Yemi Olakitan: All you want to know..

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Nigerian Islamists killed in shootout with army

source: AFP

KANO, Nigeria — Three suspected members of Nigeria's Boko Haram were killed in the restive northern city of Maiduguri in a shootout with soldiers deployed to crush the Islamist sect, the army said on Sunday.

Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the elite unit hunting down Boko Haram members, said militants attacked soldiers in a raid launched late Saturday, triggering a fierce gunbattle that lasted until early on Sunday.

"The attack was repelled. Three Boko Haram members were killed," he said. "Our troops are in pursuit of the sect members. (The) situation is under control."

Musa said the attack in Maiduguri, a Boko Haram bastion, was launched just before a night-time curfew, adding that some passers-by caught in the prolonged crossfire had been "ordered to lie down by the roadside".

A resident caught in the shootout said about 20 gunmen attacked a police station with rifles and explosives.

"There was a shootout that continued throughout the night and around 200 residents were forced to lie on their faces along the streets to avoid being caught in crossfire," he said.

Another local man said he saw six dead bodies.

"The shooting continued throughout the night, we did not sleep. I and my family lay flat to avoid stray bullets," he said.

Boko Haram, blamed for a wave of attacks mainly in northern Nigeria, has targeted mostly the police and other symbols of authority in Africa's most populous nation, but also churches.

Although its specific aims remain largely unclear, violence by the sect since mid-2009 has claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year alone, according to rights groups and an AFP count.

Yemi Olakitan On Michael Jackson

The Greatest Entertainer in the World
Yemi Olakitan

I grew up in the hay days of Michael Jackson and I loved and adored him. He was one of those individuals who made my life beautiful as a young person growing up in Lagos. He was like a beautiful rose on the field or a cool sunshine on a lovely, romantic evening. Michael Jackson meant the world to me. Back then, I always sang his songs along street paths and football fields. I dreamt of becoming a great musician like him. I used to imitate him as an undergraduate student. I knew most of his songs by heart. He gave me so much joy and made my life beautiful. His music was everything, like so many others all over the world, I cherished him. Then came that day when they said he was dead. I have never cried about a famous person before, but I cried when Michael Jackson died. He was a part of me. I loved the music, the dancing, and the creativity.
The love that I had for Michael Jackson while he yet lived, I have reserved. And it has prompted me to research about him and to always find out the actual truth whenever I heard a rumour about him. I have books about him in my library, including the ones he wrote by himself. This has helped me to know more about him and to continue to love him to this day. I discovered among other things that he never bleached his skin and that he suffered from a skin disease called vitiligo, a kind of pigmentation of the skin.
Rumours and tabloid stories followed Michael Jackson while he was alive and even after he died. True and untrue stories followed. The truth is that lazy commentators who do not have time to search for the truth often parade lies about famous people, most of them often fabricated. People like to focus on the negative, whether these negative stories are true or not are usually irrelevant to this group of people as they are either too indolent or malicious to search for the truth.
But no one can deem the many positive truths about Micheal Jackson. He was the greatest entertainer in the world. His album, thriller was the biggest selling album of all times. His second album Bad was the second biggest. He was recorded as the most famous man on earth. He entered the Guinness book of World records as the celebrity who gave the most to charity in history. Michael was a symbol of love and he toured the world with his message of love, cheering the hearts and souls of millions.
I once attended a church service where the Pastor said that the late Michael Jackson was a member of the Satanist Church. I wanted to vomit. Another untruth. Micheal Jackson was a Jehovah’s Witness and so were other members of his family. Although he was too famous to go about preaching from house to house but he was singing about love from nation to nation and giving to the poor. There are so many other lies about MJ. According to a statement, he made during his trial on child molestation, he said lies may run marathon but truth will run sprints and he was acquitted of all charges. Michael will forever live through his music and through those of us who love. He is always in our hearts.