachet water, and casava flakes among others.
“They intend to smuggle the product from Nigeria into the Republic of Cameroun.”
The commanding officer reiterated navy’s commitment to combating maritime crime and economic sabotage in the country.
He warned those involved in oil theft to desist as “Nigeria’s waters and coastal areas are not for illegal activities”.
Aneke noted that the navy would continue to advance its surveillance within the region with intelligence technology.
The suspects were handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state.
Willie Emediong, who received the suspects and the seized products on behalf of the NSCDC assistant superintendent of corps, said they would be prosecuted after “thorough” investigation.
Britain’s competition watchdog launched an investigation into Google’s dominant position in the search engine market on Tuesday and its impact on consumers and businesses.
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The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement that the investigation could lead to the US tech giant being handed “strategic market status,” subjecting it to special requirements under new UK regulations.
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