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Behind  The Curtain | By Tunde Busari

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In Yoruba parlance, especially when elders want to guide a promising youth against early fall, they tell him or her that palm oil always goes after white fabrics on destructive mission. This metaphor is a warning to the youth not to lose his head while the flame of his or her fame is burning.

A childhood friend of the late Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, at a public gathering in memory of Barrister in 2013, revealed that his friend had and maintained a split image divided between Sikiru and Barrister.

He told the very, very attentive audience that Sikiru was not Barrister and vice versa. The man, Alhaji Mojeed Kareem, unfortunately also late now, explained that the moment Barrister, coming from functions, stepped the entrance of his Fuji Chamber, he dropped Barrister and put on Sikiru, the no non-sense, fast-talking Mushin-born who was as human as any other person.

But when he was back to town and on stage, he transformed again to Barrister who must watch what he did, how he did it and particularly his endurance level. Why? He was tutored that he was that white fabrics while the people he met in the public could be that palm oil.

That’s what must have informed the gentleman treatment he accorded that woman who sneaked into his living room in Isolo and told him that she was his biological mother, not Alhaja Sifawu Odee whom he was advertising to the world in his albums. That was 1986.

If the evidently provoked Barrister had given in to the burning fire in him and reacted as such, he would have found himself at the wrong side of the law and possibly had his goodwill injured and his music career burnt to ashes.

The wisdom here is that celebrities should always be in charge of themselves, regardless of situations they find themselves. They shouldn’t be carried away by smiles or hard look of the public to fall cheaply and stupidly too into veiled traps by which they are surrounded.

Alhaja Waka Queen Salawa Abeni is a happy woman today because she treated her latest story well. Her prompt release, in which she alerted the world about a danger hovering on her roof, killed the matter, for it is timely. The sincerity, contained in the content of the release, won her sympathy which she couldn’t have got had she reacted differently and denied that aspect of her past. She has, thus, won the war which would have somehow affected her improving health again.

Assuredly, however, hers is not going to mark the end of such scandal as our celebrities appear to be unmindful of their status, thereby engaging in series of unholy acts behind the curtain and sometimes in the public.

They should be reminded that lens of phones is watching everyone, everwhere and everything. So they should watch their back so that they don’t receive Salawa message.

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Eight Stabbed, Hundreds Arrested at Notting Hill Carnival

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Police officers make an arrest at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London on August 26, 2024. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

 

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that eight people were stabbed and hundreds were arrested during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals, held annually in west London.

In an update on their policing operation late Monday, the Met reported that five people were stabbed on the final day of the three-day celebration, which is internationally renowned for its vibrant display of British Afro-Caribbean culture.

This followed three other stabbings on Sunday. Three of the victims were left in life-threatening conditions.

Police made at least 230 arrests on Monday alone, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon.

These arrests added to the scores of others made earlier in the weekend. In addition to the arrests, three firearms were seized, and 35 officers sustained injuries during the event, which attracts around a million attendees every August bank holiday weekend.

The number of arrests and incidents this year closely mirrors last year’s figures when there were 10 stabbings and approximately 300 arrests.

Despite the heavy police presence, with around 7,000 officers deployed, the carnival was once again marred by violence, particularly knife crime. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of revellers enjoyed the event without incident, filling the streets of Notting Hill with colour, music, and dancing.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Ade Adelekan expressed his frustration over the recurring violence, noting that a woman attending the carnival with her child was among those stabbed.

“We only very narrowly avoided a fatality,” he said, urging attendees to report any crimes they witness.

The Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture, has its roots in the 1950s, following the post-World War II influx of immigrants from former British colonies.

The annual event is known for its feathered dancers, steel bands, and earth-shaking sound systems, symbolizing the rich cultural heritage of the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK.

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Portable Granted Bail After Night in Police Cell Over ₦14m Debt

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Habeeb Okikiola popularly known as Portable. Photo: @portablebaeby/Instagram

 

The Lagos State Police Command has freed renowned street artist, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, following a night spent in police detention.

Portable was apprehended on Tuesday in Lagos’ Abule Egba vicinity for purportedly defaulting on the balance payment for a G-Wagon vehicle he had purchased from an auto dealer.

Reports suggest that although the ‘Zazoo Zeh’ maestro acquired the vehicle valued at ₦27 million, he only disbursed ₦13 million, leaving a ₦14 million outstanding balance.

In footage that went viral, Portable was observed scaling a gate as law enforcement officers approached him with an arrest warrant.

Subsequently, another video emerged depicting him being restrained, handcuffed, and conveyed by approximately four policemen into a waiting vehicle.

During the altercation, a female voice, purportedly that of the car dealer, was heard in the background, issuing profanities and recounting Portable’s alleged threats when confronted about settling the debt.

The Police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that Portable was released on bail on Wednesday after spending Tuesday night in police custody.

He further disclosed that both Portable and the car dealer are expected to reconvene at a later date.

“He (Portable) has been released; he was granted bail on Wednesday to come back with the complainant later,” Hundeyin stated, stressing that “the outcome of that meeting will determine our next line of action.”

This incident marks not the first encounter between the singer and law enforcement.

In April 2023, Portable was detained by the police in Ogun State and arraigned on five charges related to alleged assault and theft at the Ifo Magistrate Court, in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Subsequently, he was held at the Ilaro Correctional Centre before being released upon meeting bail conditions.

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Autopsy Results Fail to Determine Cause of Mohbad’s Death

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In a recent inquiry into the untimely demise of Nigerian musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad, held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Sunday Osiyemi, a Forensic Scientist and Pathologist, revealed that the results of the autopsy conducted on the deceased failed to unveil the cause of death.

Speaking before Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi, who presided over the coroner’s inquiry, Prof. Osiyemi cited various factors contributing to the inconclusive findings, notably the significant decomposition of the body due to the extended delay of 21 days before the autopsy was performed.

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu, representing Mohbad’s family, emphasised that according to the pathologist, the body should have been exhumed within 12 hours post-burial to prevent decomposition, a critical factor in determining the cause of death.

Shittu further elucidated that the pathologist referenced the administration of certain drugs to Mohbad before his demise, suggesting a potential correlation between the drugs and the difficulties encountered in pinpointing the cause of death.

“He also went further to say that it may be attributed to reactions to certain drugs administered on him before he died. Again he then qualified that to say he does not know whether it is those drugs that actually led to his death,” Shittu stated.

With the cause of death remaining elusive, the coroner adjourned the proceedings to June 11th for further examination and cross-examination of the pathologist’s findings, signaling a continuation in the quest for answers surrounding Mohbad’s untimely passing.

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