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Fuel Subsidy: Patrick Obahiagbon Speaks On Tinubu’s Directive
In a recent interview, Patrick Obahiagbon, renowned politician and former campaign manager, shared his thoughts on various aspects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, including his victory in the presidential election and his stance on fuel subsidy removal.
On the topic of President Tinubu’s position on the removal of fuel subsidy, Obahiagbon expressed his surprise at the criticism.
“Am maniacally bewildered that the righteous position of Mr. President on subsidy has generated some verbal animadversion from some censorious analysts. What did the President say that was new? Mr. President only gave a Presidential obiter dictum to what was already a self-fulfilling reality. It just goes to demonstrate the fact that we are our problems in this country.” He remarked (Most people knew subsidy would be removed so President Tinubu merely did the obvious)
Regarding concerns about Tinubu’s statement causing chaos and panic, Obahiagbon responded, “It verges on hair-splitting and sciamachy for critiques to go to town calumniating Mr. President as being culpable for the pandemonium that greeted his statement when he said at the presidential inauguration that the regime on subsidy has come to an end. He was only echoing a legal reality that the Buhari government has enthroned.
“Has there not been regular chaos in this aspect of our lives before Mr. President’s statement? There was no basis for the chaos following his speech since this was a situation the nation was well aware of. Let us blame our mephistophelian profiteers, philistine carpet baggers, and prebendal homo-sapiens,
“What we need right now is an audacious leader capable of providing himself as a political minesweeper and taking the big decisions. So from that point of view, Mr President’s asseveration on the subsidy indaba was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Obahiagbon asserted. (What he means is that Tinubu’s decision on subsidy is great but we should blame profiteers for the initial chaos)
He further stated that “My sense of fulfillment can be announced at mountain Olympus. The presidential campaign was quite enervating and mentally sapping no doubt but I was not didymusian that we were going to huzzah a political eureka at the terminus ad quem with a clinical and unstoppable presidential victory for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” expressed Obahiagbon confidently when asked about Tinubu’s presidency. (He’s simply saying that he was sure of Tinubu’s victory).
Regarding the claims of flawed election processes made by the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Obahiagbon responded, “The claim by both the LP and PDP that the election was rigged falls flat in the face of a cornucopia of objective realities. So President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had the leverage of rigging the Presidential election and he did not factor in Lagos state in the rigging plan? So there was a rigging agenda and former President Muhammadu Buhari who was then the Commander-in-Chief did not factor in Katsina state in the agenda? So when the Labour Party had a clean sweep in the South East and the Christian middle belt, there was no rigging?
“The truth of the matter is that President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the most politically prepared and as someone who joined other’s in managing the presidential campaigns all over the country, I can pontificate on the fact that he was not only the one who worked the most but he was the only presidential candidate that broke the shackles of meningistinal statism, ethnocentric chauvinism, gangrenous parapoism, syphilitic tribalism and all other fault lines of our national ossification and prebendalism.
“How could the Labour Party have won the election with no national political architecture and how was PDP going to win with its political house enveloped in a state of political topsy-turvydom and especially when it was inebriated in a Frankenstein aqua? (LP didn’t have the structure and PDP was disunited)
When asked about his confidence in Tinubu, Obahiagbon stated, “My great sense of aplomb was situated in political pragmatism and historical realism from the point of view of the fact that it was audible to the deaf and visible to the blind that the People’s Democratic Party came into the contest corrosively decimated, performatively macadamized and centrifugally lacerated that it did not stand any chance.
“It was also pellucid to me that historically speaking, the Labour Party stood a ramshackle chance since it ran its campaign on the marshmallow of ethno-religious fault lines and the whirligig of the prevalent youth recusancy.”
Expressing his confidence in Tinubu’s abilities as President, Obahiagbon stated, “Am supremely confident he has the requisite mental pabulum, the leviathan sense of magnitude, and sheer audacity to take both the right and big decisions that will lift the country from the bootstraps of economic quagmire, political phantasmagoria, and social atrophy.
“His political history also proves that he is a political agglutinant with a gargantuan drive to provide the much-needed anodyne that would heal our pestilential and pestiferous national proclivities.” (He is saying Tinubu will perform)
When it comes to concerns about Tinubu’s age and health, Obahiagbon dismissed them, saying, “Again people are playing god here. Life and health are absolutely in the hands of the Great Architect of the Universe.
“In any case, with my impressions of him during the presidential campaign, he unmistakably comes across as a President that is as fit as a fiddle. Don’t forget that the Presidential campaign was one of the longest in our electoral history, and yet he went through it with a eulogisable regime of mental magnitude and physical agility.
“I don’t worry for his health, and let nobody be thrown into a state of heebie-jeebies on account of that.” (meaning Nigerians should not worry, Tinubu is fit and strong to deliver)
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Music Icon Quincy Jones Passes Away At 91
Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer, composer, and cultural icon whose career spanned over seven decades, has passed away at the age of 91.
Jones died peacefully on Sunday night at his Bel Air home, surrounded by family, according to his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” his family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Renowned for his unmatched versatility, Jones collaborated with some of the greatest musical talents of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Will Smith. He played an integral role in producing Jackson’s groundbreaking albums Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, which catapulted the pop star to global superstardom and earned Jones worldwide acclaim.
READ MORE: JUST IN: Tinubu Swears In Seven Newly-Appointed Ministers
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones’ journey into music began early. His childhood introduction came from a neighbor’s piano playing and his mother’s singing. After moving to Washington state following his parents’ divorce, he honed his skills in his high school band and began playing with a young Ray Charles in Seattle’s vibrant club scene.
Jones’ career took off in New York, where he played trumpet in Elvis Presley’s early TV performances and worked with bebop legends like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. By 1958, he was working with Frank Sinatra, arranging for the singer’s band at the request of Princess Grace Kelly. Their partnership flourished, spanning several projects including Sinatra’s final album LA Is My Lady in 1984.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Jones’ talents extended into film and television scores, composing music for films such as The Italian Job, In the Heat of the Night, and the acclaimed The Color Purple, for which he earned three Oscar nominations. He also scored hit TV shows including The Bill Cosby Show and Roots.
In 1985, Jones produced and co-conducted the charity anthem “We Are the World” alongside Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, raising millions for Ethiopian famine relief. Despite personal and professional challenges—including surviving a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 1974—Jones’s career continued to thrive.
Jones’ influence wasn’t limited to music. In 1990, he founded Quincy Jones Entertainment, the company behind the popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which launched the career of Will Smith. His media ventures also included the creation of Qwest TV, an on-demand music streaming service, and the magazine Vibe, which celebrated Black music and culture.
Over his career, Jones earned 80 Grammy nominations, winning 28—making him one of the most decorated artists in the award’s history. Tributes poured in following news of his death. Actor Michael Caine, who shared Jones’ birthdate, called him “a wonderful and unique human being.” Music artists such as LL Cool J expressed gratitude, saying, “You were a father and example at a time when I truly needed one. Music would not be music without you.”
Jones is survived by his seven children, leaving behind an indelible legacy that will resonate through generations to come. His life’s work transformed music, television, and culture, proving that there truly was no limit to what Quincy Jones could accomplish.
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Prayers Won’t Build Roads, Fund Children’s Education – Jesse Jagz To Nigerians
Singer and rapper Jesse Jagz has called on Nigerians to rethink their approach to religion.
Jagz suggested that African traditional religious gods have become ineffective, attributing this to the excessive alcohol given to them during rituals, which, according to him, has made them obese, diabetic, and unable to aid their worshipers.
Speaking on the ‘Big Talk’ podcast, the rapper also criticized followers of foreign religions for relying solely on prayer and expecting miracles without putting in the necessary effort. He stressed that prayers alone cannot provide essential social services or infrastructure.
READ MORE: SERAP Issues Tinubu 48-Hour Ultimatum Over Detained Minors
“When you go to a shrine and you see the priest pouring gin on the gods, Google how much a bottle of gin was in slavery. 40 slaves.
“Our gods are drunk on alcohol and meat. They are obese and diabetic.
“They can’t help us do anything. Prayers do not build roads or buy books for children. We have forgotten humanity,” he said.
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Presidents Invite Me To Dinner Wherever I Go – Davido Boasts
Renowned Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, known by his stage name Davido, has stated that he receives special treatment globally due to his celebrity status.
The Afrobeats sensation mentioned that he is frequently invited to presidential dinners in nearly every country he visits, with the exception of the United States and the United Kingdom.
In a recent interview with Kiss Fresh London, Davido confidently shared that his fanbase includes influential figures such as the World Bank president, presidents of powerful nations, and other notable personalities.
READ MORE: Sanwo-Olu, Dignitaries Set To Attend Lagos Social Media Hangout
“Every country we go to, the President invites us for dinner except London [United Kingdom] and the United States of America.
“It’s beautiful to see. I mean, leaving my country, Nigeria, and people welcoming me like the president in other countries, shows how well Nigeria is doing around the world in terms of music and cultural impacts,” he said.
Davido has expressed that he feels most respected in Africa, which is why he cherishes his African tours more than those in Europe and America, even though the latter bring him greater financial rewards.
He shared that his Jamaican collaborator, YG Marley, was astonished by the immense admiration from fans when he visited Nigeria for the video shoot of their joint hit, ‘Awuke.’