AHANONU KINGSLEY BLOG

Controversy has trailed the statement attributed to the pope that "hell does not exist". An Italian newspapers La Repubblica released an article where Pope Francis was quoted to have answered in an interview by Eugenio Scalfari that there's no hell, but only a disappearance of sinful soul. He was quoted as saying that the righteous souls who have been pardoned by God appear before him where they contemplate. But the unrepentant souls which cannot be pardoned just disappear. An atheist,  Eugenio Scalfari is the founder of the La Repubblica and is described as a good friend of the pontiff, who is said to grant the veteran journalist interviews. The Vatican has immediately come out to issue a disclaimer on the statement attributed to the head of the Catholic church, saying it's merely a misquote by the journalist noted for not using recorder or notes during interviews. The recent position adduced to Pope Francis is stoutly against the long tradition of the chu...

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari today paid a working visit to Lagos state, the commercial hub of the nation. The visit, whose consequence was a public holiday declared by the state government, afforded the president to among other things commission some projects built by the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode, which include a Ikeja Bus terminal. President Buhari also used the occasion of his visit to attend the 10th annual colloquium of the national leader of the ruling APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which was to mark his 66th birthday. As is always the case, especially within this clime, this heavy august visit did not come without the associated inconveniences which easy-going ordinary citizens are subjected to. Just as was the case with previous presidential visits, the visit of Buhari came with much pressure on commuters and air travellers alike. Apart from the incontinences caused by roads diversion, flights were delayed as the entire landing and road spaces were rese...

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has asked the sureties for the yet-to-be found leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra to produce him or risk been thrown into jail. Delivering her judgment, Tuesday, Justice Binta Nyako, who gave until 26th of June when hearing on the matter will resume,  granted the application of the counsel to Senator Abaribe that his client needs to be served an enrol notice to decide on the options given by the court in its earlier ruling. The court had asked the sureties to come up with cause on why the N100 million bond they each deposited should not be forefeited on the failure to produce Nnamdi Kanu. It however advised the prosecution counsel to serve the defendants with the brief. Enyinnaya Abaribe, the senator representing Abia North had offered to be one of the sureties for the Biafran agitator, a condition required before he was granted bail in 2017. The other sureties were a Jewish priest, El-Shalom and an accountant, Tobechi. Each were ...

There have been hues and cries since the information on the release of the abducted Dapchi girls came to light. These concerns have left the central issue of the girls' rescue which has been the call and demand by every one to focus on what happened and how it happened, which albeit is worrisome. It is a heavy distraction now to begin to pilfer on a rather inconsequential issue especially as it regards the rescue. Indeed, it is heavily distracting now that we should be commending the federal government for their efforts to this end. The pattern of the kidnap, to wit, what the students were doing, what they were wearing, and how they were bundled out of their hostels were not issues as to derail the subject matter of the kidnap that got everyone demanding for their rescue while the incident lasted. I wonder then how the mannerisms of their return should be. Nigeria is a country divided by the fissures of sentimentalism. The country has so remained this way in virtually ev...

...Submission closes on the 31st March The chance for all those young budding writers, who have written wonderful stories but have seen them just remain in the shelf has come to have their dusty manuscripts published. ‘The Dusty Manuscript’, a corporate social responsibility initiative of GTBank  launched at the Herbert Macaulay Library, Yaba Lagos comes to fill this role. The Duty Manuscript seeks to select creative young writers to support and nurture through a keen contest. The contest is organised in partnership with Okada Books and Farafina. The initiative is aimed at giving upcoming writers the opportunity to win publishing deals for their completed but unpublished manuscripts. According to the organisers, a total of one million entries are expected from the writers. The entries will then be pruned to 100 after which a panel of judges will whip them to 25. Eghosa Imaseun, Toni Kan, Yejide Kilanko and Ainehi Edoro-Glines comprise the panel of judges who will review ...

In a development reminiscent of the cold war era, the Russian president Vladimir Putin unveiled a video package of what he termed as 'invincible' missile. This was part of his State of the Union address to his people on the 1st of March 2018. According to Putin, the missile unveiled had the propensity of reaching to every end of the universe and could as well defy any anti-missile force up that the United States might have. Many has seen this as a buoy up effect by Putin on voters to turn out massively to vote in the presidential election coming up earlier this month in which Vladimir Putin himself has been seen as having an overriding advantage. It is something to stand for he absence of any economic benefits Mr Putin might present to impress on Russians. And though, the presidential polls is seen as a run-off for him, Putin wants to win with obvious majority. This development is seen as an affront to the United States, where Donald Trump, the US President had also...

A happy new month to all here, a happy moment to all believers in the power of their destinies to speak through their faith. It is to say a happy new month of March especially to those born into this period and all those who lay claim to it, a happy month of March to all good dreamers. I wish you all the resplendent you see therein; asking that you pursue that sight you see-the sight of your faith. Today I speak on faith. I speak of that substance that makes us stick into what our minds have conceived. It is the excitation that fills us with an impassioned belief upon the very conception our minds feed to our senses. We act with the drive of our faith to cause what is internally conceived to become tangibly perceived. Our actions; the actions of successful men and women is spurred by the utmost believe in the efficacy and the silent and potent power of their dreams. More than a truism, we act what we believe; we lead basically out of our beliefs. The true power of our dreams...

The politicking in the APC controlled state of Kogi has taken another leap. This time it is cycling around the allegation of double registration against the governor, Yahaya Bello. Mr Bello is been accused of undergoing registration in Kogi his hometown when he had so done in Abuja where he was resident before his return to the state. It was believed that Yahaya Bello was issued another voter's card in Kogi state. The senate yesterday took a swipe at the action, mandating its committee on INEC to commence investigation on the matter with the view of unravelling the situation. The resolution of the senate was sequel to a point of order raised by Senator Mohammed Hassan from Yobe South. In his statement, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki said, "The issue that you're talking about is one that is very important because the stability of our democracy depends on the credibility of our electoral processes." The last time in the politics of Kogi it was o...