TOP 10 SONGS & 3 ALBUMS OF 1ST QUARTER 2020

1.SHI GEGE-JHYBO

2.AMAZING GRACE-DA BABY

3.GUGUDEMAP-DREMO FT LIL FROSH,SINZU,KNUCKLEZ & IDOWEST

4.BOP DADDY-FALZ

5.BLAME IT ON BABY-DA BABY

6.WE OUTSIDE-UNCLE MURDA FT QUE BANZ / STFU-DREMO

7.SUZANNA-SAUTI SOL

8.IN TOO DEEP-EMINEM / SOMETHING LIKE THIS-SOUND SULTAN

9.ODESHII-SOFT FEAT ZLATAN / FAAJI-DREMO FT SINZU & YCEE

10.CONDO-AFRO-B FEAT T.PAIN / PONGILAH-SLIMCASE FT ZLATAN

TOP 3 ALBUMS/EPs

1.BLAME IT ON BABY-DA BABY

2.CODENAME VOL.2-DREMO

3.DON'T COME OUTSIDE-UNCLE MURDA

4 KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESIDENT BUHARI'S UNINSPIRING ADDRESS

Amidst the revelation that Nigeria had conducted a dismal 11,426 Covid-19 tests and recorded 1,337 confirmed cases,250 recoveries and 40 deaths, President Buhari's address to the nation formed the main talking point of Monday 27th April.The Buhari administration's response to the Coronavirus pandemic has been very disappointing and asides the pronouncement of 50% of health care workers' basic salaries as hazard allowance, nothing else was inspiring about his speech.Below are some of the highlights.

EXPERTS PROJECTED 2,000 CASES IN FIRST MONTH AFTER INDEX CASE

This may have been a plan hatched by President Buhari's handlers to absolve him of blame for leaving it too late to shut our borders and portray his handling of the crisis as efficient.When the Minister of Health, Prof.Osagie Enahire said on March 13 precisely that the second Covid-19 case; an off-shoot of the index case who flew in from Italy was testing negative,there were no other confirmed cases and both were scheduled to be released in the following days.We were coronavirus-free.

The 3rd case did not contract it from any of the 2 cases or their contacts,she flew into the country from the UK on the very day the Minister was making that announcement and was confirmed positive after she developed symptoms days later in self-isolation.If Buhari had restricted travels from the Covid-19 hot spots or banned entry totally after the index case,Nigeria wouldn't be in this mess.No jankara 'model' told Buhari we were looking at 2,000 cases after the first month.I don't think anyone fully aware of the facts on ground would believe that.

If he had shut down entry after the very first case like some of us were calling on him to do considering the quality of health care available,level of enlightenment and the drastic effects locking down the country like we were seeing abroad would have on the average nigerian, we would have been coronavirus free and going about our normal businesses.

BUHARI IS TAKING KANO FOR GRANTED

When some scary numbers started emanating from Kano after its index case,the Presidential task force said it was sending a team to the state but so far,the 2 week lockdown is the only thing indicating the Federal Government appreciates the special treatment Kano should get.The most populous state in the country has been tipped by some to become the epicentre of the Covid 19 global pandemic.It not only has just one test centre,that too was shut down for days because it got contaminated.

The Presidential Task Force stayed mute during that period while Kano's next door neighbours,Kaduna whose population is less than half its size was opening its second test centre.

The Kano state government had  requested N15bn from the Federal Government to help tackle the crisis before Buhari's speech and his promise to assist with 'human,material and technical resources' instead still depicts him as not fully grasping the sensitivity of the situation on ground.First,the state needs at least 2 more test centres.Secondly, being very familiar with the state, he of all people should know how volatile it can get.There will be utter chaos if people are asked to stay home for 2 weeks (possibly more after that) and fed half tier of rice and 2 cups of beans.The state government's handling of the crisis may have been poor but the FG as the overriding authority needs to take decisive measures with due regard to the peculiarity of Kano.

STILL NO MENTION OF NIGERIANS STRANDED ABROAD

Shortly before Buhari's previous speech,the foreign minister announced that nigerians eager to return home from abroad would be evacuated and that they had to pay for it.At that time,China was not only seizing the international passports of nigerians there,it was kicking them out of their places of residence to sleep on the streets.How can you look such people in the eye and ask them to pay for rescuing them especially considering how much you have amassed in donations alone?.No one will get on that plane and pay later when they are in Nigeria,they all have to be able to afford a trip back or die there.

Buhari owes it to Nigerians to not only address the sad treatment of our country men abroad,he also needs to shed light on when government will start sending those planes.Its been weeks already.

A LOCKDOWN IS NECESSARY

President Buhari eased the lockdown in Lagos,Ogun and the FCT with an 8am-6pm curfew effective from May 4th (Monday).One of the most common means of contracting the virus is through the handling of cash.There is also the danger of contaminated surfaces-bus seats,door handles,tables,chairs et al.The plain truth is that the lock down is very much needed to curtail the spread of the virus but it is really sad that the government despite being allocated and receiving tons of money,has not been able to adequately cater for the needs of the masses it has asked to sit at home.

Families are being handed palliatives as ridiculous as a pack of indomie and 2 cups of beans.On social media,most nigerians were calling for an end to the lockdown before Buhari's speech and as soon as it ended they were saying coronavirus won't take a break from 8am-6pm daily.What this says in essence is that in as much as everyone understands the problem we are dealing with, most would rather go out and work than receive the disgraceful food rations their governments are giving them.

Buhari succumbed to the wishes of the people by letting them out but one thing he didn't take into consideration however, was the need to balance on one hand, having to call off a lockdown because it was no longer practicable and on the other, the caution the issue of public health requires.

An initial 8am-6pm curfew for 3 or 4 days a week would have allowed government enough room to monitor and appraise the situation critically; the ease of contact tracing, escalation of cases et al.People that have gotten too used to going out daily would deem reverting back to a lock down drastic and above all, an indictment of his handling of the crisis.

ROBBERIES,BOKO HARAM & CHINA: PRESIDENT BUHARI'S SINFUL SILENCE

You can't be silent and create silence in being silent.So you have to create silence or rather the effect of silence through words"-Peter Handke

The virtues of silence practically cease to apply the moment one starts to hold a public office.There is always a need to set the facts straight,keep the people abreast of developments and reassure them their trust is in safe hands.

This country has never been this precarious in recent memory and any sane government would understand it has to thread with caution.People are already coming out of lock down to waylay vehicles conveying food.When the frustration heightens,a full fledged onslaught against the authorities is what to expect and for a government scared at the mere mention of the word 'revolution', the Buhari administration doesn't seem to understand the consequences of its comfort.

Last week there were several reports of hoodlums robbing and maiming families in Ogun and Lagos.By Friday, countless residents in vulnerable neighbourhoods had started staying up at night to protect themselves.That all but negates the police's theory of most of the robberies being fake.President Buhari didn't make a single mention of the security situation in both states in his address to the nation.As a matter of fact,he hasn't till now.Why are there no police vehicles patrolling vulnerable areas?.Do the police need reinforcements from other states considering that the security challenges are peculiar to only a handful of places in Ogun and Lagos?.In the first place, if the police were moving around enforcing the lock down,would criminals have had this much room to operate?.As at this moment,no one knows if he has as much as spoken to the Inspector General of Police.

People staying up to light bonfires and weild machetes to protect their vicinities amidst a lock down in 2 of the 3 states he has declared shut really should worry him.He is not worried they will reason with those that have been pushed by hunger to attack food vehicles and wage an 'Enough is Enough' war on government.

The second of Buhari's sinful muteness is regarding Idris Derby.The Chadian President over the weekend claimed that Chad was shouldering the boko haram fight alone.Two spokespersons have spoken in the military's defence with none tackling the issue head on.While one addressed the deadline issued by Derby for our troops to move into the Nigerian territories his men have seized from boko haram by April 22 or they would leave,the other said Nigeria wasn't 'slowing the war down'.The issue was whether the Chadians were fighting the war alone.

With the foreign media singing the praises of Derby; the strong man of Chad as they have fondly dubbed him,only a statement from Buhari himself would gain as much attention.No one would blame Derby if he didn't call him before embarking on the 9-day Operation Bohoma Wrath because trust issues would understandably not be misplaced.Our President released 1,400 boko haram terrorists for being 'repentant' without any single case in court anyone can point to.The town where Chadian soldiers were killed, Boma; is very close to the border with Nigeria and Niger.It is practically impossible for a thorough boko haram clean up to go on without taking them into our territory.Did Buhari and our soldiers just act like nothing was happening despite encroachment into territories they were supposed to be protecting?.

Derby was outraged to the point of saying no Chadian soldier would ever go out of Chad to fight again.The fact that the Chief of Army staff relocated to Borno right afterwards more than anything indicated Nigeria was not taking the war seriously as Derby has alleged and was about doing so.It could also be interpreted to mean something was being done for the optics.As they say,only the guilty are afraid.If we were really doing what we should,there would no need for panic measures.Press releases by 2 military spokespersons will hardly make any headline outside these shores.What has however, is the Chadian President saying he was shouldering the boko haram burden alone.A Buhari counter is not forthcoming.

Two days ago,publisher of Opinion Nigeria.com,Jeff Okoroafor did a twitter thread highlighting the plight of nigerians in China after speaking to a friend over there.The Chinese were not only seizing the international passports of nigerians,they were kicking them out of their homes and hotel rooms including women and children to sleep on the streets.The closest thing to a reaction from Nigeria has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives meeting with the Chinese ambassador.President Buhari has not deemed it appropriate to talk to the nation about the inhuman treatment fellow nigerians were being subjected to abroad.

Before President Buhari's address on Sunday,the Foreign Affairs minister had told journalists nigerians overseas would pay for the planes being sent to evacuate them.How ridiculous can this government get?.A lot of people in China haven't worked for a while and whatever they might have saved up,is likely to have been spent feeding and sourcing safe accomodation.

I have heard people say even the UK and the US charge for evacuation.They always seem to forget that these countries are working fine and their citizens only leave there for jobs that pay really well.Furthermore these countries have made provision for those who can't pay to return nonetheless and pay afterwards.Our minister never said we had such an arrangement.Our country men outside these shores are facing dire times,dire enough to make them want to return to Nigeria.They are eating out of trash cans and sleeping on the streets.Their President doesn't deem that serious enough to draw a reaction.

There are times silence is golden and there are times it is villainous.

LETTER TO THE SPORTS MINISTER: PINNICK NEEDS TO STOP DISRESPECTING GERNOT ROHR

Dear Honourable Minister of Sports,

I hope this meets you well.I will get straight to it.Let me start by drawing your attention to the fact that Super Eagles coach,Gernot Rohr was not consulted by Amaju Pinnick and the NFF before appointing Joseph Yobo as his assistant.As a matter of fact,he learnt of Yobo's appointment from the news like everyone of us.That interpreted along side the declaration by the President of the NFF,Amaju Pinnick on Arise TV's Monday Morning Show that Rohr would have to live in Nigeria,receive his salary in naira and watch NPFL games with him  to get a new contract translates to one thing; Pinnick is hoping Rohr feels disrespected enough to quit the Eagles' job.

A lot of our coaches here won't tolerate half the things Rohr has.Someone like Sunday Oliseh would insult Pinnick to his face before doing so in the media.I understand a lot of ministers do their utmost best to steer clear of NFF business but i think it is time you wade in and weild your supervisory power over all sports related matters.If Pinnick is desperate to kick out Rohr,he mustn't embarrass the entire country in the process.

That a contract doesn't stipulate that a coach should choose who he will work with doesn't mean Pinnick should not reach out to Rohr to discuss compatibility and other related issues regarding the NFF's choice of assistants.In the end,Rohr will be the one to not only work with Yobo but also bear total responsibility for the outcome of their working relationship. 

If there were any doubts as to Pinnick wanting to humiliate Rohr,those doubts were cleared by his Arise Tv interview.It was not only degrading but highly unprofessional of Pinnick to discuss the terms of Rohr's contract before he had even received it.Moreso when Pinnick said that he either accepted those terms or he would pick the numerous calls of people vying for the Eagles' job.

Honourable Minister,you have to step in at this juncture.Pinnick is not only embarrassing the NFF, Nigerian sports or the Buhari administration,he is embarrassing the country as a whole.If Rohr leaves in conditions as unsavoury as this,our reputation will be dented in the football world.Any foreign coach willing to accept any job offer we present will charge astronomical fees because it is no longer just the common case of dealing with an impatient people,it would also be one of dealing with people without any sense of respect and decorum.

These things are normally kept secret and are only reluctantly disclosed when negotiations fail (mostly through anonymous or third party sources) especially when it concerns a coach that has not only delivered in the 4 years he has been in charge but who is also well loved by football fans.Rohr deserves the utmost respect for what he has done for nigerian football and no thieving rascal must be allowed to walk him out in shame.

The 2 reasons being widely attributed for the refusal of the CAF President to renew Pinnick's tenure as CAF 1st Vice-President are that he hadn't shown due regard for his position and that he was facing corruption charges in Nigeria.The man bungled away our best opportunity of producing a CAF President in decades.In saner climes,people like that will not run football.Nigerian celebrities know Pinnick as a very generous individual that doles out money whenever they ask and even before the EFCC pointed to the fact that he and others were embezzling NFF money,the raging question had always been where was all that money being handed to AY and co. coming from?.His treatment of Rohr more than anything suggests that he is still the same man.Maybe even worse.

To address the terms spelt out to Rohr on TV, Pinnick required that he lives in Nigeria and accompany him to Nigerian premier league matches.First i must remind you sir that the next coach to the boss is responsible also for handling the home based Eagles.That is the role former assistant and Rangers International of Enugu league-winning coach,Imama Amapamabo played.It goes without saying that Rohr's assistant is not only responsible for managing the local based players,it is also his responsibility to scout for the very best players in our league.Pinnick didn't state that Rohr was also going to handle the home based Eagles from now on so that job is Joseph Yobo's; a man whom former NFF technical director Kashimawo Laloko among others have described as 'unqualified'.Yobo has no knowledge of our league so Pinnick is without even the slightest hint of shame,trying to shift that responsibility to Rohr.If he endures every humiliation,that perhaps is what Pinnick plans to be the last straw.This man mustn't be disrespected like this.If the NFF pays the man,it is not its business where he stays.Except it is also asking him to take charge of the home based Eagles which it hasn't.

Then the issue of paying Rohr in naira.If Amaju Pinnick feels paying the national team coach the naira equivalent of his salary will help grow our currency as he has stated,then please let him go ahead.Only as long as he doesn't wake up tomorrow to say he meant changing the dollar sign at the end of his salary to naira-$50,000 to N50,000.

One thing is clear,Pinnick is angry with Rohr and wants to frustrate him out of the job.Unconfirmed reports point to that Rohr vehemently opposed any of his players handing him the traditional 'anything for your boy' gifts.Whatever it is, please ensure our football administrators act like true professionals.If Amaju Pinnick wants to kick Rohr out and install his friend Joseph Yobo in his place,at least make sure that Rohr is treated with the respect he deserves.Professionally at the very least.

                                                   Best Regards

                                       Lifelong Eagles Fan 

DEAR IGNORANT NIGERIAN, YES WE SHOULD BEG FOR VENTILATORS...

For the umpteenth time,coronavirus is real.It is not an illusionary tactic of the illuminati neither is it an enrichment ploy by politicians as a man recently accused Governor El Rufai of in a video.The very first problem to the effective tackling of this health crisis is getting all nigerians to understand this illness and the grave danger it portends.If there is anything to be made of the massive outcry that greeted the tweet by the Federal Ministry of Finance pleading with American billionaire Elon Musk to send 100-500 ventilators he offered to giveaway to countries that needed it,it is that majority of nigerians are yet to fully understand what they are dealing with.

The man doubting the existence of coronavirus on the streets is no different from the 'enlightened' mind on social media criticizing the plea for medical ventilators.According to the World Health Organization,80% of people with Covid-19 (the disease caused by Coronavirus) recover without needing hospital treatment and also that 1 out of 6 persons becomes very ill and may experience breathing difficulties.This on the mere surface,appears to be soothing but you only need to check the reality on ground in places ravaged by this ailment to understand why '1 out of 6' and 'may' should not give anyone a false sense of relief.Covid-19 is a respiratory illness which in severe cases collapses the lungs; a patient's hope of survival from that point on depends entirely on the ability to pump oxygen into their system; that is where a ventilator comes in.

The demand for it right now is so high it isn't just lying around to be bought.There is a shortage and countries right now are either forcing or pleading with car manufacturing companies to partner with health experts to produce them.There was a very touching story about a week ago of a 72 year old Italian Priest who died after leaving his ventilator for a younger person to use.At the moment,Italy which has recorded 13,915 deaths so far from Covid-19 has been forced to improvise with 3D printed scuba masks because they aren't enough ventilators.Its order for 4,000 to a medical company in Switzerland, Hamilton Medicals ended with only 400 being sent over due to a scarcity.Spain has also joined Italy now in improvising with scuba masks.These are all countries much richer and better managed than Nigeria.

With all the money at their disposal,they can't procure ventilators because there is a global shortage.The person managing the twitter handle of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance deserves a national award for spotting an opportunity to help this country and moving fast.Right under Elon Musk's tweet the last time i checked were replies from the Ukranian embassy,a former Ukranian Minister of Health and the leader of a province in Argentina all begging him to send ventilators their way.But No,the enlightened moron from Nigeria is asking why we should be begging for ventilators while Buhari has amassed billions for the fight against coronavirus.They were very loud.

The finance minister who doesn't quite have a reputation for being fore-sighted and hasn't impressed with a single fiscal policy so far, agreed with them and through her media aide,announced that the tweet was unauthorized,highly regrettable and had been deleted.Are we cursed?.Say the billions at Buhari's beck and call could actually get us enough ventilators at this time,wouldn't it be better if we saved money by getting 100+ free from Musk and diverting the sum to something else like adequately catering for the poor,helpless nigerians that have been asked to stay home?.

If you say we should have been more 'professional' about it,don't you think indicating interest in public before doing so in private will prove to the man how badly we need them or that Ukraine and others that did so publicly too may have an edge over those that didn't need it enough to do so?.

You lose every right to blame Buhari when you are a part of the problem yourself.We wouldn't have been in this mess today if the President had responded to the numerous calls to restrict travels from coronavirus hot spots after the very first case for the simple reason that what more advanced nations are struggling to contain would do much more damage in a place like Nigeria.We are currently at 190 cases; a figure many say is so only because a lot of persons that had contact with index cases are unaccounted for.Just like those they have also had contact with.Such persons and perhaps other people they may have infected can only be rounded up when the illness creeps in.

Buhari delayed the needful but anyone under-playing the importance of procuring ventilators is just as short-sighted as he is.Anyone thinking America and others will rush to our aid if things get worse better make out time to find out the situation in the US at the moment.President Trump had to force General Motors,a private company to make ventilators under the Defense Production Act after it demanded $1 billion for its troubles.This is a country whose hospitals have a combined 160,000 ventilators and the government another 12,750 it has saved for national emergencies.THAT IS NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH.

Right now,the Federal government along with a few states have received billions from well-meaning individuals and corporations but all they seem to be concerned about is building isolation centres.Ventilators?.Maybe when people start dying in numbers.

Nigerian car maker,Innoson motors is seeking a N4bn loan from government to start making them and even the man has admitted that he lacks the resources to produce the amount required to get us through a critical stage.If we had proactive leaders,they would have been the ones making enquiries from Innoson and not the other way round.

By now,NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies would have either approved his ventilator and started storing them or advised government to look elsewhere for the right quality.

The glorified vegetable at Aso Rock who weighs it an achievement to just show us he is alive and well has proven right from the onset that he doesn't move till things get out of hand.Right now Nigerians true to the saying 'you get the leaders you deserve' are castigating a laudable attempt to get us free ventilators.They obviously don't know as much as they should.God help us.