Have you ever wondered how veteran actors,
Joke Silva and Olu Jacobs have kept their marriage intact for many
years? If not, then you might pick something from his experience and
probably make use of it.
Marriages nowadays, especially of those
in the showbiz industry, do not stand the test of time anymore. It is
almost worse in Nollywood, where divorce is now a common thing.
Olu
Jacobs, in a recent interview with The Nation, disclosed that the
reason why many unions fail today is because people do not understand
the meaning of the vow they made on their wedding; ‘for better or worse,
for richer or poorer.’
In his real words, “Like I said, you don’t
get married to come out of it. The words; ‘for better or worse, for
richer or poorer’ are not mere words. They are not said for nothing.
“When
you enter into marriage, you don’t think of coming out of it. That is
why some people cannot mentally recover from it again, because they keep
thinking about it. And that is why you have to safeguard yourself. This
can only be achieved by knowing the kind of friends you keep.”
He
said further that, “People will come to tell you stories, even if you
find out it is true, you will be the one to deal with it and apply
wisdom.
“As a married person, you are now thinking for two. You
cannot take any independent decision because no decision you take should
be for yourself alone. Communicating helps a lot, once you are talking,
it solves a lot of things.”
Nigerian entertainer, Waje Iruobe, is one
singer that has bonded well with most of her teeming fans because of how
she interacts with them regularly unlike other celebrities.
The Edo State-born artiste, while responding to a question thrown at her by Nigeriafilms.com, said she is giving marriage a thought, but at God's appointed time.
Waje,
speaking further on her kind of man as husband, said, "If I marry a boy
oh yes he will be scared but a man won't be scared because he will be
proud of who I am."
But the singer emphasised that by the time she
finally settles for her dream man, she will never accept to be a full
housewife, but continue to be a career woman.
Being sexually molested can leave an
indelible pain or affect the psychology of its victim. This is why those
living with such horrible experiences find it difficult to relate with
the opposite s3x except he or she goes through some counseling.
It
is no news that popular actress, Foluke Daramola Salako went through
such. But since she summed up the courage to speak up about it, she has
taken it upon herself to help other victims.
After her first marriage failed, she got married to a social activist, Kayode Salako.
Speaking with Nigeriafilms.com
and other journalists at his wife’s movie premiere and launch of her
foundation, Salako said even if Foluke’s rape incident had produced a
child, he would have still cared for the child like his own.
Salako
said based on his level of education and exposure, there was no way he
would hold his wife responsible for what happened to her while she was a
teenager, which she had no control over.
According to him, “I am a
liberally inclined person, very realistic to the core, I am
educationally inclined and things like that don’t bother me at all.
“Whether
she is a r@pe victim or not, what I am going to say is that I didn’t
meet her a v*rgin and the only painful aspect of it is that she was
introduced to sex against her own consent or wish, which is very bad
enough, that is the only aspect of the experience I don’t like.
“But
as a victim of sexual molestation, that doesn’t bother me at all
because it didn’t take her life and she is still normal and okay. The
only thing it affected her was that it affected her physiologically at a
time, a period of her life, but I did not meet her in it.
“She
had come out of it before we met and the two of us have lived normally
and perfectly together you won’t even know that she is a rape victim if
she didn’t tell you.”
When asked if he would have still cared had
she been pregnant and went ahead to give birth to the child, the
actress’ husband said, “If I can be a father to her two children she
brought into our marriage, then if by that circumstance, I have to love
and accept her and whatever she has as a child must also be accepted.
“Though
I might not be happy that my wife was bringing a child that she doesn’t
know the father to my house, but let me tell you something please,
every human being has its own life to live and that child too has his
own life to live and it’s not compulsory that every child must have
parents.
“What is compulsory is that every child must have a life
and once the child she is bringing to me has a life and it is her own, I
must love her in that circumstance and so she becomes my child, that’s
all, nothing changes.
“I have told you, I am a liberally inclined
person, I don’t attach meanings to the way a typical African man
attaches meaning to things. That is why Foluke Daramola has been
enjoying me and I have been enjoying her too; we are both liberally
inclined.
Hurray, happy days and tears of joy is now
moving in the home of Nollywood’s actress, Uche Jombo, as she and her
husband finally welcomes their baby boy.
The actress baby has been
long expected as many had some weeks back rumoured that she had put to
bed but finally the waiting is over as she welcomed the baby late last
night, May 28th, 2015, in the morning.
Fans had flocked her social
media page to send congratulatory messages to the actress as she has
already named the baby, Matthew.
In her words, “Baby matthew is
here! Just one look at him and the world is alright with me! Yeah it’s a
lovely day! Thank you Jesus! Thank you ALL for your prayers! We are
grateful and thankful for this gift of life.#gemini baby #May 28th.”
Inaugural speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu
Buhari following his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria on 29th May, 2015
I am immensely grateful to God Who Has preserved us to witness this
day and this occasion. Today marks a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion
to celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. Nigerians have
shown their commitment to democracy and are determined to entrench its
culture. Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination
of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a
truly democratically elected government in place.
I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of
statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people
proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and
cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it
possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in
the land we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for
our nation. Together we co-operated to surprise the world that had come
to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously
accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of
political conduct in the country.
I would like to thank the millions of our supporters who believed in
us even when the cause seemed hopeless. I salute their resolve in
waiting long hours in rain and hot sunshine to register and cast their
votes and stay all night if necessary to protect and ensure their votes
count and were counted. I thank those who tirelessly carried the
campaign on the social media. At the same time, I thank our other
countrymen and women who did not vote for us but contributed to make our
democratic culture truly competitive, strong and definitive.
I thank all of you.
Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians.
I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.
A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to
office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be
no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.
Our neighbours in the Sub-region and our African brethenen should
rest assured that Nigeria under our administration will be ready to play
any leadership role that Africa expects of it. Here I would like to
thank the governments and people of Cameroon, Chad and Niger for
committing their armed forces to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria.
I also wish to assure the wider international community of our
readiness to cooperate and help to combat threats of cross-border
terrorism, sea piracy, refugees and boat people, financial crime, cyber
crime, climate change, the spread of communicable diseases and other
challenges of the 21st century.
At home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive
corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and
power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them
head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national
responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism.
We can fix our problems.
In recent times Nigerian leaders appear to have misread our mission.
Our founding fathers, Mr Herbert Macauley, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Malam Aminu Kano, Chief J.S. Tarka, Mr Eyo Ita,
Chief Denis Osadeby, Chief Ladoke Akintola and their colleagues worked
to establish certain standards of governance. They might have differed
in their methods or tactics or details, but they were united in
establishing a viable and progressive country. Some of their successors
behaved like spoilt children breaking everything and bringing disorder
to the house.
Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind ourselves that we are heirs
to great civilizations: Shehu Othman Dan fodio’s caliphate, the Kanem
Borno Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin Empire and King Jaja’s
formidable domain. The blood of those great ancestors flow in our veins.
What is now required is to build on these legacies, to modernize and
uplift Nigeria.
Daunting as the task may be it is by no means insurmountable. There
is now a national consensus that our chosen route to national
development is democracy. To achieve our objectives we must consciously
work the democratic system. The Federal Executive under my watch will
not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of the Legislative and
Judicial arms of government. The law enforcing authorities will be
charged to operate within the Constitution. We shall rebuild and reform
the public service to become more effective and more serviceable. We
shall charge them to apply themselves with integrity to stabilize the
system.
For their part the legislative arm must keep to their brief of making
laws, carrying out over-sight functions and doing so expeditiously. The
judicial system needs reform to cleanse itself from its immediate past.
The country now expects the judiciary to act with dispatch on all cases
especially on corruption, serious financial crimes or abuse of office.
It is only when the three arms act constitutionally that government will
be enabled to serve the country optimally and avoid the confusion all
too often bedeviling governance today.
Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the States have to be clarified
if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally there are
limits to powers of each of the three tiers of government but that
should not mean the Federal Government should fold its arms and close
its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments. Not
least the operations of the Local Government Joint Account.
While the
Federal Government can not interfere in the details of its operations it
will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As
far as the constitution allows me I will try to ensure that there is
responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in
the country. For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian
people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch.
However, no matter how well organized the governments of the
federation are they can not succeed without the support, understanding
and cooperation of labour unions, organized private sector, the press
and civil society organizations. I appeal to employers and workers alike
to unite in raising productivity so that everybody will have the
opportunity to share in increased prosperity. The Nigerian press is the
most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media today – and this includes
the social media – is to exercise its considerable powers with
responsibility and patriotism.
My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we
are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices,
leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will
require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate
challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta
situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young
people. For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our
education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to
upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.
The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made
in recent weeks by our security forces but victory can not be achieved
by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre
will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely
subdued. But we can not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without
rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by
insurgents.
This government will do all it can to rescue them alive. Boko Haram
is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric
and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame
and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police.
Since then through official bungling, negligence, complacency or
collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying force taking tens of thousands
of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of
Nigerian sovereign territory.
Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away from
Islam as one can think of. At the end of the hostilities when the group
is subdued the Government intends to commission a sociological study to
determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its
sponsors, the international connexions to ensure that measures are taken
to prevent a reccurrence of this evil. For now the Armed Forces will be
fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko haram. We shall
overhaul the rules of engagement to avoid human rights violations in
operations. We shall improve operational and legal mechanisms so that
disciplinary steps are taken against proven human right violations by
the Armed Forces.
Boko Haram is not only the security issue bedeviling our country. The
spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle
rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in our land.
We are going to erect and maintain an efficient, disciplined people –
friendly and well – compensated security forces within an over – all
security architecture.
The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is due to end in December,
but the Government intends to invest heavily in the projects, and
programmes currently in place. I call on the leadership and people in
these areas to cooperate with the State and Federal Government in the
rehabilitation programmes which will be streamlined and made more
effective. As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow
Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring
peace and build prosperity for our people.
No single cause can be identified to explain Nigerian’s poor economic
performance over the years than the power situation. It is a national
shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and
distributes even less. Continuous tinkering with the structures of power
supply and distribution and close on $20b expanded since 1999 have only
brought darkness, frustration, misery, and resignation among Nigerians.
We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during
this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective
way to bring light and relief to Nigerians.
Unemployment, notably youth un-employment features strongly in our
Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the problem frontally through
revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining as well as credits to
small and medium size businesses to kick – start these enterprises. We
shall quickly examine the best way to revive major industries and
accelerate the revival and development of our railways, roads and
general infrastructure.
Your Excellencies, My fellow Nigerians I can not recall when Nigeria
enjoyed so much goodwill abroad as now. The messages I received from
East and West, from powerful and small countries are indicative of
international expectations on us. At home the newly elected government
is basking in a reservoir of goodwill and high expectations. Nigeria
therefore has a window of opportunity to fulfill our long – standing
potential of pulling ourselves together and realizing our mission as a
great nation.
Our situation somehow reminds one of a passage in Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar
There is a tide in the affairs of men which,
taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life,
Is bound in shallows and miseries.
We have an opportunity. Let us take it.
Thank you.
Muhammadu Buhari
President Federal Republic of NIGERIA
and Commander in-chief-of the Armed forces
