Nigeria's reclusive billionaire

Chief Antonio Oladeinde Fernandez

By DAVID K. SODEINDE - CC

He is 76 years old. He is a billionaire with 6 Private Jets. He also owns a Chateau in France, once occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte, former Emperor of France.

Welcome to the world of one of Africa’s richest men: HIS EXCELLENCY, CHIEF ANTONIO OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative.

When it comes to the most impressive and exuberant display of the splendor of wealth, Fernandez's style is second to none. The name ‘Fernandez’ is Portuguese in origin and delineates the popular Fernandez family of Lagos. 

Historical accounts show that the Fernandez family were originally descendants of freed Africans that had been enslaved in Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language. Some of the first modern-styled buildings in Lagos were built by the Fernandez's and these buildings are known for their spectacular Brazilian architecture. 

Portuguese navigators were also the first European explorers to reach Lagos State. Actually, they gave the state the name 'Lagos'.

Recently, Ovation Magazine did a 40-page spread on the reclusive billionaire. 

Outside view of his Yacht 'YEMOJA'

Even though he is a Nigerian, he has held the following positions across Africa:

-Permanent Representative of Central African Republic at the United Nations   

-Special Adviser to the President of Mozambique on International Economic Matters   

-Ambassador-at-Large for the Republic of Togo and Angola.

-Consul for the Republic of Benin  

-Special Adviser to the Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos (still holds this position)

-Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN

-Deputy Minister of Finance in the Kingdom of Swaziland

Chief Fernandez is well educated, with degrees from Cambridge and Columbia and 

has extensive connections with renowned global political and business leaders, including

Nelson Mandela and George Walker Bush.

His career has however not being without controversy as his long track record of 
"unconventional" business deals have made him powerful enemies, particularly in Nigeria.

His personal fortune is from bauxite, oil and diamond exports but his net worth (said to be
anywhere from $10 to $50 billion remains shrouded in mystery.

The Yoruba High Chief prefers it that way.....

Nigeria Special Forces kill 14 Boko Haram terrorists in Kano

Nigeria Special Forces - JTF

By DAVID K. SODEINDE - CC

Nigeria Army Special Forces on Sunday averted another major attack by terrorists in Kano by raiding their hideouts at Unguwa Uku area of the ancient city.

Acting on key intelligence tip off, the Special Forces unit intercepted a Volkswagen Golf, primed with explosives, which some terrorists had wanted to use and wreck havoc during the Easter celebration in the city.

Residents of the area said the soldiers thereafter invaded a compound housing the suspected terrorists but were greeted with explosions. They added that the operatives who were not deterred exchanged gunfire with the terrorists for about four hours.

The spokesperson for the Special Forces, Ikedi Iweha, was quoted as saying that they killed 14 Boko Haram suspects in the raid.

The Commander 3 Motorised Brigade, Bukavu Barracks, Kano, Brig.-Gen. Iliyasu Abba, confirmed the incident.

"My men on search operations in the wee hours of this (Sunday) morning at Layin Yan'awaki, Ungwa - Uku general area suddenly came under fire from terrorists that triggered a gunfire," he said while conducting journalists round the scene.

"It was an opportunity to demonstrate our superior fire power, and the gallant officers and men gave a good account of themselves but unfortunately we lost one of our soldiers and another one was injured."

As of 4 pm local time on Sunday, the area was still cordoned off by security operatives.

Many panic-stricken Christians could not summon courage to attend Easter service in their churches despite the high presence of security operatives in the metropolis. Churches like Our Lady of Fatima, St Louis, St Thomas's, St Stephen's, St Georges and Holy Trinity had low turn out of worshipers while others simply did not open.

Before the raid, security operatives and policemen had been deployed in strategic locations in the city. 

Armoured Personnel Carriers were also seen patrolling the flash points.

In Jos, Plateau State, the much-advertised rally to mark the end of the Easter festivities did not hold as church leaders advised their followers to go back to their homes and celebrate quietly.

Many of them had gathered in front of the headquarters of the Church Of Christ In Nigeria to begin the procession that would have terminated at the Rwang Pam Stadium when they were given the advice.

The rally, which was organised by the state branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria, was abandoned after the police warned against it.

There had been clashes in the suburbs of the city, which had necessitated a high security alert.

However, in his Sunday Easter message at the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, urged Christians not to see the end of the Lenten period as a time to go back to their old ways, but to continue to allow the spirit of Christ to be in them.

He admonished them to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness, which the period signifies.

"All the troubles we have in Nigeria is because we have not allowed the spirit of Christ to take charge of our lives. Therefore, as we celebrate Easter, we should look up at that Cross of Calvary, where Christ hung more than 2,000 years ago and reflect on the essence of that sacrifice," the cleric said.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Chris Olakpe, has called on warring parties to shun hatred and to come out for genuine dialogue in order to curb the growing insecurity in the state.

Olakpe stated this on Sunday in Jos when Isoko people living in Jos hosted him.

Earlier, the President of Isoko Development Union in Plateau State, Mr. Ezekiel Udubrae, had said the Isoko would avail the commissioner with any information that would enable him succeed in the state.

Time to leave Tiger alone and let him be.....

Tiger Woods

Sunday Viewpoint - CC Chief Editor

Legendary golfer Tiger Woods recently reclaimed his top ranking in the Golf World and NIKE promptly put out a marketing ad titled "Winning Takes Care of Everything".

As expected, this has created some controversy as there are those who feel this sends the "wrong message" that Tiger cheating on his wife (leading to their divorce) was not such a bad thing after all.

Now, if you were someone that had been on Mars for the last 3-4 years, you would be inclined to ask what exactly Tiger did to warrant most of the venom being spewed his way and rather sadly, some of it virulently racially motivated (a visit to the Yahoo comments section of a Tiger Woods story will give credence to this assertion).

The fact of the matter is that Tiger has been a rather contentious personality to the two aisles of the historical racial spectrum in America - white and black. To many blacks, long before his fall from grace a couple of years ago, he was never accepted as one of them, mostly due to the fact that Tiger himself never identified with African-Americans as his famous Caublinasian rant a while back seemed to lay credence to the latter assertion.

To whites however, Tiger was never a "problem" or so they thought until he showed his true colors with his serial affairs while being married to his blonde Swedish wife, a former nanny of Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik.

While no one (including this writer) is condoning what Woods did to his family, it smacks of high-handed criticism that a broad American populace that is exposed to the rather frequent amoral forays of Hollywood and its elected officials (including one former president at least) feels this man has no right to pick up the pieces of his life and get a fresh start.

Tiger Woods had an affair on his wife, like probably 60% of men and women in this morally lax society where marriage vows actually mean nothing and to continually crucify him as if he committed high crimes and misdemeanors is really quite troubling and at best, befuddling.

President Clinton never apologized to the American people as Tiger did and I am actually one of the many reasonable folks that felt he owed nobody an apology except his former wife and immediate family members.

Tiger did make amends to his wife and his family, with the former more than well compensated for the hurt he caused her, although no amount of money really can make up for the humiliation she and her children were subjected to.

Having had the opportunity to watch Tiger since he burst onto the scene 16 odd years ago and captured the imagination of the world (not just the golfing world), it is quite heart-warming to see that he remains the same person he has always been - secure in his own skin and accepting of all God's children, regardless of race, creed or color.

As the highly respected Clarence Page stated in his PBS piece a while back, "Tiger Woods doesn't just play golf; he upsets the game. He upsets a lot of games; like the color game, an ancient American game, Tiger is a person of colors, all colors."

It is indeed time to leave Tiger alone and let him be.

Nigeria's Golden Eaglets defeat Raul's Al Saad

The famous Aspire Academy in Doha

From the CC SPORTS DESK

Nigeria's Under-17 national team yesterday defeated Qatari Premier League side, Al Saad by one goal to nil at the majestic Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

The Qatari currently features the all-time goals leader in the UEFA Champions League competition, as well as Real Madrid and Spain legend, Raul Gonzalez.

The Golden Eaglets are currently touring Qatar and are guests at the famous Aspire Academy (pictured above) and also recently thrashed the team from the latter by seven goals to one.

The tour is part of their preparation for the CAN U-17 Championship in Morocco from April 13-27.

Africa is expected to send four team to the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year in the United Arab Emirates.

Nigeria has won the U-17 World Cup a record three times with all their triumphs coming on the Asian continent - 1985, 1993 and 2007 in China, Japan and Korea respectively.

This current team is said to probably be the most talented in the history of the Golden Eaglets having scored a whopping twenty-one goals while conceding just one, in the qualifying series for the African zone.

Nigeria's Flying Eagles likely to face Portugal at FIFA U-20 World Cup

From the CC SPORTS DESK

Nigeria's junior national team and current African Youth Champions, beat their Malian counterparts by two goals to one, in the third place match of the ongoing African Youth Championship.

The Flying Eagles, as the team is fondly called, thus claimed bronze at the cadet tournament and will likely play in Group B at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, later this year in Turkey.

Their opponents in that group will include Cuba, Korea Republic and Portugal.

The Flying Eagles lost the opportunity to defend their African title which they have won a record six times, when they lost to their Egyptian counterparts earlier in the week, in the tournament semi-final.

The final will be played later today between Egypt and Ghana but all four semi-finalists have already qualified for the World Cup in Turkey.

Nigeria has never won the FIFA U-20 World Cup having lost twice in the finals in 1989 and 2005 to Portugal and Argentina respectively.

Russia urges restraint from both sides of the Korean standoff

From the CC GLOBAL DESK

MOSCOW – Russia cautioned against aggressive posturing in response to increasingly bellicose North Korean rhetoric on Friday, saying that it could spiral into violence.

"We are alarmed that along with the adequate reaction from the UN Security Council and the collective reaction of the international community, unilateral action is being taken around North Korea that involves increased military activity,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opined after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara.

Lavrov did not single out any specific country, but urged all sides involved in the Korean standoff to exercise restraint.

This appeared to be a reference to the recent flare-up in tensions between Pyongyang and Washington in the wake of joint US-South Korean military exercises close to the border.

South Korea and the United States began annual large-scale military exercises, code-named Key Resolve, on March 11. The drills involve 10,000 South Korean and 3,500 US troops.

Prior to the exercises, Pyongyang threatened the United States with a preemptive nuclear strike amid warnings that it plans to terminate the Korean War Armistice Agreement.

It warned of retaliatory action if the United States and South Korea went ahead with the drills.

The United States on Thursday dispatched two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on an “extended deterrence” practice run over South Korea.

US officials said the exercise should serve “to demonstrate very clearly the resolve of the United States to deter against aggression on the Korean Peninsula.”

North Korea responded on Friday by placing its strategic rocket forces on standby to strike US and South Korean targets.

Nigeria's Service Chiefs say plot to bomb Lagos was real

Admiral Ola Ibrahim - Nigeria's CJCS

From the CC GLOBAL DESK

The threat to bomb Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, reverberated in Abuja yesterday when service chiefs briefed the Senate on the spate of insecurity in the country. 

Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, led the service chiefs into the chamber after the public gallery was cleared. Led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Sa'ad Ola Ibrahim, Lt. Gen Azubuike Ihejirika (Army) Vice Admiral Ezeoba Dele (Navy), Air Marshal Alex Badeh (Air Force), and Mr. Ita Ekpeyong of the Department of State Security (DSS), they all briefed the Senate behind closed doors. The briefing took over six hours.

CC gathered that the service chiefs confirmed to bewildered senators that the plan by the terrorist group Boko Haram to bomb Lagos, was real. A source said: Security agents and stakeholders fear that should Lagos be hit, being the commercial nerve center of the country, there is no telling what the response from the South-West would be…" The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, was absent at the meeting.

He was initially represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Administration), Suleiman Fakai, who may have been rejected by the Senate. Already incensed that the IGP did not honour the invitation, Senate President David Mark reportedly wondered why the most immediate senior officer, the DIG (Operations) did not represent Abubakar at the briefing. Fakai told the Senators that the DIG (Operations) was at a meeting with a minister only to amend it later that he was also going to brief President Goodluck Jonathan.

Senators at the executive session told CC that this excuse may not have gone down well with Mark, who told Fakai that the Senate would not take kindly to the snub with a strong reminder that as an arm of government, it would no longer tolerate the manner in which its summons are treated. 

Fakai was said to have been ordered out of the chamber thereafter. One of the reasons Fakai may have been stopped from briefing the house may be because he was not equipped with any strategic paper or talking points to present before the Senate on what the police are doing to unravel the Boko Haram threat in Lagos.

It was gathered that in the schedule of appearance of service chiefs before the Senate, the IGP was listed first on the line to brief the lawmakers. Sources close to the Police Affairs Committee said the force had advance information about the Senate briefing and were advised to, at least, prepare some notes before coming to the chamber. But another version said that Fakai was allowed to brief the house after some pleas. 

He filed out of the chamber with the other service chiefs as the session ended, late afternoon local time. 

Speaking with newsmen after the session, Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the meetings would become regular, adding that the chamber was satisfied with "the level of interaction with the service chiefs and their efforts in making Nigeria a safer place. 

"We devoted the entire plenary to an interaction with the service chiefs and other heads of security agencies in Nigeria with a view to finding out the problems and work with the different security agencies in Nigeria in order to resolve them.

"We are calling on Nigerians to cooperate with the security agencies to resolve the security issues." Asked whether the closed-door session discussed amnesty for Boko Haram, Abaribe replied: "Any other decision is a policy decision that would be taken by the Federal Government. 

The interaction is aimed at making sure that in the shortest possible time, the security issues will be resolved." The Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, it was further gathered, was directed to follow up on the briefing.

Increasingly irrelevant ICC drops case against Uhuru Kenyatta's ally

By DAVID K. SODEINDE - CC

Against the backdrop of increasing criticism by African countries as to why only African leaders seem to be the only ones being tried for alleged "crimes against humanity", the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dropped charges against Francis Muthaura, a co-accused of Kenya's presidential election winner Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr. Muthaura was accused of fueling violence after the 2007 election.

Lawyers for Mr. Kenyatta, who won last week's elections, said similar charges against him should now be dropped.

His trial is due to start in July.

Mr. Muthaura, a former civil service chief, was on the same side as Mr. Kenyatta during the disputed 2007 election, after which more than 1,000 people were killed and about 600,000 were left homeless.

Mr. Kenyatta is accused of organizing attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as supporting Raila Odinga against President Mwai Kibaki. President-elect Kenyatta maintains his innocence and has denied the charges.

There are strong indications that the decision to drop charges against Mr. Muthaura could have a bearing on the case against Mr. Kenyatta, who beat Mr Odinga, a distant relative of U.S. President Barack Obama and preferred choice of western leaders, in the just concluded presidential elections.

Both men (Muthaura and Kenyatta) were accused of developing a plan to get the feared Mungiki sect to attack ethnic Kalenjins, seen as supporters of Mr. Odinga in 2007.

But a key witness - like most of the so-called "witnesses" of questionable character and integrity, who had been due to testify that Mr. Muthaura had been present at a meeting where this plan was formulated, has admitted lying and taking bribes and so his evidence has been dropped.

Mr. Kenyatta's lawyers have argued that the evidence being relied on by prosecutors at the ICC is utterly flawed and as such there is no credible evidence against the newly elected Kenyan Chief Executive.

Mr. Muthaura was among six people who were originally charged by the ICC - two others, Hussein Ali and Henry Kosgey, had charges against them dropped earlier.

Mr. Kenyatta contested the March 4th election, despite being charged. He said he was innocent and vowed to clear his name in court.

He won with 50.07% of the vote, compared with the 43.31% for Mr Odinga.

Mr. Odinga is challenging the result in court, claiming it was marred by irregularities.

In 2007, he lost to Mr. Kibaki, who is now stepping down at the end of his two terms.

Mr. Kenyatta backed Mr. Kibaki during the 2007 election.

His running mate in last week's election, William Ruto, supported Mr Odinga in 2007.

Mr. Ruto is also due to stand trial at The Hague for orchestrating violence against supporters of Mr. Kibaki in 2007, but he has also strongly maintained his innocence.

Weekly Divine Word

From the CC DEVOTIONAL DESK

Psalm 89 - Amplified Bible (AMP)

This scripture speaks to the incontestable surety of God's divine covenant with His own.... Your enemies shall surely be defeated!

¹ I will sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.

² For I have said, Mercy and loving-kindness shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness will You establish in the very heavens [unchangeable and perpetual].

³ [You have said] I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant,

⁴ Your Seed I will establish forever, and I will build up your throne for all generations. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁵ Let heaven (the angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones (the holy angels).

⁶ For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the mighty [heavenly beings] can be likened to the Lord,

^{7 A God greatly feared and revered in the council of the holy (angelic) ones, and to be feared and worship-fully revered above all those who are round about Him?}

⁸ O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like unto You, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You [an essential part of You at all times].

⁹ You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves arise, You still them.

¹⁰ You have broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces; with Your mighty arm You have scattered Your enemies.

¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.

¹² The north and the south, You have created them; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon joyously praise Your name.

¹³ You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, Your right hand is soaring high.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and loving-kindness and truth go before Your face.

¹⁵ Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the people who know the joyful sound [who understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolized by the feasts]; they walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

¹⁶ In Your name they rejoice all the day, and in Your righteousness they are exalted.

¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment], and by Your favor our horn is exalted and we walk with uplifted faces!

¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Once You spoke in a vision to Your devoted ones and said, I have endowed one who is mighty [a hero, giving him the power to help—to be a champion for Israel]; I have exalted one chosen from among the people.

²⁰ I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him,

²¹ With whom My hand shall be established and ever abide; My arm also shall strengthen him.

²² The enemy shall not exact from him or do him violence or outwit him, nor shall the wicked afflict and humble him.

²³ I will beat down his foes before his face and smite those who hate him.

²⁴ My faithfulness and My mercy and loving-kindness shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].

²⁵ I will set his hand in control also on the [Mediterranean] Sea, and his right hand on the rivers [Euphrates with its tributaries].

²⁶ He shall cry to Me, You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!

²⁷ Also I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.^(C)

²⁸ My mercy and loving-kindness will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast and be faithful with him.

²⁹ His Offspring also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰ If his children forsake My law and walk not in My ordinances,

³¹ If they break or profane My statutes and keep not My commandments,

³² Then will I punish their transgression with the rod [of chastisement], and their iniquity with stripes.

³³ Nevertheless, My loving-kindness will I not break off from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail [to lie and be false to him].

³⁴ My covenant will I not break or profane, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.

³⁵ Once [for all] have I sworn by My holiness, which cannot be violated; I will not lie to David:

³⁶ His Offspring shall endure forever, and his throne [shall continue] as the sun before Me.

³⁷ It shall be established forever as the moon, the faithful witness in the heavens. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

³⁸ But [in apparent contradiction to all this] You [even You the faithful Lord] have cast off and rejected; You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.

³⁹ You have despised and loathed and renounced the covenant with Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

⁴⁰ You have broken down all his hedges and his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

⁴¹ All who pass along the road spoil and rob him; he has become the scorn and reproach of his neighbors.

⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³ Moreover, You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not made him to stand in battle.

⁴⁴ You have made his glory and splendor to cease and have hurled to the ground his throne.

⁴⁵ The days of his youth have You shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁴⁶ How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? How long shall Your wrath burn like fire?

⁴⁷ O [earnestly] remember how short my time is and what a mere fleeting life mine is. For what emptiness, falsity, futility,and frailty You have created all men!

⁴⁸ What man can live and shall not see death, or can deliver himself from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the place of the dead)? Selah [pause, and calmly consider that]!

⁴⁹ Lord, where are Your former loving-kindnesses [shown in the reigns of David and Solomon], which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, and earnestly imprint [on Your heart] the reproach of Your servants, scorned and insulted, how I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many and mighty peoples,

⁵¹ With which Your enemies have taunted, O Lord, with which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed.

⁵² Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen.

Yes, it was indeed a red card.....

From the CC SPORTS DESK

It was another great game yesterday at Old Trafford between two giants of European football, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Please watch the video here and the replays will clearly show that Nani's red card was indeed justified as it was dangerous play, regardless of the player's "intent" (whatever that means by the way).

Madrid was the more positive and tactically superior team over the two legs and thoroughly deserved the victory.

"I actually think he's made the right call," Keane said on ITV. "Whatever people are getting upset about it -- anytime I was sent off in my career, I always thought 'Did I give the referee a chance to send me off?' And if the answer was 'yeah' then it was out of your hands. And I think the referee's actually made the right call. And everyone's upset about it and they're slightly unlucky, but it's dangerous play. Whether he meant it or not is irrelevant."