Learn To Ignore Fake News, Ex Buhari’s Social Investment Adviser Tells Participants

July 16, 2019

Former Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investment Programme, Maryam Uwais has called on the participants to learn to ignore fake news which are often carried by social media.

He charged them: “you are Custodians of this project. You must ensure that when these fake stories come out, you put them in context. When they say something bad is happening here, there are enough positive outcomes to also say it is happening positively there.”

Mrs. Uwais, who addressed Capacity Building workshop on communication in Public and Media engagement for communication officers of the National Home -Grown School Feeding Team today, July 16 in Abuja, advised the participants to be proactive, circumspect and quick to dispel fake news to ensure that public opinion does not run against a well intended programme of Government.

The former Presidential Advisor who was in charge of the SIPs between 2016 and May 29, 2019, underscored constructive criticisms as crucial to effective planning for better service delivery of the Social safety net programs, lamented the situation where some media reports about the scheme either focus more on the negatives or promote falsehood that mislead members of the public.

She said that the National Home- Grown School Feeding Program is achieving intended results as school enrolment and child nutrition have improved significantly in States where the program is currently being implemented.

“The National Economic Summit Group, working with Accenture, conducted some impact evaluation studies on the School feeding program and has reported that the children are more diligent and more attentive in class because they now eat better.

“For many of the children in our government schools, they are happy that good food is available and their parents are encouraged to send their children to attend classes, especially in the remote areas.

“Recently, a friend of mine and former class mate in Law School confirmed that during the campaigns in the last election, the women in her community commended the current Administration’s programme feeding their children, asking her what the opposition was going to do for the children.She said that one of the women brought out two of her children and showed to her, saying you see how healthy they are, even as sicklers. The classroom teacher calls them out and gives them double ration each day, because nutritious food is available to their children even in their remote community schools.

Mrs. Uwais, who admitted that the program has encountered a number of challenges that border on sharp practices by some State officials and coordinators in a few States, said that the programme managers have since put in place measures to address the problem and ensure that all stakeholders work to achieve desired results.

She added that Collaboration with monitors and anti-corruption agencies has proved productive and would be ramped up, in the coming months even as she encouraged the media to continue to report nefarious practices, as feedback from the field would ensure an enhancement of the quality and quantity of food served to the children.

The Workshop was put together by the National Home-Grown School feeding Program in partnership with the International Society for Media and Public Health (ISMPH) to train Communication officers on effective media engagement for more awareness of the benefits of the programme, towards improving public perception and ownership of the Free School Feeding Program by Nigerians.

Several communication experts including renowned broadcaster Moji Makanjuola presented papers at the forum, also attended by some NSIO partners.

No One Can Now Be Sure Where Bandits, Kidnappers Are Coming From – Ex Bauchi Gov

Editorial staff

July 16, 2019

Former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda has said that no one can be sure of where the rising number of kidnappers and bandits are coming from now, with their infiltration of the Southern parts of the country.

“In the Northwest, for instance, we are witnessing a lot of challenges when it comes to banditry and you may not know where the bandits are coming from. It cannot fully be a local problem; it could be an international problem, probably migration from somewhere.

“Criminal elements from all other parts of Africa could have assembled and said ‘look, let us go to a richer country like Nigeria and ravage them and seize everything that they have. It could be crossover and they may have some local converts who would like to go their own way.”

Former Governor, who spoke to news men today, July 16 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari, insisted however that insecurity in Nigeria did not start with the Buhari-led administration, and that Boko Haram started in Bauchi “but was contained by the Grace of God.”

He commended the Federal Government for substantially defeating Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, even as he expressed optimism that the security problem confronting the country would soon be surmounted.

“So, it is not a new thing but life is dynamic; there is no problem that cannot be managed; you can’t have a country without leadership.

“So, as long as the people are willing and he (the president) too has the vision to address the problem, I think we are going to win.

“We are praying for the president to surmount all these problems as quickly as possible and we believe that the security team, that is, the police, the army, the air force and the navy are doing their best.

“They should add more prayers and rededicate themselves so that within the shortest possible time, they will be able to rid the country of criminal elements.”

Atiku’s Grand Parody At Elections Tribunal, By Peter Claver Oparah

Editorial staff

July 16, 2019

Atiku Abubakar is in the tribunals! Why should this be a song? He and his supporters, after receiving heavy trouncing at the last presidential election, turned going to a tribunal a song, a dance; indeed a major achievement. Dazed by the outcome of the presidential election, Atiku started the new song of going to the tribunal. He said, over and over again, that he would go to the tribunal. If he hoped to get a reaction from Buhari that defeated him, he was terribly shocked that his song of going to the tribunal was treated with such huge snub as has been known of Buhari. In fact, it was only some of his party men who were scandalized by the margin of his loss that advised Atiku not to go to the tribunal because he was defeated fair and square. But Atiku would have none of this. He ate and breathed the threat of going to court and meant the loud but boring repetition of going to the tribunal to be a morale booster in the face of the humiliation he and his henchmen received in that election despite their noisy boasts.

We heard when Atiku constituted his legal team as a subset of the achievement of going to the tribunal. We heard when his legal team went to institute a case at the tribunal as another subset of Atiku’s weird achievement. All these and numerous others were celebrated with uncommon aplomb and publicity by Atiku and his supporters. And then, Atiku went to court. The tribunal proceedings have been carefully serenaded by Atiku and his supporters that you might wonder what really is in the whole process. Atiku suddenly started talking of retrieving his ‘stolen mandate’ and even as he and his rain-battered supporters knew that Atiku has no mandate to retrieve, they hung on to this boast as the tribunal gathered steam and is now rolling in full motion.

Atiku first anchored his claim of a mandate on the weird contents of an INEC server which is known only to him and his PDP confederates alone. He claims that a server somewhere belonging to INEC gave him victory; a queer and horrible claim that has been denied by both INEC and those who should know. Against the position of INEC, Atiku claims that a certain INEC server declared him winner of the election and chunked out a bogus end figure that favoured him with no further back up. Atiku has no coherent state by state tabulation of results in his server. He has no local government tabulation, no ward by ward tabulation and no polling booth by polling booth tabulation of the results he shamelessly hawks as being from an unknown INEC server that only he and his PDP supporters, especially his Dubai Strategy members are aware of. Simply speaking, Atiku invested heavily in bubbles in his strange claim of an INEC server where results of the 2019 presidential election were transmitted by God-knows-whom. So embarrassing was that in his so-called INEC server results, Nigerians only voted him and Buhari and not even a single Nigerian voted for the many other candidates that contested the presidential election under several platforms apart from APC and PDP! Can you beat that?

As his INEC server story refused to fly, Atiku now braced for the decisive tribunal hearing where he is expected to prove beyond reasonable doubts, his strange claim of a mandate in an election he was beaten black and blue. That is the process we are in now and beyond the watery, leaky, cock-and-bull stories that have so far clothed Atiku’s queer claims is the opportunity to prove, with indomitable facts, that he indeed won the election. That is the process we are in now. Atiku has had an 87-years old Ben Nwabueze, one of his most rabid backers, wheeled into the court room as his leading lawyer and that is where that drama ended. Atiku said he will call 400 witnesses to prove his case and the tribunal has granted him 10 days to do so. By the time of writing this report, Atiku has just managed to call 36 witnesses and he has just about 4 days left to call the remaining 384! At the last sitting on Friday, his lawyers claimed that his witnesses billed to testify that day, coming from Zamfara were attacked by bandits on the way to Abuja. They nether provided the identity of those attacked nor where they were attacked. They threw no further light to this sorry claim but then many are wondering if Atiku indeed transports his witnesses from far-flung states to Abuja on the very day they were slated to appear. What are the chances of a supposed witness slated to testify on a particular day meeting the tribunal after a journey that was supposed to last for nearly the whole day? Lie, pure lies and pure evasion tactics! Anyway, the police has said that no incident of attack by any bandit occurred in Zamfara nor any person claiming to be Atiku’s witness attacked on the said day thereby bursting Atiku and his hopeless legal team’s face saving white lie.

Care to know how Atiku and his witnesses have fared at the tribunal so far? That one has the capacity of provoking a comedy book. So far, the performance of Atiku’s witnesses at the tribunal has fed a huge industry of comedy and parody. What comes from his so-called witnesses is a cocktail of poorly fabricated stories, forgeries, outlandish lies and savagery claims that ridicule his case and his state further. One Atiku witness claimed that Atiku defeated Buhari in Buhari’s Katsina State. When cross-examined, he couldn’t even produce one sheet of paper to back up his silly claim. Even then, Atiku’s ‘INEC server’ didn’t make this claim as it said that Buhari beat Atiku in Katsina but with lesser margin than in INEC result. This particular claim led one social media commentator to make a post that the ban on tramadol is not working! Another claimed that real results were replaced with forged INEC results and when challenged to produce the real results, he said he didn’t have any.

One Atiku witness claimed that he transmitted results to an INEC server and when challenged to give details of the results he allegedly transmitted, he said he didn’t know the details but was concerned with transmitting results. One claimed that he transmitted results to INEC server and when asked the code of the so-called server he transmitted results to, he said he didn’t know. One claimed that he was seeing a statement he allegedly made and signed to support Atiku’s claim the very day he was called to witness for Atiku. Another claimed that on the day of election, a bomb was detonated at the collation center and he and all PDP members, agents and supporters ran away and APC members changed the results. When asked how he knew since he claimed to have ran away, he said that he hid somewhere and was watching what was happening, although he didn’t tell us whether the APC members were immune from bomb blast. One claimed that the results he signed was not the real results, and when asked why he signed, he said that he just felt like signing.

One of Atiku’s witnesses, in fact his chief witness, Buba Galadima went there to ridicule himself by claiming to be an APC member working for PDP. And on and on and on, the parody keeps mounting. One surprising thing about Atiku’s witnesses is that none has so far passed the integrity test after being cross-examined. None has tendered half a proof or fact to back up his specious claims. Like Atiku and those massing around him, it is obvious that his witnesses were drafted to tell fairy tales and how Atiku hopes to employ this to become president should baffle and jar any decent mind. One would have expected Atiku to come to the tribunal with proof of how he was rigged out in his polling unit in Adamawa where he was beaten but he did not do that. One would have expected him to draft his Campaign Director and National Leader of PDP, Bukola Saraki to witness with resounding proof, how he was rigged out in his Kwara State where Atiku hopelessly lost but he didn’t do that. One would have expected Atiku to call his garrulous supporter, Buba Galadima to witness how he was rigged out in his polling unit where Atiku was beaten by a whopping 750 votes to his own 25 by Buhari but this old lickspittle rather came to the tribunal to revel and loaf. One would have expected Atiku to call Obasanjo, his main godfather in this election to come and prove to the tribunal how he was rigged out at his Owu polling unit where Atiku miserably lost to Buhari but he didn’t do that. Fact is that almost all Atiku’s backbones in all the zones except South East and South South were beaten down to their wards. Atiku didn’t call these to witness how Buhari rigged him out starting from their respective polling units, wards, local governments and states but he evaded this in his disgraceful claim of having a mandate. He rather went shopping for cheap witnesses to come to the tribunal to regale the nation with such silly, empty and baseless claims; none of which has survived preliminary cross examination.

With the days for him to call his witnesses drawing close, his lawyers, obviously embarrassed by the jaded parody their case has turned to, have to fork out that bandit attack story to buy time and bring their case to an anti-climactic end. But what is obvious from what has happened so far in Atiku’s much-celebrated tribunal case is that it is a charade; a puff and a silly tale told by an idiot; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. In fact, Festus Keyamo (SAN) was even charitable in describing Atiku’s election petition as the most useless election petition in Nigeria’s history. But then, many believe that Atiku knows the hopelessness of his petition but mobilized all the drama he did around the case just to maintain a stranglehold on the 2023 presidential ticket. Time will tell on this too.

Peter Claver Oparah wrote in from Ikeja, Lagos

How Can A Christianised Nigeria Be Islamised? By Fredrick Nwabufo

Editorial staff

July 16, 2019

I have been cogitating on the persistent kvetching of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that the Buhari government is Islamising the country.

I have laboured to find a remote or even an obtrusive reason for CAN’s shrieks, which by the way, have become deafening. I must say, honestly, I have not seen any reason to align myself with the association in this regard.

Although, as a Christian there is a sentimental part of me that wants to jump on the alarmist parade, and shout “Buhari is Islamising Nigeria”, I have a duty to my conscience to resist this provincial urge.

When the government announced the sale of N100 billion worth of Sukuk (Islamic bonds) a few days ago, CAN hurriedly issued a statement, saying that the government wanted to pawn the country to Arab nations. According to the association, the current administration is accelerating the process of Islamising the country.

I will not dwell on the merits or de-merits of Sukuk because that has been sufficiently treated by some writers like Ebuka Nwankwo. Before I divagate, I must add, Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, spoke for me on the subject when he said: “I am challenging CAN to Christianise Nigerians. Christianise us by setting up interest-free banks”.

Now to the meat and potatoes. The response of the Supreme Islamic Council to CAN hit me without gloves on. It was a riposte pickled in truth.

Here is an abridged version of the statement. “It would certainly be embarrassing for CAN to be told that the first and foremost state in Nigeria to submit application for loan to the Islamic Development Bank is a Christian-dominated state in the south-east.

“This has been the factor that made Muslims to tolerate several practices or things that are essentially Christian in nature and outlook, in substance and form and indeed in principle and practice, but imposed on us.

“We have not been talking of Christianisation because Sunday has been forced on us as a work-free day, or the Cross as our hospital sign and symbol, our membership of the International Red Cross, and many other things including almost all the titles of the heads of academic institutions (chancellor, provost, dean, rector, etc.).

“Despite this remarkable tolerance from Muslims over the years, CAN appears to be increasingly becoming Islamophobic and paranoid about its hate and intolerance of Islam, casting aspersions, unnecessarily overheating the polity and unjustifiably creating fear and distrust in the minds of peace-loving citizens of our great country.”

We Christians must be sincere, Nigeria is a Christianised country. This is largely due to British colonialism. Islam had made in-road into northern Nigeria by the 11th century – before Uthman Dan Fodio’s Jihad of 1804, which was the “climactic denouement”. Borno was among the first disciples of Islam in the 11th century. There was a literate population, a well defined system of government and codified laws. But the British yanked off a prodigious part of this heritage, imposing its own systems which were fore-grounded in Christian values and practices.

Please note, that by the 11th century when Islam reached the north, the peoples of southern Nigeria, who are mostly Christians today, were animists.

Nigeria has carried on where the British left off with little adjustments to the Christianity-denominated praxis.

For example, Friday is a holy day for Muslims while Sunday is the same for most Christians in Nigeria. But while a Muslim will go to work on a Friday, a Christian will not go to work on a Sunday; just as it is in the UK and in most parts of Europe. Conversely, Friday is a no-work day in most Arab countries dominated by Muslims.

When Arabic was introduced into secondary school curriculum, many Christian leaders objected to it because “the language is Islam”. They forgot that English itself is the language of our colonial masters who are mostly Christians.

We have become so used to our Christian ways that any blip of the obverse sends us, top gear, into panic and revulsion. This is unfair.

In Conclusion, I believe, one of the fundamental problems with Nigeria is the unconsented coitus between formulaic Christian ways and Muslim practices. But we must stop this Islamisation twaddle, and seek the path of tolerance.

We Were Trained In Libya, Kidnapper Of Daura Monarch Confesses

Greenbarge Reporters

July 15, 2019

Abdullahi Mohammed, one of the suspected kidnappers of Alhaji Musa Umar, the District Head of Daura who was recently rescued by the police, has confessed that they were trained in Libya on how to carry out gun battle and other warfare in their kidnapping trade.

Speaking to news men today, July 15 when they were paraded by the Force Headquarters, presided over by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, the suspect said: “before our arrest, two of us involved in this case had undergone training in Libya that lasted one and half years.

“We we were trained on how we can fire AK47 riffles, how we can disarm security agents holding AK-47 riffles as well as laying ambush against security operatives.”

Abdullah Mohammed, a native of Kano, confessed:”I was among the gang members that did the video and negotiation for the ransom. We have done two kidnappings before this one involving the district head of Daura.”

This was even as DCP Frank Mba, said that the suspects were directly linked with the heinous crime touching on the Kidnap of the Magajin Daura, who was Kidnapped and held incommunicado for several weeks.

”Out of the 40 suspects,13 of them are directly linked with the heinous crime touching on the Kidnap of the Magajin Daura, who was Kidnapped and held incommunicado for several weeks. “From my analysis of the 13 suspects who were indicted for the Kidnap of the district head of Daura, we discovered that these suspects consist of persons of diverse states of the federation and diverse backgrounds.

“We also discovered in the course of our investigation that there are external collaborators. As a matter of fact, one of the suspects, Mustapha Zakaria, aged 32,is from Niger Republic. And finally, we also discovered that the crime, just like other crimes, was powered essentially by local criminals and local collaborators.”

He said that out of the 13 kidnappers, five of them were indigenes of Katsina but four of the five live in Daura, adding that the collaboration of insiders made the Kidnap of the monarch easier.

”It may interest you to know that out of the 13 suspects, five of them are from Katsina State. Four out of the five from Katsina State are specifically from the ancient city of Daura.

“In the same vein, out of the 13 suspects, two are specifically from the beautiful city of Kano where the district head was rescued from.

“The lesson we can draw from this analysis or one of the key lessons we can draw from this analysis is the fact that we must work together with the police and other law enforcement agencies in order to keep our communities safe.

“You could see clearly that it would have been near impossible for any other criminal gang to have perfected this act, clinically executed it the way these guys did without the active connivance, collaboration and support of other gang members who are not from Daura.

“In the same vein, it would also have been near impossible for these gang members to have kept this elder statesman in Kano for this long without criminal elements who know and understand the terrain of Kano.”

Tanko Yakasai Describes Obasanjo’s Latest Open Letter To Buhari As Selfish, Unpatriotic

Editorial staff

July 15, 2019

A Kano born elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai has described the latest open letter which former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari as selfish and unpatriotic.

Reacting to Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari dated July 15, Yakasai said: “I don’t see patriotism in General Obasanjo’s letters. This attitude of writing unpatriotic letters has been part of General Olusegun Obasanjo.

“In fact, all the letters written by General Obasanjo to all Military Heads of State and Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are not guided by patriotic considerations.

“My experience with Nigerian political situation is that the top echelons of the Military are always fighting one another, either when in the service or when on retirement.

“It is from this angle that I always view most of the writings of General Olusegun Obasanjo to any military officer who is a Head of State or President in Nigeria as unpatriotic.

“Even the ones he wrote to former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and the late Umar Musa Yar’Adua were not patriotic. They were guided by selfish interest.

“General Obasanjo did it during Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s era. He did it during the late General Sani Abacha’s regime, which later resulted to accusations that he was trying to overthrow the government, which eventually led to his imprisonment.

“General Olusegun Obasanjo also wrote a number of letters during General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s regime and he is still writing letters in this current presidency of General Muhammadu Buhari.

“So, this attitude of writing unpatriotic letters has been part of General Olusegun Obasanjo.”

The elder statesman who was Political Adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari, said that there is nothing new in the latest letter the former Obasanjo wrote to Buhari.

“I have read the contents of the letter written by former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo. Apart from one thing, I found out that everything said by General Obasanjo has been said either by him or by other Nigerians.

“The only thing different is the call he made for convening another National Conference, which I vehemently do not support.

“I am puzzled to read from that letter that General Olusegun Obasanjo is requesting or asking for the convocation of another National Conference at this critical moment in our national history.

“It is more surprising that General Olusegun Obasanjo who is supposed to have assumed the position of an elder statesman is making such a call at this period with the current debates going on through the Social Media (which has no regulatory laws in Nigeria or elsewhere, for that matter) asking for a National Conference!

“The actions of General Olusegun Obasanjo are, indeed, an open invitation for disaster for this country with the kind of hate speeches and messages that are flying all over the country.”

Yakasai insisted that calling for a National Conference at this time will not augur well for Nigeria, pointing out, “a National Conference, even if it is convened at this point in time cannot begin in peace and end in peace.”

However, Yakasai advised President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

He recalled the events of the 1976 Constituent Assembly, pointing out that, “I remember the situation of 1976 (or thereabout) during the Constituent Assembly controversy.

“The same controversy happened under the military dictatorship of General Olusegun Obasanjo when the Military he headed used its unconventional method to save the situation by abruptly bringing the Constituent Assembly to an end.”

Yakasai called on the National Assembly to initiate a bill that will be passed into law, compelling President Buhari to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

“The 2014 National Conference was composed of Nigeria’s First Eleven in terms of politics, patriotism, business acumen, intellectual prowess and security expertise.”

Source: The Nation.

I’m Worth Over N48 Billion, Oyo Governor, In Asset Declaration

Editorial staff

July 15, 2019

Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde has publicly declared his assetnin which he said that his total worth, both in cash and properties is the excess of N48 billion.

The governor, in compliance with the Nigeria’s code of conduct law that mandates senior public office holders to file their asset details while assuming office and occasionally update them, said that however that it is not compulsory for him to make the details of the assets public.

Governor Makinde, who released the details of what he filled in his asset form at the Code of Conduct Bureau in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, said that he would encourage all his potential cabinet appointees to do so when they are nominated.

According to a statement by a spokesperson for Governor Makinde, Taiwo Adisa, said that the asset was categorized in cash at hand, in the bank, landed properties (developed and undeveloped), household items, share and bonds owned by the governor, his wife, Omini Makinde, as well as his companies.

He said that as at May 28, 2019, Governor Makinde’s bank balance stood at N234, 742,296.01. And in dollar terms, he has cash valued at $30,056.99 as at the same date.

Murder Of Funke Olakunrin: Ondo Police Announce Arrest Of Some Suspects

Editorial staff

July 15, 2019

The Nigeria Police Force has announced the arrest of suspects in connection to the murder of 58-year-old Funke Olakunrin, daughter of the leader of the Afenifere, Reuben Fasoranti.

The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Femi Joseph, who disclosed this in a statement today, July 15, did not give the names or the number of those arrested.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, had drafted some detectives from the Force to assist other officers in the state last week to complement the efforts of the officers in the state.

“With such officers, we have made a lot of arrests on this matter, but we are doing the screening of those arrested to know who among them are the culprits,” Femi Joseph said, adding: “by the time we finish the screening, we will let the world know the perpetrators.”

He said that the suspects would be arraigned with time.

Those Politicizing Death Of Funke Disrespect Her Soul, Family – Presidency

Editorial staff

July 15, 2019

“Times of tragedy like these are not the time for politics. It reveals only disrespect for the departed and her family.”

The Presidency, which made this reminder to politicians in a statement today, July 15 by the senior special assistant to President Muh

ammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, hoped that those who stand in positions of influence would recognize and understand such fact.

The Presidency insisted that the murder of Funke is a tragedy and that it is therefore incumbent on all leaders across the country to consider their language and its potential consequences.

“Insecurity is an issue that Nigeria must face together as one nation – united.”

The Presidency expressed concerns on the unfortunate attack leading to the death of Mrs. Funke, daughter of the Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, recalling that President Buhari had already issued a statement expressing his heartfelt condolences to the family of Mrs Funke Olakunri and it followed up with a telephone call.

It also recalled that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had also paid a visit to the grieving family in Akure, Ondo State.

President Buhari Writes To Condole With Senator Dino Melaye Over Mum’s Death

Editorial staff

July 15, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has written a letter to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, representing Kogi State West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, condoling him over the death recently, of his mother.

In the letter dated July 11 and personally signed, President Buhari said: “On behalf of my family, the government and the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I write to commiserate with you and the entire members of Melaye family on the passing of your mother, Deaconess Comfort Melaye (JP)

“The loss of a mother is usually very painful. However, I encourage you to be inspired by her dedication to the service of God and humanity which I believe saw her to the leadership position of a Deaconess. Caring and supportive mother like mama are precious even more than gold. I know she was very dear to Melaye family and you in particular, but please take heart in the fact that she lived a fulfilled life.

“As you prepare for her rites of passage, I urged you and other members of the family to find inspiration and solace in the richly fulfilled life she lived. I pray that you all have the strength to bear her loss.”

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