Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, this weekend disclosed that the Federal government owes its various contractors N336 billion. Fashola made this known during an interview with Arise Television while speaking on the challenges being faced in the Ministry which he supervises. He said only N27 billion has been paid so far to the owed contractors while more certificates are piling up for the contracts that have not been paid.“Our debts as of the end of July, our outstanding and unpaid certificates, for example, were in the area of N336 billion. Now, the release we have from the ministry of finance for the second quarter is N27 billion. Then we have the Sukuk N162 billion. So, if you add that up, we are still way behind and more certificates are piling up for work that we haven’t paid. When you divide N162 billion by 44 roads, what is left? That defines where we are in terms of the funding challenge. At this moment, for example, FERMA is going to undertake 192 road repairs and maintenance over the next 12 months. They just sent me the implementation plan on Friday last week and they are good to go.” he said