By Denrele Animasaun

“The day the power of love overules the love of power, the world will know no peace.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Ramadam Kareem one and all

I pray that we all take time to be the best that we can be, be tolerant and extend peace and love to everyone we meet, that through these good deeds we indeed, show the true meaning of being a good Muslim.

In the UK, during the summer months fasting is a long affair that lasts up to 18 hours. We wake up very early and break our fast after nine in the evening.

A few tips for fasting: please consider your health especially if you have diabetes.

A long fast puts you at higher risk of hypoglycaemia and dehydration, which can make you ill. If you choose to fast, then you must speak to your doctor before Ramadan. If after consulting with your doctor, you decide to fast:

If you are taking insulin, you will require less insulin before the start of the fast.

Before starting the fast, you should include more slowly absorbed food (low GI), such as rice, beans, oats,  sweet  potato, millett pap, turkey and chicken along with fruit and vegetables. Do remember to check your blood glucose levels more often than you normally would.

When you break your fast, have only moderate quantities of food, and avoid only eating sweet or fatty foods.  It is tempting to pile it high and eat all that is placed before you. It is better to eat just before sunrise, when you begin the next day’s fast

At the end of each fast you should drink plenty of sugar-free and decaffeinated fluids.

May this holy month of Ramadan, be a month full of blessings and may you be showered peace, joy and prosperity.

Standard bearers
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

I watched with disbelief as our honourable men laid into one another exchanging blows and insults. It was painful to see that our lawmakers and standard bearers behave in such appalling manner. It is not okay. No matter whatever caused the melee there was no need for such thuggery.  There was no saving grace in this ugly display and there were no innocent bystanders. There has to be a collective responsibility placed on our lawmakers to behave in a way that upholds their high office.

They have dishonoured their position, brought it to disrepute and brought shame to those that they represent. Nigeria has descended into a free for all and we have consistently stuck our heads into the sand rather than face the facts that, we, as a people have lost our moral compass.  Sadly, we did not suddenly arrive at  this destination,  it  has been eroding  over decades and the products  of this disgraceful behaviour has  been  the  making of our society when we  choose greed over everything else.  Our leaders are a reflection of our society and at the moment, we need some bitter medicine to make our country regain our values and morality. If I get on my soap box, it is because, it is very difficult not to. When I was growing up we had clear demarcation of responsibility and obligations. We were made to face consequences if we broke them by our values and traditions and by the law of the land. Clearly now, we have blurred lines that make us ungovernable. Some people, it seems, feel that   they are above the law and why wouldn’t they? They are in fact the law!

So back to the Edo State House of Assembly fracas, it has been weeks in the making when in June, the Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Festus Ebea and four other members of the House were suspended for misconduct. It  gets  worse, the  state  Governor Adams Oshiomhole  has  also accused the  PDP of  plotting to  impeach him by leaning heavily on members of the House to bring  down the legislative axe on  his office.   According to report, the speaker of the House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe, was also suspended by members of the PDP lawmakers when they stormed the Assembly complex in an unmarked bus and broke into the hallowed ground with the assistance of a mobile police. After their suspension was announced the four lawmakers and five other members of the State House met to declare their innocence that they have been suspended without an offence. One of the suspended lawmakers, Friday Ogieriakhi, told waiting reporters that they would only obey orders from a competent court, dismissing a court order that had restricted them from entering the premises of the assembly. While another suspended lawmaker, Fetus Ebea bemoaned that their offices had been locked, since the court order was issued.

Mr  Ogieriakhi of the Peoples Democratic Party, said he was not aware of the ‘alleged misconduct’ they were accused of that led to their suspension, that he and his colleagues should have been given fair hearing. Mr Ogieriakhi said that the suspension was unexpected and described it as a development that had showed the “monstrosity of the kind of tyranny that the state lawmakers were dealing with in Edo State under the leadership of the governor, Adams Oshiomhole”. He went on to say that, “It is so unfortunate that lawmakers, because of loyalty to party, would lend themselves to this kind of shame. For you to punish a man, the man should be given fair hearing. No form of trial or hearing was given to my colleagues and I who were allegedly suspended. “For all we know, these honourable members were just acting out the script of their pay master who is in Osadebe Avenue. I am not aware of any misconduct we were accused of,” he said.

So fast forward few weeks and in full view of the media, while the court bailiff attempted to serve the contempt proceedings on the four lawmakers. Trouble ensued as they insisted on going into the House regardless. So we watched with horror as our honourable men, and I mean, MEN, insisted that they would go in to the house despite the suspension and the injunction from the courts.  They laid it in  to one another and exchanging  blows with other members who were equally  determined  that  the four members  would not  come in. Clearly  things  have  not been  right  with  the  house  for a while and this has descended into free for all  and  tardy disgrace and display of  violence and aggression. It is very disquieting that recently the police are becoming a savoury arm of the rent a mob and our politicians are now resorting in this repugnant power play.  Like I said, none of our lawmakers can come out of this blemish free unless, they get their house in order. We the people are being down the creek without a paddle.  For those apologists, there is no excuse and the usual finger pointing and laying the blame elsewhere simply would not do.  This is the height of bad manners, gutter politics and jungle government.
The State Commissioner of Police, Foluso Adebanjo, has addressed reporters and tried to calm their tension as the crisis deepens.

The crisis has caused the state assembly to stop the process of law making, but Mr Ogieriakhi said that the way forward would be for the other house members to purge themselves of the very disrespectful conduct that they embarked upon.