WHENEVER YOU TOUCH A WOMAN’S BREAST THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS

Nike deal will galvanise Nigeria'

It was a chance telephone call to NFF media man, Ademola Olajire, that presented me with the chance to ask if I could have audience with the Ppesident of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick. It was a long shot as I did not think the man will agree and Olajire was leaving London the following day. As it happened I was asked to come to the Maida Vale area and I merrily went along.

Barca front three 'unstoppable' - Enrique says

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique believes his side is impossible to contain when their star attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar are as efficient in front of goal as they were in Tuesday's 6-0 hammering of Getafe.

The three now have a combined 102 goals between them in all competitions this season after Messi and Suarez each scored twice, while Neymar and Xavi also found the net to move the Catalans five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

"It is another day to congratulate the team because these types of games can easily become difficult and we needed to start in the way we did today.

Collapsed bridge: Contractor must compensate victims, says Kwankwaso

The Kano State Police Command said that it had started investigation into the cause of the collapsed bridge that killed seven persons in Kano on Sunday.

Also, the state Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, said the government would force the contractor handling the project to pay for the medical bills of the injured victims.

The contractor, the governor added, would also be forced to pay compensation to families of those who died in the incident.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Majiya, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said that the police was interested in knowing the cause of the collapse in order to stop recurrence of such a tragic incident.

G7 invites Buhari to economic summit

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her French counterpart, Fracois Hollande, have extended invitations to President-Elect, Mohammadu Buhari, to visit their countries.

Merkel currently heads the G7 economic block of industrialised countries, comprising Germany, Canada, France, Japan, United States of America, Britain and Italy.

The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Zenner; his Canadian and French counterparts, Perry John Calderwood and Denys Gauer respectively, paid separate courtesy calls and held closed-door meetings with Buhari at the Defence House, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Zenner, who spoke to journalists after his meeting with Buhari, said his visit was to congratulate the President-elect and Nigerians on the successful conduct of the last general elections.

He explained that he was also here to extend the invitation of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to Buhari, requesting him to visit Germany.

B’Haram is a fraud, says Buhari

The President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has said the claim by the Boko Haram sect that it is a religious group is a fraud.

He also said the sect would be denied a recruitment base the moment people in local communities realised that its claim of being a religious group was nothing but a fraud.

Buhari said this while receiving a delegation from Nasarawa State which was led by the state Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, at the Defence House, on Monday.

I have nothing to hide, Jonathan tells Buhari ‘Missing’ $20bn oil money'

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said his administration had nothing to hide in respect of the claim by a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor,   Lamido Sanusi, that   $20bn oil money was not remitted to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

To prove this, he said he had directed that the full report by PriceWaterHouse which was commissioned to carry out a detailed investigation into the activities of the NNPC be made public immediately.

Jonathan, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,   Reuben Abati,   also described   the allegation by the All Progressives Congress that his officials were embarking on last minute illegal actions as “unfortunate and uncharitable.”

THE ADVENTURE OF LARA

The Adventure of Lara......

Learn to protect your kidneys, very Important

The kidneys are tucked somewhere in the body, where they perform functions that guarantee our staying healthy and fit.

Essentially, the kidneys extract waste from blood, form urine, and aid in other important functions of the body such as balancing the water level, regulating the blood pressure, regulating the red blood cell, as well as regulating the acid levels in the body.

While the average individual is born with two kidneys, the truth is that you can live on just one, hence the possibility of donating a kidney to a needy person.

Physicians warn that because of the vital functions the kidneys perform and the toxins they encounter as they discharge their duties on a daily basis, the kidneys are susceptible to various problems.

‘Ondo deputy gov’s impeachment, a joke’

Alhaji Ali Olanusi

Alhaji Ali Olanusi on Monday described his removal by the Ondo State House of Assembly as deputy governor as a huge joke.

Olanusi spoke through his lawyer, Oluwole Kayode, hours after the Commissioner for Agriculture,   Lasisi Oluboyo, was sworn in as the state’s new deputy governor.

Olanusi’s travails began a month ago when he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.

In condemning his impeachment, he reminded the lawmakers of   an April 23 court order that the status quo be maintained in respect of his office.

Don’t marginalise S’East, S’South, Uduaghan warns APC

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan

The Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has warned the All Progressives Congress against marginalising the people of the South-South and the South-East as this could lead to crisis.

Uduaghan said this during a programme on Channels Television on Sunday.

Over 50 workers trapped in Saudi building collapse

The collapse of a convention centre being built northwest of the Saudi capital left more than 50 workers trapped under rubble on Monday, official media said.

The collapse “happened at noon and resulted in more than 50 workers being trapped”, the Saudi Press Agency said, adding that four wounded were recovered from the building site for Qassim University.

Bandar al-Roshodi, the university spokesman, told Saudi television news channel Al-Ekhbariya that the workers were mostly from Pakistan.

How to control your appeti

Weird but true: Using a blue plate can help you eat less. Find other surprising tips that can help you take charge of your diet.

Chew gum in the grocery store.

Maybe you have heard you shouldn’t shop for food when you’re hungry. Well, you might want to pop in a piece of sugarless gum before you head down the aisles, too. While chewing gum, people felt less hungry and had fewer junk-food cravings, according to two studies. As a result, the people bought fewer high-calorie snack foods, like chips, and brought home more healthy options, like vegetables.

Death toll from Nepal quake passes 2,200

Some Survivors

Powerful aftershocks continued to convulse Nepal on Sunday, sending residents of Katmandu screaming into the streets again and again a day after a devastating quake killed more than 2,200 people and injured about 5,800.

According to The New York Times,streets in parts of this city of about 1.2 million were impassable not so much from quake damage but because tens of thousands of people have taken up residence there. It was a strategy endorsed by a government entirely overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge facing the country.

I will look into Sanusi’s missing $20bn claim –Buhari

President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said his administration would probe the claim by a former   Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and now the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation failed to remit $20bn oil money to the federation account.

Tinubu’ll destroy himself – Babatope

In this interview with TUNDE ODESOLA, a member, Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, comments on the recently concluded general elections

What’s your view of the 2015 general elections?

All I can say is to wish Nigerians well. But I am not an enthusiast of the elections because I believe that they were mismanaged, especially the presidential election. It was computed by some diabolical forces to reenact a Hausa/Fulani oligarchy in Nigeria. I am not going to talk much about this now. I am going to talk about it in about one or two months’ time because I don’t want to be seen as disrupting what has been done so far in terms of ensuring peace and smooth transfer of power from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

APC accuses Jonathan of ‘last-minute dubious activities

he All Progressives Congress has threatened to probe the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan over some “last-minute dubious activities” ahead of the May 29 handover.

The party alleged that the outgoing administration had been looting the nation’s resources, hurriedly recruiting into the public service and privatisatising key financial institutions.

The APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, said such actions would have serious repercussions after May 29.

Barca guarding against complacency

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has stressed his side won't take their eye off the ball despite having a comfortable run-in to the end of the La Liga season as they chase a fifth title in seven years.

A 2-0 win over local rivals Espanyol on Saturday ensured Barca maintained a two-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table with just five games remaining.

Blues' title bid on hold, United lose

Chelsea will have to keep the champagne on ice for at least a week after their seemingly inevitable progress towards the Premier League title was checked by a goalless draw away to Arsenal on Sunday.

Had they beaten their London rivals at the Emirates Stadium, Jose Mourinho's men would have travelled to Leicester City on Wednesday knowing that victory over the resurgent Foxes would have been enough to secure Chelsea's first English title since 2010.

Sperm count: A reality, misconception or a myth?

I have received countless of mails, text messages and calls from our ardent readers all over the globe wanting to know what could be done to correct insufficient sperm count, sperm motility and semen volume problems. Many want to know why the semen is less in volume as they grow old, or why some semen are either coloured with blood or cloudy. Many want to know the ideal colour of the semen and why some never ejaculate any at all.

We will be providing relevant information on sperm, semen and sexuality. Sit back, read and enjoy with your wife.

There are a lot of people who use the term sperm and semen interchangeably and truly believe that they are one of the same. First, I want to clarify this myth. They are not the same but they do bear several similarities. Let’s take a look at some of the things these two terms have in common.

Sexual ruckus among couples

Just this morning a friend of mine said, ‘Funmi when you started writing on sexual matters, I told myself that since sex is a basic thing, you’d soon run out of material but sincerely I must say you are always surprising us with something new every now and then. You seem to relate sex with every day-to-day life. I particularly always look up to your masterpieces; they are not only new but also right on time and relevant.’

Frankly speaking, to the ill-informed couples especially those that have been married for some time now, sex seems like it is the same old thing. It does feel frustrating at times. However, the truth of the matter is simply this, what you do not know about sex can hurt you and your spouse. In my few years of counselling couples and researching sexuality, I have discovered human sexuality continues to develop and reveal new information day in day out.

Consider Ndigbo for appointments, Obiano, coalition beg Buhari

Anambra State Governor, Willy Obiano, has urged the President-elect, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd), to appoint Igbo into prominent positions while forming his cabinet.

He said the forthcoming Buhari’s administration would require the support of all Nigerians irrespective of their party affiliations to success.

Obiano spoke after a closed-door meeting with the President-elect at his private residence in Abuja on Friday.

The governor said he was in Abuja not only to congratulate the President-elect and reassure him of the support of the South-East, but also to plead with him to consider Anambra indigenes for appointments.

I’m eager to see how Buhari will end corruption in Nigeria – Femi Aribisala

Controversial preacher and social critic, Dr. Femi Aribisala, in this interview with TUNDE AJAJA, insists that President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat in the presidential election was as a result of a conspiracy against the minority South South region

Since the presidential election, we have not heard or read from you, what have you been doing?

Since the presidential election, I have been doing what I have always been doing. I have been preaching the gospel and writing articles in newspapers as usual.

Some people said you’re mourning the defeat of your preferred candidate (President Goodluck Jonathan) at the polls and that you need to reconcile yourself with the development before coming out. Is that true?

My preferred candidate did not die, so why should I mourn him? Are the 12.8 million Nigerians said to have voted for Jonathan now supposed to be in mourning? Is Jonathan the first person to lose an election? (Gen. Muhammadu) Buhari lost three times; has he been mourning for the last 12 years? Nigerians have elected Buhari in the Nigerian way; now we have to live with their choice. Since the election, I have written an analysis about how the 2015 presidential election was manipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission. However, some newspapers have refused to publish my views. It shows you that we may be on our way back to the days of censorship of the Buhari of old. You just wait; in no time at all, people will start longing for the freedoms we enjoyed under Goodluck Jonathan.

Do you also believe that the President should be commended for conceding defeat, or was there nothing spectacular in what he did?

Nigeria is very fortunate to have a president like Goodluck Jonathan. He is truly a man of peace. The president fulfilled his pledge not to allow his ambition to lead to the death of any Nigerian. For that, he deserves our commendation and gratitude.

The last time Buhari lost the presidential election, he provoked a riot. Compare that to what has happened now with Jonathan. That is yet another reason why people like me prefer President Jonathan to Buhari any day; any time.

Why do you think President Jonathan lost the election?

Buhari prevailed as a result of INEC’s policy of voter suppression through the instrumentality of the Permanent Voter Cards. There was a deliberate disenfranchisement of the Igbo especially by the manipulation of PVC distribution and allocation to the South-East. There was also endemic failure of the card reader in the South-East and the South-South, which discouraged voters known to be Jonathan’s supporters.

INEC ensured that, far more disproportionately relative to other geopolitical zones, millions of South-East voters disappeared from the register between 2011 and 2015, in order to provide a smooth passage for a Northern presidential candidate; which turned out to be Buhari.

Between 2011 and 2015, the votes of the South-West remained virtually constant. 4.6 million people of the South-West voted in 2011: 4.2 million in 2015. But compare this with what happened in the South-East. Five million people voted in 2011: only 2.6 million in 2015. That is a drastic and contrived drop of 2.4 million.

Everybody knows the South-East voted en masse for Jonathan. Even now, the Oba of Lagos is threatening the Igbo with death in the lagoon if they vote against the All Progressives Congress in the governorship elections. Many of them were not even given their PVCs.

While Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa and Bauchi were posting humongous figures; Imo, Anambra and Abia were posting relatively disappointing figures. Jigawa used to be a part of Kano. In the 2015 election, the votes of Jigawa and Kano combined was 3.1 million; double that of Lagos which was only 1.4 million. Cell-phone video recordings show that there was widespread under-aged voting in the North.

You didn’t seem to expect that the President would lose and that General Buhari would win. How did you receive the news?

As I said, I don’t believe the president lost the election and I don’t believe General Buhari won. What I know is that the General was declared the winner, and President Jonathan graciously agreed to accept the verdict in the interest of peace. I received the news with great amusement. I don’t have any personal stake in the president’s victory. I don’t work for him and he does not pay my salary. I copied down all the figures released and analysed them. So doing, I reached the conclusion that the result of the election was bogus. Buhari had won the election long before the election. He had been programmed by INEC to win it.

What do you think would have happened if the President had won and Buhari lost?

Buhari would have declared that the election was rigged and would never have conceded defeat. His supporters would have embarked on riots and killings and there would have been mayhem all over the country. Elections are only free and fair when the APC is declared the winner.

Maybe you would have been offered a ministerial or juicy appointment if President Jonathan had won, because some people said all you were doing then was to attract attention?

Maybe PUNCH will be offered a juicy government contract now that Buhari has been declared the winner. Maybe your newspaper will now get all Federal Government adverts for the next four years. It is easy to cast aspersions on anybody who supports Jonathan. If so, what shall we say of PUNCH’s support for Buhari? Is it ever possible in Nigeria to support a candidate on principle?

Cynical Nigerians believe anyone who supports Jonathan must either be in his pay or be looking for a job. Neither allegation holds water with me. Jonathan ostensibly received 12.8 million votes; surely all these people were neither in his pay nor were they Aso Rock job-seekers.

My faith requires me to support the weak. Therefore, I will always support the minority against the tyranny of the majority. We cannot be reliant on South-South oil in Nigeria and then treat one of their sons as if he is an impostor for being president of the country. This presidential election was a vicious and malicious gang up of the majority ethnic groups against the minorities. I cannot be party to that.

In the run-up to the election, you were very critical of Gen. Buhari based on his antecedents. Now that he is the President-elect, how do you feel?

Election results don’t change history. Neither do they convert the propaganda of the campaign into truths. My criticisms of Buhari were based on what I know about him. I challenge anyone to show me anything I said about Buhari that was false. On the question of how I feel, I am saddened that many Nigerians voted the way they are said to have done. I am waiting to see how General Buhari will make the naira equal to the dollar. We will see how he will unilaterally increase the international price of oil, as he said. We are waiting to see these miracles happen.

In the election that was adjudged as free and fair, don’t you think the people rejected President Jonathan?

Truth is not determined by popular opinion. There was nothing free and fair about this election. I said this even before the election. I wrote an article in Vanguard exactly a year ago saying: “The Presidential Election Will Not Be Televised.” That is another way of saying the election will not be free and fair. Elections in Nigeria are rigged procedurally by the major parties. The best riggers win. Don’t be fooled into thinking the 2015 presidential election is any different. It is interesting that the APC spent the campaign season telling Nigerians the election would be rigged. Now it has been declared the winner, we are meant to believe the election was free and fair where it polled massive figures.

We are on the way; but we certainly have not yet reached the destination of free and fair elections in Nigeria. We will not get there until we are able to get a true population census. This business of 17 million people registering to vote in the North-West alone, more than the South-South and the South-East combined, will not produce free and fair election results.

With all you have said and written about Buhari, do you have fears that he might come after you?

That is a very interesting question. In all that you people in PUNCH said and wrote about Jonathan, were you afraid he would come after you? How come nobody asked this question in the time of Jonathan, but you are already asking it even before Buhari is sworn in?

Buhari has no power of arrest over me. Those were the days when he arrested people for telling the truth he did not want to hear. Those days are gone. I am protected from any recurrence of his tyranny by the Nigerian Constitution. Make no mistake about it; we are not going to give Buhari an easy pass. If he could criticise every government in the last 16 years, he must expect to be criticised in turn.

The President-elect needs to fasten his seat-belts. He should enjoy his honeymoon now while it lasts. I even have an egg-timer to determine how long it will take for President Olusegun Obasanjo to start attacking him. As you probably know, according to Obasanjo, the only good government in Nigeria is the one he heads.

You said you were one of those that were victimised during Buhari’s regime as a military Head of State. Some other people that received the same treatment have forgiven him. Are you thinking of forgiving him?

General Buhari sent people to arrest me because I wrote an article against his dubious policy entitled: “Counter-trading Nigeria’s Future.” They came for me on a Friday but could not find me. They left a note that I should report to their Gulag Archipelago at 33 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. However, he was overthrown on Sunday. So God saved me from his hands.

In the end, I was no more victimised than any other Nigerian who had to endure the ordeal of his tyranny. General Buhari has refused to apologise. He has refused to ask Nigerians to forgive him for his atrocities. He merely said he accepts responsibility for them. You cannot forgive a man who refuses to repent.

What if you were offered a position in this new government?

If I maintained I would never accept a government position under Goodluck Jonathan; why would I now accept one under Buhari? I will never ever serve under any government. My kingdom is not of this world.

Some people have said that the President-elect is surrounded by some people that may not mean well for his intentions, do you agree?

You must have a better view of his intentions than I have. As far as I know, birds of a feather flock together. General Buhari is neither better nor worse than the people who now congregate under APC. That is why he agreed to be their leader. Stop making excuses for him already. His intentions are the same as those of the people around him.

The President-elect is reportedly known for his anti-corruption stand and integrity, don’t you share this view?

I disagree completely. The President-elect is very good at making anti-corruption noises, but his actions contradict him. The last time he was Nigeria’s Head of State, he tried to fight corruption with corruption. Imposing retroactive decrees and killing Nigerians under them is corruption. Putting an Igbo vice-president in Kirikiri, while placing the Fulani president under palatial house arrest, is corruption.

Detaining people like Michael Ajasin in jail, even after they were discharged and acquitted by kangaroo courts, is corruption. Jailing journalists for telling the truth is corruption. Putting pressure on a judge in order to jail Fela Anikulapo Kuti is corruption. Shepherding 53 suitcases of contraband unchecked through customs during a currency change exercise is corruption. Presiding over the theft of N25bn of Petroleum Trust Fund money is corruption. Swearing an affidavit that your school-leaving certificate is with the military when it is not is corruption.

With all you have said and written about Buhari, does it mean you don’t expect anything meaningful from his government in the next four years?

I live in Nigeria. I wish Nigeria well. Therefore I hope I am wrong about General Buhari. I hope he will surprise me. But I doubt it. General Buhari did not provide any meaningful public policy programme throughout the campaign. All we got were rhetoric and platitudes. Nothing meaningful came out of his last stint in power. I doubt anything meaningful will come in the next four years. But I pray that I am wrong.

You called for his disqualification after his result/certificate controversy; do you think people shouldn’t have voted for him based on that premise?

I think he should have been disqualified based on that premise. If you fail to fulfil the requirements of an election, your name should not even be on the ballot.

There are reports now that the military said it had found Buhari’s certificate, do you agree with some people who believe that it was all Peoples Democratic Party propaganda and dirty machinery at work?

How very convenient! They suddenly found the certificate now that the election is over.

So where is it? You ask the most biased questions. A man says his certificate is with the military. The military says it does not have it. In any case, the military does not keep the certificates of its officers. So how can this be merely PDP propaganda? Why could General Buhari not retrieve his certificate from Cambridge when he went on his junket to Chatham House in London?

If the certificate is found eventually, will you retract some of your statements, especially the ones that border on his certificate?

If the certificate is eventually found, it would make no difference. He was required to provide the certificate before a particular date and he did not. He should have been disqualified. You need to make up your mind about what is true and what is false. On the one hand, you say the certificate has been found. Now you ask “if it is eventually found.” Make up your mind. Has it been found or not? Was it lost in the first place?

You also described the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, as a traitor, meanwhile he gave his reasons for defecting; don’t you think the court should be left to decide if he erred?

The court does not decide if Tambuwal was a traitor. There is no court case to that effect. I don’t need a court case to determine if Tambuwal was a traitor. I can make up my own mind on that. Tambuwal was elected as a PDP member of the House. He betrayed the electorate by defecting to the APC. He betrayed the PDP by becoming an APC Speaker in PDP clothing. You cannot re-write the history of his actions; neither can you bend the truth concerning his treachery.

Some people have accused you of being sponsored by the PDP to write against APC members. They say you have only been critical of APC members, making PDP members seem like saints. Is this true?

Some people have accused PUNCH of being sponsored by the APC to write against Jonathan. They say you have only been critical of PDP members, making APC members seem like saints. Is this true? I don’t lose any sleep over what people say. People can say what they like, that does not change the truth about me.

Are you saying you don’t agree with the majority of Nigerians who say President Jonathan under-performed?

Obviously, I don’t agree that President Jonathan has not performed. I have stated in my write-ups that the president performed, and I gave my reasons. What makes you think the outcome of a flawed election will now suddenly change my views? When the air clears, the true history of the Jonathan administration will be written.

Then how would you assess the President in the area of security and corruption?

What is the point of that now? Let us now see how General Buhari will destroy Boko Haram in a matter of days like he did Maitasine. Let us see how many days it will take him to bring back our girls. Let us see how he will end corruption when he has a legislature full of corrupt politicians who used all kinds of means to get elected. General Buhari’s vain promises will begin to haunt him in the coming weeks and months.

INEC denying us access to election materials –Rivers APC

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of denying it access to photocopies of result sheets for the 2015 general elections in the state.

The APC said electoral frauds, including thumb-printing of ballot papers, were going on in INEC offices across the state under the supervision of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan.

The Director of Communications of the state APC’s campaign team, Greater Together Organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday that while the Peoples Democratic Party had been given unfettered access to thumbprint ballot papers, the APC was shot out from getting election materials that would be presented as evidence to the tribunal.

The APC explained that the post-election thumb-printing by the PDP was to ensure that the results declared corresponded with the figures allocated to candidates.

The statement read, “The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State has barred APC agents from accessing the INEC premises to photocopy result sheets for the last elections in preparation for the party’s appearance at the tribunal.

“Since our agents began to visit INEC office, they have been witnesses to gross misconduct and extensive electoral fraud going on in the INEC headquarters under the meticulous supervision of the REC and the head of administration Mr. Bocco.”

But INEC spokesperson in the State, Anthonia Nwobu, told our correspondent that all applications for certified true copies of documents by political parties were being processed.

Nwobu explained that she was not aware of any political party coming into INEC office to thumbprint, adding that politicians should be aware that elections in Rivers State were already over.

Similarly, Chairman, Media and Publicity of the PDP Campaign Organisation, Mr. Emma Okah, described APC’s allegation as false.

I Personally told Jonathan to concede defeat – Apostle Johnson Suleman

In this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE, the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministry, Apostle Johnson Suleman, who prophesied that many politicians who lost in the last election would win, speaks on why some of his prophecies didn’t come to pass

You read Mass Communication but you’re now a preacher, how did you make the switch?

For a while, I was actually a contributor toTELL and I worked with DBN but that was a brief stint. I didn’t have any idea that I was going to be a preacher. I was fulfilled reporting, investigating but when the call came, I couldn’t say yes or no, so it wasn’t a decision, it was a discovery. I didn’t decide to be a preacher; I was called to be a preacher. Like now, I have a TV station, so the journalism instinct still flows. I have written about 60 books and most of the books are bestsellers. So that part of me is not docile yet.

We read somewhere that you were a cultist in school. What were the worst things you did as a cultist?

I was a dignified cultist. I come from a home where my mum and dad had religious issues; so every child from a home is bound to fall into the streets and vices, so I got into the school and wanted acceptance. You know, when I got home, my mother and father would be quarrelling, so I wanted acceptance. Somebody said to me that there was a cult called ‘The Brotherhood’ and that once you joined, they would accept you. And that it was like a family and I liked it. I didn’t know that there was a part where you would be beaten. I didn’t know there was a part where you would be taken to the bush, I didn’t like that. Once you’re there, you had to go into it. So they took me to the bush. It was what they called blending, they had to beat you and do all that. At the end of it, what I know I avoided were assignments- to go and hit people. No! So I was just, as it were, a floor member. You had to attend meetings and if they told you to do something, you pleaded with somebody to help you do it and paid for it. So I was not really a very formidable member but I was there.

What kind of childhood did you have? Was it memorable?

My childhood days were not memorable; they are not as it were outstanding. I started doing things on my own at the age of 14 or 16 and my dad and my mum had issues of religion. I had to live with my mum at a time and then with my father at a time. He had to forcefully pull us over because my mum had become a Christian. All I know is that my mum was very tough. She was a Christian but she was the tough one. My dad was a Muslim but was liberal. He was the one who would have no problem if you came home by 11pm. My mum was a Christian but you must be home by 6pm. You came home 7pm, she would open the door and teargas the room. She was in the police force. So you would be battling to breathe till morning. She was very tough.

Couldn’t you just get out of the room?

No, she would lock the door. She would open it, teargas the room, lock the door and go with the key. You can only think of getting out of the room when you can find the door. When you cannot find the door, you couldn’t think of getting out. So it was very horrible. I didn’t like my mum then, but now I’m so happy I went through all that training because it instilled in us some level of discipline. But then, we didn’t like my mum. But when we went to my dad’s house, we did all the corrupt things around him. My growing up was good and bad but I got into the streets very young, started fending for myself, doing this and that on my own.

You prophesied that there would be trouble if President Goodluck Jonathan went ahead to contest for the election. You said other things but they didn’t come to pass.

Yes, I said he should go back to his village. In 2012, I said I saw a new president. That was the last prophecy for that year. It was a prophecy of 2012 that was to be out in 2013. So in 2013, I prophesied again that he should not run, that I saw violence. On January 1 of that year, they brought down my church. Jonathan dismantled my church in Abuja. He hit me seriously. It was in the papers that I was a victim of prophecy.

What was the reason given?

Nothing. The certificate of occupancy was okay. They just came and marked it. On what grounds are you marking it? Nothing. So when people like Father Mbaka said they were threatened, I just laughed because I was not threatened, I was actually hit. They brought down the whole building and told us to leave. We tried to get another land but everyone we approached said they were being threatened. But let me tell you something about prophecies, they have leverages and you cannot judge prophecy except you have the spirit of prophecy. I’m a journalist and sometimes when I read in the papers how journalists criticise prophecies, I laugh. But I don’t blame them. If you watch that prophecy manual, I said very clearly that President Jonathan would not win but that the man that would win would not be given. It was stated there. I said a few prophecies about some other people- (Ibikunle) Amosun, (Nasir) el Rufai, (Nyesom) Wike and some other people. Whether a prophecy is fulfilled or not depends on who it’s said about. Few of the people prophesied about contacted me. I don’t want to call names but they contacted me. You said I won’t get this or that, I want it. Can it be reversed?’ I said very well. If you are given certain prayers to make, prophecies can be reversed. If you’re given certain things to do, prophecies can be reversed. And actually, there were some people I never thought would reach out to me, those who were Muslims, those who were stubborn leaders, they contacted me. So, I told them ‘this is not about man, it’s about God. If you’re humble enough, we can pray about it.’ And we prayed. Like today especially, I’ve got messages from people who were happy and said ‘Oh, thank God, it was reversed.’ Like that of the President, I saw him a month before the election and we talked one on one. All I told him was that he wouldn’t win. I personally told Jonathan to concede defeat. I told him he would save a lot of heads if he conceded defeat and left. I saw not less than half a million people without their heads.

We have a President who has had two problems–he is politically naive and he doesn’t understand the concept of power. We have had a President who has a media team that doesn’t understand what they call ceasefire. I told the President one on one that his media team didn’t manage him well. I told him, he would not come back. I said the other people had not just got the will of the people, they had got the will of some ministers of God in the place of prayer and few of them had contacted certain ministers of God and we had sat down and discovered we needed change. Inasmuch as and with all due respect to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, that they are not the change that we need. So our President, the prophecy came for him but he wriggled himself out of it. So prophecies have been given and as they are given, people are now becoming wise, especially when they have seen the accuracy of some prophecies. They would say before I become a victim, let me contact this man. And when they do that, they get the prophecies reversed and it’s not in our place as ministers of God to talk.

Is that what happened in el Rufai’s case when you said he disrespected Jesus Christ and so would not win the election? He has won now.

I won’t mention names.

But what happened in his own case then because you said he would not win the election and he won?

Can you ask me what happened in Amosun’s case that I said he would win and he won? Can you ask me what happened in Wike’s case that I said he would win and he won? Can you ask me what happened in Ayo Fayose’s case that I said I saw him being threatened and removed and presently he’s going through an impeachment process? So if we could discuss positives.

Yes, we can also discuss negatives if we could discuss positives.

Like I said, when a prophecy is given, you can wriggle yourself out of it. And let me say something, I’m not tying this to an individual–that you won an election doesn’t mean you have been sworn in.

Some pastors said President Jonathan would win the election and he didn’t win, what does this make of Christianity? Don’t you think it embarrasses the religion?

I read in the paper and even online that I said President Jonathan would win the election. That to me was a lie that was concocted from hell because I don’t understand where that came from. I never said that. Even the Sunday (a day after the presidential election) while the results were still being collated, I said these people would not win but let’s hope (Gen. Muhammadu) Buhari (retd.) will rule because I don’t see Buhari ruling and even if he rules, I don’t see him lasting in power. I repeated it and some of the APC leaders contacted me, I told them verbatim that God told me this man is not well and that you people are evil. You could have brought somebody else. Don’t drain life out of this man because you have an agenda to push this man forward. Nobody should die for Nigeria. Nigeria will keep being Nigeria no matter how many lives are lost. So those pastors who gave the prophecies know where they heard them (from). It’s a spiritual matter which is very dicey. Some of the pastors said he would win, some even said what would happen after he wins. I think they have the public to face for an answer. And I will not expect the people to judge them because some of these pastors have given prophecies that came to pass before. Before people now believe them to that extent, there must have been some things they said that came to pass. When certain things are not going the way some people prophesied, they shouldn’t be judged. People should only know that ‘this time, he missed it, so let’s hope next time he gets it right.’

A lot of people see prophets, particularly those who give prophecies, as diabolical. What do you say to people who think you might not be getting your prophecies from God?

You don’t blame people when they don’t see what you see or understand you. Inasmuch as there are prophets who have abused some things. A man says he’s a prophet, he has three wives. A man says he is a prophet, he drinks. A man says he’s a prophet, he charges money for prayers. A man says he’s a prophet and he collects money from people to prophesy for them. So prophetic ministry has been abused but being smelly in an area doesn’t mean there is no soap factory. It means the people have not gone to get the soap and apply it on themselves. I grew up with the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa. He was not, as it were, a prophet. He was not prophetic, telling you predictions and all that. He didn’t do that, so you should understand my pedigree; where I’m coming from. I didn’t come from a background where you would be told that this would happen tomorrow, so I didn’t like it.

Have there been situations where you prophesied and the people concerned did not contact you for prayers and the prophecy still didn’t come to pass?

Yes.

So what do you do? Do you go back to ask what happened?

The day every prophecy you give comes to pass 100 per cent, you have become God. And I think 46 out of 50 is a pass mark. If a man gives 50 predictions and 40 of them come to pass, that is a pass mark. When 100 per cent of your prophecies are fulfilled, you are not a human being, you have become God and when you have become God, you don’t need to be in this world anymore. God will take you home. So when people tell me you said this, I would say what about this and that that happened? They would say I think it’s true. So I tell them, let’s focus on the things that happened. And let me say something to you. Not all prophecies given in a year get fulfilled that year. In 2013, I prophesied that the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, would become the Emir of Kano. Then he was CBN governor. I had never been so haunted in my life as I was at the time. Bloggers abused me. Some said they had to verify my certificate, some said they had to check if I was well schooled. They said how on earth could a CBN governor become the Emir of Kano when the Ado Bayero had sons to succeed him? It came to pass in 2014. So that’s why I said you have to study prophecy. If you don’t study prophecies, you can’t understand prophecies. There are prophecies of 2012 that are happening now. If they don’t come to pass that year, it may be the following year but we have to be calm. But when you have a vendetta against prophecies, if you don’t see them come to pass, you get angry and attack the prophet.

You celebrated your birthday recently and gave out cars and people wondered where you’ve been getting wealth from.

I’ve given out 360 cars in the past 10 years. I’ve been a blessing to many lives. I’ve given out four houses and I have a lot of people who feel I’ve blessed them. So I look for people I know who have been church people and faithful and in need and I give it out to them. I can’t sleep in more than one house and I can’t drive more than one car, so I don’t believe that I need that aggrandisement. So I’m like a channel through which the blessed reach the poor. So most people don’t understand, they think that the man must have so much for himself to give so much. So that’s how we have empowered quite a number of people. Presently, every Thursday, we feed widows. We have 190 widows on monthly salary. These are people who have lost their husbands and are above 65 years old.

Why are your churches not all over the place like some others?

We are in 42 countries. We have 2,000 branches and a direct followership of seven million people and we are just 11 years old. So we are expanding.

With the money churches make, people say they should be taxed. Do you agree?

I pay my tax as a responsible citizen but as a church, I don’t think that a non-profit organisation should pay tax. I think what people should say is that there should be a regulatory body looking into the finances of charity organisation. Presently, there is a regulatory body that controls church finances. The attention was on the revenue of the church. People were concerned that there should be a form of responsibility, accountability, so the CBN has come up with laws that certain amounts of money cannot just be withdrawn from the church account. Now, there are certain regulations and I support that. This sole proprietorship where a man has access to all the funds in the church, I don’t think it’s good. But talking of taxes, the church will only emphasise to its members the need for them to pay their taxes. But as a church which is a non-profit organisation, I don’t think it goes well.

But are churches supposed to be run on tithes or voluntary donations?

Even if you mention tithes, it’s still voluntary because no man puts a gun to your head and says you must pay tithe. All the pastors stand and say 10 per cent of your income belongs to the Lord. Like I said, most ministerial operations have been abused. So I was hit one time when I said I don’t think a pastor needs a jet. I had a sledge hammer on my head from ministers. And I still maintain it that I don’t think a pastor needs a jet. If a pastor of a church buys a jet and it’s run by the church, because of the level of pressure on the pastor, it’s fine. But for the pastor as an individual to own a jet, how is he funding it? There are widows in that church; there are orphans in that church. You know what it means to pay a pilot, the landing fees to park your aircraft, there are so many things involved. At the end of the day, it portrays the church in such a light that they (pastors) are milking the society as it were. So if you are talking of tithing, donations and all that, in every church where the pastor has his head screwed on his shoulders, such donations go back into the work. I have auditors who audit our church from Abuja. These are independent bodies. And sometimes when they audit our church, they discover that the expenditure is more than the income, so they call me and say sit down. This scholarship, how did that happen because we just saw the inflow? So I say some friends who are not members of the church who received blessings did this and this. So I really believe that pastors should have a regulatory body looking into their finances.

You spoke about pastors owning private jets and earlier you said you have churches in 42 countries. How do you travel round because their argument is that they need the private jets to travel at a moment’s notice because of their itinerary?

When they say because of their itinerary, they are not under pressure. Nobody is putting the man under any pressure that he must run to London. You are going to London because you want to go to London. It’s necessary but when you check funding, how does it reflect in the welfare of the led? When you are in a church where everybody is wealthy, buy 20 jets, I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, if you’re in a church where people are looking for what to do with money, then you can talk about an aircraft. But when there are widows, orphans and people in need in that church, I don’t think so. Someone asked me on live television on my birthday, are you rich? I said no man can say he’s rich until he has reached out. When there are still people to be helped and assisted, you cannot say that you’re rich. Nobody is truly rich until you start a project. You may think you have money in the account but by the time you start building, you discover that you’re broke. You think you have until you meet people who are in need, that’s when you know you don’t really have money. That is why we have commercial airlines. The airlines are there. If you know you’re that busy, plan your itinerary. If you are not too busy to eat or sleep, I don’t know why you would be too busy to board a commercial flight. That’s my personal opinion.

Then what do you think about churches that own schools and hospitals and charge outrageous fees?

Certain investments have to be a calling. Every organisation, spiritual or non spiritual, you have to go into social service. It then has gone beyond religion. You must understand that the concept of Christianity, Islam or whatever you believe, there are certain people that will not listen to you until it has become a social service. So I’m not really against people who own schools, you should own schools. There are drug barons who have children, by coming to the school, they get character reformation. So I don’t have a problem with that. Where I have a problem is where there is extreme profit. When I say extreme profit, most churches that have schools put up a standard, we know that. But when it becomes outrageous, that is where there is a problem. Churches can own schools, hospitals. For example, somebody met me from the US. He said he was into hospital equipment and he saw me preaching in the US and wanted to give out hospital equipment. I was happy, so I went to God in prayers and said God, this is awesome, he’s giving me hospital equipment for free. So I said Lord, what do I call the hospital? The lord asked me which hospital? I said you are the person that must have touched this man, is this not a directive from you? So God asked me, do you want to open a hospital? I said yes. He said okay, you will be the first to be admitted in your hospital. So I said I didn’t want again. He said it was not my calling. Don’t open a private hospital. So those who are called to open hospitals will be able to answer the question better than I can because they know what God has sent them to do. But if you ask me questions about crusades, publishing, running a TV ministry, I can answer explicitly because those are my assignments.

So will Nigeria get the change it needs in Buhari?

Let me say this to you. In the next six months, people may stone Buhari. The reason I’m saying this is because the expectation is too high. Nigerians expect Buhari to put gold on their tables. Two, the large chunk of follower-ship Buhari has are youths and young people and they are impatient. Young people don’t believe in progressive change, they want change. When they say change, they see a new picture. And Buhari has been talking from the two sides of the mouth. During campaign, he told us Boko Haram would be a thing of the past. Now, you are President-elect, you are saying people shouldn’t expect a miracle. Are you a pastor? If I wanted a miracle worker, won’t I bring a Mallam or a miracle worker? When you were being voted for, we were not voting for a pastor, so don’t tell us about miracles. Like I said, Jonathan will be seen as a hero very soon because that’s the Nigerian story. Anybody who they feel is not doing well, get him out. The next few minutes, they miss this person. If by September, there is still a blink in power, people will start abusing Buhari. You said you were going to do this. Two, who are Buhari’s footmen, the large chunk are ex-PDP people and of course you know, many are still defecting. Nigerian politicians are the most shameless people (I know); they can’t bear hunger. They are defecting now to lobby for offices. If you should check the people around the man, it gives you an idea of where the man is heading. If you check the agenda, listen to their campaign, it wasn’t about issues, it was about personality. Change this man! And I wanted us to talk about what the issues are, brainstorm to make things better. I heard he had a five-hour meeting behind closed doors with President Jonathan. He has now seen the reality of how deep the issues are and it has now dawned on him that the man sitting there was actually managing to survive. That is one thing about leadership. When the ball is passed to you, you realise it’s deeper than you think. So I do not see change in Nigeria. The only change I see is we have a breath of fresh air, a new government. To say there will be instant change in Nigeria, I doubt. We are praying as Christians and believers. It doesn’t matter what the enemy is trying to do in Nigeria, as believers, we know that the will of God will be done.