COVID 19: No Masquerade Festival In Ibadan in 2020

As this year’s egungun (masquerade) festival gets underway this week, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunniso 1 has directed all masquerades-irrespective of grades to observe their rituals from their respective homes and pray for the speedy end to COVID-19.

Oba Adetunji disclosed this in a release signed by his Personal Assistant and Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Adeola Oloko in Ibadan on Sunday.

According to the first class monarch, the decision not to have long procession this year is not unconnected with the new coronavirus pandemic and the need to observe rules associated with social distancing. Oba Adetunji stated that the boisterous nature of the festival has made it imperative for all masquerades to stay at home and perform all necessary rites until the authorities’ state otherwise.

According to Oba Adetunji, the decision was reached after extensive consultation with the relevant authorities and stakeholders. Olubadan advised all the people to wash their hands, use face mask and maintain social distancing at all times to curb the spread of the plague.

independent.ng

Protests spread across US over George Floyd death: Key Points

• Protests erupt in cities across the United States over the deadly arrest of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, who was pinned to the ground by the knee of a white officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• The fired officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes, as Floyd pleaded "I can't breathe", has been charged with murder and manslaughter.
• The Minnesota National Guard has arrived in Minneapolis, Saint Paul and surrounding areas.
• Minneapolis has imposed a weekend curfew.
• Community leaders and residents demand the arrest of the three other officers involved.Pain and anger over the death of George Floyd 
• The Protests have spilled over into multiple cities across the country hours after the former Minneapolis officer seen in video with his knee on Floyd's neck was arrested and charged with murder.
  Demonstrators funneled their anguish in cities like Atlanta, New York and Washington into chants, signs and outbreaks of violence, smashing windows and setting vehicles ablaze.
  In Minneapolis, roughly 1,000 people marched peacefully along the city's major freeway Interstate 35, hours after a curfew went into effect. One black man held a sign that read, "Am I next?"
  Eventually the marchers made it to the 5th Precinct where some demonstrators threw rocks or bottles at police.

How Davido Got Money To Buy a Mansion in Banana Island

Songwriter, singer and record producer Davido has finally revealed how he got money to finance his dream house at the banana island.

Davido‘s banana island has been trending on social media for some days now. Most of his fans have been questioning how he got such an amount of money to purchase such property. However, Davido has come out to disclose how he got money to finance the dream banana island mansion.

According to him, he got money to purchase the property from singing about Bananas falling on someone, he jokely posted on his tweet. “Moved to banana with money I made from singing about Bananas falling on someone….. Cruise” he tweeted.   

It could be recalled that Davido‘s fall track hit Gold Gold in the United States and Canada. Davido has revealed the money he got from his track fall made him get to buy such a mansion.

ghgossip.com

INEC Gives Clarification on 2020 Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to the circulation of letters of employment.

The commission, in a terse statement posted on its verified Twitter page on Saturday, warned Nigerians to be careful, adding that it was currently not conducting any recruitment exercise.

The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to the circulation of purported letters of employment/appointment.”

The commission described the letters making the rounds as a scam and advised affected members of the public to report to security agencies.

“Members of the public are hereby advised/warned that the commission suspended its recruitment programme in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, INEC has announced that elections in Edo and Ondo States will still take place despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Daily Post

The Murder of George Floyd and Matters Arising

On May 25, Minneapolis resident George Floyd was pinned face down on the ground, in handcuffs, by a white police officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He was unresponsive when paramedics arrived, and he was pronounced dead later.

Unrest has since erupted in Minneapolis, where protesters have set fire to buildings, and in several cities across the country. The police officer was fired and has been charged with third-degree murder. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Three other officers also have been fired.

What the US authorities need to do is to arrest all the officers at the scene of George Floyd murder and prosecute them alongside the one murderer,the one who knelt on George.  This is the way forward.  There is nothing else that can pacify the angry Americans who have continued to protest the killing of an innocent black man. 

The looting and the destruction of property would not have happened if some racist white policemen had not murdered an innocent African American man. It is therefore save to say that the demonstrations are all an expressions of the anger of the American people, whites included. 

The United States must work harder to eradicate every form of racial discrimination. If this is not done, the US will be sitting upon a time bomb that will eventually explode as we have continued to witness. 

 Only racial equality, justice and fairness, in addition to good brotherliness can usher in lasting and permanent peace in the United States and by extension, the rest of the world. For, it is certain that all men are created equal. Nature has constantly taught us that truth.  We are all the same, black or white, Asian or Latino.

Yemi Olakitan

AU speaks on George Floyd 'murder: US must sit up, eliminate racial discrimination

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has waded into the death of a black American man, George Floyd at the hands of police in the United States.

The AUC Chair issued a statement on the development on Friday voicing condemnation of the violence, rejection of discrimination and intensify call to action on the part of Washington.

According to him, the US must intensify efforts to eliminate forms of ethnic and racial discrimination. He said the AU rejected ongoing discriminatory practices against black citizens of the US.

George Floyd, 46, died in police custody earlier this week. The incident whipped up the #BlackLivesMatter movement especially after the viral video of a white police officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he could not breathe.

A series of violent demonstrations have taken place across the country. President Trump warned that looting will not be countenanced and that the National Guard could be deployed especially to Minneapolis. The police officer in question has since been arrested and charged.

Over in South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighter, EFF, also lambasted the US in a statement calling on African countries to call the US government to exercise restraint and to “call on Trump to seize from his genocidal deployment of the military against protesters.”

Kylie Jenner 'could face jail over billionaire business lies'

A legal expert has suggested that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star could be in a whole lot of legal trouble amid allegations she lied about her wealth and tax returns.Kylie Jenner could face a criminal investigation and even jail time if allegations she was dishonest about her tax returns are true.

The reality star has seen a spectacular fall from grace after she was kicked out of Forbes Magazine Billionaire list– just two years after they declared her the youngest self made billionaire of all time.

The magazine alleges that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star – who created a cosmetic company called Kylie Cosmetics in 2015 – may have filed false information to exaggerate the success of her cosmetics company after examining evidence from Kardashian family accountants.

Forbes claims that accountant reports suggest Kylie Cosmetics jumped in value from zero to $300 (£244 million) in the space of a year, leading the magazine to grow suspicious.

While in November last year, beauty giant Coty bought a 51 per cent stark in Kylie’s business for an astonishing $600 million (£487 million) – which would have valued Kylie Cosmetics at $1.2 billion (£970 million).

source:mirror.co.uk