Lagos State

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Senator David Mark, former President of the Nigerian Senate, has lost his first son to cancer. 

Special Adviser to David Mark, Paul Mumeh, announced the demise of David Mark’s son on Friday in a statement

According to Mr Mumeh, Tunde Jonathan Mark died in a London hospital on Friday while surrounded by loved ones and family members. 

The statement reads : 

“Tunde Jonathan Mark, son of former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has died in a London hospital on Friday morning.

Tunde, who died after a long battle with cancer, was the first son of the former President of the Senate.

Born on the 13th of October, 1971, Tunde attended Yaba Military School, located in Yaba, Lagos, where he obtained his first school leaving certificate.

He later proceeded to Bradfield College, Berkshire, UK, where he attended Secondary school.

Tunde is a Biochemist who obtained a B.Sc degree from Kings College, London. He studied immunology alongside biochemistry and later Biological Sciences at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was married with a daughter.

He passed away peacefully, surrounded by family members and loved ones.

Funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, disclosed that it has intercepted 2.4 million tramadol pills from Pakistan at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos

NDLEA Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, announced the seizure of the drug in a statement released on Sunday, October 9, 2022.

According to the spokesperson, the drugs were intercepted by the agency’s operatives at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport on Friday

He also said the drug weighs 2,356kg and the value is estimated to be 1.4 billion naira

“Desperate attempts by the tramadol drug cartel to smuggle into Nigeria over two million four hundred and sixty-five thousand (2, 465, 000) tablets of the pharmaceutical opioid in 225mg and 250mg, weighing two thousand, three hundred and fifty six kilograms (2,356kgs) with an estimated street value of one billion, forty million naira (N1, 040, 000, 000) through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos have been foiled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA),” the statement reads.

The NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers for their great works and advised them to remain “steadfast, resolute and unrelenting until the last gram of illicit drugs is taken away from the streets of Nigeria”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Reports from Lagos indicate that the supporters of the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) roamed the state’s major roads and caused a gridlock. 

The supporters were said to have taken the streets as a solidarity rally for the candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

The former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu Akinsanya, announced on Sunday. 

He said, “Many vehicles struggled to make their way as the crowd occupied a significant portion of the road.

The Daily Reality recalls that this is coming after the supporters of the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, marched on various streets of Lagos last week.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) for not having a valid presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections. 

The National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Debo Ologunagba, disclosed this on Saturday while addressing the party’s conference on Saturday. 

However, the challenge appeared to have been unfavourable and did not sit well with the APC and Tinubu supporters. 

By Uzair Adam Imam

Reports from Lagos have disclosed that Dr Idris Salako, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, has resigned.

At the time of filing this report, the reason for his resignation was not known as he did not mention it in a letter to the Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.

However, some people believed that Saloko’s resignation must not be unconnected with the recurring collapse of buildings in the state.

The Daily Really gathered several buildings have collapsed in the state, including a 21-storey building on Gérard road in Ikoyi, Ikoyi, that collapsed last year in November.

It was learned that the traumatic incidents had led to the deaths of a number of innocent souls, including the owners, as of last year November in Ikoyi.

On Sunday, 4th September 2022, the seven-storey building under construction on Oba Idowu Oniru Street, Lagos, collapsed, killing four persons and leaving four others injured.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has, however, accepted the resignation of Dr Salako.

• Title: Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad

• Author: Damilare Kuku

• Genre: Fiction

• Date of Publication: 2021

• Page: 198
• Publisher: Masobe Books

• Reviewer: Aliyu Idris

It is the author’s debut. It entails twelve short stories narrated in cooperative narration; almost every story revolves around a subject regarding the woman or feminine gender.

From the book title, you may sense that it’s questionable, derogatory and disrespectful to men. However, the book exposes the sufferings of women and how the men of Lagos behave, especially towards women. It involves the story of sacrifice, endurance, rape, patriarchy and phallocentric, deceit and betrayal. Women are presented as saints. But, as it happens in reality, some characters found in some stories are the reason for their suffering.

Another crucial issue highlighted and promoted in the book is the concept of feminism. Just like contemporary feminists, I am not flabbergasted to find out that one of the author’s inspirations to produce the book is a feminist (Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie).

Almost every female writer who writes in any genre of literature promotes feminism right from the 19th and 20th-century feminists such as Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, and Kate Millet down to the present-day feminists.

Because contemporary feminist writers do not stick to one feminist ideology but many subcategories. For instance, every story in the book has a different class of feminist ideology. For example, the first story titled “Cuck-Up” uses Amazon feminism to potray how defiant women are despite appearing weak and passive.

The last story in the book, “Independence Day,”  uses cultural feminism, showing women’s kindness and gentility.

Eco-feminism in the story “Anointed Wife” emphasises that patriarchial societies are detrimental to women.

Charles E Brazzler, in his book Literary Criticism An Introduction to Theory and Practice Fifth Edition, asserts that it’s the view of contemporary feminists that subjugation of women still exists worldwide. Issues such as rape, prostitution, social injustice, early marriages, polygamy etc., the feminist writers continue to add their voices to protest through their pens and papers.

It should be noted that feminism has been broadly international in scope, and many local and general factors dictate its disposition. For example, writers from Arab traditions such as Fatima Mernissi and Leila Ahmed have attempted to articulate a feminist vision distinctly marked by their specific cultural concerns. The same is true of African-American feminists such as Alice Walker and feminists of Asian heritage such as Gayatri Spivak (Habib 2005:669).

By Muhsin Ibrahim

Biyi Bandale’s death was announced via a Facebook statement signed by his daughter, Temi Bandele.

Born in Kaduna to Yoruba parents, Bandele, 54, was the director of the movie adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s classic novel, Half of a Yellow Sun; Blood Sisters, among other remarkable works.

Last month, Bandele, who also wrote novels and directed plays in the UK, Nigeria and other places, announced the release of his new film, Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, a Netflix-Ebony Lifefilm production.

At the time of this report, the cause of his death is not yet clear.

“As Biyi’s daughter, I am heartbroken to share the sudden and unexpected death on Sunday 7th of August in Lagos of my father Biyi Bandele.

Biyi was a prodigiously talented writer and film-maker, as well as a loyal friend and beloved father. He was a storyteller to his bones, with an unblinking perspective, singular voice and wisdom which spoke boldly through all of his art, in poetry, novels, plays and on screen. He told stories which made a profound impact and inspired many all over the world. His legacy will live on through his work.

He was taken from us much too soon. He had already said so much so beautifully, and had so much more to say.

We ask everyone to please respect the privacy of his family and friends as we grieve his loss.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Tension rocks the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party’s presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, allegedly obtained no primary and secondary school certificates. 

However, Tinubu insisted that he had two degrees from two American universities. Yet, he stated that the certificates were stolen by unknown soldiers during the military junta of the 1990s.

The Daily Reality gathered that the information was in an affidavit submitted by Tinubu to the INEC office as part of his eligibility filings for the 2023 presidential elections.

The documents released Friday by the electoral body showed that Tinubu completely left the columns for his primary and secondary schools unmarked.

Additionally, the latest claims by Tinubu in his submission to INEC reportedly contradicted the previous submissions of 1999 and 2003 when contested as a governorship candidate in Lagos state.

It was gathered that Tinubu allegedly claimed in 1999 and 2003 that he attended primary and secondary schools.

He indicated that he attended St. Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, between 1958 and 1964 and secondary school at the Government College, Ibadan, between 1965 and 1968.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Lagos Campus of the Nigerian Law School is set to discipline a student for drinking water from a bottle instead of a cup provided at the Law School Dinner table. 

A query letter making round on social media, dated June 20, 2022, and signed by one Mrs Fagbemi Charity Titilayo on behalf of the Lagos Campus’ Director & Head of Academics, disclosed the development. 

“It has been reported by the Director and head of Academics on June 16 2022, that while the Law Dinner was ongoing in the Dining Hall, you were found putting a bottle of water in your mouth when a glass cup was on your table ” Part of the query letter reads. 

The query letter further demanded that the student explain that disciplinary actions should not be taken regarding the unprofessional behaviour. 

“Consequently, you are requested to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against you for violating Rule 6 (29) of the Code of Conduct of Students of Nigerian Law School on dinner etiquette and manners”, The letter reads. 

Although, at the time of fielding this report, the Nigerian Law School has yet to confirm or denounce the development. However, the Nigerian Law School is known for their strict adherence to written basic rules and etiquette. It is universally believed that good character and an uncompromising sense of decorum make a lawyer.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Lagos State’s ban on female Muslim pupils attending public schools in the state wearing the hijab was overturned by the Supreme Court on Friday.

In a 5–2 split ruling, the Supreme Court maintained the Court of Appeal, Lagos judgement from July 21, 2016, which overturned Justice Grace Onyeabo’s October 17, 2014 decision from the High Court of Lagos State.

The lead majority judge, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, dismissed the Lagos State appeal against the 2016 decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, because it lacked merit. 

Justice Tijani Abubakar read the lead majority judge’s decision on Friday.

Wearing the hijab in the Yoruba-dominated region, which is a mixture of Muslims and Christians, has been causing a lot of controversies.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has announced that 256 new people have been diagnosed with the deadly Coronavirus in the country.

The NCDC disclosed 52 new cases of the virus on their verified Facebook page on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. This brought the total number of confirmed cases within one week to 256. 

The 52 new cases were reported in Lagos, Rivers, FCT and Delta State. While Lagos tops the chart of states with most cases, others like Imo and Kano featured prominently in the reported diagnosis.

According to the NCDC report, the 52 new patients made the total number of people confirmed to be affected with the virus to 256 404, while the total number of discharged patients was put at 250,137. The number of people who were confirmed to have died due to the virus was put at 3,144. This made the fatality rate about 3% of the total confirmed cases. 

However, many Nigerians do not believe in the existence of Coronavirus, and this poses a significant challenge to the administration of vaccines. Many others believe in its existence but are sceptical of the situation being used as a conduit pipe for government officials to divert public funds.