Lifestyle
In memory of my brother, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru —Archbishop Emeka Agwu
In Loving Memorial Of Late COAS, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief Of Army Staff, Nigerian Army
Life itself is futile in several respects, but made plausible by the rectitude exercised by veritable men, such as you were among us. Today, we recount your attributes with gleeful hearts; yet, with sincere pain in our hearts we thank God profusely because a conqueror is reckoned amongst us, one that overcame the oddities of this life and triumphed over its inordinate allurements to the realm above.
Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, a friend, but a brother, my wife and I went through enormous grief when we received the news of your sudden departure, especially after we learnt the circumstance that orchestrated your painful exit. The light of joy we had always experienced in our relationship with you was extinguished, just like a candle in the wind; and we went into pensive mood, recalling with nostalgia the times we spent together, and the unforgettable moments of communal fraternity.
We would not forget your resourcefulness and resilience, and your unalloyed pursuit for peace, mutual respectability, love, and enduring tenderness towards the people. We were witnesses to your profound humility, eschewing bitterness in circumstances that mean men would vent their anger, given their place and status such as you occupied variously in your lifetime. For this, we revere you.
You adorned your dispositions with utmost gentleness, such that people who knew you too well were encouraged that in our time, one still lived that was as harmless as a dove. You were indeed meek beyond measure, and such is one of the salient identities of astutely disciplined minds. Your quiet mien, reconciliatory approach to vexed issues, diligence, sensitivity to the wellbeing of others, disinterestedness in earthly acclaim, and continual quest for oneness and unity of purpose are some of the salient attributes you possessed, for which you were known, and for which you would always be remembered. You wore integrity as a garment, kindness radiated from your heart like the rising early morning sun. For these and many more, we thank God immensely for granting among us, such a rare gem as you were. You would be remembered always, especially within the military circle of the Nigerian army, but more so amongst people who knew you too well.
Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, you were called to duty as Chief of Army Staff. You nursed in your heart the necessity to reposition the Nigerian Army. You had the revered purpose of entrenching professionalism in the Nigerian army. You were poised to foster integrity as a culture within the ranks and file. Again, it was utmost in your agenda to scuttle insurgency and create again a peaceful Nigerian State where everyone would be safe. You yearned for a detribalised Nigerian nation where everyone is welcome everywhere, and accommodated warmly, irrespective of tribe, ethnicity, or any other untoward inclination.
In some of our conversations, you were worried about the future of the Nigerian child, and the economic imbalances that have grossly derailed the wholesomeness of the family unit. You looked up to a time when the womenfolk would be suitably empowered in diverse ways to function appropriately in their God-given role as home makers and builders in no little dimensions, and by extension, help in remodelling the Nigerian society. Furthermore, you craved for such a time when we would have a beautiful Nigeria to which Nigerians in diaspora would return, as their motherland and be glad that they have a country they could call home.
You were charitable in several respects; and those who came to you went away rejoicing often times. You did not know how to send them away empty-handed. It was not in your character. People who knew you with this attribute will always adore you still.
You detested nepotism, sectionalism of all sorts, and you decried religious intolerance. It was your unalloyed wish that Nigerians should love and care for one another in oneness of heart and spirit.
Beloved, we are pained in our hearts still; and probably, this wound would be hard to heal. However, what can one say or now, especially when all ill is done. The ill-fated plane crash of May 21, 2021 took all our calm away. Now we are distraught, and only God can heal the wound in our hearts.
We pray God to grant my beloved one! Continues Rest in perfect peace.
Archbishop (Dr) Emeka Agwu is the general overseer of Houston-based Voice of Evangelism International
LAGOS, Nigeria — A Nigerian Afrobeat star facing trial on charges of assaulting a police officer will embark on a delayed concert tour after being released on bail, his manager said Wednesday.
Seun Kuti, who was in court on Wednesday, has concerts scheduled in more than a dozen countries but his departure had been on hold because of the trial, his manager Ayo Moses told The Associated Press.
The son of Nigerian musical icon and political agitator Fela Kuti, who himself was serially detained by Nigerian military regimes, Seun Kuti had been held for more than a week after he was caught allegedly assaulting a police officer in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos.
At Wednesday’s court hearing, the presiding judge ruled that it was the public prosecutor – not the police – that had the power to prosecute the musician. The judge then adjourned the case until a further hearing on July 3.
“He is on bail and as a responsible citizen, he will continue to enjoy his rights because he is presumed innocent,” Femi Falana, his lawyer, said after the hearing.
Viral videos appeared to show an agitated Kuti shouting and pushing the officer along a major road in Lagos last week. It is still not clear what caused the confrontation, though Kuti alleged the officer in question “tried to kill me and my family.”
While he was in detention, the police searched Kuti’s house, causing an uproar among some Nigerians and his lawyers. But Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesperson for the Lagos police, defended the search as necessary and approved by the court.
“In the course of our investigation, we stumbled on certain suspicious things that needed to be proven/disproved beyond reasonable doubt,” Hundeyin said without providing further details.
Tina Turner, whose volcanic voice and dynamic dance moves earned her the Queen of Rock crown over the course of a 60-year career, has died at age 83. The legendary singer died Wednesday, May 24 after a long illness at her home near Zurich in Switzerland, her publicist Bernard Doherty confirmed in a statement.
“Tina Turner, the “Queen of Rock’n Roll” has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” the statement read. “There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time.”
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Since 1994 the American-born singer had been living in Switzerland with her husband, German actor and music producer Erwin Bach, earning her Swiss citizenship in 2013. In recent years she battled a number of serious health problems, including a stroke, intestinal cancer and total kidney failure that required an organ transplant.
Boasting one of the longest careers in rock history, Turner scored Billboard Top 40 hits across four decades, earning her Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and entry into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Turner’s incendiary singing, glittery stage-wear and seemingly inexhaustible energy as the frontwoman for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue made her and her then-husband one of the most electrifying acts of the 1960s, serving up high octane covers of “Proud Mary,” “Come Together,” and “I Want to Take You Higher.”
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Striking out on her own as a solo artist in the ’70s, Turner reinvented herself as a star of the MTV age, notching hits with “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “The Best,” and “Private Dancer” — becoming one of the highest-selling female artists on the planet in the process.
Turner’s early years were marred by her tumultuous marriage to musical partner Ike Turner, who subjected her to brutal acts of physical and psychological abuse. (He died in 2007.) Her survival and harrowing escape was dramatized in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do with It starring Angela Bassett.
Pretty Yende will soon go down in history as the first African to be invited to perform a solo at the coronation of a British monarch.
The South African soprano will be one of three soloists to perform at the coronation of King Charles III on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, in London, according to CNN.
“I feel very, very honored because it is something that has never happened before,” the 38-year-old told AFP.
“Generations from now they will read about the British monarchs… and they’ll see the name of a girl from the tip of Africa written in there – that she was actually invited by the king himself to sing at Westminster Abbey.”
Yende was born at the height of apartheid in the small town of Piet Retief to a religious family. Her closest musical reference was spiritual hymns, and she never intended a career in music until she heard opera for the first time at the age of 16.
“Hearing this music and the power of it, sounded like something supernatural. I did not believe human beings could do it,” she recalled to CNN.
“I remember recording it and imitating it,” she said. “I would play the recording the whole day. My gosh, my family were in trouble, because I wouldn’t stop practicing and shouting.”
Yende started her meteoric rise in the opera world while still a student at the University of Cape Town. In 2011, she graduated from the Young Artists program at the Accademia at the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, Italy, and, since then, she has been in demand at opera houses throughout the world.
The past decade has not always been lined with roses, however. Yende said she has had to battle opera’s Eurocentric homogeneity and hopes to use her talent and success to break stereotypes.
“The biggest challenge has always been being the different one in the room. When I was the first Black in the Accademia of La Scala it was a bit uncomfortable,” she remembered.
“Sometimes I would enter the rehearsal room, and I could see in the room looks like, ‘Why are you here?’ And I would just smile. But once I start making music, all of us in that room agreed that I’m not there by mistake.”
Charles III, an avid patron of the arts, saw Yende perform at Windsor Castle a year ago during the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th anniversary gala.
And now, the South African soprano will perform “Sacred Fire,” a new piece by British composer Sarah Class, before a worldwide audience of millions.
“It’s a dream come true, because when I found out that I have this incredible gift I wanted to share it with as many people as possible,” Yende said. She added, ““I know that my life will no longer be the same.”
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