Governor Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the former Lagos State Governor and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot extend his political empire to Edo State as Edo people are determined to end the godfatherism in the state.
The governor who spoke in a statement by Crusoe Osagie, his media aide on Tuesday, Osagie said “Our attention has been drawn to a television broadcast in which a former Lagos State Governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his quest to extend his political dominance and empire to Edo State, decided to take over the role of Edo people to choose through the ballot who to govern them for the next four years.”
Osagie noted: “It has become obvious that the spirited fight which Edo people have put up against godfatherism has sent tremors beyond the shores of Edo to the likes of Tinubu, who has for years sustained a stranglehold on Lagos and other states in South Western Nigeria, hence this desperate, last ditch effort to rescue the unproductive political instrument, now popularly referred to as godfatherism, with which he has feathered his nest and built his political empire at the expense of the people.”
Stressing that Edo people are committed to ending godfatherism in the state, he said: “Tinubu knows clearly that come September 19, when godfatherism would have been dismantled in Edo State, the people of Lagos may just have found the recipe and formula for removing the chokehold placed on their collective destinies for decades by Tinubu, hence the inciting television broadcast.
Nigerian lesbian movie “Ife” dares Censors Board, set for release
Nigerian lesbian movie “Ife” produced by Pamela Adie and directed by Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim is set for release despite stern warning from Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) that the film (which means “love” in Yoruba language violates the country’s strict laws on homosexuality.
But according to a report by BBC, the filmmakers are determined to get the film across to the Nigerian audience. To get around, the report says the filmmakers are planning a surprise online release to catch the regulators off-guard. However, according to BBC in its report, the Censors Board is well aware and diligently monitoring all digital platforms to checkmate the release of the movie. According to the Censors Board boss, Adebayo Thomas, both the producer and the director, and indeed all involved in the film could be risking jail terms of 14 years sentence for promoting homosexuality in a country where same-sex relationships are forbidden.
BBC in the report says the filmmakers are planning a private screening in Lagos at the end of the month for which they feel they do not need the nod of the regulators to go ahead. It was also reported that the film is being billed for international premiere in Canada in October of this year. BBC quotes the producer, Adie as saying the film was to show an accurate picture of lesbian and bisexual women in Nigerian movies If a lesbian woman does appear in a standard Nollywood movie they are often portrayed as being possessed, influenced by bad friends or forced into homosexuality and always needing “saving”, she told the BBC. “You rarely see stories about LGBT people, especially about queer women that speak to the realities of our lives. “Ife was made to bridge the gap and to get the conversation going in Nigeria.”