Late Bukky Ajayi cause death revealed

Late Bukky Ajayi cause death revealed 

It’s sad that Nollywood has been thrown into mourning again as veteran actress; Bukky Ajayi kicked the bucket in the early hours of yesterday.

According to Muslim rights, the actress was laid to rest yesterday in Atan cemetery, where love ones and family members where present to bid their final farewell.

Until her death, Bukky Ajayi who couldn’t walk with her two legs for a while was a lovable person with an admirable personality and was loved by many.

She was given a Merit Award at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) for her contribution in the growth of Nigeria movie industry.

According to close source, the actress died of weakness, as she was said not to have been able to eat for two days due to body weakness which resulted to her passing on at age 82.

For the actress, it was a life well spent as she lived an honorable life in peace and unity with those who had the opportunity to work with her closely.

Goodnight good mother

See what she said as last word before she left us

Age gives one the privilege of hindsight and luxury of foresight.

Zainab Bukola Ajayi died four months after she won the Industry Merit Award at the 2016 African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) and five months after she celebrated her 82nd birthday, which would turn out to be her last on earth, as she now journeys forth into the afterlife.

The name of the iconic thespian will forever be etched in the memories Nollywood followers. Her journey in the Nigerian film industry spans decades of amazing performances in classic film productions such as the unforgettable Village Headmaster and the likes of  ThunderBolt, Oduduwa, Women’s Cot.

Ajayi was born a Christian but would later convert to Islam in the 80s, when she chose the name ‘Zainab’ for herself.

‘PLEASE FORGIVE ME’

Her acceptance speech at the AMVCA — her last public outing — moved the audience to tears, as she was visibly overwhelmed to receive a prolonged standing ovation from her peers, admirers and mentees.

Perhaps she knew this was going to be her last public engagement the movie-industry literati. With tears swelling in her eyes, she longingly held on to her plaque, evidently overwhelmed by emotions. Ajayi, speechless for a minute, sought forgiveness from whomever she may have wronged during the course of her exemplary career.

“I just want to say to all my friends and non-friends thank you very much, you do not know how much this award means to me,” she said at the occasion.

“If I have offended in one way or another please find it in your heart to forgive me and if you think you have offended me, don’t worry I have forgiven you a long time ago. I am very happy from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could stand up but if I do I will fall but you all standing for me I say thank you.”

Many will remember her as one of Nigeria’s greatest actresses ever, but who exactly was she?

SHE WAS A TOMBOY

In a 2010 interview, Ajayi described herself as the archetypal tomboy during her formative years.

She said she got into countless fights as a kid and she often won. But whenever she happened to be losing a fight to a boy, her older brother would always swoop in, to the rescue.

Perhaps, growing up in the midst of boys largely contributed to her love for “fights” but while she thrived in the act, Ajayi hoped her grandchildren would emulate their parents — her children — by shunning the trait.

“I will never allow anybody to cheat me, as a matter of fact nobody can cheat me, I will never allow that. And I do not like people cheating any other person, I will fight for you,” she once said.

She was such a relentless fighter that she took her pastime with her when schooling in England, where she once dealt with a fellow student in Pitman’s College for taking her seat.

INTRODUCED TO MOVIES BY HER FATHER

She was artistic and entrepreneurial from inception and she found avenues to direct her creative tendencies.

As a girl, she would carve up a cardboard cinema through which she entertained children who would cough up half a penny as gate fee for her performance.

Her father introduced her to the cinema, where she got to know stars like Doris Dave and Clarke Gabel.

These visits eventually sparked her interest in following the same route and she told her father: “one day, you will see my name written bold in the cinema.” However, his death ensured he wasn’t around to witness her fame.

After her father’s death, her grandparents took care of her education in England but again, death didn’t avail her the opportunity of showing her gratitude to them.

“I never met with them because they died long before I returned to the country,” she would say in an interview.

SHE WAS A BROADCASTER

Far more than an actress, Ajayi was also a broadcaster. A year after returning from England in 1965, Bukky Ajayi joined the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) as a presentation assistant but she later rose to become a presenter and a news reader with the organisation.

Ajayi also presented a couple of children’s programmes and culturally-inclined TV shows.

SHE LOVED COOKING AND SHARING

She strongly believed in hard work and self-help.

Ajayi made sure she personally prepared her meals even when she could easily secure assistance to carry out the household chore.

“I believe in hard work, otherwise I would have been sitting down and calling on my servants to give me this or that but I am not cut out for that kind of life,” she said of herself.

“As I am now, nobody cooks for me; I cook for myself and I love cooking till date. If you look in that direction there, you will find my coal pot; I love using coal pot to cook.

“Honestly, I love cooking and also I love to eat a lot but what fascinates me most is when I see people enjoy eating my food. When I give things out to people and I see them using it, it gives me great joy that I don’t know how to explain. I’m a happy woman when I give and share with people.”

HER MARRIAGE WAS A NO-GO AREA

Unlike the entertainment stars of modern times, Ajayi belonged to the school of the old that believes your private life should remain private.

She was hardly ever keen on discussing her marriage and when she once was asked about the topic, she said, “No, no, no; that is a no go area.  It is a no go area, let us just forget about it.”

BIRTHED A RAPPER, WAS IN-LAW TO ANOTHER

The actress was so cool that on several occasions, she was photographed doing the ‘peace sign’. Also, one of her sons, Abounce (real name, Olakunle Fawole) is a rapper.

One of the harbingers of the Nigerian hip hop game, Abounce laid the foundation of the present industry with the likes of Ruggedman, Trybesmen, Ruff Rugged & Raw, OJB Jezreel, Jazzman Olofin and Elajoe.

Apart from being a rapper, he’s also a music producer and actor who has featured in Diamond Ring, Apostle Kasali, Zara, Doctors’ Quarters, Fuji House of Commotion, Tales of Eve, Soaked Secret, So Wrong So Wright among others.

Bukky Ajayi is also grandmother-in-law to rapper/singer, Jazzman Olofin, a long-time collaborator of late producer, OJB Jezreel.

Paris couture reaches creative climax in Valentino, Saab

PARIS (AP) — Paris couture week reached a creative climax Wednesday with strong showings from Maison Margiela, Valentino and Elie Saab. Here are some of the highlights of the last of the fall-winter 2016 collections.

(1 of 26) Models wear creations as part of Valentino's fall-winter 2016-2017 Haute Couture fashion collection, presented in Paris, France, Wednesday July 6, 2016.

July 06, 2016

MAISON MARGIELA

John Galliano continues to raise the profile of Maison Margiela.

In Wednesday's ever-creative show, the Gibraltar-born Briton went one step further in stamping the unique brand of Galliano Romanticism on the once-minimalist house.

These styles and artistry have been sorely missed on the couture calendar ever since the designer was deposed from the creative helm of Christian Dior in 2011, when an anti-Semitic rant by him was captured on video.

Abstractions based on Asian styles opened the show in a dropped wrap-around style Chinese red jacket with huge limp tubular arms.

It was, of course, worn with black stripper boots. But this is Galliano: the kinky boots, with purposeful irony, could well have been mistaken for a fisherman's wading boots — a detail that parodied the note of sensuality with panache.

Styles were eclectic, but held together by the sheer theatricality and exuberance of the soft lines of the silhouette.

The fashion industry's model-of-the-moment, Anna Cleveland, was included in the fashion musing to no surprise, and was deservingly given one of the most archetypal looks. She prowled with signature dramatic confidence and an exaggerated look of horror down the runway in a Napoleonic hat, with a voluminous 19th-century coat.

It prompted many a smile from the front row.

Judging by the maison's financial buoyancy since last year, the 55-year-old Galliano can proudly boast not only creative success in womenswear but a commercial one as well.

VALENTINO

Grand Elizabethan chic with a twist was the style that Valentino's lauded designers Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri produced for their — typically — magnanimous couture spectacular.

Yet, much of the front row chatter centered on whether it would be newly bottle-blond Chiuri's last collection for the storied house. There are ever-intense rumors that her name, among a few others, is on the shortlist to succeed Raf Simons at Christian Dior.

The LVMH brand announcement is expected imminently.

The Valentino show was specifically inspired by the bard William Shakespeare. It marked, in a couture way, the 400 years since his death.

But in the process it also reminded spectators of the "intellectual" nature of the ever-artistic house, and most of all, the close relationship between the two arts of theater and clothes-making.

White Renaissance ruffs and embellished fur petticoats were mixed with "Game of Thrones"-style perforated dramatic black warrior mini-dresses to define the immediate aesthetic.

Criss-cross sleeves and gathered silken skirt then added to the on-theme bard-like imagery.

Valentino's designers do best when they stay in their tried-and-tested realm of 16th and 17th century goddesses. And this strong collection was a case in point.

SONIA RYKIEL FOR LANCOME

Lancome is paying tribute to fashion house Sonia Rykiel with a party to mark its new collaboration on a makeup brand.

At the exclusive Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris' storied Left Bank, the Parisian cosmetic giant is hosting a celebrity-filled event called the Club Saint-Germain party.

Award-winning film director Jacques Audiard, Spanish actress Adriana Ugarte and models including Coco Rocha are among the headlining VIPs.

The event — with stunning and surprising scenography — features a live performance by three internationally-renowned music artists under the artistic direction of French artist Andre.

ELIE SAAB GOES CLASSIC

Old-school Hollywood glamour was back in vogue at Elie Saab's fall collection.

It injected the fashion calendar with the most archetypally couture show seen all season.

Saab, like other couture masters, plays with his own rulebook and need not pay heed to the wearable trends of the season.

Split leg, floor length sensuality was the order of the day.

A velvet royal blue evening gown was given a twist, with asymmetrical feather-like detailing at the shoulder and waist.

It complemented a brooding palette of dark and often sheer materials with the signature Saab cinched-waisted hour glass vava-voom silhouettes.

One highlight was a mother and daughter couture ensemble in gray, modelled simultaneously.

Flashes of Art Nouveau patterning were the season's added ingredient, evoking the graphic sensuality of Gustav Klimt.

The creative musing reached its climax in a traffic-stopping floor-length textured ball gown. It had fashion insiders reaching for their cameras with its blissful couture embroidering of thousands of blue and cream flowers.

GAULTIER HALOS THE FACE

Jean Paul Gaultier treated guests to a silken, sultry and fur-dripping couture display that oozed glamour.

It was all about the one dramatic detail in his fall collection.

The couture master's leitmotif was the accentuation of models' faces in cheek-bone hugging — and non-eco-friendly — circular halos, delivered in fur.

Elsewhere, this one-detail style was carried through in jackets sporting ballooned peplums, accentuated shoulders or in gathered asymmetrical midriff detailing.

One show-stopping vermillion red fur coat in segments almost dripped off a model in a silk sheer floor-length skirt.

Fashion's once-named enfant terrible is, however, hard to pin down, and gowns of every color and material swept past celebrity guests.

No Activity at Ogoniland One Month After Buhari Flagged Off Cleanup Exercise

No Activity at Ogoniland One Month After Buhari Flagged Off Cleanup Exercise

Work is yet to begin on the cleanup of Ogoniland a month after President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the exercise, Daily Independent reports.

Contractors are yet to begin work on cleaning up the polluted lands, reports say.

According to HRH Suanu Baridam, the Chairman, Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers (COTRA), contractors cannot be mobilised to site because the necessary machinery aren't in place..

“How can anybody talk of contractors going to site when they (federal government) have not set up the committees that will steer the process? Which committee will manage the funds when it is eventually released for the clean-up?

“My take on this matter, as an Ogoni, is that the federal government should refrain from further delay and hit the ground running with the clean-up. Ogoni and indeed the whole world are watching with keen interest on what will happen next after the flag-off”.

He said government should hasten the process "so that the people’s confidence in the federal government can be restored again.”

Niger Delta Avengers bomb Chevron oil wells again

Niger Delta Avengers: No peace deal yet

Niger Delta Avengers are far from sheathing their swords as they went on the attack over the weekend destroying oil installations.

By their own accounts on Twitter today, they blew up two major Chevron oil wells, close to Abiteye flow station in Delta state.

In the same Delta state, they also blew up two trunk lines of the Nigerian government owned NPDC.

Also an NNPC pipeline supplying crude to Warri refinery was also damaged Friday night.

Niger Delta Avengers bomb Chevron oil wells again

Niger Delta Avengers: No peace deal yet

Niger Delta Avengers are far from sheathing their swords as they went on the attack over the weekend destroying oil installations.

By their own accounts on Twitter today, they blew up two major Chevron oil wells, close to Abiteye flow station in Delta state.

In the same Delta state, they also blew up two trunk lines of the Nigerian government owned NPDC.

Also an NNPC pipeline supplying crude to Warri refinery was also damaged Friday night.

No absolute immunity for president, governors in Nigeria’s constitution – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana

Jethro Ibileke/Benin‎

Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, has argued that Nigeria’s Constitution does not guarantee absolute freedom for the President, Vice President, governors and their deputies, against all forms of criminal acts.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), while speaking on the topic:”Limit of Executive Immunity,” at an event in Benin, Edo State, to mark the 60th birthday of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Julius Ihonvebere, said there are Supreme Court decisions that said their immunity cannot be extended to certain criminal acts.

He berated those who criticised the freezing of the personal account of Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose and the current prosecution of the leadership of the Senate over allegation of forgery.

He disclosed that the Supreme Court has also ruled that the Attorney-General of the Federation can direct the Attorney-General of a state to investigate allegation of public money being stolen in states, even if the money belonged to the state, because, according to him, the Supreme Court said at that time, the issue is about public fund that has been stolen.

“Apart from the President of our country, the Vice President, the Governors and their Deputies who are protected under immunity in Section 308 of the Constitution, others are now insisting that immunity be conferred on them.

“In particular, the legislators in our country are asking for immunity, but unfortunately, this is not the best time to make that request because right now, some of the leaders of the parliament in our country are standing trial for false declaration of assets, for forgery and conspiracy and some are even under threat of possible deportation to the United States to stand trial for rape and other related offences.

“The Governor of a state came and called Nigerians to join him to challenge the temerity of the EFCC for seizing an account that is suspected to belong to the Governor. The EFCC has quietly traced some stolen funds from Abuja and about N1.3b of that fund was traced to an account in Ekiti State with Zenith Bank.

“All that the EFCC did when it got information that this particular governor has surrounded the bank with armed gendarmes to forcefully remove whatever was left of that money from the account, the EFCC Chairman sent an order to the bank seizing the account and the EFCC went to court to obtain an order to legitimise the seizing of the account.

“As soon as the Governor learnt that the account has been frozen, he challenged that action of the EFCC on the ground that as a sitting Governor, he enjoys immunity, absolute immunity from arrest, investigation and prosecution and argued that the action of the EFCC was illegal and unconstitutional. I referred the Governor to the judgment of the Supreme Court involving Fawehinmi and the Inspector-General of Police.

“In the judgment delivered by Justice Uwaifo (retd), My lord subjected Section 308 of the Constitution to a serious intellectual scrutiny and concluded that the immunity conferred on the President and Governors by the Constitution cannot be extended to investigations if they are alleged to have committed criminal offences and of the three examples given by my lord, money found in an account of a Governor was one of them and he simply said assuming that a sitting Governor is accused of corrupt practices and money has been traced to an account which is suspected to have been stolen if it is not investigated and the account cannot be touched, the money is likely to be moved and by the time he is out of office, the money will have disappeared.

“He went further that if a Governor has his own car and that car killed somebody and you say that he cannot be investigated, the car may have been sold before the expiration of the term of office of the Governor. Therefore, investigation shall be conducted, the report may be sent to the House of Assembly for impeachment or the report may be kept until the governor will be out of office and he can be prosecuted.

“The Governor said this is not stolen money from Abuja. He said a bank, Zenith Bank, gave me the money for my election. If he maintains that position, he will be guilty of committing many offences under the law. N1.6 billion was taken from Abuja in cash. Nobody can take more than N2 million cash around, so that is against Section 1 of the Money Laundering Act. Number two; if he says that a bank gave him money to campaign, that means the bank stole depositors’ funds and laundered it for a campaign. Again, that is a serious offence under the Company and Allied Matters Act, because it specifically provided that no company, no corporate body shall deploy funds of the company for politics.

“So, if the governor maintains that, he will also contravene Section 90 of the Electoral Act which provides that no corporate body shall contribute more than N1 million to anybody for political campaign,” Falana said.

According to him, “just like the case of Abia State where immunity could not save the governor who was removed, and that of President Muhammadu Buhari over his certificate, there are certain category of offences that a sitting Chief Executive of the country or the state would not enjoy immunity.”

Commenting on the allegation of the forgery in the Senate, Falana said the Attorney-General of the federation was right in prosecuting the officials.

He said: “Section 4 of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act, forgery of the documents of the House of the Senate is a serious offence the Senate President or the Speaker is required under that law to report any forgery to the Attorney-General of the federation.

”But because it was not done in this case, the Attorney-General has decided to try them under the Penal Code applicable in the FCT.

“But what is the reaction of the Senate? It said this is political victimisation but has not said there is no forgery.”

Present at the occasion were Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru, who was the Chairman of the occasion, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elizabeth Ativie and other members of the state Executive Council

Lawmaker’s Murder: Gov Ajimobi seeks information

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State

GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has appealed to members of the public with information on the murder of a member of the State House of Assembly, Gideon Aremu, to come forward and assist the security agents apprehend the perpetrators.

Aremu, representing Oorelope Constituency, was killed Friday night at his residence, Alakia in Ibadan by gunmen who arrived on a motorcycle.

The governor appealed to members of the public to volunteer information to security agents to aid investigation and prompt arrest of those behind the dastardly act.

In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Yomi Layinka, Governor Ajimobi expressed shock at the gruesome murder of the lawmaker.

Ajimobi described the death of the lawmaker in the hands of suspected assassins at a relatively young age as not only tragic but condemnable.

He ordered all the relevant security agencies, the police, operatives of the Department of State Services and the army to ensure that the masterminds were apprehended.

He vowed that those remotely and directly connected with the heinous crime would face the full weight of the law.

“I commiserate with the wife, children and family of Honorable Gideon Aremu who was a ranking member of the Oyo State House of Assembly. May the Almighty repose the soul of this gentleman and committed patriot. I want to assure the family and all the people of Oorelope State Constituency that justice will not only be done, but will be seen to be done swiftly and thoroughly to reassure citizens of Oyo State of our devotion to the protection of lives and property. I want to reiterate our administration’s commitment to sustaining the hard-won peace and security that the people of Oyo State currently enjoy and let me again warn individuals and groups not to test our resolve in this direction,” he added.

REDEEMING THE FIGHT AGAINST GRAFT

REDEEMING THE FIGHT AGAINST GRAFT

THE failure of past governments to frontally combat corruption has almost elevated the menace to statecraft. Corruption is so endemic in the country that it is difficult to single out a sector or segment that is not tainted by it. The situation is so horrible that many who seek public offices derive their motivation from the corrupt enrichment those offices offer, not any intention to make the country better. The cost of corruption to the country is evident in brain drain, dilapidated hospital structures, failed roads, near comatose education system, high rate of unemployment, inability of state and local governments to pay salaries,  swelling population of the poor and environmental degradation, among others. Hence, the determination of the current government to wage war against corruption is a welcome development. It is a war that every well-meaning Nigerian should join to wrest the country from the jaws of this monster.

The  leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has, so far, been exemplary in operations, conduct and character. The operations of the agency have given Nigerians hope that the nation could really be saved from the jaws of graft, greed and all forms of economic malfeasance. However, the agency should shame its critics by conducting its businesses strictly with respect to the laws of the land. Whatever is done in contravention of the constitution, no matter how well intentioned, is unconstitutional.

To make a success of its campaign against corruption, the government must deliberately take the battle to the doors of every corrupt Nigerian. The government is currently probing campaign funds. We commend the steps taken so far on this and call for an extension of the battle to all other political parties. When campaign funding is made right in the national politics, the end product will definitely serve the nation better. There are nagging questions that must be answered. Who are the people that raised the funds and how did they come about the huge resources deployed to the campaigns? Questions should also be asked about how the funds were managed and by whom.

If corruption transcends political parties, the government should also beam its searchlight beyond them to bring to justice those who are responsible for bringing the country to its knees because of their corrupt activities. Indeed, the civil service is reputed to be the bastion of corruption in the country, and should be interrogated by the administration. To disabuse the minds of those who think the government is one-sided in the fight, therefore, it should act on all the petitions filed by aggrieved Nigerians, irrespective of the political party involved.

However, as critical and germane as the war against corruption is to the reinvigoration of the nation, there is a concern that the government is selective in this combat. To critics, the war comes across to many Nigerians as a device to decimate, weaken and silence the opposition. We however note that the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies have also beamed their searchlight on members of the ruling party, even though the preponderance of ongoing cases are those of opposition party members.

The government should realize that selective justice ensures no good. It breeds contempt for the system by those who hold the wrong end of the stick but emboldens the warped to be more daring in their corrupt practices, knowing there is a loophole which could be explored to beat justice. If the body language of the government suggests to the people that all they need to do to escape investigation and prosecution is to be on the side of government of the day, many of those who milked and bilked the nation dry will align with the ruling party with the intention of protecting their ill-gotten wealth. With that, corruption grows stronger while both the country and the war against corruption are enfeebled.

The foregoing notwithstanding, the government also needs to up its game and understand that  fighting corruption with raw force is no longer fashionable. It must deploy technologies which make it extremely difficult for the corrupt-minded to carry out their intention. It is always better to prevent people from depleting the people’s patrimony than trying to recoup same from them after the malfeasance has been committed.

That, coupled with the determination of the government to bring to book every corrupt person irrespective of their affiliation, is what makes the anti-corruption war winnable.